Nord User Forum

Hi guys,
I've had this problem that my Stage 4 doesn't seem to sync with my mac using Ableton Live.
The Stage just keeps jumping between random bpms instead of syncing to the bpm on the song in Ableton.
All of the settings on Ableton are set correctly and I even switched to the Stage 3 (that I still have thankfully!) and it works just fine with it.

Anybody else had the same problem? Is this a bug that (desperately!) needs to be fixed?

I have written here on the forum a lot about NS4’s MIDI sync issues and reported to Clavia as well. In my experience NS4 wont catch midi clock consistently, it can miss for example faster bpm’s. Also if you switch preset while midi timing is on, likely (not every time) new preset’s lfos and arps go crazy. I also noticed that if I used Boome MIDI translator app NS4 had more timing problems than it had with Elektron’ MIDI clock (which is btw rock solid). So I can see that computer (Ableton) based timing is not working well either. In general there are lot of issues to fix especially when NS4 is connected to external gear.

And yes, Stage 3, which I still have, works much better with external MIDI.

Same problem here syncing to Reaper. The master clock on the NS4 goes from one BPM to the other.
Hitting start en stop in Reaper several times seems to eventually make the NS4 show the correct tempo. But I would not go on stage with this setup...

I am finding the same master clock sync problem using my Nord Stage 4 with Logic.

The pump feature keeps slipping to duck on the up beats - not the down beats. It’s alright for 16 bars or so, but then it wanders.

It’s a total shame. The pump feature was one of the main reasons I bought this stage keyboard- and now I can’t go on stage with it either!

Please sort this quickly Nord.

Same problems here. Doesn't catch faster bpm's, sometimes it does find the tempo but it always takes a while to get it right and then slowly walks up to it. It also never stays at the same tempo, it balances around it the whole time making it sound quite inconsistent.
Really annoying because a lot of features (pump effect, lfo's, arpeggiator) are useless when not synced to a click, so I hope there will be a fix soon.

I had a chat with Customer service at Nord.

Apparently this is a known issue. They said they need to fix it - but haven't given an ETA.

They suggested setting your DAW (mine is Logic) to send SPP at Play Start Only.

That helped a little. Less confusing for the NS4. Though it still takes about 16 bars to find the correct tempo - which is not acceptable.

I'm still waiting a response to my second email - requesting an ETA for the clock sync bug.

I am really disappointed with Nord’s very slow progress on fixing these MIDI sync issues and external MIDI issues in general.

In my use the most critical problem is LFOs and arpeggios getting crazy if you switch program when MIDI clock is ticking. It makes impossible to have two or more programs for one song (if you use MIDI clock and LFOs and arps). It’s really annoying.

I have reported this to Nord on May and now we are near September.

Here’s a video which shows it clearly. I take MIDI clock from Elektron Digitone and you’ll hear how it behaves when I choose another program on NS4:

I get the impression that not much happens at Nord during their summer hours time of year (which is wrapping up soon). Traditionally, Swedes take four or five weeks off in the summer (by law, Swedish employees have 25 holidays) and head to their country houses (usually in July). In August, Swedes start heading back to the office after their summer holidays.

Some of them are already back as I received an email from Nord support about a week ago.

I *really* love Nord products. But this is not acceptable. Fortunately for me, I don't rely on this feature. But if I did, I'd be furious. They have had months to fix it.

Being relatively new to Nord, my first purchase was a Stage 3 last year. That was a mature product with virtually no bugs, if any. All worked out. And I kept reading on these forums that when the Stage 4 comes out, it would be a while before it is stable. I couldn't really understand what that means. Now I get it!

I know they are a small company. But this is an expensive product. They should have had more resources available to work out the bugs before everyone went on vacation. (Honestly, as a small business owner myself, this idea that they all just go on vacation is hard to relate to, but I'm just an American used to working a lot, I guess. How else could I afford a Nord?)

I've owned and sold many keyboards (Kronos, Montage, Genos and YC) in my long trek to find the right keyboard which turned out to be a Nord Stage. Like you, when I finally found the Stage 3 it was bug free. Of course, a few months later here comes the Stage 4. So I upgraded and am mostly happy, living with the bugs along with the combination of great sounds and flexibility I hadn't found in any other board.