Nord User Forum

Hi everyone,
I'm from the UK and I have been a gigging bass player for over 20 years; I decided it was time to learn to play keys…..happily, this new direction coincided with a windfall lump sum for PPI insurance mis-selling….
..So, I bought a Nord to learn to play on (extreme I know, but I wanted something I can grow into, rather than grow out of). I also learned from my bass playing that getting the best you can afford often repays itself over the years. I tried a few keyboards out, but found them to be a little fragile feeling, though I almost bought the Roland A-88 with the Integra sound module but just didn't have the patience to wade through screens of settings, and I also want to gig with it in a year or so.
The Nord was a revelation to me as I could just press a couple of buttons and find amazing sounds so quickly. The youtube vids I looked through seemed to back this up; lots of footage of people just playing, rather than fiddling with settings.

Anyway, I've had the Stage 2 for a couple of weeks now and am absolutely loving it, spent most of the time with the pianos, not really got into the synth side yet.
Some observations on the piano sounds…

I've got pretty good ears, though I do suffer from tinnitus in my right ear (I have been habitually stage left over the years…bloody drummers!
I found the Yamaha studio 2 sound sets off my tinnitus, particularly on the C above middle for some reason. But I found that the Yamaha Studio 1 version to be ok and my favourite so far….. so sweet and warm through headphones with very neutral effects on my ears throughout the range. Anyone come across this?

The uprights are all great fun, the romantic reminds me of mum playing when I was a kid. I know some folks championing the Black Petrov, and though it sounds awesome through my speakers, but I practice with headphones mostly, and I found that the swishy flanging type noises of the string resonances to be a little off-putting on this sample….anyone come across this also? Or maybe just my tinnitus again :-p

Kinnell: Be aware that if you are not used to wearing headphones for long periods of time that your tinnitus may seem worse. My tinnitus did so I stopped using headphones and got good powered monitors and that helped. Bloody Bass players! Always stealing all of the women!

Hwy: Too many of them, that's exactly why I need a break from bass playing! And they also make my tinnitus worse! :-p

I'm a new stage 2 owner. Having trouble with the top end piano sounds. The high notes - 2 octaves above middle C - sound weak despite turning up the volume. when I turn up the volume the base completely drowns the top end?? Any advice /suggestions? How can I lower the volume of the lower octaves to give some ooomph to the top end??

Forgot to mention - I'm playing rock & roll /barrel house boogie style piano with a jump blues band. Lots of top end trills and repeated figures and riffs - with lower left hand walking/rolling base figures. Hence the need for the top end to cut through and underpin the rythem section.

Any more advice warmly welcomed.

I don't know if you've had any piano training (classical or otherwise). However, in general, you must remember to play lighter in the left hand. Apologies if I have merely stated the obvious to you.

I find the Bosendorfer to be very rich in the bottom end, which suits me for most stuff but if I want to 'lay in' a bit more with my left hand, I tend to go for the Yammy or the Faz (Italian grand) might also be worth your while checking out.

Darren,

Is there a way to alter/edit the lower end/left hand of a patch like the Bosendorfer so as to avoid or cut back on the richness of the bottom end?

The only way I can think of doing it right now would be to use both slots of a patch. Set a split (maybe middle C) and use the Bosendorfer for both slots. Set slot A to the Lo part of the split and slot b to the up/hi part.

You now have the ability to adjust the volume, dynamics and eq for each half separately.

Be careful that there isn't too much of a noticeable difference within 3-4 notes of the split point. Will take some trial and improvement to get it right.

I just started wondering if the equalizer effect could provide some support to this task.