Nord User Forum

Hi There,
I replaced the factory default pianos on my E3 with the Bosendörfer grand piano and upright. They sound fine but I would like to give them that extra touch that makes the more realistic. Any ideas for tweaking these sounds ? I tried, increasing the trebles on the equalier a little did help but I still miss something. One limiting factor might be my Behringer Ultratone 1800 which works fine for jamming with B3 and synth sounds but maybe less for piano. Anyway, anybody out there willing to share a good idea ?

I posted some EQ advice on a previous thread on a similar topic - nord-piano-forum-f10/mid-late-60-s-rams ... t3531.html.

Are you playing out live? What type of amplification do you use? I find that a tube preamp warms the sound up nicely. I use an ART Tube MP Studio - discontinued but still available in places for a good price.

To make the Pianos sound like you are playing them direct mic , dry you might use these onboard EQ settings.Treble +5.Mid
-5 or -8.Bass +5.Experiment with compression for a more even piano sound.

Rusty Mike wrote:Are you playing out live? What type of amplification do you use? I find that a tube preamp warms the sound up nicely. I use an ART Tube MP Studio - discontinued but still available in places for a good price.

Interesting, is this the unit you're referring to?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... mic-preamp

I'm curious as to how the acoustic pianos, EPs, and organs would sound with one of these pre-amps in between my Electro 3 and the PA/speaker? Maybe it would add a little warmth, similar to that found in the Korg SV-1's EPs?

Would you be willing to record some simple examples with, and without?

I believe Dave Ferris over on the NP forum also uses a pre-amp when gigging, although I recall it was a much more expensive unit.

Cheers,
James
x

Thx, for these valuable ideas. Currently I only jam with a couple other musicians, we are finding out whether we get along well enough to form a bluesrock band. As I only have the Behringer Ultratone 1800 for the time being I will start tweaking the equalizer settings. I already have a feel that the Behringer might not be the best choice for live gigs - except as a keyboard monitor.

By the way, I replaced the Bosendörfer Grand by one of the Steinway's and the Upright by the Petrov. That leaves me enough room to add the honkytonk, a must for any barrelhouse boogie style. Excellent, this Nord honkytonk, the metallic sound is well balanced and extremely realistic.

That is the unit I use. I play through a single QSC K10, and find I still have to tweak the EQ Based on the environment. In addition to adding warmth, the pre-amp adds some valuable gain to the Electro's signal.

Unfortunately, I do not have time right now to record anything, as much as I'd like to.

Dave Ferris does use a much more expensive device than I do. He is also a much better musician and a performing professional. I'm just a hobbyist trying to balance musical satisfaction and marital bliss.

Cute James wrote:

Rusty Mike wrote:Are you playing out live? What type of amplification do you use? I find that a tube preamp warms the sound up nicely. I use an ART Tube MP Studio - discontinued but still available in places for a good price.

Interesting, is this the unit you're referring to?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... mic-preamp

I'm curious as to how the acoustic pianos, EPs, and organs would sound with one of these pre-amps in between my Electro 3 and the PA/speaker? Maybe it would add a little warmth, similar to that found in the Korg SV-1's EPs?

Would you be willing to record some simple examples with, and without?

I believe Dave Ferris over on the NP forum also uses a pre-amp when gigging, although I recall it was a much more expensive unit.

Cheers,
James
x

The Behringer, as with most keyboard amps, demonstrate a serious boost in the 200-500Hz band. I would start by attenuating the mids in that range first, then tweak the Hi and Lo accordingly. Take the mid level down a bit, then slowly sweep the frequency knob until you hear the midrange hump thin out.

Bear in mind as well that the type of reverb you use will affect the character of your sound, regardless of the depth setting. The Halls are quite diffuse, and will soften your sound. The Stages have more presence and add more brightness, and the Room is the most up front.

If you're playing blues and rock, you may want to look at the Bright Grand and Black Upright samples. They both cut very well and respond well to EQ adjustments.

rvdh190 wrote:Thx, for these valuable ideas. Currently I only jam with a couple other musicians, we are finding out whether we get along well enough to form a bluesrock band. As I only have the Behringer Ultratone 1800 for the time being I will start tweaking the equalizer settings. I already have a feel that the Behringer might not be the best choice for live gigs - except as a keyboard monitor.

rvdh190 what did you find?

Thanks all for the valuable advice.
@rusty mike: so true, that the Behringer needs attenuating the midst. Up to now I did this on the amp equalizer. The result seems slightly to far better (depending on the piano type) when tweaking the Nord on board equalizer.
In the meantime I switched to bright pianos for both upright (Petrov) and grand.
I have a personal liking for large, bright sounding upright pianos since, they resemble my own 30+year old upright Young Chang (ca 140cm high) which is very bright and ideally suited for boogie and rock.