Nord User Forum

Hello. I think this kind of thread has been done before but I'm not sure how to look up any previous threads regarding this particular topic. I would like to know which pianos Nord users like to use and for which genres. Personally, I usually just stick to the White Grand but at times it can feel too rich and so I find switching to the Royal Grand 3D can sometimes feel nice for a change. Primarily I usually just play a lot of modern music, gravitating more towards top 40 music.

Logically the way would probably be to download all the sounds and try each one at a time, but I thought that could be too cumbersome and could end up being detrimental instead as playing too many sounds at once can become confusing and ear fatiguing.

So, what are other Nord users' preferential piano sounds?

Maybe this is the type of thread you were looking for general-nord-forum-f29/grand-piano-poll ... 20431.html or general-nord-forum-f29/poll-favorite-ac ... 14957.html ?

maxpiano wrote:Maybe this is the type of thread you were looking for general-nord-forum-f29/grand-piano-poll ... 20431.html or general-nord-forum-f29/poll-favorite-ac ... 14957.html ?

Great for a starting point! But I think they're both in a way outdated (2nd one 2018, and first thread last post was 2nd Feb 2022)

So, I think it would be great if people can just chime in and explain which pianos they are currently using (or have used before) and explain what genre's they generally use them for or songs/settings/etc. so other users can make informed decisions to possibly try other piano sounds.

It is anyway a matter of personal tastes, personally I would not delegate my choices to others and I find it is faster for me to load all the pianos of my interest (Med version is enough to understand the character) in my NS3 and try them myself. But that's my way, YMMV

I have a NS3 which I have used extensively for recording and live. I tend to use the White Grand as my main piano for rock, jazz and pop with band, Royal Grand 3D when I need a brighter sound and the Velvet Grand when I need a darker sound for solo pop/jazz/classical (XL versions for all). I tend to only use the upright piano sounds when I am trying to recreate historic recording sounds i.e. Beatles and mostly use the Amber Upright and sometimes the new Pearl upright.. I just received my NS4 and hope that Nord will add some new pianos sooner than later as there have been very few added in the last many years.

Winds wrote:

maxpiano wrote:Maybe this is the type of thread you were looking for general-nord-forum-f29/grand-piano-poll ... 20431.html or general-nord-forum-f29/poll-favorite-ac ... 14957.html ?

Great for a starting point! But I think they're both in a way outdated (2nd one 2018, and first thread last post was 2nd Feb 2022)

So, I think it would be great if people can just chime in and explain which pianos they are currently using (or have used before) and explain what genre's they generally use them for or songs/settings/etc. so other users can make informed decisions to possibly try other piano sounds.

There was another big chat recently in the general forum: general-nord-forum-f29/it-s-that-time-a ... 22485.html though it was last updated in August of 2022.

agcohn wrote:

Winds wrote:

maxpiano wrote:Maybe this is the type of thread you were looking for general-nord-forum-f29/grand-piano-poll ... 20431.html or general-nord-forum-f29/poll-favorite-ac ... 14957.html ?

Great for a starting point! But I think they're both in a way outdated (2nd one 2018, and first thread last post was 2nd Feb 2022)

So, I think it would be great if people can just chime in and explain which pianos they are currently using (or have used before) and explain what genre's they generally use them for or songs/settings/etc. so other users can make informed decisions to possibly try other piano sounds.

There was another big chat recently in the general forum: general-nord-forum-f29/it-s-that-time-a ... 22485.html though it was last updated in August of 2022.

This seems to be most relevant thread to my inquiry. Gambold also posts a decent summary of the thread. The whole thread is also pretty informative. Thanks for the share

Winds wrote: Logically the way would probably be to download all the sounds and try each one at a time, but I thought that could be too cumbersome and could end up being detrimental instead as playing too many sounds at once can become confusing and ear fatiguing.

This doesn't sound very logical to me... to avoid "ear fatigue", you prefer to simply not listen to the sounds and choose randomly, trusting the judgement of complete strangers?
I see at least 2 big problems here:
1- other people may have totally different tastes than yours
2- most important, other people may use pianos in totally different contexts: different musical styles, different bands, different amplification...all of this will have a HUGE effect on how a piano sounds and if it's suitable or not for the job.

Your NS3 has plenty of memory, you are easily able to load all the pianos and test them.
I agree that comparing over 20 pianos at the same time can be confusing, so I'd start maybe from the Grands. You can load all of them in Large format.
What I usually do is create a program with two pianos on the two A-B panels. String resonance on, pedal noise on (if you have the triple pedal), long release off. No EQ or effects. I then set up a volume morph so that I can fade between the two pianos using the control pedal, without stopping playing.
In this way it's very easy to switch between a piano sound and another and hear the differences, discard the one you don't like and move on to the next.
Once you're finished with the grands, you can repeat the process with the other categories (uprights, electric pianos etc), if you're interested.

You will probably end up with 2 or 3 sounds that you like, and you can then test them live with your band, mixer and amplification.
Warning: the results will probably be dramatically different than hearing the piano alone in your room, especially if you only listen on headphones!

Spider wrote:

Winds wrote: Logically the way would probably be to download all the sounds and try each one at a time, but I thought that could be too cumbersome and could end up being detrimental instead as playing too many sounds at once can become confusing and ear fatiguing.

This doesn't sound very logical to me... to avoid "ear fatigue", you prefer to simply not listen to the sounds and choose randomly, trusting the judgement of complete strangers?
I see at least 2 big problems here:
1- other people may have totally different tastes than yours
2- most important, other people may use pianos in totally different contexts: different musical styles, different bands, different amplification...all of this will have a HUGE effect on how a piano sounds and if it's suitable or not for the job.

Your NS3 has plenty of memory, you are easily able to load all the pianos and test them.
I agree that comparing over 20 pianos at the same time can be confusing, so I'd start maybe from the Grands. You can load all of them in Large format.
What I usually do is create a program with two pianos on the two A-B panels. String resonance on, pedal noise on (if you have the triple pedal), long release off. No EQ or effects. I then set up a volume morph so that I can fade between the two pianos using the control pedal, without stopping playing.
In this way it's very easy to switch between a piano sound and another and hear the differences, discard the one you don't like and move on to the next.
Once you're finished with the grands, you can repeat the process with the other categories (uprights, electric pianos etc), if you're interested.

You will probably end up with 2 or 3 sounds that you like, and you can then test them live with your band, mixer and amplification.
Warning: the results will probably be dramatically different than hearing the piano alone in your room, especially if you only listen on headphones!

When you have a full time job, also side hustling so sometimes working 24-7 round the clock, not to mention a family with 2 children (and still very young like baby ages so they need my full attention and time too) so need time with them as well, I need to do what I can to minimise processes, so yes, trusting a bunch of complete strangers but with a grain of salt. If I was still a single unit I definitely wouldn't mind wanting to try the way you mentioned, but with my current situation I have to make do with what I can, so my time is extremely precious and limited.

You should start by just testing everything that has an XL version, as those will be the newest / best recorded samples.