New Nord Piano 5 Advice Needed

[EnvyYou]

Hi All

I just recently purchased a new Nord Piano 5 and need some advice as ive never owned a keyboard before and have only every played acoustic piano.

1. On the back of the Nord Piano 5 you have Left & Right Out inputs i just wanted to confirm what is the right cable to use here to plug into an Audio Box. Specifically a Presonus Studio 24
2. Even with the Nord at full volume on the knob and volume turned to max on the presonus it is extremely dull and quiet, ( Do i need to use some software from Presonus to adjust the volume ?
3. The Presonus has Input Gain Control knobs that i can use and no matter how much i turn them up it will still be quite, i will hear distortion even though the volume is low.

My speakers are JBL Stuido Monitors LSR305 perfect for everything else and can play at extremely high volumes with no issues. When i was at the shop they advised me that i had all the equipment needed to make this work and i wouldn't need anything additional. I am not performing its just a practice piano for my Studio. I don't need it to be super loud, just sound nice and balanced. Any advice would be welcome.

Further to that when i google and click on any link to this forum or find a thread that links to another thread i always get this message otherwise i could search myself.

Information

The requested page could not be found.

[Nordlicht]

Hi,

in order to check things systematically:
- 1st: How does the Piano 5 sound with headphones (I guess, OK)?
- 2nd: Can you connect the Nord directly to the JBL speakers via 6,35 mm TR or TRS cables? How does it sound without the audio interface?

How have you connected the Piano to the audio interface at the moment (could you make a picture)?

[EnvyYou]

Hi Thanks for the reply

1. The Nord sounds fine via headphones on just the default sound not to loud not to soft. I havnt played around with it much but I have some sennheiser studio headphones that i tested it with and it seemed fine.
2. I don't actually know what a TR or TRS cable is, but i will attach a photo of the cable the shop sold me and a photo of where i am plugging it in / my monitors and yes i could test this for you. Let me know what i have if not i can go buy a different cable.

[EnvyYou]

Thanks for your information!

This Fender instrument cable is typically used for connecting electric guitars and also keyboards (in this case usually 2 cables for Stereo L+R) into an amplifier, mixer or audio interface. The one side of the cable shows a golden TS jack ("tip-sleeve"). I assume the other side has the same jack? Then you can plug it directly into your speakers into the smaller right socket (instead of the big XLR cable, unplug this for this test).

Nord Left out into the left speaker and Right out into the right speaker. Adjust the same volume at both speakers - and it should sound fine...

[vojtech-h]

I am afraid that the result of connecting the P5 directly to the JBL LSR305 will be the same as via the Presonus Studio 24.

Nord P5 outputs are 1/4 inch unbalanced line,
Presonus Studio 24 has balanced inputs/outputs,
the picture reveals that even the JBL LSR305 has a balanced input.

Does anyone use a functional connection of the Nord instrument output to the balanced input?

[Rusty Mike]

You can use an unbalanced cable from the P5 into the balanced input on your Presonus or JBLs. It won’t matter for distances under 20’/6m.

Unbalanced cables terminate in Tip-Sleeve (TS) plugs, while balanced cables terminate in Tip-Ring-Sleeve (TRS). The science is not important, but the inputs are built so that plugging a TS plug into a TRS input will not cause any damage, and vice versa. The advantages of balanced audio connections is that they can run longer distances with less noise/interference. Also, aside from the plug design there is no significant performance difference between TRS balanced cables and XLR mic cables.

So why does this matter? It just means you can connect your Nord to the audio interface or directly into the speaker using balanced or unbalanced cables with no fear of damage and no expectation of any audio difference. As long as your run is less than 20’/6m.

I hope that helps.

[EnvyYou]

For using the audio interface in a correct way, you may need to understand what it does by routing the signal. Maybe the Studio24 will mix the two inputs from the piano together and you get phase cancellation from the two signals. Try to use the Studio24 configuration software to pan both input signals hard left (ch1) and right (ch2); this may be enough to get the correct signal on output 1 and 2.

[EnvyYou]

Thanks for your information!

This Fender instrument cable is typically used for connecting electric guitars and also keyboards (in this case usually 2 cables for Stereo L+R) into an amplifier, mixer or audio interface. The one side of the cable shows a golden TS jack ("tip-sleeve"). I assume the other side has the same jack? Then you can plug it directly into your speakers into the smaller right socket (instead of the big XLR cable, unplug this for this test).

Nord Left out into the left speaker and Right out into the right speaker. Adjust the same volume at both speakers - and it should sound fine...

Thank you for replying, to answer systematically.

1. Yes this fender instrument cable is the same on both ends. Is this cable OK for the use that i have ? Or should i have a different one i just wanted to confirm this.
2. When plugging the Nord directly into the speakers i could hear it, it was not soft anymore. It didn't sound as good as my head phones and the bass was a bit muddy maybe this is due to the quality of the JBL LSR305 ? Either way the piano was no where near as quite as going through the Studio 24
3. When the Nord was plugged into the speakers with the XLR cable at the same time i had very bad buzzing sound just thought i would mention this.
4. With all the above being said why do you think it is so soft when connecting though the PreSonus ? Is it faulty ?

Thanks

[EnvyYou]

For using the audio interface in a correct way, you may need to understand what it does by routing the signal. Maybe the Studio24 will mix the two inputs from the piano together and you get phase cancellation from the two signals. Try to use the Studio24 configuration software to pan both input signals hard left (ch1) and right (ch2); this may be enough to get the correct signal on output 1 and 2.

Do you have any idea how this can be done ? I have uploaded a photo of what i see with the audio box and i dont have anything else. Is there a software that i need or do you know what it may be called ?

[Nordlicht]

1. Yes this fender instrument cable is the same on both ends. Is this cable OK for the use that i have ? Or should i have a different one i just wanted to confirm this.
2. When plugging the Nord directly into the speakers i could hear it, it was not soft anymore. It didn't sound as good as my head phones and the bass was a bit muddy maybe this is due to the quality of the JBL LSR305 ? Either way the piano was no where near as quite as going through the Studio 24
3. When the Nord was plugged into the speakers with the XLR cable at the same time i had very bad buzzing sound just thought i would mention this.
4. With all the above being said why do you think it is so soft when connecting though the PreSonus ? Is it faulty ?

1. If you only want to amplify your piano in the room via the speakers you wouldn't need the audio interface. Then the "simple" connection with the two Fender cables (piano into JBL) would be the best and easiest solution. But you have to remove the XLR cables from the speakers.
2. I am using studio monitor speakers in my home "studio" as well (probably better ones then your JBL - it's the Neumann KH 120), but even with those the Nord pianos don't sound quite good and by far not as good as with headphones. So I assume it's a combination of your speakers and the room situation.
You can improve the sounds with the onboard EQ of the Nord Piano.
3. I assume you are allowed to use either the XLR jacks OR the TS jacks, but not both at the same time.
4. The Presonus might be fautly but you could check this with other devices (e.g. another keyboard or even listening to music with a smartphone and an adapter cable). Or it is a question of settings.