Nord User Forum

Any new piano and electric piano sounds coming soon? Does anyone have any information about this?

No... no one knows if/when/what, but please, do yourself a favour... play more what you already have (and learn how to use your new gear to tune the existing pianos to your likes) rather than seeking for more sounds, when you just got your Nord piano a few weeks ago ...

Agree with Max - better spend more time to explore the different and very good pianos available rather than trying to look at crystal balls

sussko, seriously here's just a quick scroll of your posts:

What is by far your most favourite Grand Piano Sound?

Presets

Do the Rhodes Presets "Butterfly Mk I" and "Spain Mk I" actually represent the original sounds which were used in the recordings of those songs?

I can't find any additional information about these presets

the stereo sound seem a bit unbalanced to me

Significant differences in Piano Samples judged by file size

Royal Grand 3D vs White Grand

Best Piano Sound for playing jazz?

Best Piano Sound for classical music?

Which piano is used for sampling the White Grand?

White Grand vs Royal Grand 3D

New Samples releases

Any new piano and electric piano sounds coming soon?

It sounds like you cannot ever be satisfied with your Nord, which is nothing bad or shameful: Nords have a quite different approach from other brands, many people love them, many people hate them. Crucially, you almost always ask about preset and stock sounds. One of the main points of Nords is to provide very "raw" sounds and let the user tweak and adjust them to taste with equalization, reverb, compression, effects etc. This is VERY different from what most other brands do, normally the sounds from other brands are heavily processed to be as clean, perfect and pleasant as possible. Which is great and often works very well, but for someone it sounds a bit sterile, while Nords sound like real pianos with all their imperfections.
If you are only using the factory sounds and presets without experimenting with the EQ and effects, and have so many doubts about every possible aspect of Nord's piano sounds, maybe it's simply not the right instrument for you.
Have you tried other brands, especially Yamaha, Kawai and Roland? They offer great instruments with great piano-like actions (often better than the FATAR keybed used by Clavia) and great sounds. Plus, if you mostly need piano sounds, their stage pianos are almost invariably cheaper than your Nord so you can sell it, buy the new board and even have some decent money left.

Spider wrote: Nords have a quite different approach from other brands, many people love them, many people hate them. Crucially, you almost always ask about preset and stock sounds. One of the main points of Nords is to provide very "raw" sounds and let the user tweak and adjust them to taste with equalization, reverb, compression, effects etc. This is VERY different from what most other brands do, normally the sounds from other brands are heavily processed to be as clean, perfect and pleasant as possible. Which is great and often works very well, but for someone it sounds a bit sterile, while Nords sound like real pianos with all their imperfections.

Yours is a "technical" response to a (quite legitimate) doubt that could arise in Nord users when they try Nord sounds for the first time. "This piano sounds strange. Not so polished. Too imperfect. Am I hearing it OK?" and the like.

Now, I have read the OP other posts too, but to me they don't sound as if he's not satisfied with the sounds, but rather he sounds like he likes/wants/needs to talk (about Nord sounds of course...).

Not that there is anything wrong with that, and depending on the people hanging out in the forum, he may well find somebody who engages in "what is the best sound for X genre?" kind of topic. I swear I am not saying this dismissingly or in a provocative way. To each their own, but again I am not sure telling the OP "just enjoy what you have" is the most meaningful answer to him...

Anyway just my 2 cents, and ZERO offense meant to anyone.

Hlaalu wrote:I am not sure telling the OP "just enjoy what you have" is the most meaningful answer to him...

Well, at least as far as my reply is concerned (the only I can speak about), that was not the intended message; the answer to the OP question is in the first part (no one here knows exactly if/when/what Nord will release), the suggestion to "enjoy what you have" (meantime) is to me ... a logical consequence

Nord has succeeded in keeping previous plans for new AP and EP sounds a secret until the day they were released. If Nord had a committed internal plan to release tomorrow a wonderful new AP or EP sound, I don't think you would hear anything about it today.

maxpiano wrote: Well, at least as far as my reply is concerned (the only I can speak about), that was not the intended message; the answer to the OP question is in the first part (no one here knows exactly if/when/what Nord will release), the suggestion to "enjoy what you have" (meantime) is to me ... a logical consequence

Fair enough max, and that would be my conclusion too.

Anyway, if the past timeline is to be based upon, even loosely, we MIGHT expect a new upright piano "soonish".

Personally I am so satisfied with the same (few) pianos that I have been using over the months that I don't really care that much... I already find them, both grands and uprights, so stunningly beautiful and endlessly customizable.

Hlaalu wrote: Personally I am so satisfied with the same (few) pianos that I have been using over the months that I don't really care that much... I already find them, both grands and uprights, so stunningly beautiful and endlessly customizable.

This is precisely where I am. A very satisfying grand and upright, plus a few special needs. The only new piano sample I would welcome is a refresh to the Grand Lady D, but even that is not critical.

The latest versions of the EPs are great, even on my Stage 2EX without the filters features.

There is a lot of great music to be made in nearly any situation with the current library.

>but again I am not sure telling the OP "just enjoy what you have" is the most meaningful answer to him...<

Hah, indeed. My other favorite is when people ask for opinions about what would the best setting or sound be for a given application, and they are told "just use your ears." Trusting your ears is NOT always the best strategy, especially for beginners. You can think something sounds awesome but to everyone else it could sound terrible, or at least in need of improvement. People turn to experienced players for real advice, not Jedi aphorisms.

As for waiting for new pianos - it is implied in your high purchase price for a Nord that ongoing new pianos will be provided. However, a lot of Nord players prefer to call these "gifts," although that suggests that Clavia has no obligation to continue providing them. I personally think they do...and Clavia does promise "regular new offerings" in their marketing copy, although they don't specify pianos. And let's face it - the pianos are all that matter. Who cares about another DX7 sample, yet another canned string section, or a new zither.

I also think they have hit a wall on providing pianos that are a noticeable improvement over their past classics. This is likely due to the "low-hanging fruit" phenomenon and limits inherent in the current technology in their boards. Thus while new piano offerings like the White Grand or the Velvet are breathlessly celebrated, since we are all so happy to see them, they soon become second-tier choices. I don't think anyone on this forum is using either of those two as their principal piano. The Royal Grand 3D is a different beast that tried a different technology - one that Clavia hasn't repeated - and I think it is the most debated of the new crop.

Stick with the Bosie, Bright, or Lady D. That's my advice, young Padawan.

--Gambold