Market for a mid-range ROM-based Nord?

[SteveNordP3]

I could imagine Nord doing a rack mount box with 10 XL pianos - all of which would sound much better than the Kurzweil no doubt. And I would imagine that would be easier to sell (at higher volumes/margins) than another keyboard. But what do I know?

But what good is being able to sell more if you are unable to MAKE them?

The company is thirty or so people — one big family. Last I talked to them, their order books were full a year-and-a-half in advance.

That’s exactly where they want to be.

Then they should stay where they are

They could also easily contract that out under their brand. That Kurzweil MicroPiano was probably $500 if I remember correctly. Tell me there aren’t 100,000 musicians around the globe who wouldn’t gladly shell out $500 for such a Unit. That’s $50,000,000 in revenues. If it costs more than $10,000,000 to design and manufacture I’d be shocked.

But honestly. What do I know?

[CountFosco]

But honestly. What do I know?

Good call. This forum has 25k members, dating back to the highly anticipated release of the Nord Wheel. I'd like to see your back of an envelope workings on 100k.

[SteveNordP3]

But honestly. What do I know?

Good call. This forum has 25k members, dating back to the highly anticipated release of the Nord Wheel. I'd like to see your back of an envelope workings on 100k.

Like I said - what do I know?

First - members of this forum aren’t likely the target market - but...

Back of the napkin - let’s say 1% of the world’s population can play piano at moderate or better levels of expertise. That’s 70,000,000 piano players. Let’s say half can’t afford a $30-200K grand piano or would have an aversion to maintaining an acoustic piano. And let’s say of those 35,000,000 players, 10% (3,500,000) own some form of digital keyboard/controller (and don’t forget schools, recording studios or other businesses like bars, hotels, nightclubs, houses of worship, etc.) and further assume just 10% of them (350,000) are in the market for the holy grail of grand piano sounds but unwilling to drop $3-4K on new hardware to do that. Addressing a third of that market with a $500 magical box of Nord’s best doesn’t seem impossible to me.

Of course - that entire thought process is loaded with assumptions....you gotta start somewhere

In a way - I really don’t care. I’m thrilled with the sounds in my P3 - bummed about the Fatar keybed, and drooling over the Grand - but drooling is about as far as I’ll go for now as the $3K for the P3 was already a stretch - $4K for the Grand (absent getting my full $3K back in a sale of the P3 - back of the envelope there says my odds are better to win the lottery) is out of the question right now.

If I had a controller I loved but wanted truly useable pianos - $500 for the party pack of Nord’s best would be a simple decision!

[PScooter63]

The Market always wants more for less.

Nord (much like Apple) have done a great job positioning themselves as an aspirational brand. Part of that magic is balancing manufacturing capacity with profitability, with a splash of what-the-market-will-bear.

As someone else already stated, midrange is a crowded market already. I cannot see ANY fiscal advantage to Nord joining a race to the midrange, whether directly or by proxy (licensing).

With all due respect, they didn't get where they are today by catering to those who can't quite afford their stuff.

[analogika]

Fully agree with PScooter, it’s not a good idea for a high-class, high-price vendor to move into lower level segments as it jeopardizes the image and value which is associated with the brand.

What I could think of is something like a Nord Lead, Nord Stage or Nord Piano in a desktop/rack format

[maxpiano]

+1 on PScooter's statement, the parallel with Apple is a good one as well as in sports cars many would like to have a cheaper Ferrari or Porsche or Bugatti or... but they haven't done it in decades and likely will never do it... guess why? Luckily there are "mid-range" alternatives, in keyboards and sports cars as well