eric Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-grand-2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hªdºw Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Having looked at the specifications for this model I'm left feeling underwhelmed. The same polyphony (120) as the previous model and the same piano sample memory (2gb). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Nice DP but I didn't realize the Nord Grand was selling so well to warrant a part deux.😁😎 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Gonna be a lot Nord Electro players upset they were really hoping for a new NE7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphollis Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 It has all the new goodies from the S4, which are substantial: unison sliders, per-layer FX, dynamic compression, etc. If the original Nord Grand floats your boat, this looks like a nice upgrade. I'm using all of these features on the S4, and it's an upgrade. Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 No doubt it sounds wonderful and having played one, it’s the best DP I’ve played. I’ve been considering a Nord Grand to replace my home acoustic, but I can’t wrap my head around the red. Wouldn’t one or two optional colours broaden the market? Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphollis Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 7 minutes ago, drawback said: No doubt it sounds wonderful and having played one, it’s the best DP I’ve played. I’ve been considering a Nord Grand to replace my home acoustic, but I can’t wrap my head around the red. Wouldn’t one or two optional colours broaden the market? Easy, just tell your wife that you've decided to redecorate the living room in warm brick red tones. Let me know how that goes? 3 Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 The last room we had red and black was back in the ‘90s when my son’s bedroom was all things Chicago Bulls. 🤣 2 Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Love this board. 2 Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 2 hours ago, hªdºw said: Having looked at the specifications for this model I'm left feeling underwhelmed. The same polyphony (120) as the previous model and the same piano sample memory (2gb). 2 hours ago, ProfD said: Nice DP but I didn't realize the Nord Grand was selling so well to warrant a part deux.😁😎 The Nord Grand, as an upgraded Nord PIano 4, was lagging behind the subsequent NP5 in significant ways (i.e. 1 piano sound plus 1 sample sound at a time, vs. 2 and 2; and double the memory for sample synth sounds), so it was only a matter of time before the NG got upgraded to include the newer NP5 features, so that moving up the line from a Nord Piano to a Nord Grand would no longer require a substantial trade-off as well. But this NG update goes beyond that, i.e.: 1 hour ago, cphollis said: new goodies from the S4, which are substantial: unison sliders, per-layer FX, dynamic compression, etc. 5 Quote Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 2 hours ago, drawback said: No doubt it sounds wonderful and having played one, it’s the best DP I’ve played. I’ve been considering a Nord Grand to replace my home acoustic, but I can’t wrap my head around the red. Wouldn’t one or two optional colours broaden the market? Just start inviting people over to your bordello and they will understand the red piano plus you can brush up on your Fats Waller tunes. Could have some really cool parties once the word gets out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathanael_I Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 I have a Nord Grand and a Stage4-88. They should make a Nord Grand only sample. Bigger. Better pianissimo. Let it take much of the piano sample space. Make it really great. This board is about piano and has a better action. Lean into that. I don’t see upgrading. I bought the action more than the sounds. The Stage is better for most things. So the Grand really should maximize acoustic piano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 A $1000 price increase that's tall. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NordGrand2--nord-grand-2-88-key-stage-keyboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainjammer Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Nord is calling the “new generation” action “Kawai Responsive Hammer Keybed”vs the prior’s “ Kawai Hammer Action.” The rig is also a pound heavier. Any idea if they might have added escapement to the action? IMHO, the 2 piano sounds on sliders with independent effects is a big upgrade. And sure second synth is good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 4 hours ago, Docbop said: A $1000 price increase that's tall. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NordGrand2--nord-grand-2-88-key-stage-keyboard Didn't the original sell for $3999 or $4099 before the release of the Grand 2? Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 For those who own this board: do you use the Synth section when you play live (or in whatever context you use it professionally)? Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphollis Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I use a Nord Piano 5 73 for acoustic piano-style gigs, so the Nord Grand's little bro. The sample/synth can sometimes be used as a primary voice, but mostly plays a backup role to the piano sounds. Pads, short solo passages, a bit of horns and strings-- not really suitable for heavy lifting in my opinion. Since they're single layer samples, they only can go so far. Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macsaint777 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 This uses the same Kawai RH3 action... but apparently has been "enhanced"... I expect along the lines of what Nord does with their "virtual hammer technology" in the Piano series. But it is almost literally a Piano 5 in the Grand shell... which a slightly more NS4 UI. Goodness. Why. Quote I have gear. Don't we all? Some is old, some is new. Ask me what I've got and I'll tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U.Honey Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 2 hours ago, Macsaint777 said: This uses the same Kawai RH3 action... but apparently has been "enhanced"... I expect along the lines of what Nord does with their "virtual hammer technology" in the Piano series. But it is almost literally a Piano 5 in the Grand shell... which a slightly more NS4 UI. Goodness. Why. I thought Nord Piano uses Fatar keybed. Nord Grand uses Kawai's keybed. Not the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberGene Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Quote The Nord Grand 2 features the latest generation premium Hammer Action keybed from Kawai Only the wooden GF-series actions are marketed as premium by Kawai. Does the Nord Grand have a wooden action? Highly doubtful. Because if it has the RH3, then that's a rather low-tier action, sitting only above the entry-level RHC action. But I guess if you paint it red, it becomes premium 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 22 minutes ago, CyberGene said: Only the wooden GF-series actions are marketed as premium by Kawai. Does the Nord Grand have a wooden action? Highly doubtful. Because if it has the RH3, then that's a rather low-tier action, sitting only above the entry-level RHC action. But I guess if you paint it red, it becomes premium 😀 It's some custom version of the RH action. Whatever is involved in that customizing makes the action incredible. I'm not sure what accounts for it. 1 Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHarrell Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 10 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said: Whatever is involved in that customizing makes the action incredible. I'm not sure what accounts for it. Biggest thing I remember from playing it is lack of grading and removing the escapement. It'd be really funny if Nord's "improvements" for NG2 are to add those elements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 9 hours ago, Macsaint777 said: But it is almost literally a Piano 5 in the Grand shell... which a slightly more NS4 UI. Goodness. Why. Nord Grand was largely a Piano 4 in the Grand shell (most notably, with a higher end action). Then the Piano 5 came out, and they were in the odd position where their top of line Nord Grand was, in some ways, inferior to the step-down Nord Piano. If nothing else, it would make sense to address that discrepancy, and not have such a compromise built into your flagship piano... this model does that, and then some. 1 Quote Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Keys Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 On 1/19/2024 at 5:47 PM, Docbop said: Gonna be a lot Nord Electro players upset they were really hoping for a new NE7. I'd consider an NE7electroHP if they replaced the action with something more like the Kawai. Quote Yamaha YC73 Korg Kronos2 61 Yamaha CP88 Roland Jupiter 8 Roland JX3P Roland D50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 8 hours ago, CHarrell said: Biggest thing I remember from playing it is lack of grading and removing the escapement. It'd be really funny if Nord's "improvements" for NG2 are to add those elements. Right? I think I may already slot any DP I touch in some mental "not a real piano" folder. In some ways, if someone succeeded in exactly replicating the experience of (say) my Mason & Hamlin, I don't think I'd find it terribly useful as a DP. For one thing the action is so closely related to the in-room sonic experience of the piano that I'd find the DP experience unsatisfying, and for another I would never want any other keyboard sounds (EP, Organ, Synth) to play with that same action. I'd find it fatiguing. So I think I may subconsciously "adjust" when I touch DP's. All I know is that the second I laid hands on the Nord Grand (after plenty of opportunities to play other RH3 products), I connected immediately, and then when I "tried again" a year later I had the same experience. I believe it was @AnotherScott who posited that the difference with the Nord weighted actions has to with the experience at the bottom of the throw. This resonates. There's something unique about the "bottoming out" of those keys, and yes, the irony will be if it's because they've removed two desirable components of that action. 2 Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 7 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said: the second I laid hands on the Nord Grand (after plenty of opportunities to play other RH3 products), I connected immediately, and then when I "tried again" a year later I had the same experience. Same here. Still the gold standard. Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 They’re using something similar to the VPC1 action, ya? That retails for $2499. Plus a base MacBook Air $999, MainStage $29.99. Keyscape $399. $572 extra to have it all together in a red box with a UI shipped from Sweden. Not terrible. 2 Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3plyr Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Someone should find out if the Grand 2 has escapement. One reason I got rid of my Grand was that after I bought it, I found out Nord had removed escapement from the Kawai keybed. At the price of the Grand you should have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 3 minutes ago, b3plyr said: Someone should find out if the Grand 2 has escapement. One reason I got rid of my Grand was that after I bought it, I found out Nord had removed escapement from the Kawai keybed. At the price of the Grand you should have it. I believe that's the same with the NG2. No escapement. Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHarrell Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 I was surprised by how light the NG action was when I tried it. After playing it at the store a couple years ago, my first words to the keyboard department person: "Please convince me not to spend all this money on this." Wisdom ultimately prevailed, and I didn't, but some thumpiness aside, I immediately fell in love. Amazingly, the keybed felt satisfying for all the keyboard sounds...if Kawai figured something out and offered that on one of their models (that would probably cost half as much as Nord). Oh man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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