Nord User Forum

Using a Nord S3 (Compact), am I right in thinking the following...?

The only time the Nord transmits panel information (as opposed to controller info; aftertouch, volume etc.) like Leslie On/Off or drawbar positions is when the Global Channel (MIDI Settings page 2) is enabled? It then sends out all panel data on that channel (as the manual states).

But what about if you want to send panel data when using the EXTERN section…?
This seems a perfectly reasonable thing to want to do but, try as I might, I can find no way to enable the Nord to do this. It WILL transmit swell, volume etc. but NOT panel switches/knobs/etc.

But surely this is a vital facility?!

I'm using the Nord to control a GSi Gemini dektop module and I wish to 'play' the module on a per program basis and need, for example, to be able to switch the Leslie from Fast to Slow using the Nord's panel/footswitch.

The Gemini is a sound module; it only has MIDI inputs. But I've monitored what the Nord outputs and there is definitely no panel data going out when using EXTERN!!

Is this expected behaviour?
Has anyone else fallen foul of this?
Should this be reported, not as a 'bug', but as a (VERY!) missing feature?

Or have I missed a trick somewhere…?!

EDIT:
If this is just how the Nord behaves, I've found a solution; at least for Hammond sounds..!
Luckily the Gemini accepts, for the 3 separate parts of a Hammond sound (Upper, Lower, Pedals), MIDI data from 3 consecutive MIDI channels (in my case, 4,5 & 6).
So I set the EXTERN section to MIDI channel 4 and the Global Channel to 6, making sure that both drawbars are off for the Pedal sound (channel 6).
Even though the panel settings will then be sent on 6, they affect the whole sound so I can switch Leslie speeds etc.
Of course, it means that for each note played, two MIDI note-ons are sent; one on channel 4 (that produces a sound on the Gemini), the other on channel 6 (which is effectively muted).
This seems to me to be a real, albeit effective, kludge, but hey-ho!!

Unfortunately the Gemini's awesome Rhodes and Wurli sounds, not surprisingly, don't work this way so although I can set up playing these sounds on a per Program basis, I can't control any parameters 'on-the-fly'. Luckily this isn't a real hardship

Why not just use the Nord's internal Hammond, Rhodes & Wurli, you may ask...
Sorry to report, but all 3 of those sounds are, to me, WAY better on the Gemini! - except the Leslie maximum ramp up & down times; do NOT get me started on that one!! (are you reading this Guido...?!)

Thankfully, the Nord has wonderful acoustic pianos and a great sample/synth section plus all the stuff like layering, seamless transition, keyboard splits etc.
So, combined, these two bits of kit give, for me at least, the ultimate 60s/70s electro-mechanical keyboard sounds!

That’s just the way Extern Section behaves, Panel controls are only sent on the Global Channel because they are related to the NS own Sections and not intended to control external gear, they are not even reconfigurable if you think about it. They are sent o the Global channel for the purpose of recording them, basically.

The NS is not a master keyboard, it is an instrument of its own (call it an “advanced stage piano”) so don’expect it to have the features and MIDI flexibility of a workstation, the master keyboard capabilities of the NS are actually in the (limited but still very useful, given the nature of the instrument, imo) Extern section.

@ maxpiano. Yeah, that's what I figured was going on.
Like I said, I've managed a workaround, but I still feel Nord have missed a trick in not making the Nord a bit more 'Mastery'
If it's not going to behave like a master keyboard would normally, why bother having the EXTERN section at all...?
Surely the point of the EXTERN section IS to control other units... fully!
I don't reckon it's necessary for there to be any configuration of MIDI CC numbers or anything fancy on the Nord because, for example, the Gemini can match any CC to any internal parameter and I suspect most other sound modules can do likewise.
A simple software switch in EXTERN to enable/disable ALL panel CC values being sent on the EXTERN channel would improve the Nord as a master keyboard for, I'm sure, very little effort...

We’re waiting for a master clock send on the Nord Stage since the first generation (and a second Midi out). It is not a priority for Nord to transform the NS in a real masterkeybord.

alcools wrote:We’re waiting for a master clock send on the Nord Stage since the first generation

+1