NS2 and Jazz gigs

[Dave Ferris]

Had an hour to kill tonight before the track so I stopped in the Pasadena GC and played a NS 2 88...again. Man that thing has some really nice sounds. It was brand new out of the box so the action wasn't sloppy from being pounded on.

 

How is yours working out Darren ?

[dazzjazz]

I've been thinking about writing a review but I've only had it a week and done one gig on it. In brief:

 

It's a very nice axe. I'm used to Yamaha acoustic and digital actions, so it is going to take a while to get used to playing with this action. I didn't 'connect' with the APs much, but I downloaded the new bright grand and I like it. During the gig I had moments when I could play lyrically, other moments when I couldn't. I guess this is normal - but I've always been picky about actions.

 

The band really dug the sounds, and overall I love it. For a keyboard that really does it all, it's amazing. Once I've played a few more gigs I'll write more in depth. The synth is deep and I no longer gas for an analog beastie - this will do fine. I do wish they'd update the clavinets - something missing there.

 

Darren

[Aidan]

Yes, come on, Darren! Inquiring minds want to know

[dazzjazz]

On any instrument that I play, I look for a good finger to sound connection. It must feel like an extension of me, otherwise I'll likely be fighting it, with poor musical results. I spend equal parts of my gigging and practice time playing piano or organ - at home it's a nice Yamaha grand and a Hammond A100. For gigs it's been a Yamaha CP33 and Nord C1 for several years now. Generally my gigs have been jazz music on Acoustic Piano OR Organ, up until recently when I have been needing both sounds on gigs, plus a few others to boot. Needless to say I've been reluctant to carry two boards, Leslie and QSC K10.

 

After much hand wringing and G.A.S symptoms, I bought a Nord Stage 2 88. So far I've done two straight-ahead jazz gigs and a rock/fusion rehearsal on it. I've got to say I'm really impressed and inspired to play so far. Having been a fan of Yamaha digitals for years, I was concerned I wouldn't be able to play the Nord's acoustic pianos (Im fussy), but halfway through the 2nd gig I started to feel very comfortable and had largely adjusted to the relatively light action. I really like the new Bright Grand sample, which is a Yamaha S6 concert grand. The sound is actually not that bright to my ears, but it is when compared to the mellow Lady D Steinway (which is a nice sound also). To compare the CP33 and the Nord, I'd argue that the CP33 (and Yamaha digitals in general) are great acoustic piano sounds, but the tone is quite homogenised and perhaps a little too perfect. However I really like this and the finger to sound connection on Yamaha DPs is excellent. The Nord sample set is raw in comparison. Like a real piano, the tone colour changes between registers and it's inspiring to play these changes - on the gig I was noticing this and how enjoyable it was to figure out in real time how to best play this 'piano'. The string resonance is very realistic and this influences the way I play. I now feel that I'm playing in a more natural way, as I would on a real piano, as opposed to the (rather enticing) Yamaha fairyland.

 

As an owner of Nord's C1 I was keen to try out the organ section, which is straight out of the C2. I've not tried the Stage 2 through my Motion Sound yet, mostly because the Leslie sim is a so good. Rotor speeds and ramp times are adjustable and the tone and overdrive sound really authentic. Previously I'd avoided using my C1s sim through my QSC K10 as I suspected the QSC was emphasising a mid-range frequency I didn't like. However it turns out the culprit was the C1s Leslie Sim all along. The Stage 2 organ sounds fantastic at todays rehearsal I was playing 00800000 and 8888888 with a good amount of overdrive and it was fantastic to say the least. I wish they reverb section included a spring reverb - that would be a nice touch. I'm tempted to use the NS2 on this coming Sunday's Jazz organ gig but perhaps that's a bridge too far, given the weighted action. I could probably do a set but a whole gig? - watch this space!

 

I've never owned a real Rhodes, but have played enough of them to feel qualified to say that the many Rhodes sounds in the NS2 are very realistic. I've been mostly playing the "Close Ideal" sound through the Fender Twin Amp simulation and getting a nice "Herbie-esque" bite. The tremolo effects are very nice, especially used in a subtle fashion. Less impressive are the on-board phasers, I couldn't get the "orange-brick" sound to do "Josie" any justice unfortunately. The Clavinet is good, but could do with a revamp to offer mechanical note-off noises - it's not close enough to my old D6. I'm still tempted to break out my Cry Baby as I find the wah effects a little unrealistic but they are more than passable.

 

Having started my career gigging on synths in the 1980s it's been exciting to have my hands on a proper synth again a good 15 years after I sold all my vintage kit (no regrets except for my JX8P - I miss you, come back!). The architecture is easy to learn and the waveforms and filter sound very good and I was very quickly coaxing some of my favourite sounds. The envelopes are a little weird, missing the 'sustain' segment I would have expected but perhaps that's just me or perhaps I misread the manual.

 

I might update this in a few months, as my views might have changed with more playing, but so far Im loving having the Nord Stage 2. Cant bring myself to sell the CP33 just yet though

 

Darren Heinrich

 

[Joe Muscara]

Nice. Thanks!

[mate stubb]

Just a note on the clav release sounds - I've used the synth on my Stage Classic to produce a quite useable release pop for the clav sounds. Just mix to taste.

[dazzjazz]

How would I replicate this please? Might be very quite handy...

 

Darren

 

Just a note on the clav release sounds - I've used the synth on my Stage Classic to produce a quite useable release pop for the clav sounds. Just mix to taste.

[mate stubb]

It's been awhile, let me see if I can remember.

 

Basically, you are going to make a sine wave sweep downward very fast when you release the key. If you tune it correctly and get the sweep speed right, you can make anything from a thump to a click.

 

You want the final pitch of the downward sweep to be the same as the note that played. The synth on the Stage is somewhat limited (the Stage 2 synth is less so), so you have to employ a couple of tricks.

 

Since the synth engine is different than the piano engine producing the clavs, you can use a single panel for both.

 

The filter resonance will be turned all the way up to produce an oscillating sine wave. Tune the pitch to the same pitch as the key and have key tracking on so that it will follow all the notes.

 

Now the trick is to get the second envelope to sweep the pitch down. Since the envelopes are not bipolar and cannot be triggered on release, you have to fudge it by having the filter envelope jump the pitch instantly on attack, enough so that the sine wave goes high enough in pitch to be inaudible. Then set the release on the envelope almost instantaneous, but just slow enough that you can hear the pitch sweep back down as a click. You will have to set the envelope mode to hold sustain while the key is down (ASR mode).

 

Now it's all about twiddling envelope mod amount and release time to get the most realistic click. It sounds not entirely realistic when auditioning by itself, but mixed behind the clav, you can get it as clicky as you want.

[dazzjazz]

Very cool - will try it out soon!

Thanks

 

Darren

[dazzjazz]

Anyone else notice some bass notes in the Bright Grand are out of tune?

 

Darren

[Lord_Nord]

As a Nord Electro 2 (73 key waterfall weight) owner, I've basically been waiting for the NS2 to come out before upgrading. I absolutely hated the UI change on the NE3, and it didn't offer enough bang for the buck to upgrade. I was really looking for better piano feel and layering/split capability. Having said that, once I get the NS2, I would feel terrible abandoning my baby (NE2) cause it has been my main board for my entire live playing career, so I plan to use it as a midi controller for organs and synth! Wish it was a little cheaper, but still...I can't wait!!!! Any other NE2 or NE3 users upgrading?

[Tobias Åslund]

I upgraded from a NE3 73 to Stage 2 sw73. No regrets at all. Only thing I noticed was that I found the Leslie sim in the NE3 to be a bit better (but ever so slightly) - it had a bit more bite, sounding less compressed.

That being said - I do not care much for the Nord Leslie sim at all - I always play (played) both the Electro 3 and the Stage through a Ventilator. It's really a night and day difference.