Nord User Forum

I think the OP's main problem is he hasn't taken time to learn how to use the NS3 and is twiddling knobs and button without knowing which does what.

To the OP go to a friend's place use their computer and get on YouTube there are tons of videos to help learn how to operate your NS3. This site has lots of video that will help you learn how to use your NS3 https://www.youtube.com/c/MyKeysToMusic

There are many other videos from Nord and other people, basically computers are how you learn these days.

docbop wrote:I think the OP's main problem is he hasn't taken time to learn how to use the NS3 and is twiddling knobs and button without knowing which does what.

As I understand it, he has not yet tried the Nord, he is merely asking about it. The board he is having rouble with is the Fantom-0.

docbop wrote:I think the OP's main problem is he hasn't taken time to learn how to use the NS3 and is twiddling knobs and button without knowing which does what.

I don’t think so, I think that the OP has not yet purchased a NS3 but looking for information to see if it’s worth replacing his Fantom ….

Edit: anotherscott‘s post was 5 seconds faster but saying the same

Schorsch wrote:

docbop wrote:I think the OP's main problem is he hasn't taken time to learn how to use the NS3 and is twiddling knobs and button without knowing which does what.

I don’t think so, I think that the OP has not yet purchased a NS3 but looking for information to see if it’s worth replacing his Fantom ….

Edit: anotherscott‘s post was 5 seconds faster but saying the same

This is from another of the OPs post and why I said what I did.....

>>>>
I've certainly not found a way to edit anything beyond volume or choosing a particular sound. Nothing I do seems to accomplish anything when making changes to the drawbars or turning knobs. I'm certainly willing to accept that I'm just too dumb for this stuff.
<<<

sepiareverb wrote:I recently upgraded my keyboard from a cheap Yamaha MX61. I was waffling between the Stage 3 and the Roland Fantom 07, ended up with the Fantom. Mistake.

I'm in way over my head with this thing. Not the keys, but the interface on the machine and the computer app that is needed to use the keyboard.

So I am wondering:

• Does the Nord Stage 3 come complete? (ie: Are the sounds already loaded?)

• Can parameters be manipulated on the keyboard via dedicated knobs or sliders?

• Can I happily use the Stage 3 for years without EVER needing to connect it to a computer?

1. Not ALL sounds are loaded, because part of the concept is that you can replace individual pianos or synth samples, or even add your own. For this, you need a Mac or Windows PC (currently; I'm sure we'll see an iPad client at some point).

2. The only things that can be done via PC are creating new samples, adding/deleting/replacing samples and pianos on the Nord, and rearranging your programs into different orders. Everything else — all editing, sound creation, programming, effects — MUST be done on the board itself. There is pretty much a knob or button for every function, with additional functions labelled below (or in little boxes) that you get when you hold the "shift" button.
There are some global parameters like MIDI channels and organ key click "hidden" in system and sound menus — never more than one layer deep —, and some program parameters, like pitch bend range, are found here, also. This means that the initial interface looks super complex, because there's a ton of knobs for everything, but it also means that once you've grokked that, there is no super-deep plumbing going on. You are literally NEVER more than a single menu layer or a shift-button away from ANYTHING you can do on this board. Even keyboard split mode has its own dedicated button.

I can't speak to the Fantom, but having used a Kronos for a while, it felt like I was constantly diving through layers of menus and varying interfaces on a computer running a bunch of VSTs and a mixer program to do even the simplest things like transposing a layer up an octave (probably because that's literally what the Kronos is).
The Kronos, admittedly, can do SO much more than the Stage 3 — but anything the Stage can do, I can get done within 45 seconds, at a rehearsal. (Well, except loading a sample I didn't have, like, say the Mellotron French Horn I needed for a production that one time.)

Incidentally, transposing a particular engine up or down an octave has dedicated buttons on the Stage. Of course.

3. Provided you're fine with the samples that come pre-loaded, that's a resounding YES.

analogika wrote:once you've grokked that

It's amazing how one keeps stumbling upon new words even after years and years of exposure. First time ever I read/hear that word.

sepiareverb wrote:Can I happily use the Stage 3 for years without EVER needing to connect it to a computer?

Something that I haven't seen mentioned yet in this thread is the firmware update process. But the stress goes to the word "need" rather than the word "ever" here, because depending on what the firmware update is addressing, you may well want to, even if you don't strictly need to, update. And of course you need to connect to a PC to do that, because Nords don't have USB ports that act as the host.

I'd also add that, given the extreme simplicity and usefulness of the Nord Sound Manager, I don't see why one wouldn't want to use it. Having a global view of what's in your keyboard is extremely handy, and reorganizing Programs is much more convenient than using the knobs and buttons. I personally hook it to the PC every time I have to rearrange anything, even something minor.

P.S. A trivial thing (but that I find convenient nevertheless):

analogika wrote:The only things that can be done via PC are creating new samples, adding/deleting/replacing samples and pianos on the Nord, and rearranging your programs into different orders.

The copying, replacing, renaming and deleting thing holds true for Programs as well. In fact, deleting can only be done via the Sound Manager, not the board. Creating, on the other hand, can only be done on the board.

Just a fast and simple reply:

sepiareverb wrote: • Does the Nord Stage 3 come complete? (ie: Are the sounds already loaded?)
YES
• Can parameters be manipulated on the keyboard via dedicated knobs or sliders?
YES
• Can I happily use the Stage 3 for years without EVER needing to connect it to a computer?
YES

Most advantages of connecting to a computer have been explained.

Hlaalu wrote:

analogika wrote:once you've grokked

It's amazing how one keeps stumbling upon new words even after years and years of exposure. First time ever I read/hear that word.

The word is Grok, meaning to understand. It came from the 1961 book Stanger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, not that new LOL

-dj

Hlaalu wrote:The copying, replacing, renaming and deleting thing holds true for Programs as well. In fact, deleting can only be done via the Sound Manager, not the board. Creating, on the other hand, can only be done on the board.

You can, of course, save a program into another location on the board itself, effectively copying it there.

And deletion IS possible on the machine itself by initialising a program.

cookie wrote:Stage are meant to be customised !
Therefore a computer IS needed to transfer and organize your sounds.
You can also create and transfer your own samples, but the computer is also required here.

OTOH, even if you never connect it to a computer, just out of the box, the Nord Stage 3 is arguably already among the best and easiest to use boards you can get, especially if you're looking for something specifically to do piano, organ, and VA synth. Connecting it to a computer adds nothing to its organ functions. The computer hookup does provide for alternate pianos, but even as shipped. it's already a better sounding piano than most boards, and any changes you'd make would merely be a matter of personal taste. For VA synth (using VA waveforms, as opposed to samples), connecting to a computer adds nothing, except maybe some user patches you can find on this forum. Patch organization is enhanced via the computer, but you can also do a lot of patch management perfectly well right from the board. I think the biggest thing you lose by not connecting to a computer is the ability to load alternate samples, e.g. if you want more of one type of sampled sound and less of another. But most of the "bread and butter" needs are well represented in the default set as shipped.

Though again, the Fantom-0 doesn't need a computer for much either. I wish there actually were more that you could do with the Fantom from a computer. But as it is, it is only used for adding new sounds. And similar to the Nord, the set of sounds that comes with it are likely to be plenty satisfactory for many users anyway.