NS3 Velocity and General Sound vs NS2

[aureliopenna]

Thank you first of all for not taking my criticism of your experimental method personally - really.

Thank you also for following up so throughly! I was going to do so myself, but don’t have both machines set up at the moment.

I will take an in-depth listen later on.

Happy New Year to you, and to all!

I didn't took, you actually had a good point.
I must say that I didn't started this topic correctly. Since the beggining I should record samples analisys like I did at the last. Wasn't scientific eighter but it is the best I could do to prove some personal observation.

Now my personal feeling (nothing scientific) Samples, releases, noises, etc, are just the tip of the Iceberg...

Thank you and Have a Happy 2018!

[aureliopenna]

Either this is a side effect of the velocity curve issue they acknowledged or they removed the release samples support from the NS3 (perhaps unlikely, but you never know).

Checking out the waveforms in zoom, it's a kind of strange to say that but, they are not exactly the same, they not only change the release but also has some distorted (or different) waveforms. very few but shouldn't be there right.. It's like the engine either convert Digital Samples to Analog format differently or the engine that plays the samples after they're converted deliver a different sound from previous model. Just a Guess BTW.

[ciciss]

Hi There,

Any reply from Nord official?
I have a NS2 Ex and would like to buy a NS3....
I'm following this "hot" topic

[aureliopenna]

No, until now, any reply, no life signal.

While waiting, I have noticed more diferences (that shouldn't be different), IN MY PERSONAL AND HUMBLE OPINION, and I have both NS2 and NS3 compacts to put one asside the other to compare them.

I've generally found that the keyboard is sounding harder, plastered and with a more pronounced annoying medium, almost (almost) like out of phase. I have noticed this on organ, piano and synth section.
Organ without leslie and with the same parameters sounds diferent. Clean, Vintage 1 and 2 it's almost the same sound. Soft releases samples, and release samples from a sample with soft release turned off sounds different too. String ressonance has a lower volume (even +6b). Eq section sounds totally diferent from Stage 2, IMO amp simulation as driver (amp and Leslie) sounds diferent too. On synth section Classic waveforms sound thin and too "digital" to my ears.
But the worse diference is the lack of sound amplitude on piano section, it's seems like everything is under a limiter, stuck, with no expression. Like Korg pianos, plastered.
Again, this was MY first impression.

Clavinet has no more eq like the real one. Now they "choose" the take off the most expressive clavinet D6 factor the 14 possibilities of equalization. Now they judged that 7 is ok, because no one uses more than this right?
Keybed is also different IMO but this is less relevant, because my NS2 is older so naturally it has a deeper used keybed (I guess).

[ciciss]

Very worrying this behavior....

Did you notice this, despite the various updates?
I mean, has it always been like this?

[aureliopenna]

Despite the latest one. I didn't make theses tests with another updates.

[analogika]

Very worrying this behavior....

Did you notice this, despite the various updates?
I mean, has it always been like this?

Please note that this is one man‘s opinion.

I personally am MUCH happier with the Stage 3 compact than i was with the Stage 2 Compact.

The keybed is much more playable for pianos than the old one was, the pianos sound much better, the synth is stellar and much improved over the Stage 2 - I have found it WAY faster to make a sound “work” well with the new board, including horns, which I struggled with for four years on the old deck.

There is a general difference in bass response which does the ‘board no end of good (especially de-muddying the pianos), but which makes a different approach necessary when translating synth patches.

Literally the only issue I have is a bit too little warmth on the Hammond, but that is the much-talked-about Leslie balance that may get fixed - or not, if it was a conscious decision to stay in keeping with the rest of the general sound.

On the whole, the machine sounds much more high-end and expensive than the previous one did, without giving up any of the character that I’ve always loved about the Nords.

And from feedback I’ve had in various places and in person (including from people who’ve known me way longer than I’ve been playing the Stage 2), I know that I am not alone in that perception.

[analogika]

Oh, and: I set up my general-use clavinets (I have a D6 and an E7 in the studio and love me a good clav) - and bizarrely, I didn’t even notice that they’d omitted the “medium” switch on the EQ. Somehow, it didn’t matter.

[dr-blues]

At the moment I have a NS2 and a NS3. It is as you told.I can directly compare.
I will sell the NS3 again because of that issue. Im also very disappointed that NS2 and NS3 are not compatible.
I don't have the time for programming als my sounds and programs new....

[DanielD71]

I have the NS288EX and the NS388 and they are both keepers....

Happy Nord Year