Nord User Forum

If you are gigging and want it all (APs, DPs, B3s, pads, synths, etc.) my current Nirvana is a NS3C above with a NP2 down below, driving the NS3C. The NP2 action is more than reasonable, the NP3 is better and of course then the NP4 (current) and new NG.

The only reason I own a NP4 (and eventually NG) is I do a single-instrument trio gig with two vocalists. A pair of boards is overkill for those gigs. Otherwise, it's the NS3C with the NP2 as a controller. Double bonus -- if the NS3C dies (has never happened), I have a fully featured board to get through the gig in limp mode.

Here is what I like:

- One board, one control surface. Easy access. Strong support from Song Mode.
- A single pair of cables for output. So much simpler that two separate keyboards.
- Looks sharp on stage. Easy schlep factor.
- Expressive enough (given decent amplification) that I relax and do better at what I do.

Not dissing the VPC1 approach, but for a bit more coin ...

The MP7SE has had some negative feedback as far as the keybed goes. It's far from being the keybed of the MP11SE. The VPC1 is more or less the same body as the MP11SE, a bit lighter but still very heavy. However, a bit 'too' minimalistic for my taste.
Still looking at other options, keeping the Nord Stage 3 in mind, but now looking at the Dexibell Vivo S9. Would have to pair it with something that gives me eighties FM sounds, so my options are the Arturia Keylab 61 MkII, the Vox Continental.

The Nord Grand hasn't got the same keyboard as the MP11SE, but more like the one on the MP7SE, as I'm told. So that's out. The Vivo is about the only one that has a keyboard that's nearly as good as the one on the MP11SE (supposedly very quiet, will try and check it out this afternoon at a store).
Anyway, listen to this :

Don't know if the Stage 3 has a better keybed than the Stage 2 but this made me frown.
The Vivo S9 has Fatar's best keybed, the TP400Wood, don't think that there's any Nord using this keybed, or even the normal TP400...

GuiliClayder wrote:The Nord Grand hasn't got the same keyboard as the MP11SE, but more like the one on the MP7SE, as I'm told. So that's out.

In my view, basing a decision on hearing that the NG is more like one you have not heard good things about than another you've heard good things about is maybe a little dangerous.

There are many options out there, and unfortunately we don't all agree on what "the perfect" keyboard is. I have sometimes heard other people recommend some piece of equipment, but once I held it and played it, I was disappointed because of some other criteria that was more important to me.

So -- and I'm just trying to be helpful here -- you should REALLY try out the keyboards yourself and make up your mind based on what YOU think. The NG is NOT identical to either of the MP7 or MP11; they keys are made of plastic (due to weight considerations) and the way it feels and responds to your playing depends not only on the physical keys, but also on how the impact is translated to sound by the rest of the chain.

If you've tried the newer MacBooks, you probably may have thought at some point that the pad has a "click" mechanism built into it. It hasn't -- it's just an actuator that responds to your press -- but we all feel that we pressed the pad down and it clicked in response...

GuiliClayder wrote: Don't know if the Stage 3 has a better keybed than the Stage 2 but this made me frown.

It has; the NS2 is more clunky and noisy than the NS3. They feel quite different (I've tried them next to one another).

GuiliClayder wrote: The Vivo S9 has Fatar's best keybed, the TP400Wood, don't think that there's any Nord using this keybed, or even the normal TP400...

The main reason being weight, I guess -- Nord tries to keep the weight down. If you don't mind the weight and need the portability, get an acoustic grand instead Everything else is a compromise.

Or in fact, even an acoustic grand to be used on a gig is often a compromise, since the maintenance and tuning of it depends on other peoples ideas and resources. In most cases, I prefer to bring my own keys than playing some almost-in-tune acoustic piano...

Anyway, good luck with your hunt. My main point is that you should REALLY try out the keyboards yourself and NOT rely on what I or anyone else likes. Horses for courses, I guess.

Boards I have tried out :
- Kawai MP11SE (haven't tried the VPC-1 but the keybed is nearly as good as the MP11SE, which has the Grand Action feel)
- Dexibell Vivo S9 (Fatar TP400Wood)
- Korg Grandstage (RH3)
- Vox Continental (semi-weighted waterfall)
- Korg SV-1 (Korg RH3)
- Nord Stage 3 (I think it's Fatar TP100LR)

The Kawai MP11SE has the best action, no question. The Dexibell S9 is not far behind. Next are the Korg Grandstage and SV-1. The Nord Stage 3, although very good, has the worst keybed of these (although 'worst' is not the word to use here, the Nord's keybed is still very good).
Roland RD2000 and Yamaha CP88 both have excellent keybeds as well, but I just don't like those boards...
Haven't tried the Kawai MP7SE or any of the other Nord keyboards but for the moment I'm very much drawn to the Dexibell Vivo S9.
Korg SV-1, Grandstage, and yes, also the Nord Stage 3 are all excellent boards, but there's something about that Dexibell that sets it apart. It just oozes quality, even more so than the Nord, I think...

Ok, good - then you have a basis for comparison.

Try the NG if you can. Might come out towards the top still.

The NS3 HA88 and the NP4 is probably a TP40 of some kind (L and M or M and H models respectively). The TP100 is only used in the HP76 models (apart from the NS2 HP, IIRC). But this is not publicly available info, so we can only guess.

Don't forget the sound also - for me, the Nord piano library is extremely completive! It's not just the keybed ...

baekgaard wrote:Don't forget the sound also - for me, the Nord piano library is extremely completive! It's not just the keybed ...

Well, I agree that sounds are very important, but you can always add them through a DAW or sound module or whatever. You can't change the keybed.
So, the keybed is mostly what I look at first. If it doesn't feel right, you can give me all the sounds you want, I won't play it for long...

GuiliClayder wrote: - Nord Stage 3 (I think it's Fatar TP100LR)

There are three models of NS3, and they have three different actions. The 73 (the one with drawbars) is a semiweighted TP8O, the 76 is a TP100, the 88 is some variant of TP40. They feel very different from each other. Which did you try?

GuiliClayder wrote: Roland RD2000 and Yamaha CP88 both have excellent keybeds as well, but I just don't like those boards...

I'm curious about why you didn't like the CP88, since you like the MP11SE. Operationally (layout/ergonomics) and functionally (features), those boards are extremely similar to each other (the biggest difference is that Yamaha has dedicated effects controls, more like the Nords). Since you like both actions, is it that you don't care for the Yamaha sounds? (For some people, travel weight would favor the Yamaha, apparently not an issue in this case though.)

anotherscott wrote:

GuiliClayder wrote: - Nord Stage 3 (I think it's Fatar TP100LR)

There are three models of NS3, and they have three different actions. The 73 (the one with drawbars) is a semiweighted TP8O, the 76 is a TP100, the 88 is some variant of TP40. They feel very different from each other. Which did you try?

GuiliClayder wrote: Roland RD2000 and Yamaha CP88 both have excellent keybeds as well, but I just don't like those boards...

I'm curious about why you didn't like the CP88, since you like the MP11SE. Operationally (layout/ergonomics) and functionally (features), those boards are extremely similar to each other (the biggest difference is that Yamaha has dedicated effects controls, more like the Nords). Since you like both actions, is it that you don't care for the Yamaha sounds? (For some people, travel weight would favor the Yamaha, apparently not an issue in this case though.)

I tried the Nord Stage 88. The keybed is very good, don’t get me wrong, but I liked the Kawai, Korg RH3 and especially the Vivo S9 better, and to be honest, the Stage 3 looks daunting when you first look at it. Lots of knobs and buttons, which suggest a ‘hands-on’ approach but the truth is that you can do so much with this board that I don’t think I want to bother with the learning curve, not with any keyboard, really. I have recently owned 2 workstations, a Roland FA-08 and an Korg Krome EX 88, and two arrangers, a Korg PA700 and PA1000, and I sent all of them back. Not because they weren’t good boards, far from it. And I thought that’s what I was looking for. In the end, though, I want a keyboard, not a computer.

Anyway, RD2000 excellent keyboard as you say, but the interface is just too busy for me. The CP88 has kind of an ‘industrial’ look which I just don’t want to have to look at every day. Very good keybed, yes, but the way it looks doesn’t do it for me. The MP11SE has a lot more style and quality to it, I think. Very subjective, I know.
Besides, just talking about pianos and EP’s, I prefer Korg’s. Dexibell and Nord second. Then Roland, then Yamaha.
Of course, they’re all very very close and none of these boards has bad sounds, but we all have our preferences

I’m just deciding what’s really important to me and what I can do without, sound wise and key action wise.
In the running: Korg SV-1, Vox Continental, Korg Grandstage, Dexibell Vivo S9, Dexibell Combo J7, and a MIDI controller, the Arturia Keylab 61 MkII, which I could pair with the Vivo S9 (Vox, Combo J7 are also meant to be used as a second tier). And I’m just going to take another look at the Nord Grand.
Got my work cut out for me...

GuiliClayder wrote:there's something about that Dexibell that sets it apart. It just oozes quality, even more so than the Nord, I think...

Ive spent a bit of time testing these Dexibells out as Im always curious when something new comes along to see what the fuss is about. I wrote a thread in the 'other boards' section a bit ago about the pre S9 Dexibell models that I was looking into, as on paper one board in particular seemed to be one to snap up.. decided not to in the end.

I spent a bit of time with the S9 in Bonners not so long ago and I cant say it gave me a lot extra to come and write about. I still felt the AP samples felt like EQ'd versions of each other... very Roland like, the EP's were bland.
Can I ask what is it that you felt was so good about the keybed as to be honest I felt there was little difference to the TP40 setup in the NS3. If you look at the diagrams of the fatar cross sections between the TP40 / TP400 there seems to be very little difference in how the actions appear to be set up. http://www.fatar.com/Pages/TP_40_GH_ES.htm

The NS3 is a hard platform to beat, yes it may not have what is deemed to be 'the best' of every feature, but for an all rounder its the king of the hill

kirsty wrote:

GuiliClayder wrote:there's something about that Dexibell that sets it apart. It just oozes quality, even more so than the Nord, I think...

Ive spent a bit of time testing these Dexibells out as Im always curious when something new comes along to see what the fuss is about. I wrote a thread in the 'other boards' section a bit ago about the pre S9 Dexibell models that I was looking into, as on paper one board in particular seemed to be one to snap up.. decided not to in the end.

I spent a bit of time with the S9 in Bonners not so long ago and I cant say it gave me a lot extra to come and write about. I still felt the AP samples felt like EQ'd versions of each other... very Roland like, the EP's were bland.
Can I ask what is it that you felt was so good about the keybed as to be honest I felt there was little difference to the TP40 setup in the NS3. If you look at the diagrams of the fatar cross sections between the TP40 / TP400 there seems to be very little difference in how the actions appear to be set up. http://www.fatar.com/Pages/TP_40_GH_ES.htm

The NS3 is a hard platform to beat, yes it may not have what is deemed to be 'the best' of every feature, but for an all rounder its the king of the hill

I found the S9's keybed to be a bit smoother, and a bit 'quieter' with the sound off, but this is always difficult to tell when you're in a store where it's never really completely quiet. Or it's just personal preference, it's all very subjective.
I'm quite allergic to keybed noise (clacky keys) which I find very annoying.

Have a listen to this :