Nord User Forum

Well sometimes a keyboard just doesn't meet expectations. Most retailers have liberal return policies for that eventuality. No harm done. I have returned one or 2 in the past, sometimes you need some hands on time to really evaluate.

I almost returned my Kronos for that reason. Lots of great features but that CX3 engine yuck. harsh, shrill and digital sounding. I ended up keeping it for some studio work and just sold it recently, but it wasn't the all in one live board I was hoping for.

I have gone the other way with NS3 - I now have the compact and 88 versions, and for the first time ever I am officially a "single keyboard" keyboard player. Compact for rehearsals, jams and the endless stream of pickup gigs. 88 version for my regular bands which have lots of piano work. Single soundset between them I keep in sync with backup / restore. Life is good there.

3 gigs this week with the compact - 1 this weekend with the 88.

I will say I am looking forward to an update to the C/V in the NS3 ( hint hint Nord ).

I love my NS3C and already sold my NS2. I have programmed around the lack of sample loading (the A1 helps with that) and I am confident that they will release the Sample Editor eventually and iron out the bugs that still exist. The audiences really don't seem to care about the fine points (I do, of course) as long as we play the hell out of the tunes. That is what entertainment is all about.

It is a great board and can live with the issues for now, as they don't affect my overall performance.

-dj

>Most retailers have liberal return policies for that eventuality. <

I agree, I buy and return a lot of guitars - I get free shipping to me, and then spend the $15 or whatever to return them, within a month or whatever - money well-spent for a chance to trial out an instrument that my local music store doesn't have. The golden rule is SAVE ALL PACKAGING.

I would never buy a Nord Stage, they are way too expensive, and the Electro does everything the Stage does except the synth - and come on, synth, really? If you must have one, get a dedicated one for your studio, Brian Eno, and if you're forced to drag it on stage to make synthy sounds while your band wails away, I'm very sorry for you.

Indeed - tell your band they can choose from a wide range of wonderful Nord keyboards and samples, and if they insist you play synth up there...find another band.

Gambold wrote:
Indeed - tell your band they can choose from a wide range of wonderful Nord keyboards and samples, and if they insist you play synth up there...find another band.

LOL - the A1 synth engine is my favorite VA. I also do a lot of synth lead stuff - was using my laptop for that before - got some nice lead synth sounds from the A1 engine. Need pitch and mod wheel also. And extern section at times. And if you are trying to use a single keyboard - switching sounds without them cutting off is HUGE.

The sample library is nice for some things, but for fat synth and leads - nope - flat and lifeless.

I used to own a lead A1. Loved it but trying to cut down on the number of keyboards I use live.

I am now down to 1

The bugs and firmware things do concern me a bit, but I do have faith Clavia will do right by us. In the meantime I've enjoyed the hell out of my NS3C so far and will be happy to go ahead selling my NE5D to help recoup my cost.

I was so happy with my Stage2-73 since I bought it. And I'm still. Even if I had to spend a lot of time to free the keybed from it's creaking mechanical noise (see http://www.norduserforum.com/nord-stage ... t7647.html).

When Stage3 was announced, I thought "wow, what an improvement!" and startet to look after one who's buying my Stage2. Now I'm glad that I havn't done it.
Then the Stage3 was released and the more I read about it's issues here, the more it disappointed me.

- the massive bugs it was released with.

- the lack of the button control for drawbars (I'm not an organ player as such, so the actual display of drawbars is more important to me, as the "jump-free" changing drawbar settings after a preset change also.
Clavia could have offered both versions without any big expense.

- no preset conversion from NS2 to NS3.
Even if both having different engines it should be easy to convert the basic settings to give a good starting point for adapting. That's what I would call "user friendly".

- no sample conversion until now. Enough discussed here.

- for the money, I lose with upgrading from NS2 to 3 I better buy another synth to fill out the holes when changing presets (the most important feature live)

- at last: the lack of dedicated MIDI channels for the sections makes NS3 a "No Go" to work with at my studio.

About the conversation between Clavia and its customers:
Even if the customer is degraded to be a beta tester in "modern" times, take a look at Moog, they ask their users to join their forums "beta thread" to help making great instruments. 2-3 employees are always present there to listen and answer.

So, in the end, I will not go for an upgrade. Clavia has lost a satisfied customer.

cheers.

Gambold wrote:I agree, I buy and return a lot of guitars - I get free shipping to me, and then spend the $15 or whatever to return them, within a month or whatever - money well-spent for a chance to trial out an instrument that my local music store doesn't have. The golden rule is SAVE ALL PACKAGING.

Yes, it's great to try stuff out at home. Even beyond whether a local store has something, it's nice to be able to work with it over 30 days at your leisure and see how well it integrates into the rest of your rig. However, return shipping can be pricey with keyboards. Certainly a lot more than $15.

Gambold wrote:Electro does everything the Stage does except the synth

The NS3 gives you a lot of things over the Electro besides just the synth. Much more split/layer flexibility, a lot more sample memory, more flexible output routing, a lot more MIDI functionality, seamless sound transitions, clav EQ, more effects controls... and related to synth (because they're not typically used for piano/organ, but could still be useful for other sampled sounds), there's aftertouch, pitch stick, and the ability to process the sampled sounds through the synth as well.

Gambold wrote:and come on, synth, really? If you must have one, get a dedicated one for your studio, Brian Eno, and if you're forced to drag it on stage to make synthy sounds while your band wails away, I'm very sorry for you.

Synth can be a lot of fun to play live (and is pretty essential for some music styles), regardless of how much or how little you care about real-time tweaking. But sure, not everybody needs synth sounds. Some people don't need anything but a piano, or anything but an organ, for that matter. (And one could add a little Roland Boutique or similar synth to an Electro, too.)

Bernard wrote:I was so happy with my Stage2-73 since I bought it. And I'm still. Even if I had to spend a lot of time to free the keybed from it's creaking mechanical noise (see http://www.norduserforum.com/nord-stage ... t7647.html).

I wonder if that will still be an issue with the NS3-73.

The keyboard on the NS3 compact is much less noisy. It was never a deal-breaker for the old one for me, but it would have been if I’d felt the need to fix it.

Gambold wrote:- and come on, synth, really? If you must have one, get a dedicated one for your studio, Brian Eno, and if you're forced to drag it on stage to make synthy sounds while your band wails away, I'm very sorry for you.

Indeed - tell your band they can choose from a wide range of wonderful Nord keyboards and samples, and if they insist you play synth up there...find another band.

Yeah, these techy gadgets are never gonna catch on; no real musician is gonna touch one.



Is Nixon still president in the time bubble you’re living in?

Gambold wrote:
I would never buy a Nord Stage, they are way too expensive, and the Electro does everything the Stage does except the synth - and come on, synth, really? If you must have one, get a dedicated one for your studio, Brian Eno, and if you're forced to drag it on stage to make synthy sounds while your band wails away, I'm very sorry for you.

Indeed - tell your band they can choose from a wide range of wonderful Nord keyboards and samples, and if they insist you play synth up there...find another band.

Wow, that's some A+ advice there. Originally I thought it would be cool to lug two keyboards with me to jam practice so that I could tweak synth sounds to exactly the way I wanted and modulate them on the fly, but then I got this crazy idea of upgrading to a single keyboard that would let me do that AND play organ and piano. I mean, it's freaking mental, right? Anyway, I will be selling my Stage 3 immediately and also finding a new band, since they like the sound of the NS3 so much.

You know...*removes 90s VR goggles* I really learned something today...