Nord User Forum

cotosso wrote:

maxpiano wrote:
Though desirable I agree with anotherscott that it is not a rule at all, Motif XS lost the Motif ES expandability via PLG cards, just to make one example (but we can find more).

Of course manufacturers can do whatever they want
...At the same time we can write that losing a synth section for each external zone we want to use makes no sense

Maybe you programmed a beautiful synth sound with all 3 slots, then you have to split the key and take a sound from an external generator that plays only on the left side... to do that you have to sacrifice a partial of the beautiful synth sound you created...

I think one way to imagine the possibilities for this use case, would be having two adjacent Programs that can seamlessly switch from the internal to the external ecosystem...perhaps this could even happen as part of the Layer Scene switching...the Program could transition from using 1-3 internal + 0-2 external to 3 external or similar.

I am hoping that the NS4 is just a steppingstone to a Nord instrument with a completely modular design, 7 layers and any of them can could address Piano, Organ, Synth, or Extern. That would be a super-flexible system but I am not sure it is possible given the long standing 2 Piano 2 Organ architecture-

-dj

Any time a company takes something away that an older model had, some people will be disappointed. It doesn't mean the decision didn't make sense, because there are also other design considerations involved. As always, people can vote with their wallets. But boards are not custom made for us, and we rarely get everything you want. Nord has decided that, if we need to split/layer more than 3 sounds that are not in the piano or organ category, we need to use a different board. (ETA: Or, alternate approach, discussed below.)

That said, splitting/layering up to 2 piano, 2 organ, and 3 other sounds will still probably cover most users, and in fact, will probably give more people more useful combinations than they had in the previous fixed "2-internal/2-external" arrangement. I think it's probably a net positive overall... but I understand that won't console those users who actually did need to combine 2 internal synth sounds with 2 external sounds.

But also, these days, so many people are using laptops or iPads/iPhones for their external sounds... and those devices are so versatile that you can actually pretty easily set them up so that calling up a single Extern sound from your Nord could itself invoke multiple split/layered sounds from within the external device. (And actually, even most external hardware sound modules can do this.) So in fact, it is pretty likely that you can still have your 2 internal synth sounds along with two external sounds, even with the external sounds being invoked by a single Extern zone of the NS4 (albeit at a loss of some of the independent front panel control for the different sounds that you had before). You just have to configure that second external sound on the external device itself. It's not un-doable. And if you're using external devices in the first place, you're probably MIDI-savvy enough to figure out how to do it. (Probably about the only time this won't work is when you're getting your external sounds from a second keyboard. Some keyboards are good about letting an external keyboard trigger multiple sounds split/layered over a single incoming MIDI channel connection, but other boards are not.)

ericL wrote:I think one way to imagine the possibilities for this use case, would be having two adjacent Programs that can seamlessly switch from the internal to the external ecosystem...perhaps this could even happen as part of the Layer Scene switching...the Program could transition from using 1-3 internal + 0-2 external to 3 external or similar.

I agree, changing to another program would seem to be the best way to swap between using different int/ext synth setups as the settings of the three synth layers can't change between scenes, only whether they are on or off. Your comment makes me wonder what would happen during performance if the change from internal to external occurs. Shifting to extern for a solo and then shifting back to the programmed internal synth (not sure if one hand can cover the two-button shift), might be practical in some cases. I guess we'll have to see how the NS4 is set up for that scenario; for example, will it return to the last state of the internal synth, or will it include any control made while in the extern mode? We'll see.

anotherscott wrote:

Mr_-G- wrote: it is a very odd design decision to make something less functional than in earlier models.

see previous paragraph.

I did!... but nothing happened.
I really do not know of any other music instrument that stops itd sound engine to send MIDI out. Are there any?
OK, it is not quite like that, there is a Global channel that can still can be used, I suppose, but not to the extent of the extern section.

Hello. I'm from Brazil, if my English is wrong forgive me. I noticed that nord is standardizing the 73 keys (probably stage 4 and piano 5 are using the same set of 73 HA keys) Are these the same keys as the 88 version? Can anyone tell me if they are FATAR Keys? Is there any chance of introducing this set of 73 HA keys in nord electro 7 instead of HP? Thanks

cotosso wrote:

maxpiano wrote:
Though desirable I agree with anotherscott that it is not a rule at all, Motif XS lost the Motif ES expandability via PLG cards, just to make one example (but we can find more).

Of course manufacturers can do whatever they want
...At the same time we can write that losing a synth section for each external zone we want to use makes no sense

Maybe you programmed a beautiful synth sound with all 3 slots, then you have to split the key and take a sound from an external generator that plays only on the left side... to do that you have to sacrifice a partial of the beautiful synth sound you created...

What are the odds of this happening?
How often will you need four synths (excluding organs and pianos) at the same time, rather than being able to switch programs mid-song?

analogika wrote:

cotosso wrote:

maxpiano wrote:
Though desirable I agree with anotherscott that it is not a rule at all, Motif XS lost the Motif ES expandability via PLG cards, just to make one example (but we can find more).

Of course manufacturers can do whatever they want
...At the same time we can write that losing a synth section for each external zone we want to use makes no sense

Maybe you programmed a beautiful synth sound with all 3 slots, then you have to split the key and take a sound from an external generator that plays only on the left side... to do that you have to sacrifice a partial of the beautiful synth sound you created...

What are the odds of this happening?
How often will you need four synths (excluding organs and pianos) at the same time, rather than being able to switch programs mid-song?

Just for an example, come sail away from Styx, I use 5 synths program from my XF7 and 2 from my past Stage 2 EX, so 7 at the same time, and no time to switch programs, so three is not a lot !

Regards

Logically speaking, but just an assumption, I would think the reason they sort of take away features with the addition of new features in the NS2, NS3, and NS4 is in order for each model to retain its value. Keeping good features and adding it on top of the newer one, say from NS2 to NS3 and finally to NS4 would automatically make the older models undesirable since consumers can just get everything in the newest model. But adding and removing should however somewhat retain its individual value... so in a way any Nord owners should be very careful of the models they own since they each have their desirable values.. and reselling should still give a good price. For myself I am able to rent out my NS3... I have no problem with that.

I would not rent out my Nord. Who does that?