Nord for jazz piano and organ?

[BuckW]

Another plus for the Nord Stage 3 is to use the synth section to layer with piano (acoustic or electric) or organ to get different hybrid sounds.

 

Whether that's worth the extra money is another matter but I really like that aspect of the stage. Also you can blend or switch pianos and/or effects with mod wheel, controller pedal, or after touch which can't be done with the E5.

[teashea]

Well you certainly have a lot of options available. There are so many intelligent comments here. I will throw in a few of my thoughts for your possible consideration.

 

The issue of keybed feel and weighting is very subjective. I have read so many contradictory opinions regarding keybeds. I think a lot of it depends on one's training and orientation. Someone who is a very serious pianist and who was trained on a real piano is unlikely to ever be satisfied with playing a piano on a semi weighted keybed.

 

On the other hand, the same seems to be true for an organist. They simply cannot play an organ on a fully weighted keybed. In fact this seems to be even more true than a pianist playing on a semi weighted board.

 

I am definitely oriented toward the organ crowd. I was not trained substantially on a real piano. In fact I don't like fully weighted keybeds - even to play piano.

 

So the boards I have are all semi weighted. A few comments on sounds of my keyboards which may or may not help.

 

Nords (Stage 3 and Electro 5D) provide an unmatched ability to control things with the panel controls. No menu diving necessary for playing once you have things set up. The pianos and organs are very good - almost at the pinnacle for the piano. Keybed feel is very good for me ---- all semi weighted. The build quality is as good as anything (and that is very important issue to me).

 

Numa Organ 2 - Someone mentioned this as an option for you. This is a under-appreciated keyboard. The build quality is excellent and the sounds are quite good. For me the organ sounds are just as good as anything - but I am not a purist. I don't really care if the B3 sound is exactly the same as a B3 - I want it to sound good (and a lot of B3's actually do not sound good). The control layout is really well thought out and is so good to use. Zero menu diving and little tweaking available. It is very inexpensive - about $1,000.

 

No one has mentioned Dexibell. I like them so much I have five of them. The piano sound of a Dexibell (Combo J7, S3, Classico L3) is the the best of any keyboard I have. Their engine (quad core) seems to be the most powerful of and keyboard I have - unlimited polyphony - 320 oscillators. Their samples are up to 15 seconds long - no one else is close.

 

Kurzweil Artis 7 has a very good piano and fine other sounds. Solid construction and quality. Easy to navigate but also has the deepest ability to tailor sounds if you want to menu dive to set things up. During performance you don't have to menu dive.

 

The quality level of the leading boards is so high that you really can't make a bad decision on objective issues. The real question is what subjective issues are important to you - and this probably means keyboard feel at the top of the list. That may be the real critical issue for your decision.

 

It does not sound to me that buying an expensive organ like a Mojo, Legend, Hammond SK or XK or C2D is anything that is going to help you. If you want to just add an organ for your needs - the Numa would the I think the only real option I would suggest because of its price.

[AnotherScott]

Yes, I mentioned the VR-09 as a cheap and light way to add a clonewheel, but the Numa Organ 2 is priced similarly and is a much better organ... it does weigh twice as much.

 

As for Artis7 editing, it's pretty limited from the board itself, but is extensive via the computer editor.