Nord User Forum

Has anyone owned or played the HP keybed? I had my heart set on getting the Electro 5D, but I'm worried that piano will feel weird on the very light waterfall keys. I'm not a hammer weighted action kind of player, so I don't know if the HP will be hard to play or not.

sorry, I posted a reply to the question below here. I've moved it and put it where it should have been posted. For what it's worth, I like the feel of the 5D but have not tried the HP. I'm more of an organ player than piano.

I have the Nord 5HP and really like the keybed action. I mostly play piano and am one of the few on this forum who prefer the weighted action for playing organ. Best bet is to compare both (5D/5HP) before making any decisions. If you primarily play organ the waterfall 5D might be your preference!

The HP is very nice. Wonderfull for the total weight of the machine. How such an instrument can be so light to carry and have such sounds and heavy keybed.
That said, it is a little bit noisy.
So if you gig with it, the E5HP is fantastic. Really.
If you use it at home, you might find it noisy.

For pianos and ep and clavs, it is perfect.
For organs ... less. But HP was not created for that I guess.

It s just a question of what you exactly need. But in his segment ... no other can do that than the electro 5hp.

It s an intrument that I used to like really a lot, with an organic and analogic feeling.

Cheers
De fursaK

I second everything De fursaK said.

I find the HP feels heavier than grand pianos from Yamaha, Bluthner or Steinway, but not as heavy as a Bosendorfer. The action doesn't feel as "natural" as the Roland RD-700 "progressive hammer action", but it also weighs less than half as much.

It's a very good compromise, but is noisy. This doesn't bother me with headphones, but I notice it for (amplified) soft solo play.

As pauleway said try play one before buying. -- I believe the HP keybeds are all very similar, so any Nord HP model ought to provide an adequate representation.

De fursaK is spot on.

Personally I don't find the HP action too heavy in comparison with acoustic pianos, not at all.
But it is different, and while it is quite satisfying in a performance context when you want piano-like action, I found it less satisfying in a quiet context at home. Just as De fursaK writes.

(I use my Electro a lot for night practice when I can't use my grand - but coupled to a better action. Hence I chose the E5D with waterfall action to have the choice...)

Thanks to all of you for your insight! I am most likely leaning towards the 61 key version. I wasn't sure if any one thought that the SW was too light when playing piano. Unfortunately, no dealers in my area carry Nord, so I have never seen the Red Beauty up close to try it. I saw a review where someone said that the keys were too small and too glossy. I guess hat can be subjective, but I was wondering if anything found that to be the case.

I'm fortunate to have both the 5D 61 and 5HP 73.
One I use primarilly for organ and the other piano. I find the semi weighted waterfall keybed on the 61 fine for playing piano. Not perfect but certainly acceptable. It's much better than a typical semi weighted synth action which is a bit lighter and harder to play notes accurately.
I find that Nord weighted keybeds have a rather loud thump sound. It can be distracting at first but you get accustomed to it in time and then not notice it at all. That's been my experience.

Thanks Unclebyron. I had heard that too about the thumpiness of the HP.

I wonder if Fatar will ever refine the HP to reduce the noise level.
It is distracting sometimes.