I have to say the NORD STAGE 4 and Montage are top keyboards but playing both of these together with two keyboards players is incredible. I am loving this.
As a NP5 owner & a frequent old XF8 player... For gospel, Yamaha definitely! The sound is much clearer, more sterile, & crisp. IMO, unless you're performing hymns/vintage songs or CCM/experimental music, Nord's pianos are a novelty for gospel; that ultra realistic ambient tone is too heavy for most songs.
and, don't get me started on the MIDI implementation. Buy a decent controller & an iPad W/Ravenscroft & Acoustic Samples VTines & you'll have a Nord+basic midi implementation. lol.
New Fantom gives you 3 midi outs. USB, and midi 1 and midi 2. I run Ravenscroft through it and the racks on separate outs and control volume right from the board. Just a note. Great content!
The Nord always wins with pianos and organ sounds but to me the Montage M8X is a better overall board as far as what it can do, especially if you load in sounds and use the built in interface for extra sounds
It’s tough but I’m going to give this to the Yamaha this time! I liked the NS3 better then the old Montage but this time they did the new Montage justice. They really improved tremendously from the old Montage. For what you can get for the price point is outstanding and it’s still cheaper than the Nord Stage 3 when it was released in 2017. For Yamaha to pull this off in today’s economy is CRAZY!! The key-bed is just too good. You can sample Keyscape, Nord keys with as many velocity layers as you want? No question, it’s the better board…overall.
Both keyboards can set the tone within a worship service. Nord gives you more flexibility between Piano Organ and strings synth which helps when trying to get to things quickly. Montage allows you to set multiple mixes between musicians, songs, to move quickly as well but differently. I am extremely blessed in that church I attend understand investment, technology, appeal to musicians to give them the tools to maximize their skill and elevate their skill level. So they purchased both keyboards and they still have the Hammond B3.
Literally all the Montage voices are set to setting for velocity default "64" which is half of what it can do. If you change that to 100 it will sound 100% better but you have to change it for every voice. So for example if the Nord is set to fireworks by default and the player doesn't know the Montage M is NOT set that way, they might mistakingly think it can't do fireworks but it can do everything. Keep in mind the Montage is a blank canvas for painting it's not meant to be a stage board like instant breakfast. The crazy Nord price point is that instant breakfast fee with one-to-one interfacing.
Here is the problem. I own both. The Montage M cannot layer one of their new organs with other sounds and you get away with two handed chords without dropping notes. You can’t even play a drum kit behind the new organs without dropping notes…no joke. You can absolutely get away with using the organs as a single sound, but don’t for a moment think you can layer those new organs with anything- you can but you’ll drop notes. This because even though the new architecture accommodates more elements per part, the new organs use 8 elements each- so think of each of these as using 2 notes of polyphony PER note.
It isn't like that. Even if I turn on a rhythm track and play organ with that - notes will drop. Literally NONE of the new organ sounds have enough polyphony. I know Yamaha is so proud of their big 400 notes of polyphony number... but people should be aware that you can't play the new organs with ANYTHING but themselves except quite sparsely. @@Venatt1
@@benallen5967 supposing you want to do this setup for live purposes how about using Cubase for the drums and maybe use it as well for layering other sounds if you would be playing on top certain number of measures in length as for your songs. In my case I find the Nord Stage 4 extremely expensive and they didn’t include Song Mode which is what many musicians complain about and it doesn’t have a sequencer. As for the Montage sequencer I which it had editing capabilities like those of the Motifs. (I have the NS3 and Modx).
The Nord is quick in that the sounds are automatically set to faders where the montage you have to set them or program them to faders a lot times. Nord Stage 4 you can get to Organ Piano, Synth, strings quickly and fade them in and out on the fly right out the gate. Nord Organ is more like a playing a B3. However the Montage touch screen gives you a lot of flexibility on combinations.
For me especially shouting stuff in church , the piano HAS to have an ASDR. Nord not having that despite having so many control functions frankly is one of the reasons I’d always choose the montage over that board
@@kylegraham8049 Right but he said you have to load a piano into the synth engine, which has 30 something polyphony. Plus if you don’t like how the sample congeals with other sounds you have to load another one in. Something you trial and error in real time on other boards. Montage don’t involve all that 😂
Yamaha still remains the best, regardless of all the hype on the Nord, especially this new Montage, the Montage will always cut through a mix way better , in church, how many sounds do we need to play anyways
The Nord is out of touch with gospel musicians on that price though. Let’s be honest, this board would stir up a lot of drama being almost 6k in the black church and yet there’s still stuff it can’t do. It’s not going to be well received because the typical black church they don’t have that kind of money 😂
For one thing most churches don't need all that to raise the roof in performance, you have to be around long enough to see how far we have come plus the band dynamic has changed in church especially your big churches,it's like a concert environment
Its not a fair comparison because they are 2 different types of keyboards. One is a stage piano and the other is a workstation. Its apples and oranges. It makes more sense to compare the Monntage to the Kronos or Nautilus. Yes they are both keyboards but they are different types of keyboards. They weren't designed to do the same things so of course the functionality is different.
The scary part is the NS4 isn’t a workstation and is almost $6K. Meaning if they even made a workstation board (let’s say it would be called the Nord studio) it would probably be $10k 🫠
I quite disagree. If they dont cater to church musicians many musicians won't even consider it. Motif is the most used keyboard in gospel settings ever! Even gospel records have motif writing all over it! I strongly believe Yamaha did cater to gospel or church. Can u elaborate on your thoughts
@@atereolusola2497 the fact that church musicians used it or found it useful doesn't mean Yamaha catered to them. You can know their target by seeing what they focus on in their promotional materials and their artist lineup.
In my opinion i don't think companies caters to a specific group as far as a keyboards are concerned. It's just what the musicians buy and use it based on what they are doing. For the longest church musicians used every Motif made and now since Nord is a big thing in church Yamaha suddenly isn't it and they were very limited with certain things yet churchmusiciansstill swore by them. It's just a trend. No different from back in the 90s it was the Yamaha EX then it was the XP-80 then the Korg Triton, Motifs, Kronos and so on. Nord never made their keyboards to target a certain group. Most keyboards are made based on the functionality of them not really a genre. That's why there's different types of keyboards which is also why the comparison in this video makes no sense. The Nord is a stage piano/potable organ. The Monntage is a workstation. Its apples and oranges. The real issue is that the price doesn't match the functionality.
@@brandonshamar661 you've got a point. However I do feel like you misunderstood my point of 'catering to'. I wasn't in anyway implying keyboards were tailored for a specific use/genre (in this case church). However Nord in their marketing approach has demonstrated that they have an interest in the gospel community and they were very strategic in attracting said community, mind you Nord keyboards have been around for a while. Another disclaimer: being interested in getting the gospel community does not mean that's all they're focused on or what they're making their keyboards for. But like you said it's a trend.
@@kerylmcjohnson9537 I.totally get what you're saying in the sense of catering. The gospel community doesn't understand that Nord was making keyboards back when church musicians where swearing by the yamaha, roland and korg in the early 2000s. It's just recently they've become popular in church. They've been around for a long time. It's not necessarily they have an interest in church musicians. That's just who's been buying and advertising for them. At the end of the day they are portable organs with piano and e.p's that have workstation prices and do half of what a workstation does. There's never been a time where stage pianos cost more than workstations until now. The stage 4 is over 5 grand and what does it really do other typical stage piano features? You end up having to spend even more money to compensate for what it can't do. What they are really catering to is the fact that people in general are slaves to brands and they over charge for limited functionality because the musicians buy it without really thinking about what little they are actually because they want a "realistic" piano sound on a keyboard with waterfall organ keys which I think is the dumbest thing ever and they're made really cheap. They cost of the of real instruments but they aren't real instruments. They are digital simulations of them. Real instruments are made with real materials not plastic. I think Nords sounds great but feel like 💩 unless it's the 88 keys version. Playing non organ sounds on organ keys is incorrect and they fact they cost that much but still have plastic keys on them is an issue. They aren't the only ones doing it but they are leading the movement right now.
Only wished you could show the keyboards as you point at each one's difference, example I hear you say the other is lighter but I didn't get which one was lighter.
Nord definitely has nice pianos but yamaha is a force to reckoned with when it comes to organs these days...not counting strings and synth etc. The YC organ modeling aint no joke especially wt the latest os update
Agree ... BUT - YC61 is too flimsy for the pricepoint - YC73's keybed has some design flaw (black keys issue) - YC88 weighs a ton and wont fit in my car.
No Midi 2.0 & no sequencer on the Nord. Are we really going to just ignore the value of that Live??. Lol.. Yamaha is about to beef up the YC & the CK they aren't going to take this laying down. 😂😂😭.
Havent played the NS4 yet......but know the NS3 and it isn't the piano based keyboard for me. First of all the action is too light. The sonic appeal of the NS3 is not bad especially the way it can cut through....but that is it. I play alone all the time at church and the sound is just too light for me. When I put even the Old Motif flagship grand side by side....the weight and strength of the sound blows the NS pianos out of the water.. for me. i need my Pianos and EPs to be heavy and strong in the music. Have not tried the NS4 yet like I said and i am looking forward to trying it, but I doubt they will have departed from that sonic approach. I heard Kevin Bond say this of the Nords...."I am a purist, this is not for me..." my sentiments exactly. Montage Anytime....Or rather....I will take a Yamaha flagship blindfolded, anytime!
I mentioned that in the next video 😂 that Grandstage to my ear sounded slightly warmer than the Kronos which is a HUGE deal considering that board still competitive to this day
@@88mokeyz8k Right? I won’t gonna say that outright because these red heads (Nord lovers) are sensitive 😂The Nord is cool but I’m not all that blown away becuase the Kronos can already do a lot of the stuff that board can and then some 🤷🏾♂️
@DevinShoulders The Nord is Over Priced IMOP, and out of my Price range because it is not a Workstation! I was never impressed with any Nord sorry Nord Lovers!
@@88mokeyz8k I wasn’t either. I can justify getting a montage, Fantom and I got a Kronos already for Christmas 🔥 I still don’t get this Nord hype. The people justifying that boards negative feels almost political 😂
In this comparison, Yamaha montage M8. I love Yamaha’s sounds, vsti & approach on this one but I like the keybed & workflow better on the Fantom. Nord is overpriced and needs a few workstation features to justify the price.
Not taking nothing away from the Nord it’s definitely a great board but Yamaha will always be my go to board for my meat and potato sounds especially when playing main keys but respect to the Nord tho
Nobody has made the perfect keyboard, but when there is technology available, proven by the fact that it exists in other boards, and a board is weak in certain areas - it's obvious these companies aren't really trying. I'm offended by Nord's price-point, because if Yamaha is charging $4499 for a M8x, what would they have to put into that board to charge $5699 for it like a NS4 88 key? For Nord's price point, I'd need Kronos level user storage, and higher quality samples, and at least two of their synths instead of just the Nord Wave 2. Hell, how about the Nord Lead 1's sound engine? It's old, anyway.
The Nord is that white chick that doesn't give you issues at first and its all sweet, but when she does...its expensive. Montage is that black girl with attitude, you gotta work with her. But once she corrected, shes loyal and faithful until the end lol
Churches do need to step up on instrument gear to attract better musicians. Try playing a piano that is completely untuned with no organ available. Sing with no instruments.
Camera should’ve also been on the keyboards to show which keyboard he’s referring too
That’s a Nord Stage 4 in front of them. If you’ve kept up with the last couple of videos, they’re all clips/segments from a longer recording.
Right? I got no idea which keyboard they're talking about.
I have to say the NORD STAGE 4 and Montage are top keyboards but playing both of these together with two keyboards players is incredible. I am loving this.
Yamaha for me the best keyboard
As a NP5 owner & a frequent old XF8 player... For gospel, Yamaha definitely! The sound is much clearer, more sterile, & crisp. IMO, unless you're performing hymns/vintage songs or CCM/experimental music, Nord's pianos are a novelty for gospel; that ultra realistic ambient tone is too heavy for most songs.
and, don't get me started on the MIDI implementation. Buy a decent controller & an iPad W/Ravenscroft & Acoustic Samples VTines & you'll have a Nord+basic midi implementation. lol.
@@dare2win215 Yup, that's what I was saying on the prior video. And it will be at a fraction of the price of any new Nord board 🤷🏾♂️🤣
Hands down 🙌🏾
New Fantom gives you 3 midi outs. USB, and midi 1 and midi 2. I run Ravenscroft through it and the racks on separate outs and control volume right from the board. Just a note. Great content!
The Nord always wins with pianos and organ sounds but to me the Montage M8X is a better overall board as far as what it can do, especially if you load in sounds and use the built in interface for extra sounds
It’s tough but I’m going to give this to the Yamaha this time! I liked the NS3 better then the old Montage but this time they did the new Montage justice. They really improved tremendously from the old Montage. For what you can get for the price point is outstanding and it’s still cheaper than the Nord Stage 3 when it was released in 2017. For Yamaha to pull this off in today’s economy is CRAZY!! The key-bed is just too good. You can sample Keyscape, Nord keys with as many velocity layers as you want? No question, it’s the better board…overall.
Randy Jenkins is the GOAT. Sebastian, thank you bro for all of this content! This is good stuff!
Both keyboards can set the tone within a worship service. Nord gives you more flexibility between Piano Organ and strings synth which helps when trying to get to things quickly. Montage allows you to set multiple mixes between musicians, songs, to move quickly as well but differently. I am extremely blessed in that church I attend understand investment, technology, appeal to musicians to give them the tools to maximize their skill and elevate their skill level. So they purchased both keyboards and they still have the Hammond B3.
YC is the better Yamaha option for church
Literally all the Montage voices are set to setting for velocity default "64" which is half of what it can do. If you change that to 100 it will sound 100% better but you have to change it for every voice. So for example if the Nord is set to fireworks by default and the player doesn't know the Montage M is NOT set that way, they might mistakingly think it can't do fireworks but it can do everything. Keep in mind the Montage is a blank canvas for painting it's not meant to be a stage board like instant breakfast. The crazy Nord price point is that instant breakfast fee with one-to-one interfacing.
Here is the problem. I own both. The Montage M cannot layer one of their new organs with other sounds and you get away with two handed chords without dropping notes. You can’t even play a drum kit behind the new organs without dropping notes…no joke. You can absolutely get away with using the organs as a single sound, but don’t for a moment think you can layer those new organs with anything- you can but you’ll drop notes. This because even though the new architecture accommodates more elements per part, the new organs use 8 elements each- so think of each of these as using 2 notes of polyphony PER note.
No problem, Yamaha will fix this with an OS update
No, I don't think that is possible. @@Venatt1
@@benallen5967 then use a different organ patch or don’t layer the organs with other patches, instead do splits
It isn't like that. Even if I turn on a rhythm track and play organ with that - notes will drop. Literally NONE of the new organ sounds have enough polyphony. I know Yamaha is so proud of their big 400 notes of polyphony number... but people should be aware that you can't play the new organs with ANYTHING but themselves except quite sparsely. @@Venatt1
@@benallen5967 supposing you want to do this setup for live purposes how about using Cubase for the drums and maybe use it as well for layering other sounds if you would be playing on top certain number of measures in length as for your songs. In my case I find the Nord Stage 4 extremely expensive and they didn’t include Song Mode which is what many musicians complain about and it doesn’t have a sequencer. As for the Montage sequencer I which it had editing capabilities like those of the Motifs. (I have the NS3 and Modx).
The Nord is quick in that the sounds are automatically set to faders where the montage you have to set them or program them to faders a lot times. Nord Stage 4 you can get to Organ Piano, Synth, strings quickly and fade them in and out on the fly right out the gate. Nord Organ is more like a playing a B3. However the Montage touch screen gives you a lot of flexibility on combinations.
Yo tryout the Yamaha CK88! For the money and the sound, it’s pretty dope!!! Perfect for church!!!!!!
The CK88 is so underrated!
For me especially shouting stuff in church , the piano HAS to have an ASDR. Nord not having that despite having so many control functions frankly is one of the reasons I’d always choose the montage over that board
You would have to load in piano samples which would give you more room to be able to control and manipulate that piano sound.
@@kylegraham8049 Right but he said you have to load a piano into the synth engine, which has 30 something polyphony. Plus if you don’t like how the sample congeals with other sounds you have to load another one in. Something you trial and error in real time on other boards. Montage don’t involve all that 😂
Yamaha still remains the best, regardless of all the hype on the Nord, especially this new Montage, the Montage will always cut through a mix way better , in church, how many sounds do we need to play anyways
The Nord is out of touch with gospel musicians on that price though. Let’s be honest, this board would stir up a lot of drama being almost 6k in the black church and yet there’s still stuff it can’t do. It’s not going to be well received because the typical black church they don’t have that kind of money 😂
For one thing most churches don't need all that to raise the roof in performance, you have to be around long enough to see how far we have come plus the band dynamic has changed in church especially your big churches,it's like a concert environment
Motif xs as a controller keyboard with logic and a expression pedal! Please do a video! I love you guys!
Its not a fair comparison because they are 2 different types of keyboards. One is a stage piano and the other is a workstation.
Its apples and oranges. It makes more sense to compare the Monntage to the Kronos or Nautilus.
Yes they are both keyboards but they are different types of keyboards. They weren't designed to do the same things so of course the functionality is different.
The scary part is the NS4 isn’t a workstation and is almost $6K. Meaning if they even made a workstation board (let’s say it would be called the Nord studio) it would probably be $10k 🫠
@@DevinShoulders good point! It's insane lol
The truth is Yamaha doesn't cater for church musicians as it's not really a big market share globally but props to Nord.
I quite disagree. If they dont cater to church musicians many musicians won't even consider it. Motif is the most used keyboard in gospel settings ever! Even gospel records have motif writing all over it! I strongly believe Yamaha did cater to gospel or church. Can u elaborate on your thoughts
@@atereolusola2497 the fact that church musicians used it or found it useful doesn't mean Yamaha catered to them. You can know their target by seeing what they focus on in their promotional materials and their artist lineup.
In my opinion i don't think companies caters to a specific group as far as a keyboards are concerned. It's just what the musicians buy and use it based on what they are doing.
For the longest church musicians used every Motif made and now since Nord is a big thing in church Yamaha suddenly isn't it and they were very limited with certain things yet churchmusiciansstill swore by them.
It's just a trend. No different from back in the 90s it was the Yamaha EX then it was the XP-80 then the Korg Triton, Motifs, Kronos and so on.
Nord never made their keyboards to target a certain group. Most keyboards are made based on the functionality of them not really a genre. That's why there's different types of keyboards which is also why the comparison in this video makes no sense.
The Nord is a stage piano/potable organ. The Monntage is a workstation. Its apples and oranges. The real issue is that the price doesn't match the functionality.
@@brandonshamar661 you've got a point. However I do feel like you misunderstood my point of 'catering to'. I wasn't in anyway implying keyboards were tailored for a specific use/genre (in this case church). However Nord in their marketing approach has demonstrated that they have an interest in the gospel community and they were very strategic in attracting said community, mind you Nord keyboards have been around for a while. Another disclaimer: being interested in getting the gospel community does not mean that's all they're focused on or what they're making their keyboards for.
But like you said it's a trend.
@@kerylmcjohnson9537 I.totally get what you're saying in the sense of catering. The gospel community doesn't understand that Nord was making keyboards back when church musicians where swearing by the yamaha, roland and korg in the early 2000s. It's just recently they've become popular in church. They've been around for a long time.
It's not necessarily they have an interest in church musicians. That's just who's been buying and advertising for them.
At the end of the day they are portable organs with piano and e.p's that have workstation prices and do half of what a workstation does.
There's never been a time where stage pianos cost more than workstations until now. The stage 4 is over 5 grand and what does it really do other typical stage piano features? You end up having to spend even more money to compensate for what it can't do.
What they are really catering to is the fact that people in general are slaves to brands and they over charge for limited functionality because the musicians buy it without really thinking about what little they are actually because they want a "realistic" piano sound on a keyboard with waterfall organ keys which I think is the dumbest thing ever and they're made really cheap. They cost of the of real instruments but they aren't real instruments. They are digital simulations of them. Real instruments are made with real materials not plastic.
I think Nords sounds great but feel like 💩 unless it's the 88 keys version. Playing non organ sounds on organ keys is incorrect and they fact they cost that much but still have plastic keys on them is an issue. They aren't the only ones doing it but they are leading the movement right now.
The Nord pianos may sound good, But the Kronos was one of the best boards of all time (in Kanye voice) 😂
Only wished you could show the keyboards as you point at each one's difference, example I hear you say the other is lighter but I didn't get which one was lighter.
The Nord was lighter, however some of the better pianos you have to load in ahead of time. So it’s kind of light hard drive wise too 😂
thanks for this review and comparison
Montage M8x deep dive please!!!
M8x GEX action is superior, plus poly after-touch, built in audio interface and DAW control for less money.
Nord definitely has nice pianos but yamaha is a force to reckoned with when it comes to organs these days...not counting strings and synth etc. The YC organ modeling aint no joke especially wt the latest os update
Agree ... BUT
- YC61 is too flimsy for the pricepoint
- YC73's keybed has some design flaw (black keys issue)
- YC88 weighs a ton and wont fit in my car.
the YC would honestly be a better comparison to this because it functions more similarly
I live for the intelligent musical discussions you two always have. I never miss them!
No Midi 2.0 & no sequencer on the Nord. Are we really going to just ignore the value of that Live??. Lol.. Yamaha is about to beef up the YC & the CK they aren't going to take this laying down. 😂😂😭.
Havent played the NS4 yet......but know the NS3 and it isn't the piano based keyboard for me. First of all the action is too light. The sonic appeal of the NS3 is not bad especially the way it can cut through....but that is it. I play alone all the time at church and the sound is just too light for me. When I put even the Old Motif flagship grand side by side....the weight and strength of the sound blows the NS pianos out of the water.. for me. i need my Pianos and EPs to be heavy and strong in the music. Have not tried the NS4 yet like I said and i am looking forward to trying it, but I doubt they will have departed from that sonic approach. I heard Kevin Bond say this of the Nords...."I am a purist, this is not for me..." my sentiments exactly. Montage Anytime....Or rather....I will take a Yamaha flagship blindfolded, anytime!
$4500.00 vs $5700.00 look out for the Korg GrandStage X 7 Engines 2999.99. Please review next in my Goldberg (Voice)
I mentioned that in the next video 😂 that Grandstage to my ear sounded slightly warmer than the Kronos which is a HUGE deal considering that board still competitive to this day
@DevinShoulders I think the Kronos is 2 heads and Shoulders over any of the Newer workstations today!
@@88mokeyz8k Right? I won’t gonna say that outright because these red heads (Nord lovers) are sensitive 😂The Nord is cool but I’m not all that blown away becuase the Kronos can already do a lot of the stuff that board can and then some 🤷🏾♂️
@DevinShoulders The Nord is Over Priced IMOP, and out of my Price range because it is not a Workstation! I was never impressed with any Nord sorry Nord Lovers!
@@88mokeyz8k I wasn’t either. I can justify getting a montage, Fantom and I got a Kronos already for Christmas 🔥 I still don’t get this Nord hype. The people justifying that boards negative feels almost political 😂
So... questions and more questions, then? Im going for the montage.
You gotta make the Board talk!!!😂
In this comparison, Yamaha montage M8. I love Yamaha’s sounds, vsti & approach on this one but I like the keybed & workflow better on the Fantom. Nord is overpriced and needs a few workstation features to justify the price.
Not taking nothing away from the Nord it’s definitely a great board but Yamaha will always be my go to board for my meat and potato sounds especially when playing main keys but respect to the Nord tho
Let Randy the guest , finish his statements.. please
The Yamaha, easy.
Nobody has made the perfect keyboard, but when there is technology available, proven by the fact that it exists in other boards, and a board is weak in certain areas - it's obvious these companies aren't really trying. I'm offended by Nord's price-point, because if Yamaha is charging $4499 for a M8x, what would they have to put into that board to charge $5699 for it like a NS4 88 key? For Nord's price point, I'd need Kronos level user storage, and higher quality samples, and at least two of their synths instead of just the Nord Wave 2. Hell, how about the Nord Lead 1's sound engine? It's old, anyway.
The Nord is that white chick that doesn't give you issues at first and its all sweet, but when she does...its expensive. Montage is that black girl with attitude, you gotta work with her. But once she corrected, shes loyal and faithful until the end lol
😂😂😂Brotha you just answered every question I’ll ever have about this debate lol
Kronos is still king
I’m waiting on that Korg Kronos 3
Amen!
Kronos takes forever to boot like an old window xp desktop
Churches do need to step up on instrument gear to attract better musicians. Try playing a piano that is completely untuned with no organ available. Sing with no instruments.
I dream of having a Nord one day i just have to sell my car and both kidneys to afford one 😂