NP2 pricing at Sweetwater (and new member)

[Jawhitti]

Hi all,

New member here. I got a chuckle out of the screening question - "what's the dominate key in D"? Really should be dominant "tone" don't you think? The use of the word "key" threw me off as I was thinking "key as in signature" instead of "key as in keyboard".

I'm an intermediate (okay, "Crappy") piano/kb player trying to get more serious. I currently play a circa 2001[?] RD-700 with the SRX-02 expansion played through a pair of M-Audio studio monitors. Never done any gigging with a band but hope to someday. The pianos on the RD-700 are growing unsastifactory as my ability grows - it has serious issues with notes "jumping out" in very unnatural ways. In some ways this is a training aid for playing evenly but it also gets really annoying. So - I've been looking to step up to something better.

I played the Kronos, the RD-700NX and the V-piano and actually liked the V quite a lot but not enough to throw down the mad cash. The Roland pianos were a bit sterile sounding to me and the rest of the instrument seemed to be the exact same samples on my original RD! And it was harder to use on top of everything, so I was turned off by it. The Kronos sounded pretty good but the action was "meh" and it's really wayyy too much keyboard for me. I will never use 99% of its features. The V had a great action and some great sounds (the silver grand was awesome) but it's just too inflexible - I like to rock out the occasional synth and Rhodes. So my attention turned to the Nord, which I have never seen or heard outside of the Internet. I am a little worried by the action (having never played one) but could maybe learn to live with and given everything else it can do I am ready to live with it. The price on that NS2 is a real buzzkill though so I considered the NP but it seems a bit constrained. I've gone through this forum backward and forward - there's a lot of great info on here and some intimidatingly good players.

Anyway - I read the NP2 announcement with some interest and wondered about pricing. Sweetwater has pricing today - $2995 for the NP2. IMO it's too high. It's quite a bit more than the RD-700NX which to me seems like its main competition. RD700NX has a better reputation for action and while some sounds are weaker some are better. NS2s or Korg Kronos's can be had for <3500 if you look around a bit and the difference is huge. I probably won't really use arpeggiators and some of the more elaborate features of a stage 2 but I'd rather get a board I can "grow into" than one I am likely to grow out of. From my point of view if all I wanted was piano sounds the RD700NX would look like the best deal, but it seems like different in what you get for ~$2500 versus ~3500 is enormous and probably worth the extra cost. I don't think the NP2 will be a very big seller at nearly $3000. However if they dropped the NP2 to $3200 or so I don't think they'd be able to keep up with the demand.

[cmcenearney]

Also a prospective buyer, I agree: $3000 is a lot.

Especially when you can grab a Stage 2 HA 76 for $3500:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/7 ... _HA76.html

Lose an octave and the triple pedal...
Gain organ, synth, more memory, aftertouch...

[SynthzGuy]

Hello Jawhitti-

I too am a newbie and was thrown off by the same screening question. :=)

FYI ... $2995 is the MAP (Manufactured Advertised Price), not the U.S. street price.
If you decide to pre-order or get one later, I suggest doing some serious bargain-ing or shoping around. With the economy the way it currently is, believe me you can get a better price than the MAP price... all you have to do is ask. I will leave it at that, as it is not my place to advertise prices on any forum for music companies.

Good luck in your decision, but personally for me... and after playing and hearing both the Piano 1 & Stage, & watching all the online videos for the Piano 2 HA88, it was a no-brainer this Piano 2 HA88 and it's new features and upgrades, is exactly what I have been waiting for... and for a price I think is fair.

SynthzGuy

[Johannes]

I agree, it looks more like MAP and street price should be below that (In Germany MAP is around 2900€, Street around 2500€ (http://www.musicstore.de/de_DE/EUR/-/art-KEY0003359-000).
As for the spam question, I see your point, thanks for the comments. I just changed it to make it more clear.

[Jawhitti]

Well for me it's a moot point. I found a brand-new NS2 for around 3400, so I jumped at it. I ordered it "blind" so I'm a bit nervous, but based on what I've heard about it and based on what I've got from playing the competition I think I made a good choice. I've never been a particularly big "synth" guy but the possibilities of the Stage really intrigue me.

[pianogineer]

Can you share where you found that price? For a NS2 88?

[stephenfun]

hi guys I'm new to the forum, thinking of buying a np2 when they hit the streets in march but I hope the 2,995.00 is not the street price and I also wonder if they will include there dust cover with this piano I would think they should give you a $35.00 item with that price.

[Grasoon]

Well, not in Thailand in that matter.

[SynthzGuy]

Hello Stephenfun -

As I mentioned in the previous post above, the "$2,995 is the MAP (Manufactured Advertised Price), not the U.S. street price" Maybe make a few phone calls to Nord Dealers like: Rainbow Guitars, Kraft Music, Sweetwater, & other Nord dealers.

If you are in the U.S. you can use this Nord Dealer Locator: http://www.americanmusicandsound.com/en ... ord/dealer
FYI: American Music and Sound is the U.S. Distributor for Nord along with Nord Tech Support.

Suggestion: Make a few phone calls & use a little "bargaining power" and you will get a good price. However, something to think about, the larger music companies are easier to return/exchange products and offer better warranties. Sometimes price is not everything. Make sure you are clear on the warranty/exchange policy that is offered by the music store (not the standard/mfg warranty) and get that included in writing on your order or pre-order.

Not sure about the dust cover being included. You can always "ask" to include it.

SynthzGuy

[cmcenearney]

On this Sweetwater page they have $3295 as MAP and $2995 as their "street price"

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Piano2HA88/