Nord User Forum

Also iu noticed a stereo input in the qsc? Should I use that?

Hi kozmo,

one qsc amp resp. active speaker ain‘t enough, even if you use its stereo input. I‘d recommend two, a pair of amped speakers such as your qsc to reproduce finest piano sounds. Doesn‘t need to be 12“ - even the 10“ is quite nice.

You‘ll find various threads here about stereo vs. mono piano piano amplification. In mono it takes off a lot of it.

Regards from Germany

Tasten-Bert wrote:Hi kozmo,

one qsc amp resp. active speaker ain‘t enough, even if you use its stereo input. I‘d recommend two, a pair of amped speakers such as your qsc to reproduce finest piano sounds. Doesn‘t need to be 12“ - even the 10“ is quite nice.

You‘ll find various threads here about stereo vs. mono piano piano amplification. In mono it takes off a lot of it.

Regards from Germany

Thanks for responding. Can I plug it directly into the 2 qsc amps or do I need to run through a mixer?

I use a Mackie 802 vlz3 mixer with a pair of QSC K8.2's....it's nice to have the mixer to be able to EQ for different rooms and settings. Also with the mixer I have a single line out that goes to FOH. I had the QSC CP8's which are 1000 watts each. They sounded good but the 8.2's really sound like a more expensive spearker.... a lot cleaner and sound great. They are 2000 watts each. I dont think you'd be disapponted with a pair of 8.2's.

ok thanks for the help....

kozmo wrote:Thanks for responding. Can I plug it directly into the 2 qsc amps or do I need to run through a mixer?

Rufus‘ answer is good, but nevertheless can you also plug your nord directly in the two qsc amps - left out to one and right out to the other.

Cheers

kozmo wrote:Thanks for responding. Can I plug it directly into the 2 qsc amps or do I need to run through a mixer?

There are two ways I already connected my K8.2s to the Nord Stage 3:
a) directly KB audio-out - monitors line-in or
b) KB audio-out - DI box audio-in + DI box pass-through - monitors line-in.
I use simple jack cables (TS).

There are way more connections possible: A mixer has the advantage to adjust gain, too. Apart from EQing, it would also help to sum up several keyboards for FOH. You can also try to get a monitor mix from FOH (in stereo, if possible). Which would be with via XLR cables, of course.

I haven't used the EQ presets in the K8.2s yet - just used them with a flat response curve. They would rather help to use the monitors with other sources or as a floor wedge.

If you plug directly from the Nord to any QSC K.2, you may find that the line level isn't sufficient, so you have to set the K.2 input sensitivity to "mic" instead of "line". There's plenty of level that way, just remember to set it back when you're done.

When using my K8.2s (or similar) for keys only, I put them on a pair of short poles over my shoulders and use the default (flat) setting. The short poles (Yorkville SKS-02B) are quite useful and inexpensive. It's much better than using floor monitors.

kozmo wrote:So when I started this thread I had a 5d...now I have a stage 3 and man its fantastic through a set pf head phones but through the 12.2 it just sounds awful. Should I use plug directly from the keyboard into the amp? And should I plug into it using both Nord outputs?

What am I missing...its doesnt really sound like a piano...its soooo good in the phones

I usually run my QSCs on the “Live Bright” preset when using them as an amp for the Nord. Helps clean up the low end, especially on the 12.2s.

I use either a pair of K10.2s, a pair of K12.2s, or a Roland KC-880 depending on the situation.

andymay wrote:If you're on a slightly tighter budget, I picked up a Yamaha Stagepass (the little one) last year and it sounds pretty great with the NS2. Certainly it blew any amp and any single-speaker setup I tried out of the water.

Seems kinda overkill to use a whole mini PA but you could easily spend as much on an amp that sounds worse!

cheers
A

I go with you on that. When mono is enough, Yamaha has also one of those speakers in a monitor-style arrangement with the mixer detachable in the back. Good sound for size and price and good for small stages. The mixer also makes a stage mixer obsolete, to get several keyboards together.