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Re: Is Nord products "blind friendly" ?
Posted: 16 Apr 2019, 10:29
by fieldflower
I wonder if it could be helpful to have an iPad connected by MIDI to select programs.
It's still a screen, but a much bigger screen.
Ideally if it would be possible to have an app that would have high contrast or bright color (whichever is easier to see) big selection options to select sounds and scroll between sounds.
I have exactly zero MIDI app skills, but if this doesn't exist yet someone should definitely invent it. Modifiable simple UI to select program changes for MIDI send.
It should be useful for anyone visually impaired (but not totally blind), for just about any keyboard and probably other music scenario.
Re: Is Nord products "blind friendly" ?
Posted: 17 Apr 2019, 11:31
by kisyq
lawman wrote:Hi, Kisyq,
You've gotten a lot of good advice here, and I'd like to throw in my two cents' worth. To answer your original question, I don't believe that the ability to see the OLED screen display is necessary in order to enjoy basic functionality. I have a Nord Piano 4, which is simpler to operate than a Stage or an Electro, but that seems to be a difference in degree, not in kind, and certain overlapping operational principles can be helpful. JayDee and CRClemens have it exactly right. You can prep your instrument with the help of a sighted friend so that the sounds and combinations of sounds (known as "Programs" in Nordspeak) that are important to you are accessible by turning or pressing a small number of knobs and buttons, which you can mark with common rounded 1 cm rubber bumpers (used on cabinet doors). The same goes for the most essential adjustable settings (on the NP4, for instance, those might be Piano vs. Sample sound volumes, Reverb level, Equalization, and the two sets of Special Effects such as Tremolo and Phaser, which can be cycled through with a couple of buttons, and anything else you would consider key). The Nords come preloaded with a lot of excellent factory sounds and over time (after you've familiarized yourself with your instrument) you can replace them with others available in the Nord Sound Libraries (again with the help of a friend). Since I mentioned cycling through the FX buttons, I might also add that (again, in the NP4) all of the Piano sounds can be cycled through by just turning one knob, and likewise for the Sample sounds. As for the combination Program sounds, they can be easily organized so that your main sounds are simple to call up. Since you have no problem with knobs and buttons, as a practical matter you should be able to operate a Nord and achieve 80% of the functionality you could want. Which ain't bad. I certainly don't use or need all of the bells and whistles on my NP4. Good luck and Happy Jamming.
ps: As you mentioned using your phone to "zoom" in on text, have you considered a glass reading magnifier, either handheld or flexmounted?
Yes, I think you are right. I have to be realistic, I can't use 100% of the keyboard but 80% would be already awsome as you said !
Yes, I already tried to use a magnifying glass a long time ago but the zoom is not big enough, that's why I use my phone today because I can zoom in and out very easily.
fieldflower wrote:I wonder if it could be helpful to have an iPad connected by MIDI to select programs.
It's still a screen, but a much bigger screen.
Ideally if it would be possible to have an app that would have high contrast or bright color (whichever is easier to see) big selection options to select sounds and scroll between sounds.
I have exactly zero MIDI app skills, but if this doesn't exist yet someone should definitely invent it. Modifiable simple UI to select program changes for MIDI send.
It should be useful for anyone visually impaired (but not totally blind), for just about any keyboard and probably other music scenario.
Yes, It would be awsome ! You can zoom, inverse colors on Ipad, this would be very helpful !
Re: Is Nord products "blind friendly" ?
Posted: 17 Apr 2019, 11:39
by kisyq
JayDee wrote:I think Fieldflower may have a useful suggestion. You program your favorite sounds or combination of sounds into a set list and you memorize what each number contains, for example: #1 has electric piano and a string pad, #2 is an organ, #3 a grand piano layered with a harmonica etc. etc. This is of course a hypothetical list. The actual instrument, or layered instruments combination, and their order number are up to you. Maybe this could work for you. Welcome K.
Yes, I think it to !
The most difficult will be the beginning, to understand how everything works.
Once this is done, I will have a practical organization and it will be perfect!
Oh ! I did not know him ! Thank you !
I sent him a mail.
Re: Is Nord products "blind friendly" ?
Posted: 20 Apr 2019, 23:30
by Siriosys
Hi Kisyq,
I'm also partially blind and currently own a Nord Stage 2. Having previously owned a number of other instruments, the Nord has been the absolute easiest to navigate and memorize of all of the slabs I've owned (Roland RD700SX, Korg SV-1, Roland JDi). I can't read the button text, however the LED's are bright enough that I can at least tell if something is on or off and with the Organ, the LED's are bright enough that I can judge where the stops are at. I've owned my NS2 since they were first released and the reason I still have it, is that it's so much easier to use than the menu-diving slabs mentioned above.
The NS3 and later Electos have a much higher contrast OLED display than the NS2, which you could potentially navigate through at home when practising to memorize where things are, either with a sheet magnifier, or as some have suggested, the use of an iPad (either to directly control via MIDI, or using the camera to greatly magnify the display).
Rest assured, learning the button layouts will be a breeze for you! It's a very logical setup and I've managed to get the most out of my instrument without any compromises because of my sight and I'm pretty sure you'll feel the same way once you've spent some time with the instrument. Set lists on the NS3 could be done with a foot-switch. once you've spent time at home getting them saved.
The button and knob layout on all the Nord gear makes for extremely easy "sightless" playing - most knobs that aren't rotary encoders have a notch on them which is easy to feel.
So to answer your question directly - Is it Blind Friendly?....... Hell yes it is. OH, Get the NS3! You won't regret it.
Re: Is Nord products "blind friendly" ?
Posted: 31 Dec 2025, 11:01
by denizsincar29
Hello all! I am blind and baught a Nord piano 6. And I am facing the same problem. I've created a [topic](
viewtopic.php?t=27173) for that.
Re: Is Nord products "blind friendly" ?
Posted: 09 Jan 2026, 16:11
by lalexander2025
From my own experience as a fully blind user, I've owned various nord keyboards and racks.
The short answer is, For the most part yes...
This is a very tactile design for most of the range, although drawbar states from the nord stage 3 and similar non fader drawbars, you wouldn't be able to determine if you are non light dependent, where abouts your settings are.
The nice thing about the stage 4, wave 2, etc is how tactile they are, yes, you do need to learn the layout, so sighted help or some proper descriptive guides would help here, but other than that, it's easy enough to do most things with.
There is only one downside, although I can't confirm this with Windows, because I am a mac user. The Nord sample editor 4x and Nord sound manager 9.16 for mac are not blind friendly, they do not support VoiceOver, which in itself can be a real pain, so sighted help would be needed. I have sent feedback on this to Nord, but they're not very receptive to this and it is a concern, but that said, I use my stage 4 and wave 2 for production and session work.
lew