How do you tell exactly NS4 has quality piano samples?

[maximus]

Hello everyone!

I honestly start to question why everyone brags so much about the quality of the Nord stage piano? It seems unless you have $$$$ to spend on good quality speakers, the keyboard is a waste, how everyone is experiencing that high quality samples exactly?? Certainly not through headphones. My old Yamaha P515 sounds very good through its own internal speakers...w/o spending $$$$
I connected 2 Bose S1 pro to my NS4C and the sound is good but not great! Then others say that HS8 and alike are not very good. So how do you guys experience the so called best piano samples? Hopefully not via headphones cause that's not how the music gets its best for sure, far from that..

Thank you.

[cphollis]

I experience mine through headphones, IEMs, room speakers, studio monitors, personal stage amps as well as big PA systems. Nords aren't exactly cheap, so I stick to better quality gear.

The pianos also record and reproduce well for the stuff I do. If someone is really into high-def piano samples, they should be considering software instruments.

Other things to keep in mind? A real weighted controller will improve the "sound" of piano voices vs. the unweighted NS4C keybed you mention. You might want to try using your P515 as a midi controller -- you should notice a big difference.

Also, unless you are standing out in the audience, you won't really have a good idea of how you sound through a pair of Bose S1 Pros as they're not ideal for near-field monitoring. Properly set up, I think they sound pretty good for what they are.

[maximus]

I experience mine through headphones, IEMs, room speakers, studio monitors, personal stage amps as well as big PA systems. Nords aren't exactly cheap, so I stick to better quality gear.

The pianos also record and reproduce well for the stuff I do. If someone is really into high-def piano samples, they should be considering software instruments.

Other things to keep in mind? A real weighted controller will improve the "sound" of piano voices vs. the unweighted NS4C keybed you mention. You might want to try using your P515 as a midi controller -- you should notice a big difference.

Also, unless you are standing out in the audience, you won't really have a good idea of how you sound through a pair of Bose S1 Pros as they're not ideal for near-field monitoring. Properly set up, I think they sound pretty good for what they are.

Not sure I understand how P515 can improve the sound output of the Nord. Please elaborate a bit.
I tweaked a bit the S1 pro and sound much better, but they do cut off the lowe freq possibilities of the stage, around 62Hz I think, and high 17khz, so far from 20Hz-20khz. Still a good option since I had them already. Will try the L1 Pro 8, should be much better.

Thanks for your comments!

[Slide]

Of course, the NS4C has a triple sensor action. Nevertheless, you don't have a hammer action available nor a hammer action feel. That way, controlling velocity is far from what you should be used to. Just connect your P-515 (if you still have it) to the MIDI port of the NS4C and use the key action of the P-515 to control the NS4C sounds. It will improve your piano playing experience a lot.

You may see that inappropriate sounding of the piano voices has a lot to do with the unusual, organ-centered waterfall key action of the NS4C.

[cphollis]

Not sure I understand how P515 can improve the sound output of the Nord. Please elaborate a bit.
I tweaked a bit the S1 pro and sound much better, but they do cut off the lowe freq possibilities of the stage, around 62Hz I think, and high 17khz, so far from 20Hz-20khz. Still a good option since I had them already. Will try the L1 Pro 8, should be much better.

Thanks for your comments!

Unless you've trained yourself, it's quite difficult to get a smooth, rich acoustic piano sound on an unweighted keybed -- it just doesn't sound right. Using a weighted keybed controller improves the situation considerably.

The Bose S1 Pro has an artificially boosted bass response between 100-120 Hz which can make pianos sound dark and tubby. I would EQ maybe -10dB out of this range. The rest of the frequency response curve is flat enough.

[maximus]

Not sure I understand how P515 can improve the sound output of the Nord. Please elaborate a bit.
I tweaked a bit the S1 pro and sound much better, but they do cut off the lowe freq possibilities of the stage, around 62Hz I think, and high 17khz, so far from 20Hz-20khz. Still a good option since I had them already. Will try the L1 Pro 8, should be much better.

Thanks for your comments!

Unless you've trained yourself, it's quite difficult to get a smooth, rich acoustic piano sound on an unweighted keybed -- it just doesn't sound right. Using a weighted keybed controller improves the situation considerably.

The Bose S1 Pro has an artificially boosted bass response between 100-120 Hz which can make pianos sound dark and tubby. I would EQ maybe -10dB out of this range. The rest of the frequency response curve is flat enough.

Understood. I will deal with the EQ later (what's the best way to deal with the EQ, what do you use), right now Im not going through my audio interf, just straight to the speakers. After lowing the bass and set tone to OFF, it sounds much better. Thank you for your time!

[maximus]

Of course, the NS4C has a triple sensor action. Nevertheless, you don't have a hammer action available nor a hammer action feel. That way, controlling velocity is far from what you should be used to. Just connect your P-515 (if you still have it) to the MIDI port of the NS4C and use the key action of the P-515 to control the NS4C sounds. It will improve your piano playing experience a lot.

You may see that inappropriate sounding of the piano voices has a lot to do with the unusual, organ-centered waterfall key action of the NS4C.

Will give it a shot, as I still have that 515 (love it). It offers a lot of for a cheap price.

Many thanks for your help!

[cphollis]

On your NS4, there's a full parametric equalizer for each section. Set the midrange sweep to 110Hz and the filter to -10dB -- it should sound miles better. I like a little sparkle, so I'd use the "bright" filter setting on APs with that speaker.

[maximus]

On your NS4, there's a full parametric equalizer for each section. Set the midrange sweep to 110Hz and the filter to -10dB -- it should sound miles better. I like a little sparkle, so I'd use the "bright" filter setting on APs with that speaker.

Thank you ,are you talking about the the EQ knobs under AMP/SIM EQ panel (can't locate 110Hz)? I assume those settings affect all sections turned ON? One thing I noticed is the keys sound differently if I hit them soft or hard, assume that's due to the velocity response, is there a best setting to use here?
Many thanks!

[maxpiano]

On your NS4, there's a full parametric equalizer for each section. Set the midrange sweep to 110Hz and the filter to -10dB -- it should sound miles better. I like a little sparkle, so I'd use the "bright" filter setting on APs with that speaker.

Thank you ,are you talking about the the EQ knobs under AMP/SIM EQ panel? I assume those settings affect all sections turned ON? One thing I noticed is the keys sound differently if I hit them soft or hard, assume that's due to the velocity response, is there a best setting to use here?
Many thanks!

AMP/SIM and EQ are per Layer (don't "assume" but read the manual instead it also explains the velocity curve setting available in Piano section btw )