Nord without a Computer?

[sepiareverb]

I recently upgraded my keyboard from a cheap Yamaha MX61. I was waffling between the Stage 3 and the Roland Fantom 07, ended up with the Fantom. Mistake.

I'm in way over my head with this thing. Not the keys, but the interface on the machine and the computer app that is needed to use the keyboard.

So I am wondering:

• Does the Nord Stage 3 come complete? (ie: Are the sounds already loaded?)

• Can parameters be manipulated on the keyboard via dedicated knobs or sliders?

• Can I happily use the Stage 3 for years without EVER needing to connect it to a computer?

[Tracii]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Here are a few answers to your questions:

• Does the Nord Stage 3 come complete? (ie: Are the sounds already loaded?)
The Nord Stage 3 is fully loaded with samples and programs, so you can start playing right after connecting it to your amplification and speakers and powering it up. However, you can also replace the factory default contents (either partially or in total) by loading other sounds/samples as you like, there are tons of them available from both Nord themselves as from users, specifically from this forum

• Can parameters be manipulated on the keyboard via dedicated knobs or sliders?
Yes, that's one of the most important benefits of the Nords - you have ALL parameters available at hand from the panel. Just general system settings require the use of the menu and display

• Can I happily use the Stage 3 for years without EVER needing to connect it to a computer?
Well this depends - if you are fine with the pre-loaded sounds and don't want to backup any self created programs or so the answer is "Yes".
A computer is needed to load additional samples / programs and backup the content of your Nord, this is done by the Nord Sound Manager. You can also create yoru own samples if you like with the help of the Nord Sample Editor, which requires a computer as well. Both software applications are available for Winows and MacOS based computers

[sepiareverb]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Here are a few answers to your questions:

Thank you so much!

Sounds like a much better fit for me.

[Schorsch]

For sure, if you hassle with the interface of the Fantom and the extensive need for a computer when using it

[anotherscott]

I recently upgraded my keyboard from a cheap Yamaha MX61. I was waffling between the Stage 3 and the Roland Fantom 07, ended up with the Fantom. Mistake.

I'm in way over my head with this thing. Not the keys, but the interface on the machine and the computer app that is needed to use the keyboard.

What computer app are you referring to? No app is needed to use the keyboard. I wish there actually WAS a computer-based editor/librarian for the Fantom-0! Maybe you're talking about being able to load in more tones from the Roland Cloud? I agree that that is more complicated than it should be. But you don't need to load those tones to use the keyboard.

Does the Nord Stage 3 come complete? (ie: Are the sounds already loaded?)

Many sounds are loaded into it, but many more are available, which you can choose to load in via computer. In a way, this is similar to the Roland. Either board can be used without a computer. I would characterize the difference this way: Based on what's in the board relative to the available library, you may even be MORE likely to want to use the computer with the Nord than with the Roland, BUT the computer side of things is much better designed and easier to use on the Nord than the Roland as well. Either way, though, you can accomplish an awful lot of what either of these boards can do without connecting either one to a computer.

[Mr_-G-]

"Can I happily use the Stage 3 for years without EVER needing to connect it to a computer?"

Hi, as mentioned above, yes ou can play it "as it comes" out from the box, but that is not the point. These are programmable instruments and they are made so people are able to modify the sounds to their taste, add new and delete sounds that are not to your taste. It would be most unusual to buy a programmable instrument not to program it and only use the factory sounds.
Perhaps a better (and cheaper) option is a preset instrument that has all the sounds you like.
It would also be useful to know in what context you expect to us the instrument so people can give better advice.

[sepiareverb]

I only record. I don't record to a computer, just mix there. I may simply not be able to have a decent key bed, excellent sounds and a simple machine. If I lived somewhere big enough I could have someone come set this one up for me.

[sepiareverb]

...you can accomplish an awful lot of what either of these boards can do without connecting either one to a computer.

I've certainly not found a way to edit anything beyond volume or choosing a particular sound. Nothing I do seems to accomplish anything when making changes to the drawbars or turning knobs. I'm certainly willing to accept that I'm just too dumb for this stuff.

[anotherscott]

I've certainly not found a way to edit anything beyond volume or choosing a particular sound. Nothing I do seems to accomplish anything when making changes to the drawbars or turning knobs.

This is really a different question. Your original question was about using the keyboards without a computer. This question is about how to edit sounds. So addressing this new question:

On either the Fantom-0 OR the Nord Stage 3, no editing of existing sounds is done on the computer. The computer is only used to add additional sounds that are not already in the keyboard. Once they're in the keyboard, all the editing can be done right on the keyboard. (This is different from your Yamaha MX, where most sound editing requires that you connect to a computer and run a third party editor.)

Editing on the Nord is easier than editing on the Roland.

On the Nord, there are two panels. As long as you pay attention to which of the two are active, any change you make to a drawbar or knob will affect the sound you are hearing. Each knob performs one dedicated function, or sometimes a second function if used in conjunction with the Shift button.

On the Fantom, it's a bit more complicated...

... Instead of two panels, you can have as many as 16 zones. Conceptually though, the idea is the same, to the extent that before you edit something, you need to make sure you've selected the panel or zone you want to edit, otherwise adjusting a control may not do what you expect (or it may do nothing at all).

... Instead of knobs/buttons/sliders that can do only one or perhaps two dedicated things, many Fantom controls can do many different things, in different circumstances.

Illustrating a difference using your drawbar example, there are two kinds of organ sounds in the Roland. Some are samples of organ sounds, and those inherently do not support drawbar adjustment. But there's also a drawbar organ engine more like Nord's, the VTW (virtual tonewheel) engine, and if you use a VTW sound, then the sliders will indeed let you adjust the drawbar levels. So for the sliders to work as drawbars, the organ sound must specifically be a VTW sound (which, BTW, can only be used in zone 2), AND you have to SELECT the zone 2 sound and hit the PARAMeter button which will allow the sliders to specifically address your zone 2 sound (which is your VTW organ). Obviously, this is more complicated than on the Nord, where the drawbars always affect the organ sound. So Nord drawbar manipulation is simpler, but the tradeoff is that those 9 sliders can never be used for anything OTHER than controlling organ parameters, whereas the sliders on the Roland can also be used for other things.

BTW, the way to set up an organ scene in the Roland so that you can most easily access the drawbar functions is (a) put a VTW organ sound in Zone 2 (the only zone you can put a VTW organ into), and then (b) save that scene with Zone 2 as the primary ("selected") sound. Now, whenever you call up that Scene from the touchscreen, all you have to do is hit the PARAM button, and the screen will instantly switch to the drawbar display and your sliders will instantly control the drawbars (well, the first 8 of the 9). Until you hit the PARAM button, the sliders function in their default manner, where slider 1 is the volume for the sound in zone 1, slider 2 is the volume for the sound in zone 2, etc.

It's not insurmountable, but there's definitely more of a learning curve to the Roland. The Nord and the Roland well illustrate the trade-off between simplicity and flexibility... though the Stage 3 is not the easiest of the "simplicity" boards, and the Roland is not the most complicated of the "flexibility" boards!

[cookie]

Stage are meant to be customised !
Therefore a computer IS needed to transfer and organize your sounds.
You can also create and transfer your own samples, but the computer is also required here.
And nope, both apps (Sound Manager and Sample Editor) don't run on tablets !

Fred