Nord User Forum

The hammer action keybeds on stage 3 or piano 5 or nord grand is not graded.. should it be graded??
There are some people telling me the real grand pianos having graded hammer action keybeds.. some others tell me they are not graded and only some are graded..

So is it a must to be graded?? Is it a good or a bad thing?? Or is it just a preference of players??

I read that the kawai mp7 keybed has graded hammer action and nord took this keybed without being graded and put it at the nord grand.. and the whole keybed is like the upper right side of the kawai mp7 action which means easier to play..

Thanks in advance for your time

As far as I am aware, most "Digital Pianos" that first-and-foremost strive to recreate an acoustic piano feel & sound are going to be graded to replicate how the thicker bass strings on the piano require more force to achieve similar volume as the higher strings. However, most "Electric Pianos" and "Keyboards" are not graded, so Nords keyboards are not graded as the result of that... they need to cater to Keyboardists and Piano players, as well as Organ players, etc.

In a real acoustic grand, the hammer mechanism is beneath each string and pushes the hammer upward when you depress a note.
If you were to examine this mechanism for yourself you’ll also see that the size (and thus mass) of each hammer is large at the lowest strings, and grows smaller as you approach the highest strings.
This variance in hammer weight contributes to the perception that the lower keys are “heavier”.
Upright pianos’ hammers strike horizontally, thus there is less of this feel.
Graded actions are a big marketing angle, and those who tout it would like you to believe they took greater care in designing/building them.
Note that synths, organs, and even electric pianos don’t need this, and in fact, such actions get in the way in those cases.
So I’d argue that it only matters if you learned on and played on a grand exclusively… and acoustic pianos are going to be your most used performance voice.

I have seen some videos about how big are the hammer at lower end and how small they become at the upper end..

Shouldnt nord grand be graded then?? Since its supposed to be the ultimate pianist digital or electric piano??

PScooter63 wrote:… If you were to examine this mechanism for yourself you’ll also see that the size (and thus mass) of each hammer is large at the lowest strings, and grows smaller as you approach the highest strings ...

Yes, so it is. I‘ve just taken some minutes to take fotos of this part of my upright piano. The smaller a hammer gets, the less pressure the key needs. This is not subjective as it is easily recognizable with bare finger.

I would not deal it as a marketing gag but in deed as a step upwards from standard to premium keybeds.

And for those who ask from time to time: From G3 on upwards no more dampers.

Cheers from sunny Germany

I tryed today an upright ottobach piano.. and the lower end was a little bit heavier than the upper end… but it wasnt so big deal in the feeling on my hands.. the nord grand compared to that ottobach upright has a better action feel ..

Tasten-Bert wrote:And for those who ask from time to time: From G3 on upwards no more dampers.

G5, surely?

Which key exactly drops the dampers is dependent upon make and model.

It's F5 on my 1982 Toyo upright, and A5 on my Yamaha CP-70 electric grand.

analogika wrote:

Tasten-Bert wrote:And for those who ask from time to time: From G3 on upwards no more dampers.

G5, surely?

Which key exactly drops the dampers is dependent upon make and model.

It's F5 on my 1982 Toyo upright, and A5 on my Yamaha CP-70 electric grand.

To avoid irritation: The first key without damper which I mean is what we call „3-gestrichenes G“ and I don‘t know how this octave is called internationally. I just had the idea one could call it G3. It’s in the second but last octave from the top. By the way, mine is a Sauter 130 from 1988.

Furthermore I thought it might be the same key no matter which piano brand, but it doesn‘t appear to be so.

Anyway, it’s never too late to learn something new.

Thanks and cheers

Tasten-Bert wrote:

analogika wrote:

Tasten-Bert wrote:And for those who ask from time to time: From G3 on upwards no more dampers.

G5, surely?

Which key exactly drops the dampers is dependent upon make and model.

It's F5 on my 1982 Toyo upright, and A5 on my Yamaha CP-70 electric grand.

To avoid irritation: The first key without damper which I mean is what we call „3-gestrichenes G“ and I don‘t know how this octave is called internationally. I just had the idea one could call it G3.

Ah, I thought that might be it — makes sense!

The standard definition names the middle C as "C4", with the next one up "C5" etc., but in MIDI terms, the "C1" of the piano world is "C0", so middle C is "C3". I tend to think in MIDI, so the F two and a half octaves above middle C is "F5" to me.