Ten Shortcomings of the S3

[CountFosco]

One horn plus the clap is all I get

Bummer man. Hope your insurance covers that.

[analogika]

One horn plus the clap is all I get

Bummer man. Hope your insurance covers that.

[LeftyBass68]

I have both HA88 and Compact.Stage 3's are unequaled at their respective expertise.No matter how much we want to work with only one keyboard the fact remains, most like two.
If I'm playing only one 'band' set? I take the Compact.A longer show,playing piano? I take the 88.When I perform in the 'horn band' I use both!
Will be testing/auditioning a Yamaha MODX8,at that price point with only aftertouch missing from the flagship Motif's menu it might be the best choice.
The new Roland Fantom is pricey by comparison,might be justified,they arrive at local stores soon,will audition it.
For pianos,organs it is hard to improve on the Stage 3 in a live performance.
Recording studio is a 'whole 'nother 'thang'.....at my last sessions I used a C2D/Leslie and a Steinway 'O'.

[kbmatson]

The new Roland Fantom is pricey by comparison,might be justified,they arrive at local stores soon,will audition it.

I've had my Fantom 6 for a few days now - loving it so far - beautiful, well built keyboard - and great complement to the S3. Here's my take so far ...

1- Nord Organ destroys Fantom - the Roland is just using the same old ancient Rompler organ sounds from 30 years ago - awful
2 - Piano/EP - have not fully explored, but overall impression is "very nice" but I think I like the Nord better so far. Some S3/Fantom layers might be in order.
3 - haven't tried clavs or other acoustic instruments much except horns/strings - lol - Fantom horns/strings are killer!
4 - Roland Synth is pretty dang impressive - I love the one in the S3 - but the Fantom ... holy crap .....
5 - Set/up/splits/etc - Fantom destroys the Nord. 16 - that's SIXTEEN - zones that can be split/layered/overlapped/whatever all you want - and with basically unlimited polyphony
6 - The new keyboard (keybed) on the Fantom 6 is superb - best synth action keyboard I've ever touched in my life.
7 - Then all the workstationy stuff Nord doesn't even attempt - advanced arpeggiator, sequencer, DAW control, rhythm patterns, drum kits, etc. etc. etc.

I'm REALLY happy I have both - and that's my planned "keeper" setup for awhile!

[LeftyBass68]

I have both HA88 and Compact.Stage 3's are unequaled at their respective expertise.No matter how much we want to work with only one keyboard the fact remains, most like two.
If I'm playing only one 'band' set? I take the Compact.A longer show,playing piano? I take the 88.When I perform in the 'horn band' I use both!
Will be testing/auditioning a Yamaha MODX8,at that price point with only aftertouch missing from the flagship Motif's menu it might be the best choice.
The new Roland Fantom is pricey by comparison,might be justified,they arrive at local stores soon,will audition it.
For pianos,organs it is hard to improve on the Stage 3 in a live performance.
Recording studio is a 'whole 'nother 'thang'.....at my last sessions I used a C2D/Leslie and a Steinway 'O'.

Interesting rig. I just bit the bullet and ordered an NS3C to use as a backup/alternate to my NS3-88. I'm trying a MODX7 which IMHO has sounds and functionality far beyond its price. Unfortunately, there is no way I can reasonably re-create all the customized sounds, splits, morphs and multi programs per song I use on my NS3-88. Outside of updating a few songs that use notes below E1 or above E7, I'm expecting the NS3C to be plug-and-play with a backup/restore.

I hate to return such a great piece of equipment like the MODX, but I have no practical use for it. Feel free to reach out with any questions while I still have it. The v2.0 firmware release should be a great update.

[LeftyBass68]

I have auditioned the MODX8 on headphones in less than ideal enviro,will rent one I suppose.
Will audition the 'all new' Fantom with headphones in the same store....and try to rent that one too.
Won't be buying either until they have been heard and played at a gig!

Wish the controllers (midi#) menu on the Nord Stage 3 'internals' was larger.Hands free switching synth 'poly' to 'legato/mono' would be nice.
At this time I'm using the 'patch' change pedal to toggle a single controller,#49.
Although it works,I'd like to adjust the one controller with a pedal without changing patches.

[hernjov1]

I have seen a lot of NS3 owners using a two board combo with A-1 as the top keyboard which would be killer in a live application, but that a lot of coin going on there.... Guess if I was going to go that route. I would venture to buy a different brand add on board that has different sounds and capabilities....

[DJKeys]

I have seen a lot of NS3 owners using a two board combo with A-1 as the top keyboard which would be killer in a live application, but that a lot of coin going on there.... Guess if I was going to go that route. I would venture to buy a different brand add on board that has different sounds and capabilities....

I have that exact setup. The A1 is very flexible and, with programming, is capable of a wide range of sounds. Plus, a performance can consist of up to 4 separate patches (I use this a lot) which can be changed with a single button click. This works great for me, as I have essentially 6 synths possible on multiple keyboard zones using both the NS3 and the A1.

I do understand wanting to have a board with different sound and character from the Nord, but after having other second boards such as Virus TI2, Prophet 6, I just love the sound of the A1. I am always listening to the sounds of new products such as Hydra, Modal, etc. but the A1 just sounds much richer to me.

Just my opinion.

-dj

[Wlevinson]

My only real complaint: I route my organ to output 3 because I send it to a Ventilator. But that output has no reverb. I use delay. And that works OK. But I would like to have reverb on outputs three and four. I do not know why those outputs are dry all the time. Help!

[Wlevinson]

My only real complaint: I route my organ to output 3 because I send it to a Ventilator. But that output has no reverb. I use delay. And that works OK. But I would like to have reverb on outputs three and four. I do not know why those outputs are dry all the time. Help!