Nord Stage 3 - Synth sounds only

[@Coleecool]

Some of these synths straight up transport me to a video game. Like 20:04

[@Kaffimusic]

Actually... I am playing computergames since 35+ years now.

[@jeremyboulton5493]

As one who often relies on preset heaven, this has encouraged me to be more creative and tweak those knobs to explore more of what the NS3 is capable of. Thank you.

[@Kaffimusic]

You are welcome :-)

[@fortadelis]

Wow. Pretty creative sounds.

[@Kaffimusic]

thx!

[@markjanowak6914]

Hey Thorsten - I just wanted to say nice job on the synth programs you created. I recently got a Stage 3 and was getting into the synth section and also felt there was something lacking. Your programs helped to fill the void and also helped to get me more familiar with the Stage 3 synth section. I am also a long time Kurz user and we have chatted a few times on the Kurz Boards on the PC3K and PC4 units! I agree the PC4 can do a lot more than the Stage 3 but after spending a good amount of time with the Stage 3 and pretty much customizing every program to my liking, I am really digging the APianos, EPs and Organs. That is where the Stage 3 seems to shine in my opinion. I will be using the Stage 3 in combination with my PC4 (or MODX depending on the type of gig) and it will be one heck of a nice combination!

[@Kaffimusic]

Thanks. Yes, the Stage 3 sounds nice and is good to handle. But as my main machine it was way too limited. In the end I found it way too expensive for what it could do and I guess I was pretty annoyed about those limitations. Not willing to keep such an expensive thingy with so little practical value, so I sold it. I recently modified my PC4-7 with a Fatar synthaction keybed, and now I find it pretty much perfect. Sound was out of the question, but I could not get used to that annoying Medeli keybed. Now I have the first and only 73key synthaction Kurz in existence... Well, there is one guy in Slowakia who has copied what I have done. And I guess some more a following. Made a PDF about that.

[@INeedsMoneys]

Let me just take a moment to appreciate your absolutely fantastic playing skills. I wish someday my g. I really do. I wish I could be as good as you. The speed. Omg. I love it. Every second. God mode. 🔥💎

[@Kaffimusic]

Uhm, well, thank you. I consider myself a solid player, but not really outstanding.

[@gregtheos9309]

Great video. Listening to those synth pads, I thought I was in the space shuttle circling Mizar 5.

[@isaacdunn7867]

This is great :D

[@Kaffimusic]

Thank you :-)

[@horowizard]

These are great sounds as well as some very nice playing. I would like to have seen more of the the traditional use of this instrument's Stick and Wheel for Pitch Bends and injection of Pitch Vibrato and Filter Modulation instead of the Cutoff Sweeps with the Polysynths. The Enhanced XL Version of the Sparkle Top Rhodes was wonderful. I wish Nord would add a second or third Wheel and abandon the Stick altogether.

[@Kaffimusic]

Hello and thank you for your thoughs. Well... I am familiar with the traditional way of using the controls. I used that the same years ago, for many years. On the NS3 it is quite easy to set that the way the same on the sounds I showed here. But I did not do that, because I/you lose control and become slower. First, I think a joystick is not that bad, it is so much easier to do bends and vibratos the way I showed it instead on a wheel - which I did for years now, but a stick is more convenient and faster. Doing LFO-controlled vibrato on the wheel is very slow compared to that, you have to move the wheel much more up and down to get the same vibrato triggering. And it´s a static vibrato. Think of how a guitar-player is doing it. You have so much more control over your tone while you bend it with the stick, how much, how fast, when, change between bend and vibrato in a fracture of a second. You will never be that precise and fast with the wheel blending in the LFO-vib. I think it is so much more musical. When I want the LFO to do vib., I mostly use ATouch for that. This is also very fast to trigger and stop, way faster than turning a wheel up and down. Wheels in fact are quite useful for altering the sound, like filter, other modulations, things that come in and supposed to stay longer that just a short vibrato. With pianos, for example I have come to use the wheel to blend in strings. It´s so much easier to control in live situations and this control never springs to a sudden value since the wheel is "always on" and the insturment plays the value that is set there. Well, on the NS3 this can also be done comfortably with its dedicated endless-knobs, but most workstation-type instruments don´t have them. However, everything is freely programmable and can be adapted to personal taste, also classic wheel-vibrato. I also use that for sounds where I indeed want the vibrato be a part of the sound for some time - but usually not in lead-sounds.

[@horowizard]

@@Kaffimusic I guess I'm old fashioned from having used a Minimoog for so many decades. I would think you could alter the sensitivity of the Wheel on the Nord somehow. Filter Frequency changes with Aftertouch or Pedal Control would be my preference but as you say, to each their own.

[@Kaffimusic]

@@horowizard This is the good thing about modern instruments: The things are not hardwired any more, you can adapt it to your own ideas. I used Kurzweil for the last 8 years. Every controller on the frontend could be anything.

[@giorgos7449]

Excellent video. I have the electro 6HP. How can I find the KM Tom Sawyer that you use at 23:30?

[@Kaffimusic]

Thanks... and... uhm, the Tom Sawyer sound - or let´s say "program" in Nord Terms, consists of two synth, including all settings of the frontend. One is playing the Filtersweep/Bass, the second one plays the Lead. And both make use of their FX section. I am very little familiar with the Nord Electro, but as far as I know it is not able to play two synth sections the same time, isn´t it? And, I also have no clue if it is able to load Nord Stage programs at all(?). They basically seem to share the same synth engine, but since everything I programmed relies on the abilites of the Stage to use all features together (which means everything that the Stage frontend offers) to shape the sound, I do not know what you mean. Sorry, I can not answer that question.

[@stephenowesney5173]

10:23 on the run o.O

[@bonneyjunior4885]

Great video! If you don’t mind me asking, what did you use to record the video ?

[@Kaffimusic]

The camera is a Chiaomi Mi (not available any more) for around 60,-EUR. the second cam for the left hand controllers is a Foxeer actioncam, mainly made for RC model flying (small formfactor). The audio was recorded on my computer with Audacity. With the videosoftware everything was lined up to fit together.

[@bonneyjunior4885]

@@Kaffimusic thank you.

[@xXBILLYJOYCEXx]

Bonjour, permettez-moi de vous demander ce que vous utilisez amplificateur pour ce piano? Merci par avance.

[@Kaffimusic]

Hello, pardon, mais mon francais est tres bete - therefore I will answer in english. Well, the amplification depends on the situation. At home, 90% of the time I use headphones. Sometimes I hook it up to my studio monitors, which is basically a good home stereo. On stage thigns are different. I have a small Yamaha mixer, main stereo signal goes to the PA, I split a mono signal to a personal monitor that provides high volume in good quality.

[@xXBILLYJOYCEXx]

@@Kaffimusic Merci pour les infos 👍

[@garymukalay2]

Very nice ...i love it and subscribed

[@Kaffimusic]

thx!

[@MPXVM]

18:10 😍

[@joelchandran7579]

7:00 is besttt

[@stephenowesney5173]

Subbed this is amazing

[@stephenowesney5173]

This is actually insanely good.

[@Kaffimusic]

@@stephenowesney5173 Wow, thank you :-)

[@unsalsaner670]

Yeaaah Mannnnnnnnn

[@KaffiFlight]

:-D

[@kiko1935]

Is this the same engine as the Nord Lead A1? What an epic keyboard. Also love your lens here which shows how massive the keyboard is

[@Kaffimusic]

As far as I know it is a reduced version of the A1 synth. The A1 has more functions but I do not know them in detail, I do not own one. The keyboard in fact is quite lightweight for its size. Featurewise I find it less flexible and capable than workstations from major companies in the same pricerange. In fact massively less capable. But the basic sound is very good, the visible hardware also and it is very easy to use.

[@oggeee96]

@@Kaffimusic What workstations do you have in mind that are surpassing the NS3?

[@Kaffimusic]

@@oggeee96 I prefer Kurzweil, but have a look what Yamaha, Korg and Roland have to offer. All of them have way more options to get things done. More layers, free splitpoints, more programmability, more RAM for samples (in the Nord 2 Gigs are just for piano and piano only), waveforms for all the basic stuff already in ROM, more FX blocks to allocate, more control via MIDI, sequences, loops via sequences, well... the list goes on. Yes - standard argument: It´s a stage piano and no workstation. Ok.

[@LuisFlores-xr5bu]

You make it sound good but that price for that limitations? No thanks

[@Kaffimusic]

I find it difficult not to agree.

[@1Cor13.4-7]

What would you recommend? I’m doing my market research.

[@Kaffimusic]

@@1Cor13.4-7 I am a long term Kurzweil user and returned to one of those by now.

[@1Cor13.4-7]

@@Kaffimusic I’ve heard good things about the this one too. Did you mean you returned from a Nord Stage 3 to the Kurzweil? If so, what is it that you prefer and why?

[@Kaffimusic]

@@1Cor13.4-7 A Kurz can be adapted in so many way to what you want it to do, because it´s immense flexible. It can be tailored to personal expectations. With a Nord you have to live with what they give you. Sound is good, using is fun, but in the end I always hit limits. What they offer is not enough for me. And I like the sound of the Kurzweils. I was trying something else, but realised I am not satisfied once I left the Kurzweil-zone. But you have to know how to program a Kurz when you want it do do your bidding, lol. The Nord is easy to use - since there is not so much to do on it.

[@charlie85473]

is not works

[@Kaffimusic]

Sorry, I do not understand exactly what you mean?