Nord Piano 2 HP 73

[Jazzwee]

I didn't notice any discussion of this. My bass player just mentioned he bought this and it's only 24 lbs! I've never thought about upgrading my NP 1 to NP 2 (since it's the same piano/ep sounds) but this made my ears perk. From 40lbs to 24.

 

Does anyone know if this is the same keyboard as the one on HA 88? I don't know what 'Hammer Action Portable' means.

 

Sounds like some other compromise.

 

BTW - I walked into GC and starting playing with the CP4 and I said, wow, I can really connect to this keyboard. Then I played the Nord Stage 2 and connected even more! It shows how easy the brain can be fooled. Apparently, I can connect quite well with what I have.

 

 

 

[Rusty Mike]

The HP keyboard is Nord's version of the Fatar TP100. It's also on the Electro 3/4 HP. A different feeling keyboard, for sure. The HA feels much nicer, but I (a mid-grade player at best) find the HP perfectly playable. You should play it first yourself, as some on this forum don't like it.

 

The TP100 is also used on the Kurzweil SP series and the Artis.

[Jazzwee]

What does different feeling mean? Lighter?

 

Just hate the springiness on the Semi-Weighted. I can't play piano on that at all.

[ITGITC]

If it's like my Electro 3 HP...

 

It's hammer action.

 

It's a light touch.

 

It doesn't get in my way.

 

 

Tom

 

[Jazzwee]

Tom, have you compared it the normal HA Hammer action? And does it feel substantial?

 

I haven't seen an HP action anywhere yet. Usually I see HA or SW.

 

 

[ITGITC]

 

I haven't compared it.

 

 

[lekanout]

I have compared it.

As a nord piano 2 ha88 owner,i tried the little brother before buying it.(in shop)

 

I think the nord piano 2 73 is exactly the same as the nord electro 3 hp and the nord electro 4 hp.

Verdict?

For me it´s really good for a very light keyboard,but a little less than the nord piano 2 88(wich is near the same i think than the nord stage 2 88 and 76)

 

I did the HA88 choice because i had on the hp73 less good sensation:

More vibration,more noisy,something more light in the 73(but just a little,not so much difference with the 88)

Honestly,the hp 73 is a really good choice because of the compact and heavy keybed,in a ligher weigt.

It´s i think less good than the 88,but as good to be a good keyboard.

Depends what´s your priority...

a little more precision and less vibration on the 88,or lighter and compacity on the hp73.

I think the hp73 is the tp100(like some of you said)and the HA88 is the fatar tp40m(medium heavy)

(for exemple ,my ex kurzweil pc3k8 had the fatar tp40 l,the same than the nord stage and and nord piano 2 ha88,but more lighter in the heavy family)

 

On the other points,it´s the same..

 

[Jazzwee]

First of all lekanout, thank you for your input. I appreciate it.

 

I managed to find a Nord Piano 2 HP 73 last night and was surprised to find that the keyboard feel of the HP is not that far from the HA 88.

 

Given the environment, I didn't hear or notice any noise or vibration. Probably won't matter in a loud venue even if I did notice.

 

My take on it was that the HP keybed (TP100) has a slightly heavier feel than the HA 88 (comparing to my Nord Piano 88). In fact, it's the slightly extra weight that I wanted the HA 88 to have for piano work. i'm glad that there was even that extra weight sensation from velocity #3.

 

I have an acoustic with heavy keys so I'm used to it more. But even the heavier feel of the HP is likely not heavier than a Casio.

 

Anyway, it seems that as a compromise, this is not much different from my Nord Piano 88.

 

So looks like the same as your comparisons, lekanout.

 

I'm considering getting a Nord Electro 4 HP instead though so I hope you're right that it is exactly the same.

 

 

[Michelle ggurl]

Wow, that's good news. This board intrigues me as well. I'm hoping to find one of the HP boards (probably the Electro will be there, if any) at GC today to get the feel of it. But I'm glad to hear your take on it too ... do the keys have a short throw like the usual Electro? I would imagine they are completely different keys? For whatever reason I have not ever found an Electro HP to demo at any store around here.

[Jazzwee]

Michelle, no, the keys were not a short throw. With the volume off, it felt pretty close to the NP 88. So the difference is subtle.

 

Now I didn't have a side by side comparison here so it's all from memory.

 

I was playing regular jazz stuff on it all night (3 hours of playing on it). I did try some soft stuff with dense voicings to see how much control I had and it sounded good. Obviously it's not an acoustic so I mean that in a "relative" way to the NP 88.

 

I can probably play faster on the NP88 since the keys were lighter on that but after playing with it awhile, I really didn't notice it anymore. It was a good test because I was playing what I usually play and in a band setting.

 

It was my bass player's NP 2 HP. He just bought it.

 

There was a grand piano and this NP 2 and I changed between the two all night (with another piano player) so if there were a significant issue, I would notice it, given the constant shift to an acoustic. And of course, I preferred the acoustic but who wouldn't?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Michelle ggurl]

Awesome. Thanks for that info!

[Michelle ggurl]

OK, Well, I went to GC to (hopefully) play an HP version of either the NP or NE. Alas, none in stock.

 

But they had a Nord Stage 2 76 and Nord Electro 4 running thru the same speakers. Jazzwee, have you tried the piano sounds on the NE4? Anyone else comment on this compared to the Stage? Because the piano sounds they had on the Electro 4 sounded lacking compared to the Stage.

 

I seem to recall discussions before about the Piano and possibly Stage having better/different handling for acoustic piano patches (or simply running larger samples?) than the Electro. Is this true? I played around with the effects on both machines but it's not just the effects. The Bosendorfer in the Stage was much better than any patch I could find on the E4.

 

Input, please!

[Joe Muscara]

OK, Well, I went to GC to (hopefully) play an HP version of either the NP or NE. Alas, none in stock.

 

But they had a Nord Stage 2 76 and Nord Electro 4 running thru the same speakers. Jazzwee, have you tried the piano sounds on the NE4? Anyone else comment on this compared to the Stage? Because the piano sounds they had on the Electro 4 sounded lacking compared to the Stage.

 

I seem to recall discussions before about the Piano and possibly Stage having better/different handling for acoustic piano patches (or simply running larger samples?) than the Electro. Is this true? I played around with the effects on both machines but it's not just the effects. The Bosendorfer in the Stage was much better than any patch I could find on the E4.

 

Input, please!

It's the actions that are causing the sounds to seem different. The Bosie in the Stage is the same as the Bosie that ships with the E4.

[Jazzwee]

Michelle, I just purchased an NE4 HP. The stock piano sounds from the factory aren't going to cut it. So you'll have to load new piano sounds from the Nord Piano Library.

 

I have an NP1 so the piano sounds are exactly the same. There will be no surprises for me. The only difference, aside from the keyboard, is that the NP1 has more memory for piano (500mb) while the NE4 only has 380mb.

 

On the older Electros there is not enough memory to load an XL sample for example. However, for my type of gigs, I've never needed to load more than the L version (largest one is 90MB for the Italian Grand).

 

So in theory, all the newer Nords will have the same piano options, just varying on the keyboard type. Thus, if you find something you like on a Stage, you should be able to do the same on the Electro 4.

 

Again, this only holds true for Electro 4, not Electro 3.

 

 

[Jazzwee]

OK, Well, I went to GC to (hopefully) play an HP version of either the NP or NE. Alas, none in stock.

 

But they had a Nord Stage 2 76 and Nord Electro 4 running thru the same speakers. Jazzwee, have you tried the piano sounds on the NE4? Anyone else comment on this compared to the Stage? Because the piano sounds they had on the Electro 4 sounded lacking compared to the Stage.

 

I seem to recall discussions before about the Piano and possibly Stage having better/different handling for acoustic piano patches (or simply running larger samples?) than the Electro. Is this true? I played around with the effects on both machines but it's not just the effects. The Bosendorfer in the Stage was much better than any patch I could find on the E4.

 

Input, please!

It's the actions that are causing the sounds to seem different. The Bosie in the Stage is the same as the Bosie that ships with the E4.

 

Do you know what size sample is on the E4 factory shipped version? I'll find out next week, if Michelle can wait.

[Joe Muscara]

No, I don't.

[Michelle ggurl]

Oh, I can wait. I am very interested in your impressions of loading those samples into the NE4, Jazzwee. Please keep us posted!

 

Joe, I suppose it's possible that it's the action, but wo, then it's REALLY different. It really does not sound the same at all. Even at pianissimo triggering levels.

[Michelle ggurl]

Of course I have no idea what sample is loaded on the shop floor's NE4 for piano. It likely wasn't the Bosie.

[ITGITC]

 

Michelle, did you have an opportunity to try the various dynamic response curves?

 

There are four settings on the HP model, default plus 3:

 

When all LEDs are off, the default response curve is active. A Dyn setting of 1 makes it a bit easier to reach the maximum, a setting of 2, even easier and the third setting is the lightest response curve.

I have found that experimenting with these makes a big difference in personalizing the response of the action.

 

Regarding how the sample size affects the sound, here is a page that describes the sample sizes and their features: LINK.

 

The Extra Large versions are fully mapped across the keyboard which increases the size a bit. The velocity layers are the same as on the other sizes.

 

The Large versions have String Resonance samples all across the keyboard, providing you with a very full sound.

 

The Medium versions have 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.

Small 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.

--

 

The Stage 2 partitions 500 MB of storage for the Nord Piano Library: Grands, Uprights, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Harpsichords, & Clavinet.

 

The Electro 4 has 380 MB storage dedicated to the Nord Piano Library.

 

Currently, the largest sample set is the Extra Large Grand Imperial Bdorf XL 5.3.npno (196.9 MB). (The Small Grand Imperial Bdorf Sml 5.3.npno is just 43.6 MB.)

 

As a point of reference, my Nord Electro 3 HP Piano Sample storage is only 185 MB.

 

Here's what I have loaded now:

 

Grand Lady D Steinway Med 61.0 MB

Electric Grand Amped MONO 31.4 MB

1 Sparkletop Vintage 1967 12.2 MB

2 Bright Tines MK1 1975 14.8 MB

3 EP7 Tines Amped MK1 Med 31.1 MB

Wurlitzer 2 Amped 24.0 MB

Clavinet D6 5.7 MB

 

STORAGE AVAILABLE: 5.2 MB

 

Since the Stage 2 can be loaded with larger samples, it could possibly sound different (better?) than the Electro 4.

 

Also, the Stage 2 offers Generation 2 resonance effects:

 

String Resonance samples when using the Sustain pedal on Medium, Large or XL Acoustic Pianos.

 

Sympathetic Resonance between keys held down simultaneously, regardless of the sustain pedal.

 

Dynamic Crescendo

 

Perhaps this is what you are hearing when you compared the Stage 2 with the Electro 4.

 

Since the Electro 4 doesn't display the name of its program, you won't know which program is loaded unless you check with the Nord Sound Manager on a computer.

 

Good luck!

 

Tom

 

 

 

 

 

[Jazzwee]

Tom, just a correction on the velocity curves. On the newer models (including NP2 HP and I'm sure the NE 4), the velocity setting #3 is NOW the heaviest setting.

 

I did manage to try it on the NP2 HP and there's no such feature on the NP1. This is one of the biggest complaints for playing sensitively on the pianos.

 

On the NP2 HP I used, this was already available from the factory unit, without loading a new OS.

 

 

[Jazzwee]

Michelle, were you thinking of looking at the NE 4 HP or the NP2 HP?

 

The NE4 advantage is the organ. The NP2 advantage is that it has more memory and I think it can layer, or split.

[Jazzwee]

Just saw this. The factory loaded piano sounds are different.

 

Default Sounds

 

STAGE 2

 

GRAND

ConcertGrand1Amb StwD Lrg 5.3

Grand Lady D Stw D Med 5.3

Studio Grand 1 YaC7 Med 5.3

Electric Grand 1 CP80 5.3

 

 

ELECTRO 4

GRAND

Studio Grand 1 YaC7 Med 5.3

Grand Lady D Stw D Med 5.3

Electric Grand 1 CP80 5.3

 

BTW - Nowadays, I've shifted to using ConcertGrand1 on my NP88 mostly which apparently is the default on the Stage 2. It has a thickness in the upper registers that I find better for jazz solos.

 

 

 

[ITGITC]

 

Jazzwee, where did you find that listing of default sounds? I looked everywhere for it last night. I even downloaded the manuals & backup files. Couldn't find them.

 

I am a bit surprised that the Dynamics options have been reversed from those on my NE3HP. No matter. This option makes a big difference for me.

 

Michelle, I have not compared the action between my NE3HP, the Stage 2, the Piano 2 HP, Piano 2 HA 88, or the NE4HP. It's interesting to hear that the actions aren't as different as I had read. I am still very happy with my NE3HP.

 

Thanks!!

 

Tom

 

[Jazzwee]

Tom, I found it on the Nord page. I can't recall now but it was a listing of products and then when I went to each product, there was a list of factory sounds.

 

The velocity options didn't completely change. Here's what they did.

 

Old Velocity:

0 = Heavy

1 = Light

2= Extra Light

3 = Super Light

 

New Velocity:

0 = Heavy

1= Extra Light

2 = Super Light

3 = Extra Heavy

 

They basically removed the old "1" from the choices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ITGITC]

 

New Velocity:

0 = Heavy

1= Extra Light

2 = Super Light

3 = Extra Heavy

 

They basically removed the old "1" from the choices.

 

That seems confusing to me, going from #2 - Super Light to #3 - Extra Heavy.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Jazzwee]

I can see their problem. Since the default weight is in between, it's hard to come up with a logical order.

 

What would have been logical was to make the default weight the Extra Heavy and then move to Super Light. But I can see that some people will be shocked at the sudden change in behavior if they don't use the dynamic settings and then the board starts to just feel heavier on boot.

 

Also, at the stores, the buyers trying them out may not know about velocity settings. I can see their marketing problem. They want the most popular "weight" choice as the default. But that's the difficulty with physical buttons. Limited choice.

 

Do you use the velocity settings at all? I usually don't since i need it heavy. But now on the new E4 I may want extra heavy for softer stuff and probably superlight when I try to do organ (once I figure it out -- don't know how to play organ yet).

 

 

[Michelle ggurl]

Thanks, guys. Jazzwee, I am looking at NP 2. I just commented on my observation at the store bc I saw that you are leaning toward NE4 and I wanted to let you know I heard a difference between NE4 and the Stage. But obviously that is far from scientific. As Tom said, I have no idea what sample is loaded into the NE and I didn't know how to discern velocity adjustments till I read this thread this morning.

 

I already have an NE2 with organ and lighter, waterfall keyboard. If i need organ I will bring that along to the gig. My need for that is rare; my goal is playable piano and EP in a lightweight package with action that won't destroy me. Definitely looking at NP. :-)

[Jazzwee]

Selling my NP88...(once I get the NE4HP).

 

The only difference with NP2 is really the Samples.

 

BTW, one of the reasons I went with the NE4HP is that the piano would be lighter so did you mean NP2 HP vs. NP2 HA88?

[Moonglow]

Does the NE4 have the "long release" parameter? I know the Stage 2 does. Makes a big difference, IMHO.

[Jazzwee]

Yes it does Moonglow. All the newer Nords have it. Including the NP88.