Spider76

Nobody is saying previous Nords were cheap. But at least their (high) prices have been very consistent for at least a dozen years. Now we have a jump of +45% from one model to the next. There's not much that we can do about that (covid, inflation, war, yada yada) but I guess many previous Stage owners simply will not be able to upgrade. Maybe that's something Clavia has already taken into account, and they hope to make up for it with their other models. The Electro in particular has grown a lot in features, and it's now almost a "Stage Lite"

In EU, NS4 price is 45% higher than what the NS3 (and all previous Stages) used to cost. That's way higher than inflation. Besides, even if it was on par with inflation, the problem is that salaries have stayed the same or diminished (for the lucky ones who still have a job)

Really nice, congrats on your new buy! I just saw that Thomann now has detailed pics of the 261 (not yet of the 273). It definitely looks great, really a classy board!

This is great news actually, I could never stand the light wood and that huge engravings on the sides. Did they also remove that big black "Soul 261" on the top of the panel, that was visible in renderings and prototypes? To me it looked really toyish on such an expensive instument...

I hoped it would be an in-depth, hands-on review like his other excellent ones... instead it's ONE HOUR AND THIRTEEN MINUTES (and seven seconds) of discussion of internet pics? Wow.

I agree. Contrary to many product release launches which focus on showcasing technical aspects, these performances are really tasteful and musical. I was especially blown away by Dominique Xavier, amazing!!!

The piano and organ sections are essentially the same, I can see no mention of meaningful differences except the new pedals for better piano expressivity. Unfortunately the connectivity appears to be the same too: no USB audio, no proper Audio In, no XLR connectors etc. The big improvements are concentrated in the synth and effect sections, which are totally new and MUCH more powerful: we have 150% more synths (3 layer instead of 2) and 300% more effects (6 sections instead of 2)! And finally we have new keybed actions: no more compromising with the infamous HP action! I wonder if the 73 will cannibalize the 88: having exactly the same high-quality action (and if the Nord Piano 5 is any indication, almost exactly the same price), how many will be willing to lug around the bigger and heavier 88?

Also, it was for the Stage 4 73, which appears to be the new hammer action model replacing the HP76, probably with the same action of the NP5 73. If that's the case, like for the NP5 the price will be very close to the 88, and the semi-weighted Compact will hopefully be substantially lower.

73-keys hammer action, YAY! (More info and other detailed pics on the Nord Forum)

Nords tend to hold their value pretty well even after a new model is released. Good if you're selling, bad if you're buying. In your situation, I'd NEVER buy a new, untested and unproven instrument. The NS3 had plenty of hardware and software issues when it came out, and it took Nord more than a year to sort everything out. You need it urgently for intense professional use, so you can't afford a bug-ridden instrument with half-finished firmware, or even worse, an instrument with hardware issues. For me, the obvious answer is to buy a fully mature and road-tested NS3, not even a thought about that. Without even mentioning that the NS4 will be a blank sheet with no real-world info whatsoever, while for the NS3 you'll find tons of informations, tips&tricks, sounds and programs available from years of user experience, so you'll be up and running much faster. My philosophy has always been that the release of a new model is the perfect time for buying... the old model! Possibly a lightly used unit from somebody who's upgrading, or a blowout sale from retailers eager to empty their stocks.

I'd be VERY surprised if it became widely available before the summer. My totally uninformed guess is: - launch now - first few units start to appear in late spring-summer and are immediately sold out - widespread availability by autumn-end of the year - mid-2024 for major firmware updates to sort out most bugs and add all the planned features

Czerny. Pischna. Cramer. Clementi. Cortot. There's so many great composers that devoted tons of their time to create exercises to help us mere humans become better players.

Hahaha, things that happen when a piece was written centuries ago. Like Fur Elise, that most probably wasn't written for any "Elise" at all. Or probably the most famous example, Albinoni's Adagio...which has nothing to do with Albinoni and is a hoax from centuries later!

Because of the Addams Family.

Let's not forget that Roland did this... and not even at IKEA prices!

The same for me. I don't mind free advertising, as anybody mentioned we do it all the time, with anything we use. But keyboards already are the less visually appealing instrument on the stage. Being covered in huge brand logos and writings makes them look even more like a pile of utility equipment, not a musical instrument. We are not used to see huge names on grand pianos or Hammonds, isn't it? Even less on acoustic instruments, winds, violins, guitars, brasses etc. People see the instrument and (hopefully) know what it is, period. I want the same to be true for my audiences. Especially in the age of digital stage pianos/workstations, when any keyboard can make every conceivable sound, who really cares about the brand? They all sound the same to the audience. It's not like people are going "Ooooh look, the guy's got a KURZWEIL!!! How unbelievably cool is that? I KNEW it, that sound is unmistakable!". People will just say "OK, the guy's got a red keyboard, nice". Then maybe some keyboard nerds will know that it's a Nord, and then what?

I keep reading the thread title as "Play that funky music responsibly"

More seriously...

Interesting, because there was a very detailed analysis (measuring key-down weight, release weight etc) of tens of models of acoustic and digital pianos, showing that on average DPs (of all brands and prices) are heavier than APs (again, many brands and prices). I'm going from memory, but I think I remember that tipically the top APs (Steinways and such) had a very light touch, much lighter especially than the Yamaha DPs. The thread should be here somewhere but I cannot find it. I don't have access to many pianos in my town, so I can hardly comment, but in general I agree that the DPs I've played seem heavier than the uprights I've played, and even more the grands.

Living: Michel Camilo. The only hypervirtuoso that I can listen to over and over without getting bored, thanks to his melodic sense, unstoppable rhythm and the sheer joy and musicality that oozes from his Latin roots. Dead: Radu Lupu. I attended one of his recitals almost by chance, and was absolutely dumbfounded. Never, ever before or after I've seen a real Maestro play the music and the audience with such total mastery. He played the most delicate and musical pianissimos I've heard in my life, and kept the whole concert hall in the palm of his hand, listening without -literally- a breath. And I say literally: there was such silence, tension and emotion than when he finished a piece you could hear the collective sigh of everybody gasping for breath. He was MUCH more thunderous, assertive and loud, yes LOUD when playing those barely hearable notes than in the raging fast and fortissimo virtuosistic passages. A music lesson I will never forget. Honorable mention: Tommy Flanagan, because of A Child Is Born (and everything else)

I really have no idea about this stuff, actually I'm always surprised that Journey were (and still are) SO big on the other side of the pond, here in EU you'd have to search really hard to find someone who's heard of them. Anyway, reading this topic there's something that I find irresistibly amusing: are we really surprised that someone name CAIN is involved in a fratricidal feud? 😂

I mentioned Roger Taylor but thinking about Queen, I think that Freddie's voice also improved over the years...if anything like that was even conceivable. He learned how to use better and better the immense gifts at his disposal, often foregoing the falsettoes for full-power belting, even on his trademark high notes. His singing on In My Defence, a relatively unknown theme from a 1986 musical (not even written by him) may well be the most impressive pop/rock vocal performance I've ever heard.

I've used a Kawai ES1 for about 15 years, throwing it around mercilessly at gigs and rehearsals, and it never gave me the slightest problem. And a venerable Clavinova I bought in 1997 now resides at my niece's home where she practices daily on it. While its sounds are obviously outdated, its action is still one of the best I've ever tried in a digital piano. As far as my experience goes, both Yamaha and Kawai are at the very top of quality and reliability.

Even if he was always the second fiddle to the obvious awesomeness of Freddie Mervury, I'd mention Roger Taylor (of Queen, not Duran Duran). He always had a great voice, coarse and very "rock" but also able to hit unbelievably high falsettoes, much higher than Freddie. Now it's become fuller and rounder, and he's also embracing a more upfront role in the latest "Queen" shows. I was very pleased with this performance of Under Pressure, where he takes up the main parts.