Nord User Forum

Hello again, I have NS3 and I'm beginner. If I play only one note at time compressor does nothing am I right?

Second question is what do you guys think about compressor and organ (B3) together? Organ doesn't have touch sensitivity and all the notes play same volume. If I turn the compressor to maximum it will boost bass at least, but does this change organ character over all. If I use compressor to boost bass maybe I don't even have to touch EQ bass at all.

Character of the piano will at least change when you but lot of compressor there is less dynamic but how about organ? Thanks all.

McArska wrote:Hello again, I have NS3 and I'm beginner. If I play only one note at time compressor does nothing am I right?

Second question is what do you guys think about compressor and organ (B3) together? Organ doesn't have touch sensitivity and all the notes play same volume. If I turn the compressor to maximum it will boost bass at least, but does this change organ character over all. If I use compressor to boost bass maybe I don't even have to touch EQ bass at all.

Character of the piano will at least change when you but lot of compressor there is less dynamic but how about organ? Thanks all.

Hello, compression works based on the level of the sound output, regardless how many notes you play, so if even with 1 note you go beyond the threshold the compressor will activate.

Using compressor on Organ imo is a bit pointless, because an organ has no dynamics by definition (it is on/off) and organists use Swell (and otehr tricks) to create some dynamic expression, the Compressor would just "kill" that effort. If you need to boost Organ bass frequencies is better you use the EQ.

The Compressor Block, along with the Reverb, processes the entire mixed signal from the currently selected panel, unlike other effects which are specific to a single instrument block. It is also the last block in the effects chain. Compressors are a very common type of effect, if you're new to them, you should read up on them a bit to understand how they work. They absolutely can effect a single note, in fact, the 60s/70s pop piano sound is typically a heavy compressor used to make every single note punchy (think Elton John). Compressors are used for a number of different purposes. Depending on how they're set, they can smooth the dynamics of a track, or make a single instrument more punchy, or tame an instrument that's too punchy. Nord gives you very little control, but typically it adds punch while boosting the lower volumes, making for less dynamic range.

But I want to stress that it functions across the entire panel mix, all notes together, it isn't some kind of deep digital processor, it's an old analog style effect that smooths the dynamics.

What Eric said. I didn't use it much on the NS3 unless I was going for an overly compressed piano sound.

At the mixer level, keys usually get some gentle compression as well as a ~400Hz filter notch to remove midrange muddiness. If that's not happening, I'll do the same on the Nord itself.

On the NS4, it's FX-per-voice, so the effect is far more usable. Compression is a single-knob affair, but a very useful single knob that does what I want.

EricBarker wrote:But I want to stress that it functions across the entire panel mix, all notes together, it isn't some kind of deep digital processor, it's an old analog style effect that smooths the dynamics.

This is an important point, on Nord Stages up to NS3 the Compressor is Global and at the end of the chain (just before Reverb)

I just want to point out that Compressor is possibly the ONE and only effect that can you can potentially use more live than in the studio without damaging the sound. Reverb... turn it off, delay... turn it down. But compression can be a sound guy's best friend when he's in the thick of it. And thank god the Comp is pre-Reverb, otherwise Comp can boost the reverb, and that's the LAST thing the world needs!

Don't mess with compressors. Just play the black and white keys. Compressors are the biggest scam pulled on the music production industry since the cowbell.