Nord User Forum

I think Nord's 'marketing" is mostly due to the amount of pros that use one. Can't turn on CBS Saturday Morning or Austin City Limits etc without seeing a lot of Nords. They are expensive, so are top of the line Les Paul's or Telecasters, much less good amps (guitar player here) Pros or those serious about their gear will find a way.

"Of the pros, by the pros, and for the pros."

Clavia's business plan. Not a recipe for long-term success. Gibson has the Les Paul, sure - but they also offer a variety of price levels AND have the entry-level and high-quality Epiphone line. And they still went bankrupt and had to rebuild.

As for the Fender Telecaster - they have models ranging in price from $700 to $11,000, and their Squier line is even cheaper. They are one of the most successful music companies in the world for a reason.

Not counting the Electro 6, which is soon to be discontinued and currently being sold at discounts, the cheapest Nord keyboard you can buy is a 61-key Electro 7 for $3300. An 88-key Piano or Grand will cost you $4000.

>Very cool to hear that you are at your 8th Nord instrument now, and we hope and believe you will be happy with the HP model! <

Amazing they responded to you at such length (or at all). Far less amazing they don't care about your concerns and have zero interest in addressing them, despite your long-time history with the company. If the aforementioned pros don't need something, well, out it goes.

>and there is a reasoning behind (removing the 9th drawbar cancel) of course, having to do with what the general “stage keyboard user” is helped by in terms of features, as well as potential sources of confusion/frustration<

Total BS. We'll never know why they cut it. Maybe they couldn't make it work with the new, crummier engine. If it was so confusing or frustrating for their "general stage keyboard users" (which I seriously doubt), fine, leave it turned off by default, but why remove the option to turn it on in the system settings?

>This (polyphonic percussion) feature is of course of less interest to those interested in an authentic, traditional B3 sound/behavior<

Further evidence that Nord has bailed on the B3 organ unless you want to buy an Organ 3 for $4000*, which nobody does.

Oh, for the days when the Italian Grand's shortcomings were our biggest problem....

*Reflecting a current $500-off promotion from Clavia because...no-one is buying it. Not even the guys on Austin City Limits

Rusty Mike wrote: Yesterday, 15:49 I responded and thanked him for his kind response, but did reiterate my disappointment. Also, I was not aware that soft release was removed from the Piano 6, so I assume it will be deleted from the next Stage model as well.

Personally, I don’t mind about the polyphonic percussion as it is optional. One is free to activate or deactivate it.
That’s not the case of 9th drawbar cancel and the soft release.

So they have removed the 9th drawbar cancel, an authentic feature, because it confuses « general stage keyboard users ».
And they have now removed the soft / long piano release as it’s not an authentic feature.
That’s beyond my understanding.

Why not give us the option to use these features or not ?

>So they have removed the 9th drawbar cancel, an authentic feature, because it confuses « general stage keyboard users ».
And they have now removed the soft / long piano release as it’s not an authentic feature. That’s beyond my understanding.<

You're not alone. Given that it probably cost more to engineer these features OUT than it would have to just leave them in, one has to look elsewhere for the profit projections that drive every decision in any company.

Perhaps dumbing down the B3 on the Electro is a feint at getting buyers who are primarily interested in organ emulation to look at the Organ 3 instead - Nord's current Edsel (points for those who catch the reference without Googling). It's not unreasonable to assume that many Electro buyers are primarily organ players...if they weren't, they'd likely be more interested in the Piano, and just use samples on the off-times they actually needed an organ sound.

As for soft release, the explanation was "It was felt that the soft release for acoustic pianos ... detracted from the realism of those sounds." Nord's management and updating of the Piano library has been highly spotty these past few years, and it's been a long time since we've had a truly great acoustic sample released. I think the White Grand may be the last one that qualifies, and that was seven long years ago. It's possible they thought that tinkering with things like soft release might add some spark to a library that is aging and no longer the point of regular excitement it once was.

Gambold wrote: Today, 01:45 Perhaps dumbing down the B3 on the Electro is a feint at getting buyers who are primarily interested in organ emulation to look at the Organ 3 instead

That strategy will never get me to buy the Organ 3. I just bought the Viscount Legend Live, which delivers a more authentic B3 experience for much less money. The buttons are in the right place, the tonewheel & rotary engine sounds fantastic. I’m really enjoying it, in fact so much that I’m kicking around the idea of upgrading my Electro 6D to a Legend One.

Gambold wrote: Today, 01:45 Perhaps dumbing down the B3 on the Electro is a feint at getting buyers who are primarily interested in organ emulation to look at the Organ 3 instead

Agree that it’s odd logic. Prior to the C1 organ, the Electro WAS Nord’s B3 clonewheel. In my response to Steffan I said the Electro 4 was probably the best tonewheel implementation on the Electro. Going back to the original spirit/mission of the Electro was a premier Hammond emulation in addition to electric pianos.

I’ll learn to live without the soft release. It’s a very subtle thing.

Rusty Mike wrote: Today, 02:40 I’ll learn to live without the soft release. It’s a very subtle thing.

Agreed. It’s a subtle thing.

Mike,
How did you manage to get in touch with Nord ?
Would you mind informing them about the Astoria Grand issue ?
viewtopic.php?t=27236

ElectroStrat wrote: Today, 06:31

Rusty Mike wrote: Today, 02:40 I’ll learn to live without the soft release. It’s a very subtle thing.

Agreed. It’s a subtle thing.

Mike,
How did you manage to get in touch with Nord ?
Would you mind informing them about the Astoria Grand issue ?
viewtopic.php?t=27236

Here is their contact page:
https://www.nordkeyboards.com/about-us/contact/

They clearly state they read all the comments but do not respond to them all. I figure I got lucky.