Grand Piano sounds disappoints

[stuartoMVF41000S]

One thing that seems to have been overlooked is the possibility that you have a defective NS2. One thing I extremely liked about the NS2 piano sounds was the clarity and detail when they are played very softly especially the higher frequencies with a slight reverb. If that isn't the case with your NS2 I would compare it with another one that is known to be working properly. Just a thought.

[neolithic]

Amazed reading through this thread that people seriously consider using piano samples in the synth section in preference to the using the dedicated piano section with all it's additional capabilities. That's like fixing an engine-tuning issue in a Ferrari by replacing it with a Honda engine!

Nord provide a good range of old/ new grand and upright pianos, so there should be something that fits the bill. The whole signal chain needs to be considered (as many people have said already in this thread) before you throw the baby out with the bath water!

[Mr_-G-]

Yes, it is quite odd. I think many new users who ask for pianos which are not in the npno format library do not realise that nsmp files are single layer.
Unfortunately on top of that the synth velocity sensitivy of the VCA section is not that great (the range of volume change with velocity is shallow and there are no velocity curve adjustments possible) so that does not help either.

[danrv]

That's like fixing an engine-tuning issue in a Ferrari by replacing it with a Honda engine!

The Nord piano sounds aren't the best for everything. ie for playing a ripping boogie solo in a live band. The dynamics aren't there and the top end gets weaker as you go up.
I know there are numorous settings in the piano section as well as the eq but if the sample isn't right in the first place, it isn't going to help.
I don't think there was any way I could have foreseen
the unsuitability of the instrument for the above playing style in a live setting.
At this price, the pianos should do everything well.
I demoed the NS2 pianos in front of a pair of studio monitors for a couple of hours in the store.Of course, they sounded great.

A fellow keys player has recently bought the same Nord as I have, NS2 HA76 and he says the same thing. He still uses his XP80 for jazz.
I play all styles and for ballads, mellow jazz, classical where there's space to hear the piano, I use the Nord piano sounds. They''re great for that as the character comes through.
But I'm unable to find one sample that cuts it for lively, dynamic boogie or rock playing.
That's why I'm going to use an XP80 or XV piano sample in the synth section, purely for this style of playing. I realize polyphony and velocity layer
will be limited but it will have to do.

[danrv]

Amazed reading through this thread that people seriously consider using piano samples in the synth section in preference to the using the dedicated piano section with all it's additional capabilities. That's like fixing an engine-tuning issue in a Ferrari by replacing it with a Honda engine!

Nord provide a good range of old/ new grand and upright pianos, so there should be something that fits the bill. The whole signal chain needs to be considered (as many people have said already in this thread) before you throw the baby out with the bath water!

Yes, I do agree. It's just taking a while to setup the keyboard to suit me. Something I've never had to do before with other keyboards which have all been ROMplers.
Have been experimenting with the various Nord pianos, although only at home though. The Bright Grand XL sounds good through my 2 DXR10's. I may have had the L version loaded previously but the XL has really clear upper octaves. It's the best yet.

[neolithic]

Fair comment. Maybe there's a new Piano sample Nord needs to add to the collection - and with the NS3 on the way, there may be some new pianos... hopefully they'll be compatible.
I agree totally about the setup. It's taken me a long time to set mine up with usable patches - it's easy to create some terrible patches that sound like a sampler from the mid eighties. And i'm not a massive fan of that Mellotron sound which is so *everywhere* on the factory banks. Great if you cover Beatles and Beachboys era, but otherwise...

[hijlko]

I do understand both views. I have a Nord Stage Classic and are very happy with the piano sounds. Of course these are not the XL and not even the X size. There used to be a Yamaha Stage piano available but that seems to be vanished. In pop related songs I prefer the Stage piano sound above the more acoustically realistic piano sounds. I believe the acoustic sounds cut better in the mix as the piano sounds of my Yamaha MOXF, the Stage piano sample cuts a little bit better.

Back in the old daysI had a Roland RD250s (similar to RD300 en RD1000) which had a rather unrealistic pop piano (Piano 3) but this one worked really well.

Maybe, just maybe it would be nice if Nord would add a not so realistic but very usable Pop piano sound to the library.

By the way I also have an Yamaha MOXF which piano disappears even more in the mix. When you pull up the mids it gets very ugly.

[neolithic]

Just a thought - have you tried playing with the string resonance and long release features on the NS2? AFAIK it depends which piano sample size you use whether or not these are implemented. Whilst they are nice for an authentic solo piano sound, I end up turning them off when the piano is in a mix. Also you can run the piano through the amp and fx which can give a lot of scope for changing the sound - although you are moving further away from 'authentic' it is good for some pop tracks, where pianos are often coloured by external fx.

[danrv]

Maybe, just maybe it would be nice if Nord would add a not so realistic but very usable Pop piano sound to the library.

Yes, that would be very welcome. Acoustically accurate piano samples work well for recording. Live performance on a large scale requires a top notch stereo PA, stereo keyboard monitoring or IEM's plus a sound guy.

This is rarely available for keyboard players playing
regular gigs. That's where a more usable general use piano sound would be handy.

[danrv]

Just a thought - have you tried playing with the string resonance and long release features on the NS2?

Yes, a little.
Long release, I found needs to on. Acoustic piano notes don't tend to stop abruptly. Sounds strange with this off.

Haven't checked out the string resonance much. Couldn't hear a lot of difference through the DXR"s and in live band setting, I wouldn't have thought this would be audible.
Maybe different in headphones.