Seconded and carried. I'd like to think we would be at the point now of perfecting key actions that weren't forced to be connected directly to strings in any way, rather than this slavish yet only partially successful replication of what exists on APs.

e.g. in a way: I for one would gladly take a steel folk guitar that played as easily as a nylon classical.

It's just a guess. When it was time of Nord Electro 2 and Nord stage Classic, they had 9,5MB pianos now they have 200MB, so they will be much bigger.

By the way, I wonder how big are sample sets in CP1 and 700NX. The last isn't pure sample sound, but I think it's equivalent of 1GB sample set, or even slightly bigger.

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Dave, while I'm listening your jazz recordings made on CP1 and NP, I like both sounds, every one in other way. CP1 sounds more clean, like DPs do, and NP sound more like recorded piano to me. So in studio I'd rather use NP than CP1.

In those recordings I don't hear single note runs issue you pointed out, they don't sound thin to me.

What you mean by "CP-5....it gets old real quick" ?

I think Dave's saying that you quickly get frustrated by the weight of the CP5 when moving it around to and from gigs. Given that the Nord is 7kg or so lighter, that's understandable.

I'm curious to know if you've checked the new Bosendorfer sample? (Obviously it wasn't around a year ago.) I don't know whether it addresses your concerns, but I do think it's the best sounding piano they've come out with, and quite different in character from their others.

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Thanks so much for answering my questions - Both you and Zac should be doing this full time..................now if only the Manufacturers could supply you with the necessary goods to review....... :p

Both Zac, Dave, and you have answered in away that was seemingly easy to understand the sound and feel. For me, the next step is a long over-due visit to the only Nord dealer in town

Although I've said I really do need the ability to split the keyboard and would possibly look at the NS2, I'm going to leave my credit card at home just to be sure......

Thank you for the review PianoZac.

I'm about to buy the Nord Piano after trying the Nord Stage EX (and trying many times 700NX and CP5).

I found the action of the Nord Stage nice, not as nice as the 700NX, but pleasant.
How is the action of the NP in comparison with the Nord Stage?
Surprisingly, I prefer the Nord Stage action over the CP5 (I found the Nord Stage action slightly heavier).

Dave Ferris pointed many times a problem when playing single notes jazz lines.
PianoZac, do you feel the same thing?

Benoît

Dave, I love Larry Goldings playing! He's been to the Nashville Jazz Workshop doing some B3 work. He's a great player. Below is a picture of my Nord sitting on my old Roland KS-G8 stand...guess I'm going to have to paint the stand to cover up the Roland logo.



Also attached is a link to my playing part of Wynton Kelly's solo transcription for the tune 'Dark Eyes'...pardon my mistakes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1dhtyJFSVY

Hi, I am not sure if I can ask the question here, but I hope to get an answer. I am an adult hoping to learn to play the piano. I am looking at digital pianos as they require practically no maintenance.

Is Nord Piano 88 a good choice to consider or an overkill now? If so, what other options should I consider? Thanks in advance.

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Um, that's hard to say. I'd say, yeah it probably is overkill, and it isn't exactly feature rich in the way that all other DPs are as far as having a bunch of sounds, built in rhythm sections loops, voice splitting. But it does offer flexibility as far as sample/software upgrades. I think the Nord Piano is much more suited towards the gigging musician. If I was keeping a DP for home use, it'd be something like the V-Piano or one of the console style DPs.

Dave, thanks so much. And yeah you're right man, it's in Dm. I love Wynton's phrasing. I've been on a Wynton Kelly/Billy Taylor kick lately. I post some stuff of my playing/singing with my trio when I can cause that's my real passion-like a Harry Connick Jr./Jamie Cullum thing.

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Well, the font is similar...if you're feeling artistic and/or creative, rearrange and delete the appropriate letters, and you'll have your very own Nord stand. You can't spell "Roland" without N-O-R-D. Okay, the capital "R" may goof things up a bit.

And let's not forget, Dm is the saddest of all keys...

Here's a little follow on video of me soloing on some of the changes to Dark Eyes again. I'm really liking this Nord now that I've become accustomed to how it responds to my playing. There's an honesty to how it plays/sounds. It's quite difficult to explain, but I'm really enjoying it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqSxi6TSouQ

Very nice. What patch was that??

Are they a pair of KRK Rokit 5's in the background??

Regards. Rimmer

Hello Dave.
I just ordered the Nord Piano (without having trying it) at the local store.

Your advices are precious, because you have used many DPs in live situations.
When I try DPs, I listen through headphones, and I know that the sound will be different in live situation.
Moreoever, each time I try to compare DPs, my conclusions are different. I didn't have such a dilemma when buying my acoustic piano ten years ago.
Today, I found the CP-5 very good, and I would have chosen it over the Roland.
I also briefly tried the V-Piano for the first time, but wasn't really impressed.

While trying the Nord Stage a second time yesterday, I understood what you refer as "harpsichordy" sound. Indeed, I found difficult to play legato lines.
And actually, I prefer the action of the Yamaha/Roland to the Nord Stage.
But the sound is excellent, it is flexible, lightweight and cheaper than the other ones.

So I will give a try to the NP, and if not satisfied I will look again over the Yamahas in the future.

And Zac, thank you a lot for the videos!

Regards.

Benoît

One of the biggest problems with trying out a Nord in the store is that they often don't have the newest piano samples in them. I think it would be a disservice to evaluate the Stage today and not hear its newest Bosendorfer sample... but there is a good chance that it hasn't been loaded into a store's floor model.

Also, it is important to try it out using the 76 or 88 key model. The 73 model feels awful for piano.

Thanks Rimmer! Actually those are a pair of Yorkville monitors. Can't remember the model-I'll check for you when I get homne though. They were $400 for the pair, and sound really good for the money. I realize there are far better monitors, but they're self powered, have good low, mid, and highs, give me plenty of detail, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Plus I'm not doing a ton of mixing yet, and when I do, I'll add to those, not replace them.


You're welcome! That's the Bosendorfer sample, but it was taken with my cellphone, so the fidelity is hardly existent. anotherscott is right. When I bought the Nord Piano, it was running software OS version 1.16, and there's been several updates up to 1.28 now. Plus, the new Bosendorfer Imperial is not part of the Nord Piano library CD that comes with the Nord Piano, so the dealer didn't know the Bosie sample was out. The Bosie sample is the first XL size sample (196.8MB) vs the next largest sample, the Grand Lady D Steinway (82MB), and trust me the larger sampling of the Bosie is much better. The NP88 grew on me, and continues to grow on me. It's so much different sounding and playing than any other DP. I really love it, and I think, once you get yours and install the Bosie sample (which will require you offload several sounds to make room for it) you'll love it. It's piano #1 when I turn my Nord on. I also really enjoy the Yamaha C7 Studio Grand 2. I don't really care for the Grand Lady D Steinway to be honest. I de-installed it.

One thing that is interesting is the fact that Clavia removed "Bosendorfer" word form description of this sample set or maybe I had an illusion that it was written previously?

http://www.nordkeyboards.com/main.asp?tm...lib=Grand_Piano


I don't like the thing Clavia makes in their specifications. Often they don't write clearly how many memory their instruments have. For example, try find information how many memory has Stage Classic or Electro 2; you have to find it in Electro 3 description, that is has 8x memory = 256MB, so I suspect Electro 2 has 32 MB.

Yeah they call it the Grand Imperial, yet it says Bosendorfer when I click on my grand piano patch on my NP88. It actually tells you what each piano is sampled from for example, when I click from one piano to the other before it displays the Clavia name, like Studio Grand 2, it will say Yamaha C7. I wonder how clavia gets the rights to use the brand names like Bosendorfer, Steinway, Yamaha, etc...perhaps they pay a royalty and pass that cost on in the form of a more expensive retail cost.

Just wanted to add this thought to Dave's comments: The Stage 2, like its predecessor, will feature aftertouch. The Nord Piano doesn't. Installing aftertouch sensors can radically alter the feel of a particular keybed, adding a softer bottoming-out and sometimes sponginess to the action.

So although the Stage 2 will feature the same action as the NP, it's probably not a good idea for anyone here to rely on experience of the latter to predict the feel of the former. Same applies to those currently drooling over the Kronos - even if you were OK with the RH3 action in the SV-1, it doesn't guarantee that the Kronos 73 or 88 will have the same feel.

Nice as it is to have aftertouch, in my experience its implementation in weighted keyboards does tend to make them feel less piano-like. Caveat emptor.

Aidan,

I think you've raised an extremely good point. interestingly, the feel of the SV-1's RH3 keyboard compared to my old RD700SX is like night and day. Even though it doesn't have after-touch, the softness / spongyness of the keybed is annoying me to such an extent, that I'm only really using it for it's sounds and not as an instrument in its own right.

I had wondered about the NS2 as an alternative and maybe as a replacement for my RD700SX as I need the keyboard split functionality, but there was a niggling thought in the back of my mind that I"m going to need to spend a loooong time testing such a keyboard if I'm considering dropping a large amount of $$$ on it - especially if the "feel" doesn't sit right with my fingers.

I recently tried an older NS-Ex which had been used in the store as a Demo unit and keyboard didn't feel too bad, but again, nowhere as good for "piano" playing as my RD700SX. However, I actually didn't mind the feel of the NP I had a quick play on yesterday. That was actually quite a surprise - and a pleasant one at that.

I wonder how careful Nord have been in the implementation of AT on the NS2?.......................Hmmmm............role on March.........or April................or June

I played my Nord Piano back and forth with my RD300GX, that's for sale, this morning and the NP88 is a little heavier than the RD300GX without the sponginess of the RD300GX. Ideally for me with have the action from the MP6/10, PHAII/III, or CP1/5/50 inside the NP88. But, now that I've gotten accustomed to the NP88, I like it. It's very responsive, perhaps even more responsive than the PHAII I had.

After a gig a few weeks back when I had to move my gear four times, I finally decided it was time to lighten my load.

So yesterday, I struck a deal on an ex-demo model and joined the ranks of Nord Piano users here.

So far, very impressed. Even the action is not as much of a compromise as I feared it might be.

The shop where I bought the NP had an RD700NX set up next to it - my first chance to try Roland's latest and greatest. I have to say, I was disappointed with the action. It feels much lighter and "keyboardy" than my old GX, which was as close as I feel I've come so far to a true piano action on a DP.

So I walked away without a huge amount of regret - and quite a few pounds lighter in every sense!

Congrats Aidan! Very happy for you man. You're a great player and I'll be curious to hear your thoughts after really diggin in. Let me what you think of the Bosie in XL size!

Thanks Zachary, yeah, the famous Grand Imperial XL was the second thing I downloaded (after the OS update). Very impressive bottom end for sure but not sure yet whether the soprano register is quite "lyrical" enough for the stuff I normally do. I really like the Grand Lady D but like Steve, I'm really digging the Studio Grand so far.

I know what you mean. I mentioned to Steve the other day, that I'm starting to warm up to the Grand Lady D. It has a nice warm woody character in the lower and higher registers. The lower mid to upper mid is still a bit harsh for me a lot of times, but I'm learning to work with it.

I have to say the only thing so far I don't like about the Bosie is it's a tad bright on the upper register. But man is that a huge sounding sample. The biggest I've ever heard in a hardware DP.

I like Steve, and now you, also tend to favor the C7 Studio Grand 2. It just seems to work all over the place music wise. What do you think about the overall ease of use and the various effects/amps etc? Pretty darn great IMHO.