Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

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Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by Swampfox »

I know the stage 4 is triple sensor but is the difference in the actions noticeable to most players?
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by M_a_c »

For me it may not be exactly measurable - but feelable... It´s not only the additional sensor, but the whole keybed... Fighting with this TP/100 for years, the NS4 (TP/110) is a pleasure to play... I just purchased a Studiologic NumaX73 for its similar keybed to be used for "the street" / to use from rehearsal to session and back, to save my NS4 from dirty rehearsal-rooms and lots of traveling, when a highend Key isn´t required... Again it is a milestone against the older SL73... So for me the NS4 is an improvement against the NS3... But this is again a subjective question - I don´t like unnatural hard Stagepiano-keybeds... Playing an real acoustic Piano shows me, how soft a Piano-Keybed should feel... The NS3 didn´t, but the NS4 reaches it...
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by cphollis »

Swampfox wrote: 29 Mar 2025, 23:33 I know the stage 4 is triple sensor but is the difference in the actions noticeable to most players?
Yes. I like the newer actions much better than those on the previous NS3, NP4 et. al. Very pleasant.
I think I have gear issues ....
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by FZiegler »

M_a_c wrote: 30 Mar 2025, 00:20 Fighting with this TP/100 for years, the NS4 (TP/110) is a pleasure to play...
IIRC, the Fatar TP/100 is the name of the keybed for the NS3-76HP. There's nothing similar in the NS4 family. Isn't the keybed of the NS3-88HA and the NS4-88HA both called a Fatar TP/40? Even if they may not feel totally the same?

Practically, the NS4-88HA has the first piano action amoung the Nord Stages I'd accept for my playing (don't have it yet - have a NS3-Compact instead because I wasn't happy with the NS3-88HA).
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by DanielD71 »

Did not really saw a big difference in the action but the triple sensor is the big difference for me. Can play repetitive notes faster.
You no longer have to retrigger completely the key.
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by M_a_c »

FZiegler wrote: 30 Mar 2025, 07:38 IIRC, the Fatar TP/100 is the name of the keybed for the NS3-76HP. There's nothing similar in the NS4 family. Isn't the keybed of the NS3-88HA and the NS4-88HA both called a Fatar TP/40? Even if they may not feel totally the same?

Practically, the NS4-88HA has the first piano action amoung the Nord Stages I'd accept for my playing (don't have it yet - have a NS3-Compact instead because I wasn't happy with the NS3-88HA).
The TP/100 has been in the NS3 - the NS4 got the TP/110... As far as I know the 73er and the 88er NS4 have the same "HA"-keybed...
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by maxpiano »

M_a_c wrote: 30 Mar 2025, 22:54
FZiegler wrote: 30 Mar 2025, 07:38 IIRC, the Fatar TP/100 is the name of the keybed for the NS3-76HP. There's nothing similar in the NS4 family. Isn't the keybed of the NS3-88HA and the NS4-88HA both called a Fatar TP/40? Even if they may not feel totally the same?

Practically, the NS4-88HA has the first piano action amoung the Nord Stages I'd accept for my playing (don't have it yet - have a NS3-Compact instead because I wasn't happy with the NS3-88HA).
The TP/100 has been in the NS3 - the NS4 got the TP/110... As far as I know the 73er and the 88er NS4 have the same "HA"-keybed...
Not exactly, HA is always a TP40 on all Nords and so it is for NS4 HA88/73 (not a TP110, not used yet on any Nord as of now)
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by FZiegler »

Thanks, @maxpiano, for confirming: no such thing as a TP/110 on any Nord yet. But interesting to hear that the TP/40 in the Stage 4 and the TP/110 in the NumaX feel similar to you, @M_a_c, when practicing.

I'd like to add that the Nord Stage 4 with 73 keys is not always a HA version; it can either be a hammer action (TP/40) or the organ key action of the Compact (TP/8O).
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by Swampfox »

I'm a bit confused but what I'm hearing is that the Stage 3 and 4 HA are likely from the same Fatar family, ie TP40 but the 3rd sensor makes the action a bit more 'piano like' with repeats and experienced Nord players find the action to be an improvement over the NS3.
FWIW, I have an AP, a Kawai MP11SE, a NS3 compact, and access to a NS3 HA88. I find the action of NS 3 HA 88 to be meh, not horrible but not really piano like. The MP11 comes closest to the AP but is far to heavy to be considered portable, at least to me. Anyway, I found a good price on a NS 4 88 and decided to go for it, it certainly should be more piano like than the compact, and lighter than the MP11. I mostly play the AP but it's slightly less portable than a swimming pool. :D
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Re: Stage 3 HA88 vs Stage 4 HA actions

Post by NoDirection »

I think the confusion here is that on the Nord Stage 3 they used two different hammer keybeds - TP/40 on 88 and TP/100 on the 76 model. On Nord Stage 4 the two hammer acttion keybeds are the same. TP/40 with tripple sensor.
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