I had it a couple of weeks now, gigged with it once, practiced on it a lot. So far :
like : Availability of several sound sets.
Like : Yamaha Studio 2 except >
Dislike : Yamaha 2 A440 and the next Bb & B. Oddly, the next C is sweet. Why are there a few weak notes in an otherwise great sample set ?
Like : Grand Lady & Bdorf
Dislike : Have to use an external equalizer to tame the brightness for live performance.
Dislike : Can't set a beer on top.
Like : Band members can't set a beer on top.
Very Big Problem : Sustain Pedal Release is not working in midi. This limits the usefulness of this Nord for me. I'll have to get this fixed. Soon.
Summary :
So much of it sounds better than any other DP, but most piano sets border on sounding a bit too direct (or bright) for solo or small group use. However, the Yamaha 2 is very good for solo work - except for the aforementioned notes.
At times the Nord will take you away with its sound and playability. But the warts need some work.
I'll post updates as I attempt to tame this beast.

Nord’s upright pianos may be to your liking for solo work?

There is a parallel thread on piano samples. In the context of the above issue, a small grand piano like a 5’7” Steinway M or a 5’10” Kawai RX-2 can be excellent for solo work and chamber music, IMHO, flying in the face of all obsessions with 9’ concert grand pianos. My own 6’1” Kawai RX-3 has been used for a Chopin recital in a small concert hall by a competitor of the International Chopin Competition (not me )

In any case, small grand pianos and even upright pianos have their own charm, all IMHO

Nice mid-term review jazzonebyone. I agree with many of your dislikes and likes. I think without a doubt, the NP88 action is its weakest feature, but that's saying a lot because the NP88 action to me is better than many other professional boards out there, least of which Korg's RH3.

Doremi, I'm green with envy over your Kawai RX-3. I love that piano. My vocal coach has one and that things plays like butter and has such a great tone. That's one of the pianos that may be in my future in hopefully not too long. I love Kawai's grand pianos.

my RX-3 sings, i.e. the whole body of the piano vibrates even at pp, especially after a fresh tuning, even much much much more expensive pianos do not always do that But after many many years it dawned on me that the piano must have been designed for projection, perhaps as a quarter concert grand (?) something that Kawai has never clearly formulated, see my sig

You may want to look into the RX-2 which is only 3" shorter but which is designed for the living room or small studio, IMHO. The RX-2 was or perhaps still is Kawai's best selling grand.

Edit: Sorry, did not mean to hijack the thread

I had my first gig with the NP today, and I had to actually turn up the treble.

I really like this piano now, sounds nice, looks nice and feels nice (after getting used to it). Its sounds are well suited for Rock n Roll and stuff like that which I play.

Hope it lasts for years to come.

Hey Auver, glad to hear the NP is working out for you after your initial concerns.

I really like it now.

I do not just enjoy the touch and the sounds, but the weight is really a huge plus. I initially bought a Yamaha Motif XF8, (I didn't really think I was going to move the keyboard around) but oh man am I glad I changed it to the lightweighted NP now that I've got a band and some gigs and stuff. The difference is huge.

Check the youtube channel in my sig for the videos if anyone's interested in how it sounds live. The sound quality is very bad though, because of a crappy camera and the dude I took it from had to compress the files in order to give them to me.

I find the Bb quite musical and endearing. I guess we have to relax and not be too concerned about getting an even tone on each key. Real pianos don't sound even anyways.

I hooked up an eq and adjusted the sliders in a gradually descending pattern - different on right & left - and the Lady D became my favorite piano ever - except for a real Grand (of course). The 'body' I was missing is there now. I'm very happy with the sound.

BTW, I have a fix for the sustain pedal problem (no release) for Macs.

Concerning the MIDI hum issue, when I use MIDI with my Mac laptop I do have strange low level digital noises - only when the Mac power supply is plugged in - exactly the same noise I have with my Yamaha P250. I'll try to find a grounding solution when time permits.

Oh, yeah, and do some recording - sometime !

Is this a known issue for the NP, that everyone has? What did you do to correct it?

Download MidiPipe (for Mac).
Use MidiPipe's Applescript Trigger.
Insert this text :

on runme(message)
if (item 1 of message = 176) and (item 2 of message = 64) and (item 3 of message > 63) then set message to {176,64,127}
if (item 1 of message = 176) and (item 2 of message = 64) and (item 3 of message < 64) then set message to {176,64,0}
return message
end runme

This condenses the sustain pedal values to either '0' or '127'

Note that the Nord does conform to the official Midi sustain standard - any value of CC64 under 63 should be interpreted as 'release' - but most software instruments require CC64 to be '0' to release the sustain.
Nord may change their CC64 implementation in an OS update.

Yeah, my Baldwin doesn't sound even across the scale either. I'll relax and try to endear myself to the Bb !