Nord User Forum

I use:

Nord Stage compact ES
Nord Wave
Yamaha Motif XS
Korg micro X
Yamaha WX-5


use it @ my studio ( I hear with ADAM P22A / Genelec 8020 and Tannoy Sub or AT-headphones )and the Nord Stuff also live - because of its sound and weight...

Nord Stage Compact
(I think I use almost all its future except for the acoustic pianosound :-) The S90ES controls the
Dual layer at the NS and the Extern section in the NS controls the yamahaXS rack.
Then its very easy to layer sounds from the XSrack and the NS to example a piano
sound on the S90ES. The morphassign is also magic to work with.

YAMAHA S90ES
I use this mainly for Piano sounds and orchestral sounds like strings and brass.

YAMAHA-XS rack
(this is almost like the S90ES, so I use this together with the NS in smaller jobbs.
I really loves the yamaha pianosound!)

Motu828 mk3
(I use this as a standalone keyboard mixer.
This is also linked with the XSrack so I can control the mac from the NS)

Macbook pro
(Uses Logic Studio 8, and some MainStage)

Rhodes mkII
(love this, but it’s a bit heavy for gigging)

(I also have some other keys that I never use, things that people have offered me
fore a low price or give away) I also have a cheap Lesley that I seldom use because its weight)

Fore monitoring I uses the gear that’s on the house where the event is. (I prefer MAX monitors from d&B)
I have a Mackie 350 fore practice, and at home I have Mackie MR5 Studio monitors

(Please excuse me for my bad English)

Regards from Norway

Hello there,

Currently my only Keyboard is the Nord Stage 88 revision B, I got a pair of Event Alp 5 Monitors and a great Alienware PC.

I use mainly the stage, but I also like some softsynths such as Korg Legacy Analog and Digital, Waldorf PPG Wave and Novation V-Station (But I dont use this one much, cuz I always have troubles using it). Before, I used Cubase LE, but now I use Reaper.

I like probably everything in my Nord Stage, but I am looking to buy an M3-M or maybe an M50 61, mainly due to the sequencers and for the drums. I personally would like the M3-M, but it costs about 500 dollars more the M50 and has no keyboard (although I dont really need it). I´ve Found that with the NS I can do almost what ever I want, I have got some great leads, soothing bads and rumbling synth bases, pair that up with the gorgeous pianos and electromechanical stuff and you got pretty much every essential (except drums).

Gus

Hi Gustavo,

nice idea to hook the stage to one of the new Korgs. I didn't knew the M3 had a rack version, sounds really interesting in particular for the "lacking" bread and butter sounds. but for me mainly for Drums, Sampling and Sequencing. I first thought of getting an MPC-500 for excactly these purposes, but the display is not kinda fun for more advanced sample editing or arranging. Do you know if the M3-M is suitable e.g. to arrange a complete song etc.??
Although the pricetag is indeed a bit high but you get the KARMA engine, can't be bad. And for the keyboard, I would probably be more interested in saving some space as I played the keyboard of the new Korgs and IMHO they are nothing comparably to the Stage Compact (which I own) , while the NS88 is a different league anyhow.
Hmm, now gassing for a new jewel called M3-M...damnit!!

Johannes wrote:Hi Gustavo,

nice idea to hook the stage to one of the new Korgs. I didn't knew the M3 had a rack version, sounds really interesting in particular for the "lacking" bread and butter sounds. but for me mainly for Drums, Sampling and Sequencing. I first thought of getting an MPC-500 for excactly these purposes, but the display is not kinda fun for more advanced sample editing or arranging. Do you know if the M3-M is suitable e.g. to arrange a complete song etc.??
Although the pricetag is indeed a bit high but you get the KARMA engine, can't be bad. And for the keyboard, I would probably be more interested in saving some space as I played the keyboard of the new Korgs and IMHO they are nothing comparably to the Stage Compact (which I own) , while the NS88 is a different league anyhow.
Hmm, now gassing for a new jewel called M3-M...damnit!!

Well, for the moment Im not what you could call a musician, but some while ago I was about to join a metal-tribute band and since I already had the Stage, I was planning on getting the M3-M, since 88 keys are enough and I am confident that I could program both to work together as I really want. But proyect got cancelled and I got into a hard part of school (can only practice once a week).

I personally think the M3-M is better than the Motif (only thing better on Motif for me is pianos and stuff... but got the Stage), and the only thing better on the fantom G for me is the patch hold. Plus the M3 has a better interface in my opinion.

About your question, I believe the M3-M is really capable of composing full songs. The Triton could, so why not its successor? The M3-M has got some great drums and its got some sequences already in it, plus with Karma, it could be very fun just to put a karma track and play to it. I have tried it out several times in stores, and I gotta tell that is an impressive sound engine. Many of the bread and butter sounds are quite great in presets, imagine what you could program ;).

My suggestion: go and try it out. It is definitely one of the best things that compliments the Nord Stage, what the NS lacks, the M3-M has, and vice versa (including keybed lol). It could be specially useful to a solo artist, since it would provide you with the necesary support to play like a full band live, but perhaps just turn those guitar solos into cool organ or synth solos ;)

Another sugestion I believe is quite good is that if you do not seek sequencing nor drum tracks, but some of the bread and butter sounds, a Waldorf Blofeld is a great companion too. And it is quite cheap new.

Of course all of the before mentioned is when talking of current gen stuff that you can get brand new. Still, I have looked into many posible configurations for the ultimate 2 "keyboard" set up and this is the one I like the most so far: a two tier stand, in the lower stand, the NS88 (at the most comfortable height, the height it would be at in a single tier stand), in the higher stand, about 10 cm above the NS and titled forward, the M3-M (chose this in great deal because of the interface it has, simply one of the best). Since the M3M supports sampling, if you ever have a sound you cant recreate either in the NS or the M3, you could always sample it ;).

My setup would also include the NS sending note information to the M3, but also having the M3 tell the stage when to change programs (I believe in teh M3 you can change programs with a footstep switch). Talking about foot stuff, I´d also keep it simple: connected to the NS: an organ swell pedal, a sustain and a control pedal (both´s data is sent to the M3-m through midi.) and to the M3 only the footswitch for changing programs is used. Another thing in which the M3 helps is effects: the M3 has two inputs, so you can always have in the Nord Stage a stereo pair that is processed by the M3, this may also help avoid needing a mixer just for your keyoboards. Because if you only use one stereo out on the Nord Stage and want everything or nothing to be processed by the M3, then only the M3´s out signals woud go into the main mixer. But to use the set up in full advantage, I would have the first stereo pair of outs, to always be what I want un processed, and outs 3 and 4 to be porcessed by the M3, and in each out can be a different mono sound. And if I am right, since eachout would be a mono sound, each one could be processed independently of the other.

If any one around here is interested in more M3 reviews, check this one out http://acapella.harmony-central.com/for ... ?t=1961837 I also recommend looking for reviews in the Keyboard Magazine or such. Also dont miss the sound on sound review.

Gustavo

PS: if you dont need karma and dont mind not having sampling, the M50 is a great budget option, although it only comes in keyboard versions, but the M50 61 is roughly 1k US dollars. It still does the sampling, but has a limited interface.

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This is my temporary setup for creating a techno live-act:

- PC Laptop ( Ableton Live 7, Reason 4, Rebirth, VST's )
- Korg Zero 8 Mixer/Controller/A.I./Fx
- Clavia Nord Stage 88 EX
- Clavia Nord Rack 2
- KRK Rockit RP6 G2
- AKG 271 MKII Studio Headphones
- Sennheiser E-825s

Greetings,

Joris
The Netherlands

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, allow me to introduce myself. I just bought a Stage Compact last week. And I really love it allready! Incredible sounds, I like the piano and rhodes a lot. Also the organ is not bad, but I have not found a sound that I'm pleased with to use in my setup.

I am planning to use the compact for performances, together with a masterkeyboard so I can play the Compact rhodes and piano on that
master, together with organ and synth on the compact itself, supported by a Roland sound module on the external section.

My gear apart from the Compact:
S90ES (use it at home, best weighed keyboard synth I know, but to heavy to use a lot on the road)
Roland XP30 (use this for the synth solo sounds)
Yamaha P70 or 90 (use this in the practise studio, is reasonably light so I take this to performances)
Roland JV1080 (light weighted replacement for the xp30 so I can still use the solo sounds on the external section of the compact)

Also I have a Korg M3 that I am selling, I have tried to like and learn it for the last 1,5 year but I never came to really use it. So no more workstations for me, I prefer direct (stage ready) influencing of the sounds. That's why I decided to go for the Compact.

So, nice to be on this NordStage forum, hope to learn from all of you!

Regards
Laver

Hi Laver, congrates to your new aquisition!
I also had an expanded XP-30 and a Roland 88 Keys RD StagePiano I used along my Compact, however sold my XP-30 recently to repay some of the Compact induced debt...somehow miss the little black thingie...but I found the Compact Synth really practical the more I worked on it and so the Roland served only for Orchestral sounds in the end. But it is a nice board!
I am thinking of replacing my RD-100 by ony of the Yammy S90ies, have heard great things about them but thats more for the Future. In any case welcome here and have fun with your Stage!
Just what are you referring to saying "but I have not found a sound that I'm pleased with to use in my setup."? The organ?? For me it was indeed quite a change from using the JV/XP patches (I had the Keys pf the 60s/70s expansion board) with its good patches for Joe Cocker/Deep Purple kind of Hammonds or Doors Vox. Now have to get used more to "the real song" with Drawbars etc., but should be easy just playing. Personally I really found the Amp simulations usefull with the Organs!! But in general, I am still looking for a nice kind of database or so on Drawbar Settings for famous Hammond users, no success so far though.
Cheers Joh

Johannes wrote:Just what are you referring to saying "but I have not found a sound that I'm pleased with to use in my setup."? The organ?? For me it was indeed quite a change from using the JV/XP patches (I had the Keys pf the 60s/70s expansion board) with its good patches for Joe Cocker/Deep Purple kind of Hammonds or Doors Vox. Now have to get used more to "the real song" with Drawbars etc., but should be easy just playing. Personally I really found the Amp simulations usefull with the Organs!! But in general, I am still looking for a nice kind of database or so on Drawbar Settings for famous Hammond users, no success so far though.
Cheers Joh

:) Johannes, I also ment that I come from the XP organs which were standard to choose from, but now I have to "build"my own organ sounds. I can hear that the sound is better, but I am not used to work with drwabars.. So I agree with you that an overview on drawbar settings would be very nice! I'll try to find more info on this on the web too,

thanx for your response,
Laver

Johannes wrote:I am still looking for a nice kind of database or so on Drawbar Settings for famous Hammond users, no success so far though.
Cheers Joh

Hi, Johannes. Here is some pages with drawbarsettings :

http://www.keyboardservice.com/Drawbars.asp
http://www.drawbarsettings.com/
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... p?t=901283

-Enjoy