If you like music, you might want to check out my second channel "Milan Recording Studios". Feel free to subscribe and hit the bell icon if you want to! ruclips.net/channel/UCu1LrpmWwK1ztTvIayRar9w
i play on a korg sp300 , i enjoy the hammer action on the korg then i ever have enjoyed on the stage 2 or 3. my next keyboard with eithor be a newer korg or a yamaha cp88. can you do a demo on the korg sp300???
What a shame , the Nord is such a beauty You should expect quality from a world brand like Nord. I thought they provided good material but its not, judging by the many problems posted on the internet ( at my personal opinion ) its rubbish insn't it? I whas seriously planning to buy a new stage 3 88 but after seeing the many quality problems on internet, I better look out for something else. A shame because the sound of the Nord Stage is fantastic but tecnnically unreliable.
I think I know what's going on with the Nord action. Most modern keyboards use a system of two mechanical 'plungers' (call them Pa and Pb) to calculate key velocity. When you press a note on the keyboard, Pa gets actuated first, followed by Pb. The time delta between the Pa 'event' and the Pb 'event' (call it Td) determines how loud the note plays: If Td is very small, you must have pressed the key very fast/hard, so the note plays 'loud' (or a loud sample). If Td is relatively large, you must have pressed the key slow/soft so the note plays more quietly. Sometimes a plunger will get stuck in the up or down position due to mechanical failure or dirt in the system. This results in a situation where you get a Pa event with no corresponding Pb event, or vice versa. The software design determines how these anomalies are handled. From my experience, if you get an isolated Pa event with no Pb event, the note will not play at all. This makes sense, because you may not have pressed the key all the way down. If you get an isolated Pb event, however, the note plays REALLY F'ing LOUD! Louder than you could ever play it (perhaps because Td = zero?). This is what happened with my Nord, due to some dust getting in the Pa plunger. My tech cleaned the keyboard, and everything was fine. My suspicion: When two notes are played in rapid succession, as you do in the video, the key does not have time to return to its full 'up' position. Occasionally this will result in Pb getting released, but Pa is still held down, so you get the isolated Pb situation on the second hit. This is partly a mechanical design issue, but the software needs to handle this situation (other keyboards do). They can't make the note silent or the action will seem sluggish. Real pianos with crappy actions can produce a similar effect, though for obviously different reasons. However, making it max volume is really annoying, although most will never notice it because they never play like that. Personally, I would suggest they match the velocity of the previous key event. That may not mirror a real piano, but the current situation certainly doesn't either, and it would be far less annoying.
They actually use a third plunger here to let you strike another note before the key is completely lifted. The stranger it seems that this happens bc it would mean that 2/3 are broken?
It stands to reason that a specific fraction of the time between B release and B being retriggered can be used as an indication of key velocity if A is not released, to software handle fast play. I watched Linus Akesson transform an old organ into the Chipophone a while back, and since then, every time i see a broken keyboard, a thought keeps popping up in my head that i might want to get it, take its keybed and try to build my own electronics underneath it (even augment it with a second hit spot for velocity), but i've never taken up on the challenge since... i really have a lot of unfinished projects already, and it's probably not the most practical thing to do since well MIDI is around, but should i get around to it, i'll keep the insight in mind, thank you very much. I'm slowly procrastinating on designing something based on an arcade Yamaha OPN2 soundchip similar to the one used in SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis, but obviously i haven't done much yet :D Like i want to get approximate sound figured out before i start figuring out the controls i need with it.
The day will come that we see a third "plunger" in each key. It might be placed right in the middle of A and B or be a little closer to B. It will minimize the problem with keys not being up-again completely before pressed down. Furthermore, it will measure information about the way you press the key. Anyone experienced in playing on an acoustic piano knows that it isn't only the average A-to-B velocity that shapes the tone. A third plunger would be a big step towards modelling these differences. Of course, it's also a matter of cost.
I never touched a Nord but I was always amazed by the beautiful sound it produces. I am surprised to hear about the build quality and issues you experienced. But a great an honest review as always.
Heider Music I have the Nord Stage 2, have had it for years (6 or 7 years), still going strong. Played it a ton, gigged with it and never had any issues.
Yamahas have never let me down in build quality I still have a p250 that is 20+ years old and it still plays like the day I bought it... Thanks for the review on the Nord I was interested in it but was curious about the action it just looked light watching artists play it.
Have owned several Yamaha keyboards. Never any issues aside from keys on the Montage. Yamaha Montage has been solid aside from a few keys becoming stiff when played with any slight lateral force from the right side such as a glissando. Also, there was a situation where the OS would freeze and the screen would be locked on an edit page, but they fixed that in a firmware update way back in 2016 or 2017. I just like the “character” some of the Nord piano sounds have. Never liked their action, but like most keyboards you get used to it after playing for about 20 minutes. Nord is overpriced generally in my opinion.
Yeah, whenever I tried the Nord I'm always disappointed with the key action. The Yamaha key action, on the other hand, always feels solid even though I don't really enjoy their piano sound.
I appreciate the comparison. I literally feel the same way. I cannot justify the Nord price. I think I’m going with the Roland RD 2000; great price, great sound and massive library plus the 2 wheels and the awesome mod wheel. If it only had a ribbon controller built in.
For some reason the review doesn't mention (and none of the comments seem to mention) that this discussion of "the piano sound" on the Stage 3 is kind of broken at the outset: It's great if you like "the piano sound" on the Stage 3, but if you don't, you need to realize there's actually a large library of piano sounds, with many of them already preloaded in the Stage 3 as it comes from the factory. It's perhaps not surprising that the bass on the Stage 3 sounds like a 7-foot piano because the Nord piano library actually includes samples of several 7-footers. There are also big pianos sampled in their library, so it would be worth a review that goes into more depth to explore at least more than one of Nord's grand piano sounds. Maybe the Yamaha also has multiple piano samples available? Does it also have a large and growing library of samples you can download and install on the keyboard in case you don't like the factory sounds so much? I don't know. Regarding the Stage 3 again, what I'm saying is actually true of "the Rhodes sound" as well. There are multiple Rhodes samples in the unit as shipped, and this review looked at only one of them, I think.
Outstanding! Yamaha has always been the brand I completely trust. I probably will never buy a different brand of electronic keyboard. I also love the fact that Yamaha owns Bosendorfer. When the time comes for me to buy a piano that's over a thousand dollars, hopefully I'll find a Yamaha with a Bosendorfer sampling. As to the Nord, I know you're disappointed but remember one thing- anything you buy has the potential to be a lemon, which is why the warranty is so important. Even when companies manufacture cars, they expect a certain percentage of them to not work perfectly. My gut tells me that even if the store or Nord its self were to offer to replace it with a properly working one, you'd still wouldn't want it.
I just played a Nord Stage 2 88 for a 90 minute concert with different dynamics. The keybed is TRASH!!!! The sounds are awesome. I’m a Yamaha guy. CP88 is the way to go!
There’s certain functionality with Nord’s lighter action: it’s not just piano, it’s also organ and fully featured synth. So you can play those fastest synth lines easily. Nord’s are very reliable. Built like tanks. You clearly have faulty unit. Otherwise Nord beats Yamaha CP88 hands down: CP88 does not have synth, only samples and organ is afterthought.
I agree and disagree. While synths do have nonweighted keys, it is not difficult to play quickly on a heavier piano style action. Classical pianists do it all the time. The only downside to a heavier action would be that doing glissandos wouldn't be as easy, which is an important aspect in some styles of organ playing. The overall build quality of the Nord's frame seemed alright, although it was geared more towards being as light as possible. And while I agree that the Nord has more features than the Yamaha, I'd say the CP-88 has higher quality control. I had no problems with it, and haven't heard of any from other sources.
ThePianoforever The point is that the Nord’s keys are not meant to be optimized for piano sounds alone. I find the action to be a perfect compromise between playability for rhodes, organ, synth and piano sounds.
NO, YOU ARE NOT CRAZY. MY KORG SP280 STARTED GETTING VERY LOUD NOTES WHICH BY THE WAY ARE BLACK KEYS AND NOT WHITE ONES. AND NOW I THINK I HAVE 4 OR 5 VERY LOUD KEYS. MY PLAYING SOUNDS AWFUL NOW THE NOTES ARE LIKE THIS. ONE DAY WHEN I DONT FEEL TOO TIRED AND LAZY I MIGHT TRY TO FIX MY KEYBOARD PIANO. YOU CAN WATCH HOW TO FIX A KEYBOARD ON RUclips. THERE ARE SO MANY SCREWS IN SOME KEYBOARDS THOUGH. IF YOU LIVE IN A MAIN TOWN OR CITY IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER FOR YOU TO PAY SOMEONE TO FIX YOUR KEYBOARD. I LIVE A LONG WAY FROM A MAIN TOWN SO ID HAVE TO FIX MY OWN KEYBOARD PIANO.
I have a Korg Karma with those issues. I took it apart. Plastic keys and chicklet sensors. It's probably the same part. There are two sensors per key. It tries to detect "pressure" by using the two sensors to calculate the speed at which the keys are hit. That's where the glitch comes in. If you hit a key twice in rapid succession, it throws off the little IC chips that measure the delay, making it a negative number. It probably uses the same sensor boards as well. The whole plastic keyboard with the attached sensor boards is probably a unit you can order from China to build your own keyboard.
I’m 66, none of my Yamaha keyboards, drum machines, sound modules or midi accessories have ever failed. They still play like the day I bought them. (My Rolands on the other hand, while great sounding keyboards, slowly over time developed issues)
I agree that the Nord has a fuller, more acoustic piano-like sound than did the Yamaha, though not a glaring difference.. Sometimes, that's an EQ or other setting peculiarity that can be worked out. Build quality and durability is a major issue for me, as is touch. I own an RD800 Roland--it is a beast, and I love love love the action. However, I have never cared for the piano tones through monitors, and I have never found setting to correct it.
So glad I bought a Yamaha and not a Nord. I’ve got a Montage 8 and I’m considering a CP88 for gigging as the Montage in it’s case is 45kg! Thank you for this review and demo. Really enjoy your channel.
The random volume change is weird. I do appreciate the review. I came to some of the same conclusions about the action. Yamaha doesn't seem to have the same options with the synth as you mention. and the layering and the keyboard splits make it a tough decision. I love them both actually. Thanks for the review. It's only money. :0)
I just sold my SV-1, ten yrs old, never any issues with the keybed and I play hard a lot. It was used for studio not gigging. I did have an issue with weak 1/4” jack main out. Other Main issue was I kept accidentally hitting the presets buttons whilst playing, switching to a diff sound like an organ, it gave me a heart attack every time ! Shopping for replacement now :)
It’s really pity that Nord didn’t put more time in the quality because the sound is good but the cp88 wins. In this case I mean because I still love the Roland 2000 that you reviewed. Thank you for sharing.
My personal experience is that Nord still have the most realistic piano sound which I find most important for a gig, but their keys are not the best. Nord Stage is way too complicated to use, but then the Nord Piano is much easier. Yamaha CP is a very good compromise between sound and key quality which is great for practice, but on a gig I would rather prefer having the best possible sound quality available if the keys are decent. Depends what's important to you I guess.
" Nord still have the most realistic piano sound" - Never played a Korg Kronos, have you? The Kronos pianos outmatch anything currently on the market except actual pianos.
Very Helpful!! I thought Nord was market leader... especially at the price!! I had tried the action and it felt more spring like and less piano like and therefore thought the higher price wasn't worth it.
That was harsh, you must have got a bad one. I own the NP2, beautiful instrument, bad pedal, I`m on my third pedal now. I know the Yamaha people stick to...Yamaha:D I guess it`s a reason for that. Guess what. When I leave my home with my precious Nord I bring an old Yamaha pedal for backup. Happy playing out there, great review.
You cant load any additional sounds or samples onto the yamaha.. I don't understand why. It doesn't make sense to compare the sounds in such detail when you can just swap out the nord sounds with whatever you want.
Well the truth is, most piano and EPiano sample on Nord is based on YAMAHA Grand Piano/Keyboard. Royal Grand 3D = Yamaha S6 Studio Grand 2 = Yamaha C7 Bright Grand = Yamaha S4 Grand Imperial = Bösendorfer 290 (Which is owned by Yamaha) Grand Upright = Yamaha U3 EGrand 3 Amped = Yamaha CP80 DX7 Fulltines = Yamaha DX7
I always appreciate your reviews and demonstrations, but I absolutely love listening to you play. And, YES, I want to purchase your Treble Test Piece as my ring tone. The intro for texts and the melody for calls. Your style and interpretation is so soothing and relaxing.
Although I've been using Yamaha for a very long time yet I do love sound of the Nord stage 3, only if Nord technicians can sort out its issues, I might consider it
The Nord velocity problem could be a bad switch design, or it could be a firmware bug. Velocity is calculated using a timer, and two switches per key. E.g. a normally closed switch, which opens when you start to press a key down, and a normally open switch, which closes when the key reaches the bottom - or close to the bottom. If the timer doesn't start, it would be counted as zero time, so maximum possible velocity. That could happen because the switch that says you started pressing the key down didn't operate, or because the CPU/firmware was too busy to notice, when it did. Either problem could be intermittent, but my money would be on a firmware bug.
Bring on the Korg Kronos. If that doesn't stand up then the only other contender is going to be the Kurzweil. I think Nord screwed up by trying to make their keyboard light. That's where the build quality would come into question. The Korg Kronos 88 weighted is 80 pounds. I can carry it, but it's heavy and often times I had someone help me move it. The Kronos is the standard in the gigging world along with the Kruzweil for Piano, Rhodes, Strings, Synth. Then you pick an organ as the 2nd keyboard, which is either Hammond or Roland. And while you're playing that Korg Kronos, punch up the Lyle Mays patch and play the solo to "Before You Go" and you'll blow the minds of everyone. Make a video dissecting that solo and people will watch it forever.
I'm still using a Yamaha P-150 that I bought in 1995 and have used from FL to Vegas and all points in between. The keybed action is still very good and I've no complaints. The piano samples are usable but I often simply MIDI into a number of others.
i've had 2 nords (stage 2ex and now stage 3), and been playing on many different nord pianos. never had any of these problems, or seen anything about it! think you've just unfortunately got a bad ex... :(
I bought a Yamaha YC 88 and im really happy with my purchase. Pianos & EP Pianos are great, CFX, S700, U1 & the C7 sound really good. Rhodes sound great too with a little EQ to your taste and your good to go. In the other hand the YC has an FM engine and im amazed they imported some FM pianos from the montage like the FM Piano DA from montage & some others. I hope that via a firmware update they add some TX/DX presets too. Keybed action is really good. Compared to my old Yamaha P105 Graded Hammer Standard this had Natural Wood Triple Sensor and its a premium high quality keybed.
Piano sound od CP300 is still very good and run great via PAs, it has sharp sound well cutting through the band. Compared to Nord’s pianos it is not so natural sounding, but works great on stage. Rhodes and hammonds on CP300 are farely not so good though… CP300s speakers are cool for stereo monitoring on stage.
In firmware update v2.60 (2021-09-23) it states as one of the improvement "Improved handling of high-velocity strokes during quick key repetitions". Does this update solve the sudden volume increase 'bug'? Could you confirm this? I'm considering buying a Nord Stage 3, but this bug could be a deal breaker...
I have played a Yamaha CP80 for about 20 years, and as it seems now to be starting having some age (and wear)-related problems, I have been considering replacing it with a Nord in the next months... Well I'll rather have a close look at the CP88 instead :-)
James, thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews you posted (I just recently discovered your channel here). It's wonderful to find an independent, knowledgable voice, without an axe to grind, talking about these instruments. Also, cool jacket.
Nords break. Nords can't be easily repaired. How do I know? I have a Stage 2 Door Stop Edition sitting in its Nord body bag, never to see the light of day again.
Bummer. I went through hell trying to find someone to even look at a keyboard that I was having trouble with. I had to go outside the music community to find an excellent electronics guy
I like this guy's video's, James Pavel Shawcross, he's very easy to understand, very articulate, gives a honest review, plays great, and his video's are some of the best out there. I had a Nord, than sold it. I was going to get this Nord Stage 3 keyboard, but because of this video, I'm going to have to pass on Nord.
Great concise intelligent review. Great to be positive, but you are either honest or not honest. Thank you for being Honest ! Never heard anything about a NORD before, now I have. I hope they contact you and fix the issues you saw . Cheers,...
Because the Nord stage is more the same type of keyboard meaning its equally versatile sound wise. The Nord piano is focused on pianos sounds than synths. Yamaha cp88 is Yamaha's repose to the Nord stage.
First off, the piece you played to compare the keyboards around the 11:30 mark - bravo, just gorgeous. Whats the name of that piece? It sounds hauntingly familiar, like something from a noir dream... I spent some time with a CP88 a few months ago and found the action to be a little heavier than ideal, and I'm glad to hear that sentiment represented here as well. At first I was thrilled by the weight, then after about 30 - 45 minutes I realized my hands were feeling noticeably more fatigued than usual. I'm sure that is indicative of a need to improve my form, but it is undeniably heavy action. I did quite enjoy the feel and sound of the instrument overall though.
That round robin glitch happens to me a lot. It always gives me a good jump when it barks like that. It also triggers Micro Midi notes sometimes too, I sometimes have to go back and clean up the Midi data. It definitely is a buzz kill, the sounds are very nice though.
Thanks for your great content man - learn a lot from your channel. Sad, but Bro the Nord is in a few respects a dud (excepting the sound which is really pretty) - some major flaws there as you have shown ! love the way you alternate the tune on both keyboards - sick! Debussy and I am in heaven.... man the last tune on the Nord was totally dope (dude i loved it)!
I used to have a norg stage 2 and a yamaha cp4.. to be honest i prefer the piano sound of the cp4. Specially when you edit the equalizer.. one more thing the cp4 keybed is far better than nord stage Keybed
I like the sound of the Nord. But as I am in the process of furnishing a studio for myself and because of the cost, I will stick with Yamaha and Roland.
Hi James, thank you so much for your honesty and diligently and carefully testing of the pianos.These are such helpful informations! By the way: I like the piano sound of the Yamaha Stage Piano much more, specially when you say, the Nord Stage 3 is more mellow: yes it is, but it doesn't really sound like a piano, more like a bass guitar.... a lot of punch, but no way, this is not a grand piano sound. The Yamaha is much more realistic, allthough sometimes a bit sharp, specially in the high notes. But this sharpness gives the important quality of clearness in classic interpretations. Funny and inbelievable the problem with repetition... I just couldn't trust my ears when I heard the single tone springing out....! no way....! Anyway I was interested specially in touch and differenciation of touch and sound for playing classical music as professional, to get the possibility to practice during the holydays... keep up with your channel, your engagement is like a bright star and gives clear orientations...
Great work as usual James. I want to ask what is the name of the hypnotic song you played after your usual song you typically play. It sure was mesmorizing.
I have a Nord Electro 6D and know exactly what you mean regarding the action and loud note glitch. I have a CP88 as well and use that to control the Nord via midi. That way I get the great electric piano sounds from the Nord combined with amazing grand piano sounds and action from the Yamaha.
James says the Nord's price is twice bigger. But here in Russia it's almost the same. Which keyboard of these 2 would you choose if the price is the same?
Was about to pull the trigger for nord stage 3 until i got to feel its keybed... went for cp88 instead, i may however still buy the compact ver if i see a cheaper price.
Say what you want about Yamaha, their insistence on N.O. sustain pedals and overly complicated user interfaces, their build quality is impeccable. I play an S-90 (yep, not even the S-90s) at my church and in spite of it's age it still plays beautifully. I also really like their keybeds compared to everyone else except Kawai.
My coming up on 30 year old Yamaha SY77 is still my goto main controller, (except when I need more keys, when the Roland D-70 takes over); I've switched out for other synths/controllers in the primary spot on my rig, but always seem to end up back with the '77, the keybed is really perfect.
I don't know if somebody already pointed out, didn't scroll all the comments, but the 9th "malfunctioning" drawbar could be the normal behaviour for an organ. If the percussion is on, the 9th drawbar is disabled on EVERY Hammond-clone organ. That might be the case.
This was pointed out, and it's a good thought but the percussion was not on. I feel like the 9th drawbar shouldn't light up at all when the percussion is on, since it doesn't sound.
I just fell in love with my new Nord. And I get why so many people think they are the sh... easy to navigate live, lightweight, great sounds. But I just gotta say the piano sounds are not as crazy-good as so many people make them out to be. They are great, no doubt. But I was just a tad bit disappointed when they didn't turn out to be an incredible step up over my Yamaha CP73...
If you like music, you might want to check out my second channel "Milan Recording Studios". Feel free to subscribe and hit the bell icon if you want to!
ruclips.net/channel/UCu1LrpmWwK1ztTvIayRar9w
I love the Nord
i play on a korg sp300 , i enjoy the hammer action on the korg then i ever have enjoyed on the stage 2 or 3. my next keyboard with eithor be a newer korg or a yamaha cp88.
can you do a demo on the korg sp300???
The Nord issues are absolutely unacceptable for the monstrous price! Thank you for this review!
that loud note is a glitch on cheap boards
What a shame , the Nord is such a beauty
You should expect quality from a world brand like Nord.
I thought they provided good material but its not, judging by the many problems posted on the internet ( at my personal opinion ) its rubbish insn't it?
I whas seriously planning to buy a new stage 3 88 but after seeing the many quality problems on internet, I better look out for something else.
A shame because the sound of the Nord Stage is fantastic but tecnnically unreliable.
Nord is overrated
@@F0nkyNinja facts
@@dorvangerven574 same here very sad
I think I know what's going on with the Nord action.
Most modern keyboards use a system of two mechanical 'plungers' (call them Pa and Pb) to calculate key velocity. When you press a note on the keyboard, Pa gets actuated first, followed by Pb. The time delta between the Pa 'event' and the Pb 'event' (call it Td) determines how loud the note plays: If Td is very small, you must have pressed the key very fast/hard, so the note plays 'loud' (or a loud sample). If Td is relatively large, you must have pressed the key slow/soft so the note plays more quietly.
Sometimes a plunger will get stuck in the up or down position due to mechanical failure or dirt in the system. This results in a situation where you get a Pa event with no corresponding Pb event, or vice versa.
The software design determines how these anomalies are handled. From my experience, if you get an isolated Pa event with no Pb event, the note will not play at all. This makes sense, because you may not have pressed the key all the way down.
If you get an isolated Pb event, however, the note plays REALLY F'ing LOUD! Louder than you could ever play it (perhaps because Td = zero?). This is what happened with my Nord, due to some dust getting in the Pa plunger. My tech cleaned the keyboard, and everything was fine.
My suspicion: When two notes are played in rapid succession, as you do in the video, the key does not have time to return to its full 'up' position. Occasionally this will result in Pb getting released, but Pa is still held down, so you get the isolated Pb situation on the second hit.
This is partly a mechanical design issue, but the software needs to handle this situation (other keyboards do). They can't make the note silent or the action will seem sluggish. Real pianos with crappy actions can produce a similar effect, though for obviously different reasons. However, making it max volume is really annoying, although most will never notice it because they never play like that.
Personally, I would suggest they match the velocity of the previous key event. That may not mirror a real piano, but the current situation certainly doesn't either, and it would be far less annoying.
They actually use a third plunger here to let you strike another note before the key is completely lifted. The stranger it seems that this happens bc it would mean that 2/3 are broken?
It stands to reason that a specific fraction of the time between B release and B being retriggered can be used as an indication of key velocity if A is not released, to software handle fast play. I watched Linus Akesson transform an old organ into the Chipophone a while back, and since then, every time i see a broken keyboard, a thought keeps popping up in my head that i might want to get it, take its keybed and try to build my own electronics underneath it (even augment it with a second hit spot for velocity), but i've never taken up on the challenge since... i really have a lot of unfinished projects already, and it's probably not the most practical thing to do since well MIDI is around, but should i get around to it, i'll keep the insight in mind, thank you very much. I'm slowly procrastinating on designing something based on an arcade Yamaha OPN2 soundchip similar to the one used in SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis, but obviously i haven't done much yet :D Like i want to get approximate sound figured out before i start figuring out the controls i need with it.
You made my brain mush
The day will come that we see a third "plunger" in each key. It might be placed right in the middle of A and B or be a little closer to B. It will minimize the problem with keys not being up-again completely before pressed down.
Furthermore, it will measure information about the way you press the key. Anyone experienced in playing on an acoustic piano knows that it isn't only the average A-to-B velocity that shapes the tone. A third plunger would be a big step towards modelling these differences.
Of course, it's also a matter of cost.
I never touched a Nord but I was always amazed by the beautiful sound it produces. I am surprised to hear about the build quality and issues you experienced. But a great an honest review as always.
I’m so glad Theon Greyjoy managed to somehow get his life back together and is now demoing keyboards.
Same
Same
Hilarious
Made me laugh! Thanks!
Had more Nord for several weeks now, I have had ZERO issues with it at all.Super solid keyboard, hand downs.
Nord fans are similar to Apple fans :)
@@MarcTelesha Haha!
Heider Music I have the Nord Stage 2, have had it for years (6 or 7 years), still going strong. Played it a ton, gigged with it and never had any issues.
Marc Telesha fans of any brand stick to the brand usually, it’s not particular to one brand dummy
Yamahas have never let me down in build quality I still have a p250 that is 20+ years old and it still plays like the day I bought it... Thanks for the review on the Nord I was interested in it but was curious about the action it just looked light watching artists play it.
Have owned several Yamaha keyboards. Never any issues aside from keys on the Montage. Yamaha Montage has been solid aside from a few keys becoming stiff when played with any slight lateral force from the right side such as a glissando. Also, there was a situation where the OS would freeze and the screen would be locked on an edit page, but they fixed that in a firmware update way back in 2016 or 2017. I just like the “character” some of the Nord piano sounds have. Never liked their action, but like most keyboards you get used to it after playing for about 20 minutes. Nord is overpriced generally in my opinion.
Yeah, whenever I tried the Nord I'm always disappointed with the key action. The Yamaha key action, on the other hand, always feels solid even though I don't really enjoy their piano sound.
I appreciate the comparison. I literally feel the same way. I cannot justify the Nord price. I think I’m going with the Roland RD 2000; great price, great sound and massive library plus the 2 wheels and the awesome mod wheel. If it only had a ribbon controller built in.
For some reason the review doesn't mention (and none of the comments seem to mention) that this discussion of "the piano sound" on the Stage 3 is kind of broken at the outset: It's great if you like "the piano sound" on the Stage 3, but if you don't, you need to realize there's actually a large library of piano sounds, with many of them already preloaded in the Stage 3 as it comes from the factory. It's perhaps not surprising that the bass on the Stage 3 sounds like a 7-foot piano because the Nord piano library actually includes samples of several 7-footers. There are also big pianos sampled in their library, so it would be worth a review that goes into more depth to explore at least more than one of Nord's grand piano sounds.
Maybe the Yamaha also has multiple piano samples available? Does it also have a large and growing library of samples you can download and install on the keyboard in case you don't like the factory sounds so much? I don't know.
Regarding the Stage 3 again, what I'm saying is actually true of "the Rhodes sound" as well. There are multiple Rhodes samples in the unit as shipped, and this review looked at only one of them, I think.
Love the honesty... hope Nord responded to the issue
One of the best comparisons i have ever seen. Nice & honest.
Also as a pianist the action is very, very important and how it interacts with the sound. Thank you for this.
Outstanding! Yamaha has always been the brand I completely trust. I probably will never buy a different brand of electronic keyboard. I also love the fact that Yamaha owns Bosendorfer. When the time comes for me to buy a piano that's over a thousand dollars, hopefully I'll find a Yamaha with a Bosendorfer sampling. As to the Nord, I know you're disappointed but remember one thing- anything you buy has the potential to be a lemon, which is why the warranty is so important. Even when companies manufacture cars, they expect a certain percentage of them to not work perfectly. My gut tells me that even if the store or Nord its self were to offer to replace it with a properly working one, you'd still wouldn't want it.
The Yamaha CP88 has a Bosendorfer sample!
I just played a Nord Stage 2 88 for a 90 minute concert with different dynamics. The keybed is TRASH!!!! The sounds are awesome. I’m a Yamaha guy. CP88 is the way to go!
There’s certain functionality with Nord’s lighter action: it’s not just piano, it’s also organ and fully featured synth. So you can play those fastest synth lines easily. Nord’s are very reliable. Built like tanks. You clearly have faulty unit. Otherwise Nord beats Yamaha CP88 hands down: CP88 does not have synth, only samples and organ is afterthought.
I agree and disagree. While synths do have nonweighted keys, it is not difficult to play quickly on a heavier piano style action. Classical pianists do it all the time. The only downside to a heavier action would be that doing glissandos wouldn't be as easy, which is an important aspect in some styles of organ playing.
The overall build quality of the Nord's frame seemed alright, although it was geared more towards being as light as possible. And while I agree that the Nord has more features than the Yamaha, I'd say the CP-88 has higher quality control. I had no problems with it, and haven't heard of any from other sources.
ThePianoforever
The point is that the Nord’s keys are not meant to be optimized for piano sounds alone. I find the action to be a perfect compromise between playability for rhodes, organ, synth and piano sounds.
The Nord is also twice the price..
I had the same sudden loud note at fast repetition issue with my NP4, but no one believed me! This proves I wasn't crazy.
NO, YOU ARE NOT CRAZY. MY KORG SP280 STARTED GETTING VERY LOUD NOTES WHICH BY THE WAY ARE BLACK KEYS AND NOT WHITE ONES. AND NOW I THINK I HAVE 4 OR 5 VERY LOUD KEYS. MY PLAYING SOUNDS AWFUL NOW THE NOTES ARE LIKE THIS. ONE DAY WHEN I DONT FEEL TOO TIRED AND LAZY I MIGHT TRY TO FIX MY KEYBOARD PIANO. YOU CAN WATCH HOW TO FIX A KEYBOARD ON RUclips. THERE ARE SO MANY SCREWS IN SOME KEYBOARDS THOUGH. IF YOU LIVE IN A MAIN TOWN OR CITY IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER FOR YOU TO PAY SOMEONE TO FIX YOUR KEYBOARD. I LIVE A LONG WAY FROM A MAIN TOWN SO ID HAVE TO FIX MY OWN KEYBOARD PIANO.
I have a Korg Karma with those issues. I took it apart. Plastic keys and chicklet sensors. It's probably the same part. There are two sensors per key. It tries to detect "pressure" by using the two sensors to calculate the speed at which the keys are hit. That's where the glitch comes in. If you hit a key twice in rapid succession, it throws off the little IC chips that measure the delay, making it a negative number. It probably uses the same sensor boards as well. The whole plastic keyboard with the attached sensor boards is probably a unit you can order from China to build your own keyboard.
I’m 66, none of my Yamaha keyboards, drum machines, sound modules or midi accessories have ever failed. They still play like the day I bought them. (My Rolands on the other hand, while great sounding keyboards, slowly over time developed issues)
Yamaha has better build quality than Roland.
I agree that the Nord has a fuller, more acoustic piano-like sound than did the Yamaha, though not a glaring difference.. Sometimes, that's an EQ or other setting peculiarity that can be worked out. Build quality and durability is a major issue for me, as is touch. I own an RD800 Roland--it is a beast, and I love love love the action. However, I have never cared for the piano tones through monitors, and I have never found setting to correct it.
Just get Keyscape from Spectrasonics and NOIRE from Native Instruments and you'll be good.
I really love the way nord pianos sound. I’ve been looking at them and now you make me want to reconsider 😬
Thanks, James, you tell it like it is. You playing is lovely
So glad I bought a Yamaha and not a Nord. I’ve got a Montage 8 and I’m considering a CP88 for gigging as the Montage in it’s case is 45kg! Thank you for this review and demo. Really enjoy your channel.
The random volume change is weird. I do appreciate the review. I came to some of the same conclusions about the action. Yamaha doesn't seem to have the same options with the synth as you mention. and the layering and the keyboard splits make it a tough decision. I love them both actually. Thanks for the review. It's only money. :0)
Wow, good election, the Gnossiene no. 1 by Erik Satie is a beautiful piece
I just sold my SV-1, ten yrs old, never any issues with the keybed and I play hard a lot. It was used for studio not gigging. I did have an issue with weak 1/4” jack main out. Other Main issue was I kept accidentally hitting the presets buttons whilst playing, switching to a diff sound like an organ, it gave me a heart attack every time ! Shopping for replacement now :)
It’s really pity that Nord didn’t put more time in the quality because the sound is good but the cp88 wins. In this case I mean because I still love the Roland 2000 that you reviewed. Thank you for sharing.
You are the best. One of the few that talks about what actually matters.
Congratulations for the video, for now I keep my CP88 with the Modx7 ......
My personal experience is that Nord still have the most realistic piano sound which I find most important for a gig, but their keys are not the best. Nord Stage is way too complicated to use, but then the Nord Piano is much easier. Yamaha CP is a very good compromise between sound and key quality which is great for practice, but on a gig I would rather prefer having the best possible sound quality available if the keys are decent. Depends what's important to you I guess.
" Nord still have the most realistic piano sound" - Never played a Korg Kronos, have you? The Kronos pianos outmatch anything currently on the market except actual pianos.
Thanks for the detailed, honest review!
Great video. You are excellent at detailing your experience. I was already looking at the CP88; this just makes me get it sooner.
Love the Nord sound...so organic.... hang on did you say twice the price!... Ok I can live with the Yamaha sound!😉
Very Helpful!! I thought Nord was market leader... especially at the price!! I had tried the action and it felt more spring like and less piano like and therefore thought the higher price wasn't worth it.
That was harsh, you must have got a bad one. I own the NP2, beautiful instrument, bad pedal, I`m on my third pedal now. I know the Yamaha people stick to...Yamaha:D I guess it`s a reason for that. Guess what. When I leave my home with my precious Nord I bring an old Yamaha pedal for backup. Happy playing out there, great review.
You cant load any additional sounds or samples onto the yamaha.. I don't understand why.
It doesn't make sense to compare the sounds in such detail when you can just swap out the nord sounds with whatever you want.
Given all of your comments and insights, I would strongly recommend you check out the Nord Piano 4. Thanks for the in-depth review.
Your knowledge of digital and acoustic pianos amazes me!
We have a winner - honestly, I didn't expect that.
Thank you for the great and honest review!
I think i'll always be a nord guy, I mean they're shiny and red
If it was a Transformer, it would have won hands down!
spray paint costs 3.5 euros for entire synth covering
Kaspar Tambur then label it „süd“ (south)
Well the truth is, most piano and EPiano sample on Nord is based on YAMAHA Grand Piano/Keyboard.
Royal Grand 3D = Yamaha S6
Studio Grand 2 = Yamaha C7
Bright Grand = Yamaha S4
Grand Imperial = Bösendorfer 290 (Which is owned by Yamaha)
Grand Upright = Yamaha U3
EGrand 3 Amped = Yamaha CP80
DX7 Fulltines = Yamaha DX7
I always appreciate your reviews and demonstrations, but I absolutely love listening to you play. And, YES, I want to purchase your Treble Test Piece as my ring tone. The intro for texts and the melody for calls. Your style and interpretation is so soothing and relaxing.
Although I've been using Yamaha for a very long time yet I do love sound of the Nord stage 3, only if Nord technicians can sort out its issues, I might consider it
The Nord velocity problem could be a bad switch design, or it could be a firmware bug.
Velocity is calculated using a timer, and two switches per key. E.g. a normally closed switch, which opens when you start to press a key down, and a normally open switch, which closes when the key reaches the bottom - or close to the bottom.
If the timer doesn't start, it would be counted as zero time, so maximum possible velocity.
That could happen because the switch that says you started pressing the key down didn't operate, or because the CPU/firmware was too busy to notice, when it did. Either problem could be intermittent, but my money would be on a firmware bug.
This is my first video of you I watched. You seem like a very nice and knowledgable guy.
Thank you for the visit and hope to see you again.
Bring on the Korg Kronos. If that doesn't stand up then the only other contender is going to be the Kurzweil. I think Nord screwed up by trying to make their keyboard light. That's where the build quality would come into question. The Korg Kronos 88 weighted is 80 pounds. I can carry it, but it's heavy and often times I had someone help me move it. The Kronos is the standard in the gigging world along with the Kruzweil for Piano, Rhodes, Strings, Synth. Then you pick an organ as the 2nd keyboard, which is either Hammond or Roland. And while you're playing that Korg Kronos, punch up the Lyle Mays patch and play the solo to "Before You Go" and you'll blow the minds of everyone. Make a video dissecting that solo and people will watch it forever.
I just tried out that keyboard today at Nashville guitar center no good . They had the Yamaha and it sounded great and felt greAt.
I'm still using a Yamaha P-150 that I bought in 1995 and have used from FL to Vegas and all points in between. The keybed action is still very good and I've no complaints. The piano samples are usable but I often simply MIDI into a number of others.
the piano sounds on the nord is darker , i like it
i've had 2 nords (stage 2ex and now stage 3), and been playing on many different nord pianos. never had any of these problems, or seen anything about it!
think you've just unfortunately got a bad ex... :(
Unfortunately I don't feel like paying $4,500 to MAYBE get a good example when I'm shopping for stage pianos. :(
I bought a Yamaha YC 88 and im really happy with my purchase. Pianos & EP Pianos are great, CFX, S700, U1 & the C7 sound really good. Rhodes sound great too with a little EQ to your taste and your good to go. In the other hand the YC has an FM engine and im amazed they imported some FM pianos from the montage like the FM Piano DA from montage & some others. I hope that via a firmware update they add some TX/DX presets too. Keybed action is really good. Compared to my old Yamaha P105 Graded Hammer Standard this had Natural Wood Triple Sensor and its a premium high quality keybed.
I like the CP300. I know it’s an older keyboard, but the piano & built in speakers sounds fantastic! (Excellent chops by the way!)
I used to own the CP300. What an excellent stagepiano!
Piano sound od CP300 is still very good and run great via PAs, it has sharp sound well cutting through the band. Compared to Nord’s pianos it is not so natural sounding, but works great on stage. Rhodes and hammonds on CP300 are farely not so good though… CP300s speakers are cool for stereo monitoring on stage.
Magnificent vid for comparison but what choice of masterpieces to play! Omg . . . sublime. Thank You!
In firmware update v2.60 (2021-09-23) it states as one of the improvement "Improved handling of high-velocity strokes during quick key repetitions". Does this update solve the sudden volume increase 'bug'? Could you confirm this? I'm considering buying a Nord Stage 3, but this bug could be a deal breaker...
I have played a Yamaha CP80 for about 20 years, and as it seems now to be starting having some age (and wear)-related problems, I have been considering replacing it with a Nord in the next months... Well I'll rather have a close look at the CP88 instead :-)
After this I'd go 4 the CP88 (like I know what I'm talking about. Lol.
James, thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews you posted (I just recently discovered your channel here). It's wonderful to find an independent, knowledgable voice, without an axe to grind, talking about these instruments.
Also, cool jacket.
Nords break. Nords can't be easily repaired. How do I know? I have a Stage 2 Door Stop Edition sitting in its Nord body bag, never to see the light of day again.
Bummer. I went through hell trying to find someone to even look at a keyboard that I was having trouble with. I had to go outside the music community to find an excellent electronics guy
I like this guy's video's, James Pavel Shawcross, he's very easy to understand, very articulate, gives a honest review, plays great, and his video's are some of the best out there. I had a Nord, than sold it. I was going to get this Nord Stage 3 keyboard, but because of this video, I'm going to have to pass on Nord.
Great concise intelligent review. Great to be positive, but you are either honest or not honest. Thank you for being Honest ! Never heard anything about a NORD before, now I have. I hope they contact you and fix the issues you saw . Cheers,...
Thanks for the revealing review. I wonder if you used the Bosendorfer on the CP88 that the sound would be better comparison to the N3?
Why dont you compare it to the nord piano? Wouldn't it be a better comarison?
Because the Nord stage is more the same type of keyboard meaning its equally versatile sound wise. The Nord piano is focused on pianos sounds than synths. Yamaha cp88 is Yamaha's repose to the Nord stage.
Nord Stage 3 sound much more natural, never had a problem with my Nord Stage 1 and 2. And I was touring a LOT Canada and Europe, play a lot.
This is why I am Yamaha for life
YAMAHA IMPRESSES ME TOO.
Same here
First off, the piece you played to compare the keyboards around the 11:30 mark - bravo, just gorgeous. Whats the name of that piece? It sounds hauntingly familiar, like something from a noir dream...
I spent some time with a CP88 a few months ago and found the action to be a little heavier than ideal, and I'm glad to hear that sentiment represented here as well. At first I was thrilled by the weight, then after about 30 - 45 minutes I realized my hands were feeling noticeably more fatigued than usual. I'm sure that is indicative of a need to improve my form, but it is undeniably heavy action. I did quite enjoy the feel and sound of the instrument overall though.
it's a piece from Erik Satié, Gnossienne 1
That round robin glitch happens to me a lot. It always gives me a good jump when it barks like that. It also triggers Micro Midi notes sometimes too, I sometimes have to go back and clean up the Midi data. It definitely is a buzz kill, the sounds are very nice though.
Thanks for this honest review.
Thanks for your great content man - learn a lot from your channel. Sad, but Bro the Nord is in a few respects a dud (excepting the sound which is really pretty) - some major flaws there as you have shown ! love the way you alternate the tune on both keyboards - sick! Debussy and I am in heaven.... man the last tune on the Nord was totally dope (dude i loved it)!
what about the nord piano 4?
I had an on/off switch issue on the original nord electro. Brings back memories. Looks like they've got production issues.
Beautiful playing bro
In 17:14 sounded exactly like the old windows 98 chord sound, hahaha.
Hahaha. So right
I used to have a norg stage 2 and a yamaha cp4.. to be honest i prefer the piano sound of the cp4. Specially when you edit the equalizer.. one more thing the cp4 keybed is far better than nord stage Keybed
Instrumentalists Jade the nord stage 2 has terrible piano sound. Sounds like they fixed it on the 3
Sofus Sverressønn Finne how so? You can download the exact same piano samples on them 🤷🏻♂️
That was an---> EXCELLENT review by you! A complete pleasure to learn about the 2 digital pianos. Thank you :)
I like the sound of the Nord. But as I am in the process of furnishing a studio for myself and because of the cost, I will stick with Yamaha and Roland.
Hi James, thank you so much for your honesty and diligently and carefully testing of the pianos.These are such helpful informations! By the way: I like the piano sound of the Yamaha Stage Piano much more, specially when you say, the Nord Stage 3 is more mellow: yes it is, but it doesn't really sound like a piano, more like a bass guitar.... a lot of punch, but no way, this is not a grand piano sound. The Yamaha is much more realistic, allthough sometimes a bit sharp, specially in the high notes. But this sharpness gives the important quality of clearness in classic interpretations.
Funny and inbelievable the problem with repetition... I just couldn't trust my ears when I heard the single tone springing out....! no way....!
Anyway I was interested specially in touch and differenciation of touch and sound for playing classical music as professional, to get the possibility to practice during the holydays...
keep up with your channel, your engagement is like a bright star and gives clear orientations...
great review. Have you tested the SL88 controllers? Curious if those have a nice action compared yamahas.
Thanks for a frank and useful comparative review!
Great review. Which monitors do you use at the Yamaha CP88?
Great review young man!
Great work as usual James. I want to ask what is the name of the hypnotic song you played after your usual song you typically play. It sure was mesmorizing.
Erik Satie, Gnossienne 1
Erik Satie - Gnossienne no 1
Does the key bed glitch still occur if you midi the Nord to another board?
I have a Nord Electro 6D and know exactly what you mean regarding the action and loud note glitch. I have a CP88 as well and use that to control the Nord via midi. That way I get the great electric piano sounds from the Nord combined with amazing grand piano sounds and action from the Yamaha.
You tested very carefully, thank you!
The Cp88 sounds a bit brighter than the Nord. They both sound good to me.
5:40 It’s a hard-knocked life... for us.
Nord should have kept the Bars they were easier to handle than the buttons
Nord still have the drawbars, the d electro series have those bars.
6:00 Now that's true after-touch. :(
James says the Nord's price is twice bigger. But here in Russia it's almost the same. Which keyboard of these 2 would you choose if the price is the same?
Was about to pull the trigger for nord stage 3 until i got to feel its keybed... went for cp88 instead, i may however still buy the compact ver if i see a cheaper price.
James, Would you mind reviewing Nord Grand? It's an interesting board imho 😬
This review and comparison is excellent and extremely helpful. Thank you for putting the time and effort into doing it.
Say what you want about Yamaha, their insistence on N.O. sustain pedals and overly complicated user interfaces, their build quality is impeccable. I play an S-90 (yep, not even the S-90s) at my church and in spite of it's age it still plays beautifully. I also really like their keybeds compared to everyone else except Kawai.
My coming up on 30 year old Yamaha SY77 is still my goto main controller, (except when I need more keys, when the Roland D-70 takes over); I've switched out for other synths/controllers in the primary spot on my rig, but always seem to end up back with the '77, the keybed is really perfect.
I've got an s90, sy77, TX-802, CP4, p90 and a P80. All still work and kick ass.
I don't know if somebody already pointed out, didn't scroll all the comments, but the 9th "malfunctioning" drawbar could be the normal behaviour for an organ. If the percussion is on, the 9th drawbar is disabled on EVERY Hammond-clone organ. That might be the case.
This was pointed out, and it's a good thought but the percussion was not on. I feel like the 9th drawbar shouldn't light up at all when the percussion is on, since it doesn't sound.
thank you, great review and comparison video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have that glitch on my yamaha clp240 (certain keys). Is that a physical key fault? Wonder if I should repair it or get new piano?
So, what is a good alternative to the Nord?
What has 88 weighted keys with good piano/rhodes/clav sounds and is also strong in the synth department?
Dexibell VIVO S9 Pro. Is the better alternative.
I just fell in love with my new Nord. And I get why so many people think they are the sh... easy to navigate live, lightweight, great sounds. But I just gotta say the piano sounds are not as crazy-good as so many people make them out to be. They are great, no doubt. But I was just a tad bit disappointed when they didn't turn out to be an incredible step up over my Yamaha CP73...
How did you find the CP73? I'm thinking of buying it but I'm still not sure whether to save up for an electro instead