Nord Stage 3

[Jo Osantos1]

I pre-order mine in April, and i still dind't received any update on this... I must call my distributor

[baekgaard]

Well, it's here... Now just need to get back home and start playing

[Jonnie Cache]

Well, it's here... Now just need to get back home and start playing

Congrats!!!

[DanielD71]

Well, it's here... Now just need to get back home and start playing

Good for you !!!

[baekgaard]

Thanks. Didn't mean to cause envy; my post(s) were just meant to say that it's shipping to end-users (like myself) so there's hope for all of you

There are some advantages of being located in Scandinavia, close to Clavia's homebase, it looks. I bought mine (as I have done with my previous keyboards) from a Copenhagen based brick-and-mortar store. They received 3 keyboards in total; one is the in-store demo model and the two others were picked up by pre-ordering end-users (me and one other person). When I ordered, I was told that the Nordic suppllier appeared to have pre-orders at least 150% of the predicted "initial" supply, so I got a first ship date around end august. It was later on postponed to somewhere in october, so I was quite surprised to get a message this morning that the keyboard was here already.

Better to underpromise and overdeliver than the reverse, of course!

It plays well, by the way. The keys (mine is the 88 model) are definitely an upgrade compared to the Stage 2 EX. It feels like they travel a little shorter than the Piano 3 keys, and of course feels a bit different -- but I'm not sure I am convinced that the Piano 3 keys would be that much better for piano playing. I am used to practice on an acoustic grand at home, and normally bring a Roland RD-700NX and an Electro 3 73 for gigs. I think the Roland keys are quite nice for acoustic pianos and workable for electric pianos. The Stage 3 keys and the Piano 3 keys are (to me) a bit the other way round, but I don't think I'll have problems adapting to the Stage 3 keys for acoustic pianos.

It came with OS version 0.92, so I'll go and upgrade it now. It has some "quirks" as it came (like clicks when changing programs/waves in some conditions), but split appears to work as it should -- just mentioning as some here worried about that.

[Copia]

I am used to practice on an acoustic grand at home, and normally bring a Roland RD-700NX and an Electro 3 73 for gigs. I think the Roland keys are quite nice for acoustic pianos and workable for electric pianos. The Stage 3 keys and the Piano 3 keys are (to me) a bit the other way round, but I don't think I'll have problems adapting to the Stage 3 keys for acoustic pianos.

Interesting. Could you explain in more detail how you find the Stage 3 88 keys in comparison to the Roland Rd700NX? I have the 700NX, the RD-800, and the RD-2000 and, for reference, strangely prefer the older generations of 800 and 700NX to the 2000. My perspective is a bit unusual in that I vastly prefer light piano action, speaks to my soul. I've heard reports that the new 88's action is a little harder but with a softer bounce.

Do you have any insight you can offer as to how it improves from the 2EX and why the acoustic and electric pianos are reversed from the 700NX? Thanks for giving us the updates!! I appreciate them.

[analogika]

Thanks for reporting! Can you weigh in on the Sample Library question?

Will the Stage 3 eat your existing self-made .nsmp files?

[baekgaard]

Interesting. Could you explain in more detail how you find the Stage 3 88 keys in comparison to the Roland Rd700NX? I have the 700NX, the RD-800, and the RD-2000 and, for reference, strangely prefer the older generations of 800 and 700NX to the 2000. My perspective is a bit unusual in that I vastly prefer light piano action, speaks to my soul. I've heard reports that the new 88's action is a little harder but with a softer bounce.

Do you have any insight you can offer as to how it improves from the 2EX and why the acoustic and electric pianos are reversed from the 700NX? Thanks for giving us the updates!! I appreciate them.

I think the weight between the RD700NX and the Stage 3 keys are not that different. I tried to do a quick test, and if you apply weight to push down the RD700NX keys to the escapement point (slowly) but not enough to push it all the way down, the same weight applied to the Stage 3 appears to push down the keys 2/3rds or so. And if you apply weight similar to what it takes to "break" the escapement point at the RD700NX, the Stage 3 will also go down fully to the endpoint. The Stage 3 feels ever so slightly heavier than the RD700NX, but I think it's due to the escapement point. Above, the RD700NX is a tad lighter and below it's about the same. My acoustic is also relatively light, and I don't have problems feeling at home on the Stage 3 and it's no problem for me alternating between the RD700NX and the Stage 3.

The travel is actually a little larger on the Stage 3 compared to the RD700NX, although it doesn't feel like it. And if you press fully down (through the felt/dampening/endstop) it's about the same as well.

The end-stop is a bit harder on the RD700NX; the landing on the Stage 3 is slightly softer (which I like).

Due to the escapement point, the RD700NX (to my fingers) feels a bit more like an acoustic grand (not upright), with the slightly harder landing. I've always felt it a bit "too acoustic like" when playing electric pianos, although it still works quite well (I often play Nord Rhodes sounds via the RD700NX). The Stage 3 (to my fingers) feels somewhere between an acoustic and e.g. how I remember my old Fender Rhodes, although it's more precise and doesn't feel as sloppy as the real Rhodes (or maybe mine was just too worn out eventually). In any case, the sounds feel quite well connected to the keys for both the acoustic and electric pianos on the Stage 3. So whereas I felt I compromised a bit playing (Nord midied) electric pianos on the RD700NX and had to tweak the curves a bit, the electric pianos feel more natural/connected on the Stage 3. I don't feel the compromise playing acoustics is large; the "feel" changes a bit -- which is a testament to how well the sound and keys are connected. Interestingly, I found the 1.00 OS slightly better than the 0.92 it came with, but it could also just be me getting accustomed to the instrument.

As for the differences to the Stage 2 EX: The 2 EX is a bit more "sloppy" and have a noisy landing. The 3 appears more "firm" (not heavier) and have a nicer and more soft landing. The Piano 3 has a slightly harder landing, I think. I played all 3 next to each other while waiting for my board to be picked up from the back of the store today, so it was easy to check the differences.

Hope this helps -- it's all quite "fluffy" to describe

[baekgaard]

Will the Stage 3 eat your existing self-made .nsmp files?

The Nord Sound manager only allows you to open .nsmp3 files (when trying to load samples). I haven't tried renaming any (I don't have some on this machine, at least). The sample editor is not yet compatible with the Stage 3.

On the download page it says (for the sound manager): "Attention Nord Stage 3 owners: Nord Sample Library 2.0 files (.nsmp) files can not be transferred to the Nord Stage 3. Compatible sample files will be added soon. Stay tuned!". For the sample editor it says: "Attention Nord Stage 3 owners: This software is currently not compatible with the Nord Stage 3. A compatible version will be released soon. Stay tuned!"

Let's see what that means, but apparently Nord will create a version of their own samples for the Stage 3.

The factory banks and sounds are not yet available for download, so better not delete something at this point, it seems It comes with a "DigiGrand 1 Sml" and "DigiGrand 2 Sml" installed which I don't remember seeing in the library, and also with 4 layer pianos: "Ballad EP1 Sml", "Ballad EP2 Sml", "Silver EP Sml" and "Hybrid EP Sml". Most other pianos are installed, but weirdly enough, the Amber isn't...

[Copia]

Thanks for that amazingly detailed response!