Some of us NP88 players have wished for more control over the velocity settings - in particular, I wanted a "softer" sound.
Now I have it. If you've got a Mac and a copy of Midipipe you can modify the velocity curve any way you want.
The following applescript will let you specify a new output velocity for any of the 128 input velocities. It's a very "manual" method - you have to specify 128 velocity transformations - but it works.
The script uses USB channel 1 for "no change" and ch 2 for "softer". Channel 3 is there for illustration, but the curve is not very useful ! You could specify up to 16 velocity curves.
If anyone would like to try this and needs more details, just ask.

Script :

property velcurve1 : {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 8, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127}

property velcurve2 : {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 15, 16, 16, 17, 17, 18, 18, 19, 19, 20, 20, 21, 21, 22, 22, 23, 23, 24, 24, 25, 25, 26, 26, 27, 27, 28, 28, 29, 29, 30, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127}

property velcurve3 : {0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 55, 55, 55, 55, 55, 55, 127}


on runme(message)

-- channel one - unchanged
if (item 1 of message = 144) then
set notein to item 2 of message
set velin to (item 3 of message) + 1
set velout to item velin of velcurve1
set message to {144, notein, velout}
end if

-- channel two - mellow
if (item 1 of message = 145) then
set notein to item 2 of message
set velin to (item 3 of message) + 1
set velout to item velin of velcurve2
set message to {145, notein, velout}
end if

-- channel three - very soft !
if (item 1 of message = 146) then
set notein to item 2 of message
set velin to (item 3 of message) + 1
set velout to item velin of velcurve3
set message to {146, notein, velout}
end if

return message

end runme

Thanks jazz, I have the NP88 and will try this out. I'm interested in midi transformation utilities for layering sounds with MainStage since my NP88 is not very capable as a master midi keyboard. It helps to be a programmer as well as a musician isn't it?

These days it's almost a necessity ! It's a modern world ......

OT, agree, in the UK there is talk of introducing 'coding' to primary (infant) school curriculum.

Yes, with low-cost, almost 'throw-away' computing becoming possible (Raspberry Pi), I'm hopeful that we will see a resurgence in bedroom programming.

This topic absolutely rocks! =)

Btw, this is applicable for every digital instrument not only for a Nord, so I suggest you change the topic title. I myself am considering to use the script with my Kawai CA63 which is somehow infamous for its lack of properly balanced touch response curve.

You can accomplish the same thing with MIDI Solutions Velocity Convertor.

http://www.midisolutions.com/prodvel.htm

A real-time midi editor is particularly useful for the NP88 because it has few built-in midi functions.
I haven't spent any time yet working out the best velocity curve, I just threw in some numbers to get the script running. Option 2 (using USB midi channel 2) is a step in the right direction. It is a bit cumbersome to have to enter 128 values for the velocity mapping.
Other uses for message transforms that come to mind are splits, and maybe substituting one of those extra pedals (I don't use the soft pedal) for a modulation controller.