Nord piano 5 + synth vs Nord stage 4

[rullgardin]

Ah I see. Then I‘d go with the Piano 5 plus a versatile synth like the Prophet - if money doesn‘t matter - or perhaps a Behringer Deep Mind which saves a lot.

Good luck, curious to follow your way.

Ok, thanks a lot for your advice. If i'm getting a prophet it will be a used one. I need to look into the deepmind too.

[dcjams]

Hi! Im wondering what you would choose: a Nord piano 5 + a dedicated synth (for example a Roland System 8 or a Sequential Prophet rev 2) or the Nord Stage 4? Btw, I don't really need the organ section on the Nord stage 4.

I've gone through similar thought processes. I currently have a Nord Piano 5 which I originally paired with a Nord Wave 2 but I swapped out the latter for an UDO Super 6.

I love the Piano 5 and whilst a Stage 4 can do everything it can do and more, I fear the Piano 5 might just have some mojo that I'll miss if I got a Stage.

I didn't gel with the Nord Wave 2 at all. Too FM, too sample-based. It didn't really feel like a synthesiser. Not even a Nord synthesiser. It's not a Lead, for example. It felt like a ROMpler, I guess. Plus there was too much crossover between the sample engine and the Piano 5's sample engine. You mention Roland's System 8 which suggests you like all the classic analogues. The Nord Wave 2 never felt like one of those, not to me at least, and I've owned plenty of the originals over the years.

I have actually considered a System 8 as well.

A couple of notes on the Super 6. (1) A poly AT keybed upgrade is now available, which is super cool. (2) It's not strictly analogue. The oscillators are FPGAs, which are digital but have a very high resolution so don't succumb to many of the shortcomings of traditional VAs. The filters and other bits are analog and it sounds fantastic in general. Great for pads, leads, electric pianos, though bass isn't its strongest point.

I love the Super 6 but I don't know if it's the perfect pairing with a Piano 5. I think it partly depends what you want that second keyboard to do. Bass, pads or leads? Left hand or right hand? I'm now thinking about a classic monosynth like an Odyssey - not to replace the Super 6 but to pair with/sit above the Piano 5.

Anyway, for me personally, despite thinking often that a Stage 4 might cover all bases in a single box, so far I'm still rocking separate boards.

[rullgardin]

Hi! Im wondering what you would choose: a Nord piano 5 + a dedicated synth (for example a Roland System 8 or a Sequential Prophet rev 2) or the Nord Stage 4? Btw, I don't really need the organ section on the Nord stage 4.

I've gone through similar thought processes. I currently have a Nord Piano 5 which I originally paired with a Nord Wave 2 but I swapped out the latter for an UDO Super 6.

I love the Piano 5 and whilst a Stage 4 can do everything it can do and more, I fear the Piano 5 might just have some mojo that I'll miss if I got a Stage.

I didn't gel with the Nord Wave 2 at all. Too FM, too sample-based. It didn't really feel like a synthesiser. Not even a Nord synthesiser. It's not a Lead, for example. It felt like a ROMpler, I guess. Plus there was too much crossover between the sample engine and the Piano 5's sample engine. You mention Roland's System 8 which suggests you like all the classic analogues. The Nord Wave 2 never felt like one of those, not to me at least, and I've owned plenty of the originals over the years.

I have actually considered a System 8 as well.

A couple of notes on the Super 6. (1) A poly AT keybed upgrade is now available, which is super cool. (2) It's not strictly analogue. The oscillators are FPGAs, which are digital but have a very high resolution so don't succumb to many of the shortcomings of traditional VAs. The filters and other bits are analog and it sounds fantastic in general. Great for pads, leads, electric pianos, though bass isn't its strongest point.

I love the Super 6 but I don't know if it's the perfect pairing with a Piano 5. I think it partly depends what you want that second keyboard to do. Bass, pads or leads? Left hand or right hand? I'm now thinking about a classic monosynth like an Odyssey - not to replace the Super 6 but to pair with/sit above the Piano 5.

Anyway, for me personally, despite thinking often that a Stage 4 might cover all bases in a single box, so far I'm still rocking separate boards.

Thanks a lot! This is a lot of very useful information. Especially what you're saying about the Nord Wave 2 is very interesting. I've been watching a lot of YT demoes now, and I'm not very impressed by it.

I'm really into classic analog sounds, which is why i'm considering the System 8, but also the UDO super 6. I should mention that I already own a Moog Slim Phatty which is ok for bass sounds, so pads and leads are the most important for me.

After reading yours and others recommendations it looks like I'm going for the Nord Piano + synth route! Now I just need to figure out which synth to buy. The System 8 or UDO super 6 are maybe the best choice. I'm wondering if someone that has tried both could chime in?

[Chicken chaser]

Wow this post really is similar to my quandary. I'm also looking at a Nord for the Piano and EP sounds. I haven't played with the synth section too much but at home I have an Akai MPC key 61 which I use a lot for it's decent Juno plugin, plus it emulates a number of others and is pretty decent for synth tones and it also does well at Strings and pads. I looked at the system 8, I'd say consider the Jupiter X if you like classic Roland, there's a lot of controls to hand to shape the sound and the synth keybed is very good. It is 88 though so could be that you're looking at a smaller board on top.

The thing with the Nord is I really like the Stage 4 keybed and to me it feels better than the Piano 5 as an all rounder. I also won't make much use of the organ either.

[busterkeys]

just wondering if you've actually played a piano 5? if you just need basic pads/"jump brass"/leads/basses/sync synth sounds, the new sample library v4 already has a plenty of those. unless you absolutely have to have a pitch/mod wheel or manual filter sweeps, you might not even need a dedicated "synth."

[rullgardin]

Wow this post really is similar to my quandary. I'm also looking at a Nord for the Piano and EP sounds. I haven't played with the synth section too much but at home I have an Akai MPC key 61 which I use a lot for it's decent Juno plugin, plus it emulates a number of others and is pretty decent for synth tones and it also does well at Strings and pads. I looked at the system 8, I'd say consider the Jupiter X if you like classic Roland, there's a lot of controls to hand to shape the sound and the synth keybed is very good. It is 88 though so could be that you're looking at a smaller board on top.

The thing with the Nord is I really like the Stage 4 keybed and to me it feels better than the Piano 5 as an all rounder. I also won't make much use of the organ either.

Good to know i'm not the only one! The Akai MPC key seems like a nice board for synth sounds! I've looked at the Jupiter X too, but if I understand it right the system 8 has ACB-modelling which is better(or different?) than ABM modelling on the Jupiter X (and also Juno X and some other Roland synths). Also, I belive its 61 note keyboard on it and not 88?

just wondering if you've actually played a piano 5? if you just need basic pads/"jump brass"/leads/basses/sync synth sounds, the new sample library v4 already has a plenty of those. unless you absolutely have to have a pitch/mod wheel or manual filter sweeps, you might not even need a dedicated "synth."

I haven´t played the piano 5. I live a long way from a store that has one on display. But yeah, maybe the sample library will bring enough of synth sounds! Btw do you know if there is a big difference between the sample library 3 and 4? Right now i'm considering the Electro 6 as well, as it is quite a bit cheaper than the NP5.

[Chicken chaser]

I've played the Piano 5 and the NS4 back to back and oddly, when I first played them I thought there was a world of difference. I then played them again recently in a different store and found there wasn't a great deal of difference between? I'm lucky to be in a position to be able to afford a NS4 but do I want to be paying out £3800 for one board? I've currently got a Kawai DP with the GF action (equivalent to the MP11SE) than that of the Grand 2, but the sample sounds are fairly uninspiring. I've tried Pianoteq and still didn't get that connection I did with the Nord samples and the keybed of the S4. I'm not classically trained and play a wide range of music. I think I need to buy an S4 with a trial period and just see how it fares when at home for an extended play with it.