Could I, should I upgrade to NS3?

[anotherscott]

As of the 1.32 OS update and the nsmp3 sample converter, I can see no real drawbacks to the NS3 (I have the Compact).

For the most part, I agree, but there are a handful of features/capabilities of the NS2 that are absent on the NS3, which could be critical for some people thinking about upgrading. Lost features include the dedicated Bank buttons (which meant you could instantly select any of 20 favorites sounds with two button presses, now you only have consistent, instant access to 5); the ability to assign a different MIDI channel to each instrument (piano/organ/synth); the Pending Load feature; the original Dual KB mode that let you play slot/panel 1 while tweaking the sound assigned to an external keyboard on slot/panel 2; the latch/KB gate functions. Of course, the NS3 adds a lot more than it takes away, including some things that make some of the absences perhaps not as as severe as they might be because of something similar you can do instead, but there are definitely some things you could do on the old that you can't do on the new.

[DanielD71]

As of the 1.32 OS update and the nsmp3 sample converter, I can see no real drawbacks to the NS3 (I have the Compact).

For the most part, I agree, but here are a handful of features/capabilities of the NS2 that are absent on the NS3, which could be critical for some people thinking about upgrading. Lost features include the dedicated Bank buttons (which meant you could instantly select any of 20 favorites sounds with two button presses, now you only have consistent, instant access to 5); the ability to assign a different MIDI channel to each instrument (piano/organ/synth); the Pending Load feature; the original Dual KB mode that let you play slot/panel 1 while tweaking the sound assigned to an external keyboard on slot/panel 2; the latch/KB gate functions. Of course, the NS3 adds a lot more than it takes away, including some things that make some of the absences perhaps not as as severe as they might be because of something similar you can do instead, but there are definitely some things you could do on the old that you can't do on the new.

Exactly, for me the different midi channel per instruments is a big lost...but still really like my new board.

[analogika]

As of the 1.32 OS update and the nsmp3 sample converter, I can see no real drawbacks to the NS3 (I have the Compact).

For the most part, I agree, but there are a handful of features/capabilities of the NS2 that are absent on the NS3, which could be critical for some people thinking about upgrading. Lost features include the dedicated Bank buttons (which meant you could instantly select any of 20 favorites sounds with two button presses, now you only have consistent, instant access to 5);

You have two-button access to 10, not 5 (page up/down is just one button), plus another five when you switch to Song Mode. Or ten in song mode plus another five when you exit Song Mode. That's not quite seamless, as I believe when you switch out of Song Mode, it switches to the bank where the current sound is saved.

[DJKeys]

I guess it depends on individual needs. I never use dual KB mode, pending load, or the latch feature. Song Mode takes care of the Bank select issues for me as well.

-dj

[anotherscott]

the dedicated Bank buttons (which meant you could instantly select any of 20 favorites sounds with two button presses, now you only have consistent, instant access to 5);

You have two-button access to 10, not 5 (page up/down is just one button) {etc}

Yes, and there are similar "tricks" on the NS2 to go beyond 20, but the key to what I was talking about was the word "consistent." On the NS2, you could set it up so, for example, A1 is always piano, B2 is always strings... there are 20 such combinations. That is, no matter what sound you're playing, B1 will always bring you to strings. As soon as you incorporate a button like page up or down, it's no longer consistent. You may have to press page up or page down (or no page button at all) to get to your next sound depending on what sound you're currently playing. There's no two-button combination that will get you to the desired sound 100% of the time no matter what sound your playing. The idea is that you don't have to be cognizant of where your desired sound is relative to your current sound. No matter what, you hit B1, and you've got strings, A1 always brings you to piano, etc., for your 20 most frequently used sounds.

[GeeDeWee]

Ha GeeDeWee,

I made the same change (NS2 --> NS3) and now I'm changing back to the NS2 (!). Despite the great specs of the NS3, they did IMHO 1 thing very wrong: changed the velocity curve response. Drove me crazy, I haven't enjoyed playing for months... .

To be clear, I'm talking about the piano response/velocity curve, any piano (grant, electric, etc). On the NS3, they all have a quite hard velocity response, that you could best compare by setting the keyboard touch to '2' on your EX2-88. The result is that whatever you play, it all sounds hard/loud and it is very difficult to play with a lot of dynamics (loud and soft). To play soft, you really have to play *very* soft and to get the max velocity out of the NS3, you really have to hammer the keyboard.

Since yesterday I have both machines at home (NS3-88 and NS2EX-88) so I can make quite a good comparison. It is since months that I've enjoyed playing again...on the NS2ex.

And the irritating part is that it is only a simple curve - setting, that could be adapted by Nord within just a few minutes work. They did the same for the NS2 in 2015.... Still hope they will do it in an upgrade

So my advice: Go to a dealer and play the NS3 for an hour or so and see if you're happy with it (or buy it at Bax so you have 2 months to test . As others on this forum have commented before: The keyboard-feel is quite a personal thing, it might not be an issue for you.

Thanks for your insights.
Well, that sounds bad for me. I really liked the NS2 os upgrade where the curve got harder (so it became harder to reach full loudness). I almost never set the curve lighter, except when playing an EP to get some bite or barke more easy. Maybe it's the classical piano background.

[GeeDeWee]

Maybe a NS3 compact paired with an 88HA controller is not such a bad idea.

[themixtape]

Hmm, I wasn't aware of that bank limitation and no longer being able to put a sound onto different midi channels for each part (up to 6?) Why have they gotten rid of this? I sold my Stage 2 EX due to bills, and am looking to do a payment plan on a Stage 3 76... but, ugh... hmm....

[solmaster]

The increased polyphony, song mode and especially seamless transitions are almost worth the upgrade alone!

[themixtape]

True.... but will Nord fix the velocity problem for the pianos? It seems like every single curve is too sensitive... you can't get softer piano notes with even the softest curve?