I can't quit you, Nord.......

[jimkost2002]

Due to a recent move, I've had to shuffle around different keyboards for personal practice and after more back and forth than I would have liked, I setlled on a Nord Electro 5HP for practice.....and occasional jams/casual gigs.

 

I was looking for something primarily, AP/EP oriented as I have other gear for synth/B3 duties.

 

I tried everything from a Forte7 (amazing action-most responsive digital next to VPiano, great APs, however, I never liked the EPs, but I'm a real Rhodes guy from way back),

various Yamahas (still the AP kings IMHO, but I love Yamaha acoustics, but they were too bulky for a small Manhattan apartment), Casio PX5 (loved the concept but viscerally hated action and interface, but that's me).....

and last and perhapd worst, Arturia Keylab 88 with software.....

Again, a great concept, but perhaps one of the worst actions anywhere (that aftertouch strip!)....that action could be almost crippling over sustained use! Plus Arturia has some of the worst QC I have ever seen.....

 

I realized I didn't need 88 keys.....I'm not playing Tatum or Rachmaninoff. Plus, again, too much real estate. (I also have to fit a Mojo, Model D, VV and laptop/controller in a compressed space.....)

 

Nord Electros and Stages have been in my life since the first iterations, and I have now realized,

"I can't quit you, Nord"

 

For me, it is just the most practical combination of size, weight, performance for my needs, plus the build quality is a joy to behold in our plastic, disposable age.

 

I like Italian Grand XL and Grand Upright and the Historical Pianos are fun! And I can MIDI the keyboard to Pianoteq!

 

Dont know if its me, but has Nord tweaked the Fatar TP 100? This feels MUCH better than my old HP3....

[SteveQB]

I have a Stage 2EX and love it. I really dig the action, the interface and of course the sound. It also serves as a good set of 88 keys for use with mainstage (letting mainstage do the work of splits etc)

[eric]

I feel the same way about Nord - once you've been using it for awhile, there is a certain aspect of the sound and ease of use that is hard to beat. I still have my NE2 that I got around 2002 and used on every gig for nearly 10 years. From there, I went to NE3 and then NE5. My primary gigging instrument for the past 5+ year has been the NS2 and I added a NS2 EX this year. Nord seems to get a fair amount of love, but there are certainly some haters as well!

[Synthoid]

Only ever played a Nord once at a fundraiser. Actually there were two of us playing keyboards--I brought my Triton, but gave the Nord Stage a test drive.

 

I agree about the sounds and ease of use. Two thumbs up.

[ElmerJFudd]

This is to be a stay at home digital for mainly acoustic and electric pianos? Am I hearing that right, or it needs to travel and gig?

 

If it's staying at home - your options are really wide. Lots of great actions to choose from and with MIDI and software you need not be limited by any internal sample sets. Check out the Kawai ES8 or MP7 or consoles like the CA67 or 97. Yamaha CP4 or Clavinova. Casio GP500 or 700.

[Sam Mullins]

Due to evolution of my top tier keyboard over the last couple years, I could swap my Stage 2 for a CP4 and be happier with the action.

 

But after a week like this week (where I spent at least 20 hours fighting Win 10 and Sonar Platinum upgrade problems), I look at my Stage and it seems to be saying "Hey friend...remember me. I may have some shortcomings, but I'm built like a tank, sound great, and I work without a lot of fuss. "

 

I'm in the software industry and feel fortunate that I have the knowledge and ability to deal with tech problems. But frankly after 10 hours staring at the screen each day, I just don't want to deal with it. Thanks Nord!

 

[stillearning]

I'm a fairly tech minded guy, but as I get older, (60's) I find myself less inclined to want to read several hundred pages of an owner's manual to wrap mt head around an instrument. The Nord manuals are short, easy reads. Thanks Nord.

[Tonysounds]

Yeah I'm kind of missing my NordStage 2.

[Rusty Mike]

Dont know if its me, but has Nord tweaked the Fatar TP 100? This feels MUCH better than my old HP3....

 

I recently demo'd a 5HP at B&H in Manhattan, and had the same thought. The demo was kind of beat up, but the action was so much smoother than my 3HP.

 

Overall, I agree with much of the sentiment here. The 3HP was my third Electro (and I also own a E4D as well). Almost all of my gigs are single keyboard (95% AP/EP, with just a touch of organ), and the Electro is perfect. My dual Electro rig is also cool looking and gets the job done very well!

 

I've been considering upgrading the 3HP, only because I want a new toy. Of all the contenders, the Electro 5HP stands out due to the advantages of weight, ease of use, sound quality and playability. The additional capabilities, increased sample memory and revised keyboard feel make it all the more attractive. Plus, I already have a gig bag and accessories that work perfectly.

 

I'm torn about selling the 3HP for an upgrade though. I may just save up a few more nickels for the 5HP and keep the 3HP as a backup or leave for rehearsals.

[fjzingo]

Nords are great gigging boards, I really dig the nord electros. I'm one of the few who had the original nor electro-generation there where silent areas when transposing the keyboard......with the release of nord electro 2 I got the system upgrade. A real winner complementing my motif perfectly.

 

Got the nord stage rev b ehn it arrived and upgraded to the nord stage 2 when it came. Thats my main gigging board, legs and everything in the same bag!

 

Sold of my nord electro some years ago but felt I missed a portable all-round keyboard, in came nord electro 4.

 

Portability, stability, ease of use, ease of programming - what is there not to like.

 

Now back to getting my Montage gig-ready.......

 

PS Tried some casio pianos recently, not to my liking. There where some kind of ebony texture that made the keys feel dirty. DS

 

 

 

 

[sunshadow]

I agree, i think for my purposes, the nord is in a class of its own, i havent tried the electro HP action, but i heard it was the same as the Stage 2 which i have tried. Good action, but not as good as Nord Piano 2. But no organs on NP2 I do really want an electro though, the HP version definitely. but for me i would use it for the organs and portability factor, i find that the waterfall keybedds i just cant stand, i cant stand synth/organ light as a feather action, maybe only for playing pads or pure synth sounds...and really slow just chords stuff, where there is like zero need for putting any real feeling into the fingers. If I had an electro 4 or later, i would get the HP and have it as a super compact light carrying board, that can do pianos and organs...thats how i would look at it. But if i really wanted to play piano i have to play the np2. There is no substitute. If you really want good piano action, then you just cant also have good organ action, haha, but i think the HP/Stage action, is a really amazing in between...thats how that action feels to me. It's not the best for pianos, but it's also ok for organs or light playing.

[whannah]

I've never owned a nord but I've played them many times, and while I like the utility and layout, I've just never loved the sounds. I own a Korg SV-1 for rhodes/wurli stuff and it sounds and feels freaking fantastic. I hardly ever use the A. piano but it sounds good to me. I also love the look and all vintage looking the knobs. The clav sounds are cheesy and the organs are completely unusable, but if the rhodes sound is your main thing then I'd recommend giving it a test drive.

[AWkeys]

I've been a Nord user since the Electro 2 came out. Gigged with that for years, upgraded to a used Nord Stage 88, decided to get a Stage Compact instead, and now I'm 5 years in with my Stage 2 Compact. While it looks complicated to use, it's the fastest keyboard IMO (maybe because I'm Nordic) to program by FAR, and I've gotten things out of that limited synth section that people can't believe. I've since coupled it with a Casio PX-5S for most gigs and a Kronos 2 73 for heavy-lifting gigs where I need more sounds. They all complement each other extremely well. But the Nord continues to be at the center of it all - in the studio as well. Probably springing for a Stage 2 EX. Love Nord!

[Fusker]

I hear you! The connective tissue of that interface is great. I can dial things in on stage on the fly without a second thought.

 

I'm still pretty satisfied with my NE3 after 5 years.

[Ross Ward]

Gah! I have the same...problem? With one or two exceptions, Nords are the only keyboards I've really ever known. I started as a guitar player, and when I decided to make the switch to keys, I bought an Electro 2 because I had seen bands using them and it had the sounds I was looking for. Bought the Stage EX a couple of years later because I wanted a weighted board and a synth section so that I could have a single-board solution if needed, and used them both for a while with the Electro being used for organ. Then, sold the Electro and got an XK-3c. I had started spending time on a real B-3 and wanted drawbars, not drawbuttons.

 

Unfortunately, before I got the Stage and started my "wishful thinking", I bought a couple of VST synths to cover what my Electro couldn't do, and I got into the bad habit of using VSTs exclusively for synth because I was lazy. I started just looking for patches that were close to what I wanted and then tweaking them, as opposed to learning how to actually program the synth section on the Nord, so I've literally never learned to use it. BUT, I use the crap out of the Extern section, so I could never make the Nord Piano or Electro work as my main board.

 

Now, I'm sort of at a crossroads of whether to go fully VST for pianos and EPs, too. There's a part of me that wants to sell the Nord, or at least retire it for something like a Physis. I added an MPK61 to my rig to primarily handle all of the VST controls, which aside from volume and assigning something to the mod wheel, I haven't really done. Going with a Physis could replace the Nord and the AKAI, since I don't play enough synth (or fast enough synth) to really warrant a semi-weighted board. But man...there's just something a lot more inspiring about hardware instruments, such as being able to just grab a knob and know what it does, as opposed to trying to remember what it's mapped to or if it's even mapped at all.

 

Needless to say...I'm at a frustrating crossroads at the moment!

[cphollis]

One of the things I've come to appreciate is the long-term upgradeability via the Nord Sound Library. The evolution of the AP choices has been quite impressive, and I'm mostly an AP player.

 

Getting all those lovely APs to fit in memory makes for some hard choices, but not enough GAS yet for the Nord Piano 3.

 

While I'll readily agree that Yamaha and Kawai have slightly better piano actions than the NP2, I'd argue that the NP2/3 makes for a better gigging instrument.

 

And, besides, red looks pretty cool on stage.

[El Lobo]

Just retired the NE2 that I've had for years for the NE5D that I just got. Love Nord.

[mate stubb]

Just went back to my old Stage Classic for live.

 

It's like they sit there and smirk. "Go on, try your latest plastic wonder. I'll still be here when you come to your senses."

[mwheels]

I fell in love with Nord since my first electro 2 that I purchased based on the reviews that were posted on this forum. Recently updated my gig rig to an electro 5, and a lead a1. Besides the excellent build quality and reliability, the outstanding sound, and being compact and light weight, the user interfaces are set up intelligently for intuitive operation. I hate menu diving - thank you Clavia!

[AnotherScott]

i havent tried the electro HP action, but i heard it was the same as the Stage 2 which i have tried.

...

If you really want good piano action, then you just cant also have good organ action, haha, but i think the HP/Stage action, is a really amazing in between...

The electro HP (TP100) action is only the same as that of the Nord Stage 2 EX HP76. The other Nord Stage models do not use that action. The 88 (and both the 76 and 88 of the previous non-EX models) use a version of the TP40, and the 73 key models use a non-hammer action. So unless the Stage you played was a 76-key EX model, you haven't experienced something like the Electro HP action.

[LX88]

Don't you guys know... that "The B-3 Burner" told us that the Electro was obsolete when the Hammond SK's came out????

 

Sure are a lot of SK's on Garage sale these days.....

 

 

[FJR]

Add me to the list! I sold my stage ex a few years ago, and ended up just buying a stage 2ex76. For gigging/size/weight/construction, it's just the best!! And it makes a great controller when I want to add omnisphere for more flexible synth stuff!

 

If I could add anything it would be a pitch and mod wheel to the electro5D (and then I'd be buying one of those!!), and a good audio interface to the stage (one less thing to carry).

[FJR]

Just went back to my old Stage Classic for live.

 

It's like they sit there and smirk. "Go on, try your latest plastic wonder. I'll still be here when you come to your senses."

 

LOL! So true!! I'm having to explain to bandmates now, that keep saying "I thought you sold your nord..."

 

 

[DulceLabs.com]

It's great when you find a instrument you truly connect with and we're fortunate to have so many choices in every size, shape, and price range.

[stoken6]

As I've said previously, the Nord Stage gets so much right: size/weight/form factor. Internal PSU. Pedals, aftertouch, wheels (pitch-bend is beautifully expressive). High-trigger. MIDI controller and "controllee" capabilities (through Dual Keyboard and Extern). Build quality. And that's before we talk about the sound.

 

Nord APs have a reputation for thinning out a bit up top. I've managed to contain that through using the Bright Grand, small size, a dab of EQ and the right output only in mono. And I've recently discovered the Petrof (Black Upright) which is great for blues.

 

The EPs get a bad rap - but actually I love them. Sparkletop with a bit of Fender Twin dirt nails the Get Back solo tone. I'm doing a gig on Sunday with an acoustic guitar and a singer - I quickly dialled in the Nefertiti Rhodes which sits beautifully in this kind of setting.

 

There's another thread here about what happens to us in our forties. My NS2 was a 40th birthday present to myself - I know I'll never get rid of it.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[yannis D]

for me it was NE2, NL2, Stage compact. Today i use E5 and still my old NL2 having upgraded from E3.

So its all Nord with some Korgs in between....

Apart from softsynths and Maisatage, Nord have been a steady companion en route and in the studio since 15 years. Never regret it.

 

[drawback]

I've had two Nords: NE2 which I sold to buy a NS2 Compact. They were the best giggin' boards I've ever owned. I've just sold the NS2 because it's reached it's product life, ie: when to sell it to max out on the value before its successor hits. The EX version is simply a memory upgrade (and a cash grab if you ask me) but that's par for the course. So I'm expecting a NS3 to come out in 2017 but judging by the OUTRAGEOUS price difference even between a NS2 and the NS2-EX for basically a 500MB memory kick, I'm Norded out.

 

I just got a Mojo61 and it has better Hammond than Nord, killer action, and the best Rhodes I've ever been able to get, because it's just so modifiable.

 

So now I'm selling off my CP4, and bundled with what I got for the Stage2, I should be close enough to a Forte7.

 

Yeah, I think I'm Yamaha'd out, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Josh Paxton]

I had the Electros 1 through 3, then a Stage 2, then an Electro 5. I loved them all up until the Electro 5, which I just couldn't connect with. The supposedly improved organ sound just didn't click (no pun intended) with me. The limitations with splits and layers were a major bummer. (Had I realized that when you split an EP and an organ, you could have either an amp sim on the EP or the Leslie sim on the organ, but not both, I probably wouldn't have bought it.) The E-to-E key layout just infuriated me. So I sold it last year, and for the first time in over 10 years I was Nordless. But I haven't missed it. If anything, I miss my Electro 2, which had my favorite Wurli sounds they've ever done. If I ever found an Electro 2 rack on the cheap I might snatch it up just for that.

[mate stubb]

If anything, I miss my Electro 2, which had my favorite Wurli sounds they've ever done. If I ever found an Electro 2 rack on the cheap I might snatch it up just for that.

 

Can't you load all the ancient sounds into the newest Nords?

[cphollis]

If anything, I miss my Electro 2, which had my favorite Wurli sounds they've ever done. If I ever found an Electro 2 rack on the cheap I might snatch it up just for that.

 

Can't you load all the ancient sounds into the newest Nords?

 

Yep. And vice versa (sort of) -- new sounds on old boards, within reason.