Nord User Forum

Hello there

I'm considering migrating to the Nord Universe. Probably through a Kawai VPC MIDI masterkeyboard with a Nord product on top.

Question is: does the choice in Nord product matter if I connect that Kawai MIDI keyboard to it? Will the same sample (e.g. the Royal Grand 3D) sound the same on a Electro6 and a Stage2EX?

Hi @jegatw

jegatw wrote:Question is: does the choice in Nord product matter if I connect that Kawai MIDI keyboard to it?

There are differences, and you can find more info about them all over the internet. I don't know much about other Nords than Stage 3 when it comes to MIDI.

jegatw wrote:Will the same sample (e.g. the Royal Grand 3D) sound the same on a Electro6 and a Stage2EX?

Yes.
All (except Electro 1/2) Nords that have a piano engine can use all the same pianos. You can find the piano library and more specific info from nordkeyboards.com.

In principle, yes. This is true as far as the line outputs are concerned, with the minor differences in functionality mentioned in the last post, some of which also concern sound. For instance the Electros don't offer half pedal capability for acoustic piano sounds, whereas the Nord Piano and Stage series do.

However, I had a strange experience with the headphone output when moving from Electro 5 to Electro 6: Apparently they changed the headphone out circuitry so my headphones sounded rather different on the latter. Most probably a simple impedance matching issue...

Hi,

adding to Elias’ answers that on the Stage 3 playing piano sounds from an external midi keyboard was not always the same like from the internal keybed of the Nord because of different velocity curves, but that was solved at least on the Stage 3 with the most recent OS update.

As others have said, it's largely the same samples across the product line. Velocity curve response has been an issue with external controllers for some, reported as "fixed" in the last release.

There are nuances on filters and effect sections which can change the sound between boards. If you want a three-pedal classical piano setup with your pedals, that's the Triple Pedal which is not cheap. A NS3C with a VPC controller will get you through most any gig you can imagine.

cphollis wrote: There are nuances on filters and effect sections which can change the sound between boards.

Agreed

I've got the Nord Wave/Wave 2/Stage 3,There are audio differences between the boards using the same samples,Perhaps the Newer sample format might have changed something the older wave uses Version 2 files whereas Stage 3/Wave 2 use the newer format 3 i hear differences in tone of the same samples, maybe has something to do with file conversion of the Audio to the newer sample version???

With a single Nord Board you wouldn't notice the difference so much,but those of you who have several Nords with the ability to load in Sample library are you hearing a difference also??

cphollis wrote:If you want a three-pedal classical piano setup with your pedals, that's the Triple Pedal which is not cheap. A NS3C with a VPC controller will get you through most any gig you can imagine.

I don't bother with the Triple pedal anymore,I use a Nektar Pacer which is able to do the same functions as the TP and also control a whole host of other Nord functions,ok you have to sacrifice the Midi in but it has so much potential I highly recommend it for those of you who Gig,its been a very useful pedal board for me live.

The Stage 3 sounds noticeably brighter than the 2 and has a bit more high-end sheen to it, IMO.

A lot of samples work better on the 3 — notably brass, IMO.

analogika wrote:The Stage 3 sounds noticeably brighter than the 2 and has a bit more high-end sheen to it, IMO.

Are you referring to the samples in the proper sense or also to the piano library? The OP called them samples but he was also then referring to pianos in his post. It would surprise me a bit if pianos sounded differently across different models... but I guess it's not impossible.

The whole machine has that "sheen" to it. The pianos sound and handle noticeably differently.

This is what I wrote at the time:

The Stage 3 as a machine sounds more "polished" to me — there's a high-end sheen that gives it a lovely shimmer that the Stage 2 doesn't have. This applies to the synth and the pianos, as well as the organ. Thankfully, the organ has a horn/rotor balance adjustment to counteract it.

Henrik Stromberg wrote:If we are talking about live stage you will not hear any difference as well as the listeners, but if it is about soundwriting in studio you will hear the difference at mastering part.

Brass samples work *much* better onstage on the 3 than they did with the 2 IMO.