Nord User Forum

So I've had the Stage 4 for 2 days. I do think I made the right choice.

I'm not much of an organ player, but I'm surprised how much I'm drawn to that section. Its a lot of fun to layer that softly under a piano. I picked up the chord sheet for Green Onions and was happy with how close I could dial in that organ sound.

The pianos are exactly as I left them on my Grand... I just had to realize that the preset library seemed to apply different/more effects to them, but when I initialized a White Grand, it sounded perfect. Also, not sure why, but the Royal Grand on my Nord Grand always sounded a bit weird. On the second 'D' above center 'C', there was an odd artifact in the sound that could have just been an imperfection in the actual instrument they sampled from or something, and while its still there on the Stage 4, it seems less pronounced, and doesn't bother me the same way.

I think the synth section is a bit overwhelming. I've played a bit with a Korg Prologue before, and that made sense, but here I'm struggling a bit... I did figure out how to init everything and start building with pure signals, which is what I'm after, but I think I need to just spend more time with it. The FM synth stuff, though, I'm clueless on. I somewhat figured out that the harmonic section was what I was looking for, but then I started picking different options, but everything seemed to sound the same. I might need to actually read the manual there. If anyone has a good reference video or website about it, I'd happily take the recommendation.

On a final note about why I picked against the Yamaha:
I saw that the montage is going to have a complete software version dropping in 2024, which makes it a possibility to just plug into the Stage. Oh, and the weight difference between the two wasn't a consideration, since I rarely move them.

I've got both the Stage 4 and the Montage M8x.

The Montage keyboard action is slightly heavier.
Both are weighted enough to play Pianos expressively... and still be able to play fast synth runs.
The Stage 3 and Stage 4 keyboards are the only 88-weighted keybeds that don't flair up my tendonitis.
The Montage M8x does flair it up... but it's not unmanageable.
The polyphonic aftertouch on the M8x is the best I've experienced.
In fact, I'd say it's one of the best feeling aftertouch implementations I've experienced.
The Stage 4's channel aftertouch feel/implementation is also pretty good.
I like both the Stage 4 and M8x keyboards. I could use either... and be satisfied with the results.

Montage M8x addresses most of my criticisms of the original Montage (weak Pianos, Organs, and Analog type synths).
ANX while not super deep, is more than capable of the classic analog type synth sounds I need for gigs.
The original Montage didn't have monophonic synth behavior quite right (filter response, note priority, portamento).
On something like "Feels Like The First Time" (the mid section analog synth that decends), I had to leave the sound polyphonic to get the filter-response I wanted.
The ANX engine can recreate monophonic synth sounds with proper response.
The Stage 4 Synth Engine can also do this.

Montage M8x is certainly a much "deeper-dive" type instrument.
The Stage 4 is more immediate.
The M8x's second display (above the faders/knobs) does making editing quicker/easier.
The M8x faders can be reversed (to control Organ drawbars).
It's a step in the right direction...

Each Part in a Montage M performance can now consist of up to 128 Elements (OG Montage allowed up to 8).
Those Elements can be triggered numerous ways:
- Key press
- Key release
- Legato
- Cycle
- Random
- Assignable Switch 1 on
- Assignable Switch 1 off
- Assignable Switch 2 on
- Assignable Switch 2 off
Montage M lacks disk-streaming of samples, but it's otherwise the closest you'll find to Kontakt in a hardware instrument.
There's 3.7GB available for user-samples... and those samples can be velocity cross-switched.

The one thing I'll stress about the Montage M8x is that it's HUGE and weighs 62 pounds.
If you spend the time programming and make a few template sounds, it could replace the Stage 3 or Stage 4.
The Stage 3 and Stage 4 have been distilled... to where it's much quicker/easier to get a good sounding Piano, Organ, Synth.
ie: I've got the M8x CFX piano sounding pretty good... but it took more effort than the Stage 3 or Stage 4.
Had to pull out some 200Hz, get rid of the Vintage EQ's low-mid boost (makes the piano sound tubby/murky to my ears), and boost the upper-mids/highs.
The CFX is then well-balanced, articulate, and works in a Rock band scenario (without being overly bright/brittle).

The Stage 4's sample library (for me) is missing numerous things.
I had to Sample the Stage 3 and other instruments... to supplement the included library.
Since the samples aren't velocity cross-switched, and there's software to assist, the process wasn't too difficult.

I may sample the Stage 4 (Organ drawbars and my favorite EP) to load into the Montage M8x.
I'll likely sample some Montage M8x sounds to load into the Stage 4.
I think the Stage 4 and M8x compliment each other. They each address the other's weaknesses.

Regarding the Stage 4:
I'm a bit annoyed at Nord...
Portamento is still broken in Synth engine 1.
I've contacted them about it... and literally zero response.
The latest firmware does not fix the problem.
Have to go back to firmware v1.06 to resolve the issue.

I'd encourage anyone interested to thoroughly check out both the Stage 4 and M8x.
You'll make compromises either way.
Pick the compromises you can best live-with.
Both are excellent instruments... capable of sounding great.

If at some point, my NS3 88 no longer work, the montage m8x is on my top list, nearly 2k less expensive in Canada…
I thought all the main keyboards will go as high as the NS4 88 (7700 before tax) which is way too high.

Regards

Here in Europe the case is opposite, a Montage m8x will cost about 700 usd more than a NS4 88. Nords get considerably more expensive when going overseas from Stocholm.

Jim Roseberry wrote:I've got both the Stage 4 and the Montage M8x.

The Montage keyboard action is slightly heavier.
Both are weighted enough to play Pianos expressively... and still be able to play fast synth runs.
The Stage 3 and Stage 4 keyboards are the only 88-weighted keybeds that don't flair up my tendonitis.
The Montage M8x does flair it up... but it's not unmanageable.

I agree with everything you said, but I wanted to call out the tendonitis issue specifically... That was a huge problem for me... I work with computers all day and I definitely occasionally get overuse tendonitis, and I would notice it quite a bit when I played... I hadn't noticed it since I got the Stage 4 (granted, its only been 5 days now), but l didn't think about how the lighter weight would cause less pain while playing. Definitely going to pay attention going forward.

Arthr2ShdsJcksn wrote:

Jim Roseberry wrote:I've got both the Stage 4 and the Montage M8x.

The Montage keyboard action is slightly heavier.
Both are weighted enough to play Pianos expressively... and still be able to play fast synth runs.
The Stage 3 and Stage 4 keyboards are the only 88-weighted keybeds that don't flair up my tendonitis.
The Montage M8x does flair it up... but it's not unmanageable.

I agree with everything you said, but I wanted to call out the tendonitis issue specifically... That was a huge problem for me... I work with computers all day and I definitely occasionally get overuse tendonitis, and I would notice it quite a bit when I played... I hadn't noticed it since I got the Stage 4 (granted, its only been 5 days now), but l didn't think about how the lighter weight would cause less pain while playing. Definitely going to pay attention going forward.

You and I are in exactly the same situation.
I work with computers all day every day (My company has been building high-end PC DAWs for the past 30 years).
The Stage 3 and Stage 4 are the *only* weighted keys where significant playing doesn't flair up the tendonitis.
I was thinking maybe my tendons were getting stronger/better... until I played the Montage M8x. ww
The M8x keyboard doesn't bother the tendonitis as much as some other weighted keyboards... but the Stage 4 keyboard is definitely more comfortable in that regard.