Something new from Nord?

[Nillerbabs]

hope the others will be reworked.

 

Frederik,

 

I believe that the old samples have been reworked along with the release of the new ones. The V5 announcement mentioned the release of 56 new sounds, and since it's a piano library revision I guess they're all pianos (counting small, medium and large the numbers add up). Secondly I noticed that the sample sizes listed on the website were bigger than the sizes of the old samples I had in my computer - and after download, the sample sizes have always exceeded the sizes listed on the website by a little.

 

So well, I've downloaded every sound I think I need, for reinstallment. I won't be A/B'ing the old and the new samples, but I'll give a shout if there's a noticeable difference.

 

 

/ Niels

[Mogut]

Secondly I noticed that the sample sizes listed on the website were bigger than the sizes of the old samples I had in my computer - and after download, the sample sizes have always exceeded the sizes listed on the website by a little.

 

So well, I've downloaded every sound I think I need, for reinstallment. I won't be A/B'ing the old and the new samples, but I'll give a shout if there's a noticeable difference.

 

 

/ Niels

I've noticed the same thing about the file sizes. As far as comparing the 4.4 sounds to the 5.x sounds, I'm wondering if it was truly remastered or we are just seeing larger files sizes due to file compatibility mods nord dev's had to do. Because other than the newly added sounds the remastered samples, to my ears, sound identical.

 

 

[Mogut]

Are the electro3 boards supposed to be getting the string resonance features in these XL samples?

[GDP]

Are the electro3 boards supposed to be getting the string resonance features in these XL samples?

 

I don't think so, Nord created smaller V4.4 files for E3 and Wave users that eliminated the resonance feature specifically for them to save on memory usage.

 

I haven't caught up to the V5.0 stuff yet but its probably the same.

 

The USB and OP updates went smoothly.

[ABECK]

From the Clavia site:

 

"The Medium versions have pedal-down String Resonance samples in the important middle region of the range, but omit these in the lowest and the highest areas. This gives you a good ratio of functionality and size.

Sml is the version that uses the least amount of space in the piano memory, but still carry a big and powerful punch. This version does not contain any String Resonance samples at all. If an Sml piano is selected in the Nord unit, the String Resonance feature (if applicable) will be disabled."

 

So, it would seem that if the medium size is used, there should be string resonance. However, I'm not sure what they mean by "If applicable".

[mate stubb]

If applicable == "not the stage classic".

 

Not sure if E3 can do resonance or not.

[Tomkeen]

Only the Stage EX and Piano have string resonance feature, IF I'm not mistaken. I had the medium size Studio Grand 2 loaded in my Electro 3, but I didn't hear any resonance.

[Mogut]

If an Sml piano is selected in the Nord unit, the String Resonance feature (if applicable) will be disabled."

 

 

So, it would seem that if the medium size is used, there should be string resonance. However, I'm not sure what they mean by "If applicable".

 

"If applicable" because nord piano you can turn on/off string resonance.

 

http://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord%20piano/images/NordPiano_panel2.jpg

[ABECK]

Here's the explanation from Clavia (posted on the Yahoo Electro group)

 

"Electro 3 and Stage Classic users can decide if they need the pedal down

samples, by choosing Sml, med or Lrg. They will not sound the same. The

Sml version has none of these, the medium has them in the "middle

section" of the keyboard. and the large has these across the entire

range. Hit a key and hold it down and listen to the decay- Press the

sustain pedal, hit the same key and you'll hear the "acoustic space"

that the pedal down samples creates."

 

I'll have to test this out tonight.

If there really is no noticable difference, I'd just assume load all the small versions and call it a day.

[Mogut]

Here's the explanation from Clavia (posted on the Yahoo Electro group)

 

"Electro 3 and Stage Classic users can decide if they need the pedal down

samples, by choosing Sml, med or Lrg. They will not sound the same. The

Sml version has none of these, the medium has them in the "middle

section" of the keyboard. and the large has these across the entire

range. Hit a key and hold it down and listen to the decay- Press the

sustain pedal, hit the same key and you'll hear the "acoustic space"

that the pedal down samples creates."

 

OK I hear that... The grand Lady has a nice sounding key off too

[Mogut]

Ehhh... I still take the Studio2 over the any of these new pianos.

 

None of these even come close to being as good as my favorite XS piano sample of the yamaha S700 piano.

[Tobias Åslund]

After a quick audition I actually prefer the Studio Grand 1 - I haven't compared it to the older versions, but if my memory serves me right it's actually a lot better than the original Studio Grand 1. The old had a lot of artifacts and issues, but the new one seems a lot more balanced. When I've got the time I will compare it to the old v4 version.

 

Then I still would like more hammer noise in many of the pianos - for blues and stuff like that I will continue to use the Romnatic Upright. I love the character and attack of that one.

 

The Grand Lady is really nice, but I don't have enough memory in my NE3 to have medium versions of all three at once along with the rhodes and vintage stuff - a memory expansion would be so nice...

 

Can't wait 'til the Bösendorfer is coming out... quarter three it says on the Nord page... well well...

[Tobias Åslund]

I compared the old and new Studio Grand 1 and there's no significant change really. Still I much prefer the new one - it feels and sounds more real in some way - and I like it!

[Nillerbabs]

I just talked to the Nord guys and they confirmed that every sample in the V5 is new in some way. The oldies but goldies have been tweaked in loops, zones, velocity etc.

[zahush76]

I just talked to the Nord guys and they confirmed that every sample in the V5 is new in some way. The oldies but goldies have been tweaked in loops, zones, velocity etc.

 

I don't know.

On their website, they distinguish between old and new sounds - by labeling the new ones with a green stripe saying "new".

What i can't still figure out is why the old electric pianos are about 2-3 mb bigger on the v5 library than they are on the v4.4 library. They sound the same to me. So does the cp80 which used to be 5.1 mb - and now it's 8.5mb for some reason, though it sounds the same to me.

Has it got to do with Nord Piano compatibility?

What the Nord guy says in the quote above is nice and all, but i don't hear a difference.

[Cadmann]

This is slightly off the piano subject, but has anyone listened to the Nord website's audio file comparison of the C-2 organ rotary effect (which models the 145) and the original Nord rotary sound? The C-2 is noticeably better, with better definition of the back-and-forth motion, in my opinion. The original sounds great, but in A/B comparison, its motion seems a little blurred or phasey. I wonder if the C-2 rotary effect eventually will be available as an upgrade to the Stage and NE3 and others, or if it's even possible. (Full disclosure: I don't have a Nord yet. I'm considering it, but I'm also still struggling with a decision on whether to transition to VSTIs.)

[Changearound]

I had a bit of time on my hands yesterday and A/Bd some V4/V5 pianos. I only compared the piano sounds that were already loaded in my Stage classic but did notice some differences.

 

With the Suitcase, Mark V and CP80 samples, V5 seems to have a smoother response so maybe there are more velocity layers or just better velocity switching.

 

With the Steinway Close, the only difference I could find between V4 XL and V5 was with the sustain samples. High notes on the V5 have a much longer decay.

 

I couldn't detect much if any difference with the Wurli, Clav or Harpsichord (Italian long string). The Clav and Harpsi samples are the same size in V5 and I'm guessing haven't been tweaked at all.

[Nillerbabs]

Now they just need to add a velocity-sensitive 88-step ribbon controller for sweeping, plucking or muting the strings. No, seriously.

[Josh Paxton]

I finally got around to updating the OS and the sounds in my E3. A few nice additions, but only one real game changer for me: I'm seriously digging the sparkletop Rhodes! It's all grungy and funky and just lots of fun to dig into and spank! Since getting the SV-1, my love affair with the Nord EPs had pretty much been over, but this has rekindled it.