This 'unofficial' Forum is dedicated to the Clavia Nord Keyboards, including the Nord Stage, Nord Electro and Nord Piano. Discuss any issues around Nord's keyboards, share your favorite patches, samples, and music. We are not affiliated with Clavia!
I have yet to try the right channel only for the piano sounds on my E3 and I'll test that option out. My E3 has labeled left channel out for mono and also has the mono button so I guess the button will work for the right channel only out.
Ideally the piano sounds are much better using two speakers for stereo separation. I'd like to comment on something others were talking about in other posts even though it isn't part of the OP issue. I've been trying to figure this issue out for some time and excuse me for going OT.
I would gladly haul my two powered speakers to a gig even if for my enjoyment of stereo monitoring my keys. However, if I need to run my keys through the house PA also, then there is sometimes a problem. If I need to give the FOH a single output (if the FOH is mono), then it seems my nice stereo sounds will eventually be summed to mono for the FOH, unless I give them a right and left channel to be panned left and right. Panning could be a problem unless those listening are more in the center of the room. So I've been trying come up with some overall solution for hearing my keys in stereo and producing a good sound for the audience.
Nord Electro 3 73, Casio PX-5s, Yamaha SY85, 2 QSC K8.2s, A&H ZED10 FX Mixer, ART TubeMP preamp
@damasp: If you could feed the FOH only one of the Nord channels, it will be treated as a mono channel and will appear in the centre of the the PA. You will hear the stereo piano through your speakers and the audience will hear in mono (left tor right channel, whichever you chose) through the PA. You only need to sort out a way of splitting one of the outputs of your keyb. Suggestion: check if your speakers have a "line output"; if so you could send a cable from that to the FOH. If not, you could get a DI box with an "amp output" so the 1 channel (now balanced) signal from the di box goes to the FOH and the unbalanced extra output from the DI box goes to one of your amps.
If all this is too complicated, you could always use a microphone in front of one of your speakers to to to the FOH.
I think the right channel sounds very slightly better with my set up, but 90% of the time I'm in stereo.
Why not try both, and see which you prefer? You won't do the board or speakers any harm, and if you listen while playing yourself, then get someone else to play while you listen from the FOH, your mind will be made up.
Mr_-G- I've been thinking about your reply to my post. I do have line outs on my speakers and I could send a line to the FOH from one of them. I guess given the choice the right channel, right speaker would probably be a good choice since I'm hearing that it's brighter for acoustic pianos. Or giving the FOH a right channel output from my mixer then into their DI box.
A question that comes to mind; would the mono sound coming from a right or left channel output be as good a quality as pressing the mono button on the keyboard? Pressing the mono button would not be an option if I was using stereo monitoring. Would there be a compromise between using a mono output vs. mono output and using the mono button?
Thanks, Steve
Nord Electro 3 73, Casio PX-5s, Yamaha SY85, 2 QSC K8.2s, A&H ZED10 FX Mixer, ART TubeMP preamp
The MONO button definitively changes the sound (@DJKeys I think you are basically right, but I would add that samples can be in stereo (e.g., user created ones), plus obviously the Leslie Sim).
On the Grand Piano it makes sense that the R output has a brighter tone since it emulates the higher(=brighter) keys on the Right of the player to be louder.
I agree that having a stereo monitor mix is something nice on stage, but I definitively would want to play in MONO mode if sending a mono mix to the FOH, which might create a problem. But as long as you have your own balanced output signal via your monitors or DI box, I never cama across a sound guy telling me that Stereo was NOT an option (only if they only had ONE DI box for some reason, in case you don't bring your own or have balanced out from your monitors).
These users thanked the author Johannes for the post:
I'm planning to play the Nord stage 2 with a Roland kc-550. The roland has left and right inputs for each channel but only one speaker. Should I activate mono mode or not?
SimonT wrote:I'm planning to play the Nord stage 2 with a Roland kc-550. The roland has left and right inputs for each channel but only one speaker. Should I activate mono mode or not?
I have a similar question.
I have an onstage submixer for my electro 3 and wave.
I connect the keyboards to two stereo channels of the mixer and send a stereo output (the control room output) on two different inputs of my onstage monitor and another stereo output (the main one) to the house.
Is it wrong?
I notice a strange acoustic piano sound from my monitor, not distorted, but strange. Every other sound work well.
I thought that this was my amplifier's issue. I own a harkte km-60 which I use as on onstage monitor.
I 've loaded the large bosendorfer file on my E3. Should I play piano in mono mode?
