Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards HELP! For gigs... Nord Piano2 or laptop and midi keyboard?!!

If it was me and I had £2000 to spend, I would absolutely get the Nord. Spending that kind of money buying a laptop setup (especially as a newb) for a gigging rig is a total mistake.
If you have the nord and want to expand as you go, get a laptop to take with. You still have your core board.

Having a solid board to gig with should be your first step.

.

I believe an inexpensive, lightweight board combined with a laptop has the potential to produce superior sounds to any Nord current product.

However, once the sound is output through speakers, it's debatable as to whether the audience members would be able to perceive any significant difference in quality.

Then, as Dave notes, you have to factor in the extra cables, interfaces, start-up time, and general hassle of having additional gear as opposed to an all-in-one solution.

I love the idea of using a computer in the studio for recording, etc. However, in my opinion, when it comes to live gigging use, nothing beats the immediacy of a single board - just 'plug and play'.

Cheers,
James
x

Get over the fact it's a Casio! The piano sounds are very good! I have the PX-150 and enjoy playing it!! If you need more built-in sounds the PX-350 or PX-5S(due out in a month) is the way to go!

Thanks for all the replies. If it sounds like I'm making the decision too complicated it's because I don't want to spend the money and make the wrong decision! It's a one off purchase! I need to make the right decision. Went and had another little play of the Nord yesterday. It's quite addictive. (Emenelton, you make a strong case!)

I need to know more about the layering function. I wonder if anyone could help with that? Can you layer a piano with a touch of Rhodes? And then do you still have the option for use of the sample synth section? Or can you only layer one instrument and use the sample synth as your second layer. (can you have 3 layers is what I'm asking?!). I ask this cos this what I use in logic. I agree about having a sounds in the hardware, not just relying on laptop.

In the shop I went down to have a look at the 'serious' stage pianos. The guy's opinion of the Nord piano wasn't a good one. He said get one if you want to feel like you're playing a bontempi keyboard! :-0 Well, I sat and had a good old play of the Roland fp4f and the fp7f. Both felt pretty good with a decent piano sound. The fp7f I felt was superior. Got some quirky voice harmonising and looping which I didn't try out. Thought it was the same weight as the the fp4f but then got told it was 25kg. I have a bit of a dodgy back and I'm not sure if this is too heavy. The Nord is 18.kg, but then with the stand (5.5kgs) it becomes 24 kg so little difference. I wonder what peoples experience of carrying these instruments are?

One other question for Nord piano owners reading is this.... There's a cover of a killers song on youtube and i really like the sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46opPL-ffPI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

How would you achieve a similar sound? It says In the info..."Ryan was playing his Nord Piano which was also triggering a Rhodes sound from a Kurzweil K2600".How exactly would this be triggered? Is that a midi signal along with the internal piano sound? If anyone has any answers to my many queries, I'd be slightly less confused! Thanks everyone. Really helpful forum.

Ps Warlock, they had no Casios to try in the shop! So I'm still ignorant to their virtues!

Puzzled, I believe the Nord piano can only layer synth sounds with piano sounds. I don't think it allows one to layer two sounds from the piano engine. There may be some useable piano/EP sounds in the sample library (or that you make yourself) that you can load into the nord piano synth section and then combine that with one of the piano sounds, but they won't be as rich sounding.

Nord's flagship product, the stage 2, has much greater sound layering capability. If that's a feature you need, it may be worth checking out (though the cost of a stage 2 may be prohibitive). The stage 2 has an on board a synth section (much more advanced than the synth on the nord piano), an organ section, and a piano section. It is possible to layer 1 sound from all three of those sections together. You can also create a second set of layers (organ synth and piano) and play them all simultaneously with the first set of layers, thus it is possible to play six sounds at once on the NS2 (two organ configurations, two different piano sounds and two different synths). The stage 2 also gives you much more flexibility for creating split keyboards and setting effects parameters for the various sounds.

FWIW, I originally intended to get a Nord Piano 2, but as I started comparing it to the stage 2, I was just blown away by how vastly superior the feature set of the stage 2 was. Depending on what you need, it may be a worthwhile investment.

Warm Regards.

Thanks for your reply Fisikisto. Well, I'm living up to my name now. I can imagine its great to have all those options on the stage 2 when you need them, but price would put a stop to this. Definitely can't budget for that. Does it feel the same as the piano I wonder.

Puzzled,
Yes, my understanding is that the two keyboards feel essentially the same (comparing the nord piano 2 to the Stage 2 88 key model). There is a very slight difference that is due to the fact that the NS2 has an aftertouch control strip as part of the keybed assembly, but the keybeds are otherwise the same.

I understand about the cost being prohibitive. I managed to get a crazy good deal on mine, and it was still crazy expensive. Have you considered some of the options from other companies like kawai, roland, yamaha, or even casio? The new PX5S from casio looks like a very impressive controller/keyboard for WAY less money. If you haven't checked it out, you might be impressed.

The Roland 700 NX has all the layering functions but it is heavier than the NP2(I think).
If you are looking for an acoustic piano tool(mostly) than the Nord is arguably a better choice, but that is an opinion.
Many keyboard players like to have their dedicated piano and then a second board for organs or pads or whatever. You can get that 'down the line,' as you develop.

emenelton, Yes, the Roland 700NX is 55 lb. compared to 40 lb for the nord piano 2. The roland 300NX is about 39 lbs, and might make a better choice if weight is a concern. Of course the 300NX lacks some features, so one's mileage may vary.

Hi everyone. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who helped me out this week. Your input has been really helpful in making my decision. I went into my local music shop yesterday and made my decision on the spot!

After having another play on the Roland Fp4f and the Roland rd300, I had my third extended pay on the Nord Piano 2. And I fell for it. First go, a couple of weeks ago, I was unsure about the keybed. The Roland's supernatural piano sound is very good, but in the end, after exploring the Nord a little further, i personally felt that there was no comparison. The piano sounds are just great, and after playing for a short time, the keys feel good... Like other people say, they really do connect with the sound well, and you soon forget that was ever an issue. The sample synth section on the Nord is great too. Actual useable sounds, rather than many of the ones I would have ignored on the Roland. I think you can expand the sounds on the Roland too, but really, if the budget allows, I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the purchase of a Nord piano 2. It really is a instrument to fall in love with. I've only had it a day, but it's quite addictive and I'm really going to enjoy tailoring the sound to whatever suits. The controls are all there right in front of you and I don't think you an beat that on a stage piano. Really enjoying the triple pedal too. Looks beautiful. At 18 kg, you can actually carry on your own too. I got the Roland KS-18z stand to go with it, as it's apparently much faster than the Nord legs to take off quickly when you want to get off the stage. Really looks the part too. I did like the look of the Nord legs, but didn't want to be hanging around a stage struggling with them after a gig! Others may tell me that that isn't the case, but I went on the advice i was given.

Anyway, love it. When I get some recordings done with it, I'll be back and share the results. Thanks all. I hope this thread has been helpful to others too.

Congratulations and welcome to Club Red!

The NP2 sure is a nice instrument. Enjoy it, and let us know how it goes on your gigs.

Congratulations! It's always great to get new hardware that fills a need. I hope your new piano will bring you a lot of joy.
Warm Regards

Indeed!

+1

I'm in club red, ha! Happy to be. You know you've made the right choice when you wake up and think, 'I've got a Nord piano waiting to be played downstairs'! don't think I really would have felt like that had I gone for the Rolands.

Congrats!