Nord User Forum

Hi everyone,

I have seen several listings for nord leads 2x and 3 in my area. Some of them are really juicy but I am a bit worried buying a 20 years old synth that could die on me in 2 years... What has been your experience in this regard? Thank you in advance for your help

Well my 12 year old Nord Stage 2 is working almost like new. I know the synths use a more flimsy keybed. But most Nord's are built like a tank - and last al long time. My Nord Electro 6 got noise on some of the keys - A well known problem on HP-keybeds - but it does not affect the sound any way.

Last year I sold my then 17 years old Nord Stage Compact Classic and it was in very good shape (tbf, I only used it for gigs occasionally but I played it at home and in band rehearsals very regularly).

I had an original Nord Lead a couple of years ago. it worked great everything was working and sounded great. it was around 30 years old. One key had a crack but everything else was fine. I'd have kept it but it didnt have built in FX's, so i found it less use in a live setting. I've had qiute a few used Nord, Stages and Electros. All were well built and would last many years.
Nord

Thank you to everyone who answered! I am almost ready to pull the trigger. If I get this synth I hope it can keep me company for many years

My Nord Electro (first edition) has a manufacturing date of June 2002. It's older than my now grown-up children. Still plays fine and has a new lease of life as a MIDI controller to my Logic / Mainstage rig at home.

I have had about a dozen Nords over the years, most of them bought used.
Ironically, the only failure I ever had was on an Electro 4 that I purchased brand new when it came out (and was promptly solved under warranty)

Apart from that, many of the Nords I use/used are 10-15 years old, and I never had any issue. If the instrument was not abused, dropped, or exposed to extreme temperature, humidity or dust, it should be fine for many years to go!

Ritchie333 wrote: 07 May 2025, 14:54 My Nord Electro (first edition) has a manufacturing date of June 2002. It's older than my now grown-up children. Still plays fine and has a new lease of life as a MIDI controller to my Logic / Mainstage rig at home.

Yeah, this Nord lead 3 is from 2001. It would be even older than me... which sounds virtually normal for a "classic" synth like a minimoog but for a VA it sure is something you don't expect

About NL3s potential issues, you may want take a look at this thread (just to know about it) viewtopic.php?t=7865

maxpiano wrote: 08 May 2025, 16:27 About NL3s potential issues, you may want take a look at this thread (just to know about it) viewtopic.php?t=7865

Hi max, thank you for bringing that up. I am aware about these problems, the seller has sworn to me that the unit has never had any power supply issue and I personally tried it at his house. I also tried it at my house leaving it on for hours and it seems like nothing was wrong. Hope it won't fail on me in the next years, after buying it I will consider bringing it to italy's nord supplier for a check-up.