Nord User Forum

I've played a Casio AP200 at home for quite a while now, and just gota Nord Electro 6 with the waterfall keybed to use at Open Mics. I'm finding a lot of notes simply don't sound at all when I play quietly, and I can easily press the keys down gently and no sound occurs, unlike on the Casio which will always sound no matter how softly or slowly I press the keys. From what I can find online I think this is a normal behaviour of real pianos, and the Nord is correctly emulating this (but the casio doesn't). Is this correct? It only happens in the piano mode, organ and synth always sound regardless, but trying to play 'emotionally' I might lose half my notes which is very frustrating! Do I just have very bad technique or should I send the keyboard back to be looked at?

Try to change the KBd Touch setting of NE6 Piano section to better fit your touch (it is a per-program parameter).

iworkallday wrote:I've played a Casio AP200 at home for quite a while now, and just gota Nord Electro 6 with the waterfall keybed to use at Open Mics. I'm finding a lot of notes simply don't sound at all when I play quietly, and I can easily press the keys down gently and no sound occurs, unlike on the Casio which will always sound no matter how softly or slowly I press the keys. From what I can find online I think this is a normal behaviour of real pianos, and the Nord is correctly emulating this (but the casio doesn't). Is this correct? It only happens in the piano mode, organ and synth always sound regardless, but trying to play 'emotionally' I might lose half my notes which is very frustrating! Do I just have very bad technique or should I send the keyboard back to be looked at?

This is how pianos operate.

Striking a key on a real piano swings a felted hammer against the string. It doesn't *press* the hammer against the string, because that would instantly mute the sound, so the hammer has to cover the last bit of distance out of its own momentum. If you press the key too slowly, the hammer stops short of the actual string and there will be no sound.

Your Casio simply does not accurately replicate the behaviour of a real piano.

Well, to be honest: The Electro 6D doesn't accurately replicate a real piano, either. It does on the software side, but the waterfall key action is optimised for organ, not piano playing. I always struggle when trying to play acoustic piano on my Stage 3 Compact (with the same action). You can to a certain extent...

So, there is probably nothing wrong with your keyboard, it's just not a dedicated digital piano even if it has acoustic piano sounds. You will be fine with organ and synth playing, even with EP sounds. Playing acoustic piano will always be a compromise on the Electro 6D. If you are looking for a more realistic piano feel, it's the Nord Piano or the Stage-HA line you need to look after. Or the Electro 6HP (which is optimised for portability and not the most convincing piano action, either).

Thanks all -- yeah, sounds like my technique, picked up from a more forgiving old electronic piano, rather than the Nord. No worries, it's probably better for me in the long term to learn to play properly anyway! Just glad to know I'm not sending my keyboard back as it's 'broken' when it's not!

thanks!