Nord Stage 2 - is it really necessary to get 88 keys?

[ChewisLewis]

I'm in the market for a Nord Stage 2. I want to make sure I'm being wise with budget, and didn't know if buying the 88 keys was a must.

[spazzkey]

I come from a classical/jazz piano background and love playing my piano - but for band playing I was looking for smaller and lighter after playing an 88 key motif es8 (we called it the beast) for years... and in a group context 76 keys is plenty...

 

hence my ns2-76 - never looked back...

 

so I guess it depends on what you're looking for and how much you want to lug around, how much space you have (the 76 is always nicer on small stages...)

[AnotherScott]

I'm in the market for a Nord Stage 2. I want to make sure I'm being wise with budget, and didn't know if buying the 88 keys was a must.

The main reasons for getting 88 keys is for the full piano range or to have more real estate for splits. Only you can determine if either of these are important to you.

 

One thing you can try, if you have access to any kind of 88 key piano now, is putting masking tape on the "outer" keys until you are left with the Nord's 76-key range, play for a while, and see if you feel like you're running out of room within that keyspan.

[TommyS]

Seventy six is perfect for me. Band and solo piano.

[allan_evett]

The Stage 2 76 fits well on tight stages; it even has a significantly smaller footprint than my Jupiter 50. I gig with three country / rock bands: two of them typically give me enough stage room for two, stacked keyboards - an 88 and 76. The remaining band has more players / onstage gear; and on the most recent gig my Stage 76 and Yamaha DRX 12 just fit. While having 88 keys provides more opportunity to 'spread out' - when needed, I'm comfortable covering a gig on 76.

[Stale]

Thanks for the input. I am also considering a 73/76 weighted Board. I keep going between the Nord Stage 2 76 HA and the Kornos 73. I currently am using a Triton Extreme 88, but am getting ready to replace it. I do not need to have the 88 keys, because I rarely use the lower/upper register and I think the shift can cover it when i need to. But I don't want the length and the weight of an 88 anymore. The only thing that my keep me from the Nord is the lack of extra sounds which I sometimes use. I need to listen to their sample library some more to make sure all my sounds are covered.

[JeffLearman]

I've been playing a 73 or 76-key board as my main piano since about 1978. It took a little getting used to at first, but no big deal. The only time I miss 88 keys is for songs where you need the low D or C. On my Rhodes or CP70, no dice: live without it. All my other keyboards have had an octave shift feature (as does the Nord), which fixes the problem, but it's a nuisance to have to use it. The vast majority of tunes don't need more than 76, though.

 

Before deciding, since length and weight are the issue, make sure you spend some time with a Nord 88. It's 51" to the Triton's 57", and quite light (41 lbs vs 63). You save about 5lbs and 7 inches going to 76 on the Nord. The 88 fits in many cases designed for 76-key boards.

 

But if you don't use the lower keys much, then a 76 should work just fine.

[DaBous]

It really depends on your playing style and the type of music you are playing. I had a Nord Electro 3 HP ( 73 keys ) for a while. Loved the light weight and small size. But I found it too limiting for soloing - especially for octaves. After I played off the end of the keyboard a few times ( much to our guitar player's amusement ) - I got an NS2 88. Little heavier but I don't have to worry about remembering to hit the octave button. Tough choice though.

[jazzdoc52]

If you use a 88 key as a controller and midi the nord 76 to it, when you play the extra keys on the 88 key controller it triggers the same pitch through the nord even though the key is physically not there.

[AnotherScott]

Or an alternate approach:

 

Nord Stage 2/88 = $4199, 41 lbs

 

Nord Stage 2/73 plus Yamaha P35 = $50 less cost, only about 6 lbs more to carry (but easier to carry two light pieces than one heavy one), and you have the full 88 key weighted action plus an unweighted action more suitable for organ and synth playing, plenty of key-space to access sounds without having to set up splits or worry about running out of keys for a part, plus backup at a gig in case a piece goes down. Though you may not like the action on the P35 as much as Nord's action.

 

Or for a bit more money, instead of the P35, you could look at a Casio PX-350, which weighs a bit less, and has what many people consider to be an especially nice feeling action.

[Stale]

I am play in a Rock/Pop Country Cover band, so I do need a wide palette of sounds for a wide variety of music. I was going to pull the trigger on the NS2, because we got a 6th member that was a utility player and started covering some of the parts I used to do. We had to fire him due to issues he had. So now I am going back and forth. The NS2 76 and 88 are the same price, and really not that much bigger, so I will think about that some more.

 

I use the Triton EX 88, CX-3/Vent and a Moog LP in my current rig. I don't use the phatty as much anymore, so I am going to take it out of the mix. The CX-3 and Triton are getting older and I worry about their reliability. I had to replace the System board, on the Triton a year ago, but replaced it with a used one, so I am not sure how much longer I want to trust it. I still love the CX-3/Vent combo, I really like the 2 sets of drawbars and am going to miss having that real time control when I retire it from the live rig. I also have a BX-3, but unfortunately have hardly used it due to the size clubs I play. It will be nice to get a lighter set up.

 

The new Rig I am putting together so far consists of a Nord Elctro 4D, Now to decide on the bottom board. I may also put my Prophet 08 in the rig, if we keep leaning in the direction we are going.

 

Thanks for the responses. It gives me some things to consider.

[WesG]

Will a 73 go low enough to play "Desperado"?

[Stale]

Ha, Actually I will need to shift to get the Low D in Streets have no Names by U2

[allan_evett]

I am play in a Rock/Pop Country Cover band, so I do need a wide palette of sounds for a wide variety of music.....

 

The new Rig I am putting together so far consists of a Nord Elctro 4D, Now to decide on the bottom board....

 

 

Since you have an Electro 4D already - which can well cover the organ and vintage electromechanical tones, perhaps the Kronos 73 would provide a solid contrast, sonically, and also cover the wide variety of sounds needed. An Electro 4D and Stage 2 could sound good together in the same rig, but there would be some degree of duplication between the two (organs, clavs, electric pianos, and some of the acoustic pianos); and the Stage 2 is not inexpensive. A Kronos, or similar instrument - combined with the Electro 4D, would give you a much broader range of sounds.

[TrapperJack]

It really does depend on your style and techniques for your music.

 

But.

 

Having using nothing outside the house but an Electro 2, and then an Electro 3, for some years, can I urge you to get to know your way around your 4D really well before you go paying more money.

 

It's cool to sit behind one modest board and blow all the notes and sounds through a loud, quality amp. People look twice. No mountain of boards, but lots of sound.

 

You get control of the action in a very short while.

 

Using octave switches, selected patches, stored changes, etc, you can do a heck of a lot with a Nord 4D. Including setting up in about 2 minutes.

 

You only need half a second to make complete changes, properly prepared and using memory.

 

Almost everyone I know uses less than 50% of their board's capabilities.