Nord User Forum

iceman2130 wrote:I play in a band once per year. Looking for it to fit in my suit case and avoid a road case. I currently have a Yamaha P-80 that has simple click to switch sounds - Strings, Piano, Jazz Organ, E Piano. That's really all I need. The venues we play provide a piano, I just need something small for these auxiliary sounds in some tunes.

If I go with something with an iPad app - is there a latency issue? How does that work? Thanks for the replies so far everyone! I haven't gigged in about 20 years, and the tech has changed!

i've never used one of these apps in anger, but i did try the basic version of Korg Module on my iPhone just to see what it was like, and i was quite impressed: the sample quality is good and there was no noticable latency or stuttering or other audio issues. you've also got some high quality virtual instruments (pianos, organs, etc.) on iPad now. i tested with a Yamaha P-125 digital piano, which has a built-in audio interface so all you need is a USB cable (i wish Nord had this, it's so useful...), but you can buy dedicated iPad/iPhone audio interfaces that include MIDI in and audio out; you connect a MIDI controller to the MIDI in, and the audio out goes to your mixer / PA / whatever. over on the MPN forum there's a number of people who are using iPads on stage now for extra sounds. (edit to add: you can also use normal PC/Mac audio interfaces like Focusrite or Behringer with iDevices - the advantage of the dedicated iDevice ones is they're a bit smaller and use less power, so you don't need a powered USB hub.)

CountFosco wrote:Casio SA-77, Yamaha PSS-F30...never looked in this part of Thomann's keyboard range before - cool

i've seen quite a few good reviews of the newer low-end Casio keyboards - they're not the first thing that comes to mind for "professional quality sounds", but maybe it would work for what OP needs, especially if a piano sound isn't a requirement.

27" isn't much to work with. Since you'll playing one handed, maybe a melodica or accordion?

I’ve never used this but have seen it online. A folding 88-key keyboard with MIDI over USB which, with the right cable converters, would let you use something like the Korg PlugKey to access Korg Module or Ravenscroft 275 or other piano apps on an iPhone or iPad - or other sound units for iOS like organs, synths, etc.

It’s an option - I can’t vouch for whether it’s a good one or not. Good luck!

Purely based on size: Korg Wavestate. Haven't tried it myself, but Korg has some great instruments.
Only 22,24", three octaves, full size keys.

catosim wrote:Purely based on size: Korg Wavestate. Haven't tried it myself, but Korg has some great instruments.
Only 22,24", three octaves, full size keys.

I thought about wavestate and other compact synths, but wasn't sure if any of them would have good quality sounds for what was mentioned in the initial post (piano, strings, horns). Seeing in a subsequent post that the venue will have a piano (so maybe the piano sound itself is not important), that increases the odds that some kind of synthier keyboard might work okay. Korg also has the FM-based Opsix which might be their better compact synth for the kinds of sounds mentioned, only based on my experience with the old DX7.

may be Nord Pedal Keys 27 !