Nord User Forum

To save some sanity (and space) i'd love to be able to use a single sustain pedal for both the nord stage 3 and a connected midi controller.

Typical use case scenario- I have a wurly patch on panel A, and a piano patch on panel B. I set the midi as channel 1 for panel B. The issue is the pedal only works on the active layer thats selected.
Any thoughts?

not directly internal to the stage 3, but you could connect the midi out on the stage 3 to the midi keyboard and set it up to drive the sustain on the midi keyboard.

or you could get a dual sustain pedal and connect to both keyboards

cgrafx wrote: 06 Aug 2025, 00:51 not directly internal to the stage 3, but you could connect the midi out on the stage 3 to the midi keyboard and set it up to drive the sustain on the midi keyboard.

or you could get a dual sustain pedal and connect to both keyboards

I used a dual sustain pedal - until i got my NS4. The dual pedal solution is definitely more cost-effective, but if you're looking for that excuse to push you over the edge ...

I have no idea how Panel A/B MIDI works. But if you use DualKB MIDI and select one sound generator only (e.g. DualKB / Piano), you can use the external keyboard to play that sound together with the Nord's controllers. This is different with DualKB / Panel B setting.

FZiegler wrote: 06 Aug 2025, 14:11 I have no idea how Panel A/B MIDI works. But if you use DualKB MIDI and select one sound generator only (e.g. DualKB / Piano), you can use the external keyboard to play that sound together with the Nord's controllers. This is different with DualKB / Panel B setting.

Yes but in that case the Dual KB sections will ignore the Nord own pedal(s) as they will respond only to external MIDI, so the dual sustain pedal is a solution, to avoid more convolute solutions like using Extern to send the sustain pedal (CC64) from the NS to the MIDI Controller and then using its MIDI Merge or routing capabilities (if available) to send it back to the NS over the DualKB channel

It's a little tricky, but NO: I don't think you are right.

The programs I play with DualKB in Panel mode cannot be played with only one normal sustain pedal. It will only influence the internally played engines.

But if you use DualKB in (what I call) Single Engine mode (meaning Piano, Synth or Organ mode), you can play with one sustain pedal influencing the sounds from both keyboards. I don't remember if it matters if it's connected to the Nord or the external keyboard, though. I don't use that possibility anymore. I believe to be more flexible with two sustain pedals.

FZiegler wrote: 06 Aug 2025, 17:28 It's a little tricky, but NO: I don't think you are right.

The programs I play with DualKB in Panel mode cannot be played with only one normal sustain pedal. It will only influence the internally played engines.

But if you use DualKB in (what I call) Single Engine mode (meaning Piano, Synth or Organ mode), you can play with one sustain pedal influencing the sounds from both keyboards. I don't remember if it matters if it's connected to the Nord or the external keyboard, though. I don't use that possibility anymore. I believe to be more flexible with two sustain pedals.

I stand corrrected, actually in single section DualKB mode behaves is as you say, bit the OP was talking about Panel so I was focused on that Dual KB mode (full Panel)

cphollis wrote: 06 Aug 2025, 14:04

cgrafx wrote: 06 Aug 2025, 00:51 not directly internal to the stage 3, but you could connect the midi out on the stage 3 to the midi keyboard and set it up to drive the sustain on the midi keyboard.

or you could get a dual sustain pedal and connect to both keyboards

I used a dual sustain pedal - until i got my NS4. The dual pedal solution is definitely more cost-effective, but if you're looking for that excuse to push you over the edge ...

I don't need another reason to upgrade to a NS4, LOL. But the dual pedal option is interesting and one that I've never seen-- is it a single pedal with two outputs?

FZiegler wrote: 06 Aug 2025, 17:28 It's a little tricky, but NO: I don't think you are right.

The programs I play with DualKB in Panel mode cannot be played with only one normal sustain pedal. It will only influence the internally played engines.

But if you use DualKB in (what I call) Single Engine mode (meaning Piano, Synth or Organ mode), you can play with one sustain pedal influencing the sounds from both keyboards. I don't remember if it matters if it's connected to the Nord or the external keyboard, though. I don't use that possibility anymore. I believe to be more flexible with two sustain pedals.

Thanks for that info! I forgot that you can set Dual KB to a single engine (piano, etc). I will test this out, but I believe it will work.

Can you elaborate on your use of two sustain pedals? Do you ever need to use them simultaneously? Or do you have one pedal for each board and use each board separately?
In my case, since I'm using a controller, I'd like to sustain the piano sounds from the controller (better keybed than the NS3 waterfall) and the EPs/Organ from the NS3 at the same time. I wonder if a splitter cable would work?

In my 2-KB setup (Nord Stage 3 Compact + controller keyboard with weighted keys), I'm happy with two control pedals and two sustain pedals + a swell pedal for organ sounds. But I guess, this is a rare approach.

The sustain pedal connected to the external keyboard is my main sustain pedal. The sustain pedal connected to the Nord will only control organ and synth sounds - so it's mostly for the rare moments when I have to change keyboards with my hands. It sits way off the mid.

The control pedal connected to the weighted keyboard is a Yamaha FC7 (30 degree throw) that is mostly used to add and remove strings to a piano sound or the like; while the control pedal connected to the Nord is a Moog EP-3 (15 degree throw) that I also use for wah etc. Whereas the swell pedal for the Nord is an FC7 again.

I have to add that I'm a pure hobbyist gigging less than 10 times a year: No need to reduce my rig to the best effort-result ratio.