Nord User Forum

Hi , there ! I'm flying to London for a gig in 10 days and I decided to use a rented nord. I have a stage 3, but I suspect they might find a stage 4 for rent.

My question is how can I prepare in the case of it being a stage 4 and what's fastest way I can transfer my songs. What is compatible and what isn't?
I have a bundle of songs ready , but I read that stage 4 won't be able to automatically convert it. Should I download all songs on a per program basis or seperately ( samples, pianos) . I won't have a lot of time since I'm gonna fly the same day as the concert. The setlist is 20 songs.

Thanks!

Rent a Stage 4 locally before you travel and convert/recreate the programs on that instrument, then save it all as a bundle. Also save your Stage 3 programs as a bundle. Bring both bundles with you just in case they get a Stage 3 for you. This will save you a lot of trouble.

Also make sure you have plenty of time to transfer the bundle to the rented instrument in London.

alexmarinojR wrote: ↑23 Oct 2025, 08:02 Hi , there ! I'm flying to London for a gig in 10 days and I decided to use a rented nord. I have a stage 3, but I suspect they might find a stage 4 for rent.

My question is how can I prepare in the case of it being a stage 4 and what's fastest way I can transfer my songs. What is compatible and what isn't?
I have a bundle of songs ready , but I read that stage 4 won't be able to automatically convert it. Should I download all songs on a per program basis or seperately ( samples, pianos) . I won't have a lot of time since I'm gonna fly the same day as the concert. The setlist is 20 songs.

Thanks!

There is no reliable way to move programs from NS3 to NS4. You will have to recreate each and every one. It is very, very time consuming.

cphollis wrote: ↑23 Oct 2025, 14:05

alexmarinojR wrote: ↑23 Oct 2025, 08:02 Hi , there ! I'm flying to London for a gig in 10 days and I decided to use a rented nord. I have a stage 3, but I suspect they might find a stage 4 for rent.

My question is how can I prepare in the case of it being a stage 4 and what's fastest way I can transfer my songs. What is compatible and what isn't?
I have a bundle of songs ready , but I read that stage 4 won't be able to automatically convert it. Should I download all songs on a per program basis or seperately ( samples, pianos) . I won't have a lot of time since I'm gonna fly the same day as the concert. The setlist is 20 songs.

Thanks!

There is no reliable way to move programs from NS3 to NS4. You will have to recreate each and every one. It is very, very time consuming.

With v9.10 of the Nord Stage Manager from March, Nord Stage 3 programs can now be converted to Nord Stage 4 format (.ns4p). Users have reported that it's not 100%, but it is certainly very, very less time consuming than it was prior to this upgrade. I would probably still follow the guidance of renting a NS4 and setting up your sounds before the fly date.

ericL wrote: ↑24 Oct 2025, 02:42

cphollis wrote: ↑23 Oct 2025, 14:05

alexmarinojR wrote: ↑23 Oct 2025, 08:02 Hi , there ! I'm flying to London for a gig in 10 days and I decided to use a rented nord. I have a stage 3, but I suspect they might find a stage 4 for rent.

My question is how can I prepare in the case of it being a stage 4 and what's fastest way I can transfer my songs. What is compatible and what isn't?
I have a bundle of songs ready , but I read that stage 4 won't be able to automatically convert it. Should I download all songs on a per program basis or seperately ( samples, pianos) . I won't have a lot of time since I'm gonna fly the same day as the concert. The setlist is 20 songs.

Thanks!

There is no reliable way to move programs from NS3 to NS4. You will have to recreate each and every one. It is very, very time consuming.

With v9.10 of the Nord Stage Manager from March, Nord Stage 3 programs can now be converted to Nord Stage 4 format (.ns4p). Users have reported that it's not 100%, but it is certainly very, very less time consuming than it was prior to this upgrade. I would probably still follow the guidance of renting a NS4 and setting up your sounds before the fly date.

Thanks for the urgent help everybody! I don't have an option to rent a keyboard.

I will just copy everything per song bundle, per program, per sample and so on. In case it becomes complicated.

I really hope I can find the Nord Sound Manager working in transferring the programs so that I only need to tweak some stuff and be ready to go. Also the Preset Library is gonna be of help to navigate in case I need to change the synth section part altogether.

As noted, the conversion creates a nice starting point for you. It works pretty well for Piano and Organ settings, however if the Leslie is used on one layer, it must be used on the other, and where the NS3 could have 2 preset organ settings for each panel, the NS4 just has the drawbars and one preset per layer.

The major hurdle is with the synth engine. NS3 program conversion gets you close for quite a few synth settings, but can't cover features not on NS4 like the more-complex synth sounds that make use of the NS3 OSC2, and waveforms present in one and not the other. LFO settings might need work as the NS4 can't have the LFO assigned to multiple parameters.

The conversion sets up NS3 Panel A as NS4 Layer 1, and the user needs to assign the Panel B sounds that are initially off. To the extent you've built a program where you use Panel A, Panel B, and Panels A&B in a song (3 sound combinations), you might need a second program or come up with a different approach.

I'm not sure it's practical, but if you use your synth extensively but don't make real-time adjustments except to instrument levels, your best bet might be to create samples (even with splits) covering the synth sounds you need. Getting familiar with the Stage 4 layout will take a little time, so you'll need to figure that into your schedule even if your programs are ready to go. Good luck to you!