Please help choosing keyboard

[Jazzclimber]

As far as keybed, again, at 1st glance, waterfall is in the lead , because it seems to provide more flexibility (ragtime is at the top of my piano ambitions right now)

Ragtime on a waterfall...? Good luck... (seriously, if acoustic piano sounds are what you are going to play mostly, then you need a HA)

[Jazzclimber]

I will definitely look at pedals, although I’ll be plenty busy with my hands to start with.

Actually... You really should get a sustain pedal and an expression pedal directly together with the board.
To not get them is almost like buying a car but only adding the accelerator pedal and the steering wheel after a while...
Playing piano without sustain pedal is a no-go.
Playing organ with any feeling without an expression pedal is a no-go.
IMHO.

When I got my Electro 5D I didn't get the expression pedal, and it was almost impossible to tame and learn any bit of organ playing.
Organ only became fun to play after getting the expression pedal.

[cphollis]

As far as keybed, again, at 1st glance, waterfall is in the lead , because it seems to provide more flexibility (ragtime is at the top of my piano ambitions right now)

Ragtime on a waterfall...? Good luck... (seriously, if acoustic piano sounds are what you are going to play mostly, then you need a HA)

My thoughts exactly. However, if you get good at it, I'd suggest posting on Youtube as none of us will believe it until we see it!

[anotherscott]

My 1st impression: perhaps predictably, it’s mostly a Stage-vs-Electro battle, with Stage pulling ahead

There is almost no reason to consider a Stage instead of Electro EXCEPT for the fact that it's a lot less expensive.

since I am a self-professed minimalist I want to get only 1 keyboard. As far as keybed, again, at 1st glance, waterfall is in the lead , because it seems to provide more flexibility

The 88 HA and 73 SW are identical in capability, except for two things. The first one is that 88HA action is much better for piano while the 73 SW feels a lot better for organ. The second is that the drawbars on the 73 are more appealing to most organ-centric players than the button+LED approach of the 88.

I get the impression that you are more piano-focussed than organ-focussed, so then the 88 would make the most sense.

[Jazzclimber]

Super, thanks for educating me guys! That’s exactly why I joined the forum and posted. Obviously, I am not ready anytime soon to play ragtime to save my life, even on a Steinway No problem, - thank you for trying to help me to narrow it down.
Will keep you posted.

[Hlaalu]

the drawbars on the 73 are more appealing to most organ-centric players than the button+LED approach of the 88.

Just my two cents about physical drawbars vs digital ones, since the OP may be well taking this into consideration when choosing which keyboard to get.

An advantage of the LED drawbars is that, when you change your program, you instantly see the new configuration displayed. With phyiscal drawbars, despite them being somewhat cooler to operate manually, you don't have that instant visualization of what their position actually is in the program now active. If the Compact version had mechanically self-adjusting drawbars, then no problem, but who knows if this will ever be implemented by Nord.

Of course the above is true for any knob on the board: you have to use the "monitor" function to see its actual value, but with physical drawbars you'd have yet another control that works in the same fashion. Personally, the fewer, the better. So myself even if I had the possibility to make the drawbars of my 88HA physical, I wouldn't. Just my personal perspective though.

What I thought it was a good idea is the YC61 system, namely physical drawbars but transparent, so with LEDs underneath. In this way you get the best of both worlds.

[Jazzclimber]

Hi Jazzclimber,

having read all the interesting posts and your thoughts here I have the impression your best starter would be the nord grand, if money doesn‘t matter. The keybed gives you best piano feeling. Alternatively, if it has to be a bit cheaper, the nord piano 4. Main focus on piano playing plus the option of playing organ sounds from the samples section. As long as you‘re not starting in a Deep Purple tribute band tomorrow I guess that‘ll give you plenty of pleasure. Curious to here what you‘re going to do. Rainy regards from Germany.

[Jazzclimber]

Very grateful to you guys! The variables are many, but here’s what I am not changing: 1. I am getting only ONE keyboard + pedals; 2. Playing at home=good quality/low amplification/earphones. 3.Piano is important, but so is opportunity to explore, - I love organ, vibraphone, etc. 4. Even though I am an aspiring minimalist, I am a greedy bastard who wants too much 4. I’ll practice & whatever it is, - it’ll be fun. 5. You guys are great! Thank you!!

[fieldflower]

the drawbars on the 73 are more appealing to most organ-centric players than the button+LED approach of the 88.

Just my two cents about physical drawbars vs digital ones, since the OP may be well taking this into consideration when choosing which keyboard to get.

An advantage of the LED drawbars is that, when you change your program, you instantly see the new configuration displayed. With phyiscal drawbars, despite them being somewhat cooler to operate manually, you don't have that instant visualization of what their position actually is in the program now active. If the Compact version had mechanically self-adjusting drawbars, then no problem, but who knows if this will ever be implemented by Nord.

Of course the above is true for any knob on the board: you have to use the "monitor" function to see its actual value, but with physical drawbars you'd have yet another control that works in the same fashion. Personally, the fewer, the better. So myself even if I had the possibility to make the drawbars of my 88HA physical, I wouldn't. Just my personal perspective though.

What I thought it was a good idea is the YC61 system, namely physical drawbars but transparent, so with LEDs underneath. In this way you get the best of both worlds.

I love my 5D, but motorized drawbars would be an absolute KILLER feature!
Although I play way more organ than piano and really use the drawbars I've almost regretted getting the "D" due to the drawbars being in all the wrong places when switching programs.

[anotherscott]

the drawbars on the 73 are more appealing to most organ-centric players than the button+LED approach of the 88.

An advantage of the LED drawbars is that, when you change your program, you instantly see the new configuration displayed. With phyiscal drawbars, despite them being somewhat cooler to operate manually, you don't have that instant visualization

I understand, which is why I said "most" organ centric players. But on the NS3, actually you DO instantly see the new configuration displayed... in the OLED screen.

And for some people, it's not a matter of merely "somewhat cooler to operate manually" but rather that there are certain performance techniques that simply cannot be done with drawbuttons. You can need more precise control over the rate at which you can move a drawbar (which can be ever-changing as you play), the ability to grab a bunch of drawbars at once and "shape" them with a flick of the wrist, etc.

Of course, on a real B3, selecting a preset does not change the drawbar positions, either. (In fact, presets cannot even be live tweaked, as they can with either Nord approach.) Presets call up presets, and drawbars are reserved for the "live" manipulation (though you do get two sets for each manual). The way to best mimic this on a Nord is, if you have a program where you want to be able to do live drawbar manipulation, save that program with the organ's Live Drawbar function engaged (and that organ's Panel as active for editing). Then, any time you select the program, the drawbars are always instantly in the right place and reflecting the current sound. That's another way to address the worry about the drawbars not being in the correct positions for the sound you're playing, and it's essentially what you would do on the real thing.

nord piano 4. Main focus on piano playing plus the option of playing organ sounds from the samples section. As long as you‘re not starting in a Deep Purple tribute band

The organ functionality of the NP4 (or Grand) is nearly non-existent. I mean, if you care at all about organ, you'll run into significant limitations long before you're heavily into organ repertoire. I'm not saying the Piano/Grand might not be sufficient, I just wouldn't want to give him the impression that its organ functionality is anything beyond extremely minimal.