From aevett1@yahoo.com Wed Oct 17 11:06:20 2007
Subject:Re: Nord Stage experiences - Help me evaluate

After posting my initial response, I have a few more
thoughts on this...

As Tony has indicated, live recordings of the Stage
pianos seem to work out fine for him. In my
experience, the FOH mix delivered a solid piano sound.
It appears that the problem occurs in the players
workspace - the 'user connection'. I can well relate
to that; while I can somewhat live with the piano
sound coming through my monitor (or 'in ears'), it's
often a struggle - especially when compared to using
my S90.
Gene, if after playing the Stage you like it better
than the V-Combo, you might want to consider ways to
keep your RD300 SX. I don't know if that's
economically feasible for you; perhaps it might work
out if you picked up the Stage Compact ? What I do is
use my S90 and Stage for bigger jobs - where I'm
usually more concerned with having all my best sounds
present, and having the flexibility/versatility of
two' boards. Then on the smaller lounge/casino gigs
I'll often use just the Stage - and deal with the
piano in my ears as best I can; at least the B3 voice
sounds great no matter what... But as Tony did say, it
is SUBJECTIVE; you may hear things a bit differently,
and be OK with the monitored sound of the Stage piano
and the 'user -connection'...

Keep us posted, and feel free to hit me 'off-line'
anytime, if you wish, about this.

Allan

--- tonysounds wrote:

> Gene, PapaJ hit on a real nail with this. Even
> though I was never satisifed with the sound of the
> pianos on the Stage, I had done live recordings with
> the band, and those tapes kept me owning the 3
> Stages I had too long to return. (2 months for the
> first one, 3 weeks on the second, which I returned,
> and 6 months on the 3rd one, which I ebay'ed).
> While the recordings showed the pianos to be very
> fine, the user-connection while playing was not
> there for me, and was really starting to inhibit my
> playing.
>
> But again, this is so subjective, you HAVE to
> audition them yourself.
>
> T
>
> Papa J wrote:
> Hi Gene,
>
> I switched from using a Roland XP-80 (Rompler) and
> Korg CX-3 rig to a
> Nord Stage 76 one year ago, and have been extremely
> happy with the
> decision.
>
> The combination of the A and B Panels, plus the two
> or three way
> split/layer facility of the Stage means that I can
> pretty much achieve
> everything that I previously used separate keyboards
> for.
>
> What is more, the ease and speed with which you can
> create sounds,
> manipulate effects, and configure splits/layers
> makes this a fantastic
> performers instrument - there is rarely any need to
> go into menu
> settings - everything you need (99% of the time) is
> right there on the
> front panel.
>
> On the odd occasion that I need the sounds from, or
> a faster keyboard
> action (usually for Clavs or Organ), then I will
> take one of the other
> two boards and use it to control the Stage sound
> engine. The stage is
> incredibly flexible in this respect, since you can
> use the "Dual
> Keyboard" mode to play Panel B instrument(s) whilst
> playing Panel A
> from the internal keybed OR, you can configure each
> of the 6 Stage
> instruments (i.e. 2 x Pianos, 2 x Organs, 2 x
> Synths) on separate MIDI
> channels and control them from an external keyboard.
>
> (I realise that may not be of interest, since you
> stated you are
> thinking of replacing both of your current keyboards
> with a single
> Stage, but at least you know it can be done.)
>
> If you found you needed a few ROMpler sounds, you
> could easily add a
> rack module at a later date and control it from the
> Extern section of
> the stage (although limited to only two separate
> global MIDI channels).
>
> The usual issue you hear about with the Stage is the
> acoustic pianos,
> which is a VERY subjective area. I have tweaked mine
> to achieve a sound
> that I find totally usable in mono, but which is
> (IMHO) outstanding in
> stereo. I find the linkage between the keybed
> (weighted NS76, not the
> compact) and the sample engine to be one of the best
> I have played
> (at least prior to the OS 2 upgrades, where it all
> went a bit wrong)
> and I (personally) find it the most musically
> responsive digital piano
> I have played. Again, let me say this is VERY
> subjective, and many
> others will disagree, so as usual, your best bet
> before blowing this
> sort of money is to try it out first.
>
> When I bought mine, I took my own amplifier down to
> the store and
> played the Stage for several hours. I have to be
> honest, and say I was
> not 100% convinced at the time, and the store agreed
> to give a full
> refund if I wasn't happy within 7 days. One of my
> bands dedicated an
> entire rehearsal to letting me call the songs and
> experiment with the
> keyboard, and we recorded the entire session to
> minidisc. Again, during
> the rehearsal, I was not 100% convinced, but on
> subsequent listening to
> the recording, I was blown away at just how good it
> sounded, and was
> 200% convinced that this was a good choice for me.
>
> Since then, I have tweaked and refined, and am still
> exceptionally
> happy with my purchase.
>
> I bought the 76 note version, as I was after the
> heavier, weighted
> action for pianos and eps. I don't play the clavs
> very often, and when
> I do, I find the action a bit on the heavy side for
> anything really
> funky. The same would go for playing the organ,
> although I find this
> easier than the clavs. Playing organ smears takes a
> bit more effort
> than (e.g.) my CX-3, but is possible due to the
> quick trigger option.
>
> The other reason I bought the 76, is the extremely
> small footprint -
> perfect for small stages, and considerably shorter
> than your Roland
> 300sx, and barely wider than most 61 note boards.
>
> When I am feeling extremely lazy, I wonder whether I
> would have been
> better off buying the Compact version for it's light
> weight, and
> getting something like a Studiologic VMK-176 Plus
> controller for the
> weighted action. This would give me an easily
> transported board for
> rehearsals (which I do more of than actual gigs),
> PLUS a dual keyboard
> setup perfect for playing pianos (from the
> Studiologic) and organs/clavs
> (from the Stage Compact).
>
> Anyway, you are probably getting bored with my
> waffling, so I will sign
> off now. If you have any specific questions, feel
> free to hit me
> offlist.
>
> Regards
>
> Papa J
>
> On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:15:57 -0400
> NJmm973@aol.com wrote:
>