OS 1.24 is live at mothership!

[Al_DeKlein]

Analogika: In reference to the "nothing burger" comment, I was referring to v1.24 only, Nord has obviously corrected a TON of issues and I'm grateful for that... it just seems they still have quite a ways to go still.
Fallboard: No I don't have an NS3 yet, but I'm chomping at the bit to upgrade from my NE5D-73... If they can get the B3 a lot closer to the NE5. My guess is that it's going to be v1.3 or v1.4 until they get the organ section updated.
Baekgaard: I do agree a rapid string of small updates is great, it's a matter of how long it takes to get the big updates out, that has me frustrated. If I could afford to keep my NE5 for a couple months, while I get some time in with the NS3, i would. My concern is if the big updates I'm looking for in the organ section are even going to happen.
All: Agreed , I should cut then some slack for being a small company.... that being said, that's why I'm frustrated and think it'll probably be 2018 by the time they get to some of the big updates.

[Leonid]

Question - Does Nord always Tests their hardware with user involnment? Why to release so "not ready" product into live? What is the aim? May be every user shpuld be paid for their time and patience?

[Copia]

This is the best keyboard I've ever played. I have wow moments every night between me, the NS3, and a pair of studio Yamaha HS8s. It's the digital stage piano I've been waiting for after owning multiple Rolands and Nord. Sure, we scrutinize minutiae for improvements on a keyboard user forum, but still (IMO) this keyboard is as good an experience as it gets.

[Gambold]

>This is a company of thirty employees...<
>Agreed , I should cut then some slack for being a small company.<

Let's be fair - this is also a company that charges top $$ for their keyboards and have a business model that promises regular updates and leading technology to justify that price point.

So any valid criticism of either of those two areas is completely within bounds, regardless how many employees they staff.

[Leonid]

>This is a company of thirty employees...<
>Agreed , I should cut then some slack for being a small company.<

Let's be fair - this is also a company that charges top $$ for their keyboards and have a business model that promises regular updates and leading technology to justify that price point.

So any valid criticism of either of those two areas is completely within bounds, regardless how many employees they staff.

Agreed. And thing is - its not an updates which brings something new and makes good keyboard better. It fixing of huge, unbelievably huge list of bugs.

[Gambold]

I can't speak to the Stage 3 in particular since I haven't seen one. Here in the States most of the models are not yet available and one won't be here until 2018. The release of this flagship does seem to be fraught with more than the usual share of problems, based on what I'm seeing here in the forum.

I personally would never buy one because I think they are way too expensive and I'd rather have a separate board for synth if I needed such a thing - which I don't. I like the Electro although when it comes time to upgrade (I have an E4) the Electro 6 is going to need to have turned some corners to get my interest. We'll see!

[anotherscott]

Question - Does Nord always Tests their hardware with user involnment? Why to release so "not ready" product into live? What is the aim? May be every user shpuld be paid for their time and patience?

No complicated software is bug-free. It's always a question of reaching the point of "good enough to ship" and fixing as necessary. That's why you have people who will never use the "1.0" version of anything. Some people should wait. Lots of people are enjoying their NS3 in the mean time, though, and for them, it's better that it is available, than if Nord had kept it off the market until more stuff was fixed (and of course, it's better for Nord's cash flow as well). It's not like it's an unusable board by any means. If there are any deal-killers for someone, they should delay buying (or return, if they already bought). Lots of people are glad it's available, and it's great that Nord is committed to fixes and somewhat responsive to requests for enhancements. There are plenty of boards out there where some functionality is quirky, where odds are it will never be addressed.

[Rusty Mike]

Building on anotherscott's point, Nord is one of the few keyboard builders that understand the investment we make in their products, and continue to offer updates. This is a common practice with Kurzweil as well; often the first OS release of their product is robust but open to improvement. They make good on that by continually adding stability and features based on user feedback and testing. It's part of why they don't turn over products quickly; owners get many solid years of use from the instruments and every new OS release is a significant refresh.

This is in contrast to other keyboard manufacturers who, for the most part, issue a 1.0 release of a product and then move on in two years. It's rare to see Korg, Roland or Yamaha release more than one OS update for any given instrument. There are exceptions, but it's not common practice for them.

The Stage 3 is not in my crosshairs right now (happy Stage 2EX and Electro 4D owner), but it's great to see Nord so diligent in taking user feedback seriously and making constant updates.

[Gospelkeys]

Question - Does Nord always Tests their hardware with user involnment? Why to release so "not ready" product into live? What is the aim? May be every user shpuld be paid for their time and patience?

No complicated software is bug-free. It's always a question of reaching the point of "good enough to ship" and fixing as necessary. That's why you have people who will never use the "1.0" version of anything. Some people should wait. Lots of people are enjoying their NS3 in the mean time, though, and for them, it's better that it is available, than if Nord had kept it off the market until more stuff was fixed (and of course, it's better for Nord's cash flow as well). It's not like it's an unusable board by any means. If there are any deal-killers for someone, they should delay buying (or return, if they already bought). Lots of people are glad it's available, and it's great that Nord is committed to fixes and somewhat responsive to requests for enhancements. There are plenty of boards out there where some functionality is quirky, where odds are it will never be addressed.

I 'm in the "glad it's here" camp. Actively gigging with it and loving it. Also glad that Nord is continuing to bring updates frequently. They are clearly committed to getting this issues addressed.

IThe release of this flagship does seem to be fraught with more than the usual share of problems, based on what I'm seeing here in the forum.

Not based on my experience. Maybe I am just used to it because I tend to buy newly released stuff, but many keyboards I have owned have had similar frequent early O/S updates to address problems. Had similar experiences with Kurzweil, Korg and Hammond. Hammond had some especially serious issues with the launch of their XK-5. Often takes 6 months or so to get all of the bugs flushed out. Best thing to do ( as folks here have been doing ) is to report them. Nord seems to be responding quickly.

As long as it is stable for live performance I am fine with grabbing the updates.

[baekgaard]

No complicated software is bug-free. ...

Agree.

As to @Leonid talking about "unbelievably huge list of bugs" (from another post further above), I'm not so sure. I don't personally have any at all that prevents me from using the instrument for live playing several times a week -- and I think I know many of the old or still existing bugs quite well, from hands-on experience; maybe we've just been more careful in documenting the existing bugs?

Some here have a different use case, and may find the lack of the sample editor preventing them from building the set of sounds they need, or they find the organ to be lacking in various ways as discussed, or have had their MOD wheel fail (as you had, @Leonid), and I respect that, of course! Nobody likes that.