Stage 4 Song Mode ?

[cphollis]

The manual has been posted, and "song mode" functionality is there, just done better than before?

The top level construct is the Program which invokes Section Presets (organ, pianos, synths and their FX). 512 programs which can be freely organized, so there's your set list.

[DanielD71]

The manual has been posted, and "song mode" functionality is there, just done better than before?

The top level construct is the Program which invokes Section Presets (organ, pianos, synths and their FX). 512 programs which can be freely organized, so there's your set list.

Could you tell me which page cause I do not see it? In the NS3 manual we can find it but I did not find it in the NS4 manual.
A song mode contains multiple programs reference for this particular song. And we can add the same program location to multiple songs.

Can we do the same thing with the new Stage, reference the same program location to multiple songs ?

The Program mode invoke the layers for this program.

Thanks

[cphollis]

The terminology is different. "Song" is gone, replaced by "Program" (512), each of which invokes a combination of Section Presets and their FX. The Programs are freely organized via the ORGANIZE button, as songs were before.

It appears you can re-use Section Presets in a way that you couldn't before, i.e. along with the FX chain. You also can re-voice a Layer on-the-fly using the LED sliders (vs invoking another program). Also, the new Layer functionality will replace much of my need for multiple programs for a Song, or (now) Program.

One key difference that there might be? On the NS3, dialing up a Song would also dial up Programs 1-5. On the NS4, it looks like you would dial up Pages of Programs eight at a time, meaning you'll have to think ahead a bit.

So, net-net, everything is there, just arranged differently, but ultimately more powerful and more logical.

[SuperStage]

The manual has been posted, and "song mode" functionality is there, just done better than before?

The top level construct is the Program which invokes Section Presets (organ, pianos, synths and their FX). 512 programs which can be freely organized, so there's your set list.

Could you tell me which page cause I do not see it? In the NS3 manual we can find it but I did not find it in the NS4 manual.
A song mode contains multiple programs reference for this particular song. And we can add the same program location to multiple songs.

Can we do the same thing with the new Stage, reference the same program location to multiple songs ?

The Program mode invoke the layers for this program.

Thanks

It appears that you will need to rearrange the programs in the NS4. It seems that if you have the same program in multiple songs, you will need to create a duplicate for it. This will be made easier by the Preset Library, but it is much different than the previous Song Mode. The Presets for Piano, Organ, and Synth are nested within the Program itself. We will know more when one of the members here gets the NS4, then we can see how the mechanisms will work. Very interesting architecture for sure-

-dj

[DanielD71]

Ok I understand what you’re mean.

For me, a program can contain a layer or can contain all of them but I still sometimes need multiple programs (containing multiple layers) to perform a particular song for example.

But also, at the same time, a program could contain all the layers you need to perform a song and the scene (layer 2) can permit a change of sounds when needed.

By the way, I never really use the song mode, I copy my programs in order to be able to use them with a song, at some point, I have to copy the same program at multiple locations to follow my songs need. I could have use the song mode in order to use a unique single program location instead of copy it across multiple locations.

Thanks

[cphollis]

It appears that you will need to rearrange the programs in the NS4. It seems that if you have the same program in multiple songs, you will need to create a duplicate for it. This will be made easier by the Preset Library, but it is much different than the previous Song Mode. The Presets for Piano, Organ, and Synth are nested within the Program itself. We will know more when one of the members here gets the NS4, then we can see how the mechanisms will work. Very interesting architecture for sure-

-dj

Yes, that's one way to do it, of course. Plenty of program slots -- 512.

What intrigues me -- and will take a while to get my head wrapped around -- is to re-think my notion of "program". Disclaimer: none of us have seen one in the wild yet!

An example? Program 32 has a nice organ preset, two nice piano presets (maybe AP and DP), and three synth presets (vox, strings, horns). All of that, along with their FX, would be in that layer. I would think I would fly around the faders with my left hand and produce a wide range of sounds -- maybe even complete songs with multiple parts -- from that one program alone! I'm already at a point where I'm continually fiddling with the layer mixes on my NS3, so this appeals to me.

And there is a Layer II that can swap out some (or all) of the Section Preset components for a second range of alternate organ/piano/synth within the program -- and back again. All the important FX are global, so that bit works nicely.

So, I believe that when I look at a NS4 program, I am looking at 7 section presets, plus an alternate set of 7 -- to the extent I am comfortable working the faders as I play. They have certainly enabled that sort of playing style with those big LED bars. And if that's not enough, well, copy and paste another program next to it in the sequence. Now I have 4 sets of 7 presets that I can toggle back and forth relatively easily. That could cover a lot of ground.

Again, we'll all have to see one in the wild, but -- if you're willing to re-think a few things -- there are some really strong capabilities here.

[anotherscott]

So, I believe that when I look at a NS4 program, I am looking at 7 section presets, plus an alternate set of 7

I believe the program has 7 sounds total, from which you can you can create two different combinations of up to all 7 sounds. That is, your "alternate set of 7" is a different combination from within the same 7 sounds.

[cphollis]

So, I believe that when I look at a NS4 program, I am looking at 7 section presets, plus an alternate set of 7

I believe the program has 7 sounds total, from which you can you can create two different combinations of up to all 7 sounds. That is, your "alternate set of 7" is a different combination from within the same 7 sounds.

We will see! I got a different impression from the Anderton's video interviewing the Nord engineer demonstrating it, more like "Layer II is like Layer I but with an optional number of sections swapped out".

[DanielD71]

From the manual, they give an example:
You can have a piano layer and nothing else for layer 1 (layer 2 unlit). On layer 2, you can have an organ and a synth. By clicking the layer button, we will alternate from layer 1 to layer 2. So from what I understand, it is a total of 7 layers max, not 14.
Regards

[cphollis]

So, it appears that Layer Scene II is simply allowing the user to turn on/off any of the 7 layers with the push of a button. From Page 42 of the manual:

"Pressing the LAYER SCENE II button switches from Layer Scene I to II or vice versa. Each Layer Scene is configured by turning Sections and Layers On or Off as desired for each Scene respectively. Again, note that any specific Layer uses the same sound and settings for both Scenes, and that the Layer Scene configuration only determines whether the Layer or Section is turned On or Off."

The 8 banks X 8 pages X 8 programs per page for a total of 512 programs is far less flexible for my current workflow than the NS3's 400 Programs and 400 Songs with 5 pointers each to any of the 400 Programs. Looks like my use case is an outlier and I'll have to figure out something different if I ever switch to the NS4.

Don't get me wrong, there seem to be a number of nice NS4 upgrades that I would enjoy if misfortune were to befall my NS3s, but I can now relax knowing that I'm better off with an NS3 for my current needs and workflow. GAS has been effectively dissipated for the immediate future.