Nord User Forum

ElectroStrat wrote:

PScooter63 wrote:Since this thread has already veered way off topic (sorry OP!)… now seems like a good time to ask the community: what is the point of soft/slow release anyway?

Is this intended to compensate for a broken sustain pedal?
Perhaps I am too closed-minded… can someone clue me in?

(If I owned a real piano that exhibited this behavior, I would call a tech to fix it.)

The soft release adds a longer release especially in the lower end when you don't use the sustain pedal.
It's not something you have in a real piano.
It's like the equalizer feature that let you adjust the sound to your taste.

Actually Nord states that Soft Release simulates what you can do on a real piano by adjusting the dampers tension (i.e loosening it)

maxpiano wrote: Actually Nord states that Soft Release simulates what you can do on a real piano by adjusting the dampers tension (i.e loosening it)

I agree. What I wanted to mean is that it's not something you can do as easily / quickly on a real piano as pressing a sustain pedal.

>Still not willing to check whether the Bright Grand XL 6.1 and Studio Grand 2 XL 6.2 support the Soft Release feature ?<

I just checked - they do not, neither of them. I hadn't noticed because I never use Soft Release. I also never use the equalizer on acoustic samples, or any effects other than a little Room reverb and string resonance. The String resonance is kind of a must-use since that's what makes the larger samples better than the smaller ones.

That's it - I'm of the belief that the acoustic samples should be played pretty much as they were delivered, that adding effects or equalization tends to make them sound more digital than they already do.

Thanks Gambold for confirming the lack of Soft Release for these 2 XL pianos sounds.

The effect of Soft Release is subtle.
It's not as drastic as the equalizer settings.
You may try it on the White Grand 6.3 XL.

ElectroStrat wrote:Some of the latest version of piano sounds (v6.x) have a functional or feature flaw, when compared with their respective previous version (v5.x).
This has been reported through various topics.

This topic aims at capturing these flaws in a single place.

Add bad A4 note in Silver Grand XL version package. Described by me in NP5/Grand forum. Confirmed by Nord Tech Support and another Nord user.

Suavek wrote:Add bad A4 note in Silver Grand XL version package. Described by me in NP5/Grand forum. Confirmed by Nord Tech Support and another Nord user.

There have been some obvious sample flaw in the v6.x piano sounds :
- Soft Grand v6.1 with missing highest notes
- Bambino Upright v6.1 with a loud noise on some notes when played fortissimo

They have been replaced more or less quickly with a correct v6.2.

For a XL piano sound with some weird or uneven sample on some keys, it's more delicate to consider it as a flaw.
Some people don't like the XL version of a given piano sound and prefer the L version as it sounds more even.

And from your own thread, the response from the Nord support is :
"This would be a characteristic of that particular key on the source instrument."
"It may be worth trying the L version of the Silver Grand"

This is the reason why I only consider "functional" flaw in this thread as "sounding" flaw is more a personal taste.

>>And from your own thread, the response from the Nord support is :
"This would be a characteristic of that particular key on the source instrument."
"It may be worth trying the L version of the Silver Grand"<<

This is a pretty loaded statement that calls for close, critical reading:

1) Clavia is maintaining that most of the tones users are objecting to are what the instrument itself actually produced during full-mapped sampling, the unique feature of the XL version.

2) Everyone on this board has gone to the mats for the wonders of "character" in Clavia's piano samples.

3) Character is exactly this - keys that are out-of-tune, clacky, thumpy, whatever - it's not just the harmonious sound of a particular piano's resonance chamber.

4) Apparently, even Nord users can have too much "character," so that Clavia's response is "hey, download the L sample with its pitch-shifted key mappings instead, if you don't like the real thing."

5) Which brings us to the final question - why bother with XL at all, if we are going to complain about the results. Maybe we really don't want a fully-mapped keyboard. Maybe we'd like something a little...less real.