Nord Stage 3 - Building a Piano and Pad Layered Sound Tutorial - Great for Worship/Church!

[@DSoundman]

In this video I talk about one of my favorite sound combos. I use this sound at church all the time. What sounds or sound combos are your favorite go-to sounds?

[@noraromero7231]

Thank you very much Douglas it helps me a lot while I play at church too!!!

[@mja323]

This is a must-watch for any church keyboardist that uses this board!

[@brettmaguire6973]

Classical organist here making the transition to electronic music - really appreciate this useful information and presentation!

[@DSoundman]

Many thanks!

[@RaymondDeMartini]

Great video! I use the piano/pad combo all the time. Thanks for sharing!

[@watchman316ly]

Man- the sound is amazing! No wonder all I ever see on those praise team's keyboard player is the NORD!

[@maickes24]

We just got the Stage 3 at church and last night was my first night ever playing on it. OVERWHELMING. Loved this video though - excited to watch more! I need alllllll the tips and tricks! :)

[@idahogirl53]

I'm afraid to touch anything on ours at church, because I don't know how to get back to the place I started. I'm going to have to take my laptop to church and try to figure it out. Most of these videos assume you know something. Nothing I've ever had has been this complicated.

[@NoahWonder]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about building a piano and pad patch. You're really good at explaining the basics and the step by step process - And the patch sounds great!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks Noah!

[@Omar-jj8zb]

Great video! You made it so simple to understand. I went through a few videos and yours by far was the most helpful. Thank you 🙏🏾

[@nickstantonmusic84]

Thanks for the tour! Sounded like you were playing Third Day’s “Agnus Dei” with the church pad.

[@NormanPeterson]

You are Monster player with such a great understanding of the Stage 3.. Kudos to you!!

[@jammingdan]

Thanks a lot Douglas - awesome tutorial! Blessings from Switzerland

[@takudzwamhere]

This video is really insightful because I use the same keyboard at church but had had a hard time because the frequency and reverbs sounds when I played both piano and pads were a bit off. So I’m looking forward to putting the information to good use. Many thanks @DSoundman

[@mharper3919]

Great video, and nice playing!!

[@Yupyuppers1024]

Such a great overview of how you structure pieces. I work with the Stage 2, but this was very helpful as I'm starting to learn more about the Stage 3. Thanks for your work on this!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks Chad!

[@vitalytantserev3505]

Amazing piano sound... Nord is great! Thank you!

[@fingerstylepaul5281]

I love your piano playing, and the piano/string pads you built in this video sound spectacular! In my humble opinion it doesn't get any better than this!! Thank you so much for the demo!

[@757Church]

Wonderful video. I hope I can learn to play the piano as well as you do!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@Rubencinto]

good guys thank you for this tutorial I looking for this video for long time

[@thehustlebee]

great vid! just ordered my Nord Stage 3. thank you

[@marcosarias9267]

Hola soy Marcos desde La Paz Bolivia Sud América, gracias por él tutoríal, la verdad me cuesta mucho sacarle todo el beneficio a mi Nord Stage 3, y sería de gran bendición seguir contando con más ayudas cómo está, y así poder ministrar con más plenitud con sonidos elaborados, bajo una perspectiva más contemporánea, Dios bendiga tu vida y familia y añada bendición a la obra de tus manos, gracias, paz.

[@tastenspieler5078]

outstanding! great job!

[@davidcarroll8735]

That was inspiring! Subscribed!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks David!

[@bethanynking]

I got one this week! I’m so excited! Can’t wait to have so much more versatility at my fingertips. Your sounds sound great!

[@Kgultz]

I love this video. Thank you for a great tutorial!

[@joshuawesley3647]

Can you help us those being introduced to your channel about saving protocols when you build these sounds. I always tell my people to save because jesus does, lol... But for real, maybe for all of us newbies, when you build a sound keep reminding us to save and how to do it. thanks for all you're doing on here.

[@pobbob335]

Brilliant tutorial.....thanks. Just what i needed for church, thanks

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@SharonOBrienMusic]

I love that! what is the difference of that NORD stage 3 and the Nord electro 2? I can get one at 780 in three monthly payments but has it got those pad and piano sounds?

[@RebeccaMcGuicken]

Awesome! Very helpful!

[@johnsbanerji]

Hi Douglas, Love your videos. What speaker/monitor do you use to get the best sounds effect. Currently I just have a Mackie and a Boss Acoustic singer Amp- which I have hooked up to my nord Stage 3- but obviously not getting the best sound effects

[@thombroom5515]

at 9.26 really nice passage ... nice song... is that your piece... if so? my compliments Thanks !!! DSoundman I have a question for you.... How do you feel with playing on a waterfall keybed instead of a HA or a HP Nord keybed? Seems ok...please let me know

[@kennycarter2346]

Hello again... I've always been curious, on all of your videos your Nord always has this great stereo sound. On this video, what amplification are we hearing? A mixer maybe? At your church do you use a stereo configuration/PA, etc.or mono? The reason I ask is, when I first hooked up my Nord Stage 3 with my headphones I was blown away. When I took it to church and played it mono through my Bose L1 PA, it still sounded good but not even close to what I'd been hearing in the 'phones...So, I bought a Roland KC-400 and put it on the opposite side of the stage from the Bose and put one channel into the Roland and the other channel into the Bose. The result was an improvement over the mono setup, but still not nearly as good as what I'm hearing on your videos. I realize that no stereo field can ever sound as good live as it does through headphones, or at least not for under thousands of dollars. Do you have any suggestions? Btw, I really appreciate you taking the time to make these videos and they are greatly appreciated!

[@maartenlootens910]

Hello Kenny. I´m as curious as you are. As for me, after getting advice of a PA specialist, I bought a JBL Eon One. Sounds really great. Way better than the Roland cube. Though nothing beats the headphone experience.

[@kennycarter2346]

@@maartenlootens910 I 'm using two Bose L1 towers now with a stereo Bose T8S mixer. I'm panning the L and R of the Nord hard L and R to each respective tower via the mixer. It's sounding good and definitely stereo!

[@metanoiacoaching]

Regarding live use of the frequency cutoff, don’t forget that you can assign the frequency knob to an expression pedal so you don’t need to use your hands for the dynamic to happen

[@webncyber]

Hi and thank you for these great video tutorials! I had a general question about Nord. My church got this Nord compact recently and honestly I don’t like the piano tones on it, no matter what I do it feels like it has some muddy tone and notes are not clear. Have you had that kind a experience ? Thanks

[@DSoundman]

Hi there! Thanks! I found the same thing and there’s a couple things you can do. If you haven’t, try out the White Grand, it’s a free download and Nords latest (as of right now) piano sound. It cuts through the mix a little better and is really nice. On top of that, sometimes it’s still too muddy, in that case, turn the EQ section on for the piano and bring the highs up and drop the lows a little bit. That helps brighten it up and helps it sit in the band mix better! Hope this helps!

[@webncyber]

@@DSoundman thank you brother! Yes I downloaded the white grand and it’s better but they overall have the same issue, I will try the EQ thanks for the details. I wonder if you have an alternative keyboard suggestion instead of Nord?

[@rickjohnson7609]

Thanks so much for the great video! Why is the volume knob on either of the sound engines slow to respond for volume level increments?

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! The way Nord has programmed the knob takes a little getting used to. If you spin it quickly it will jump up or down really fast, but if you spin it slow it allows you to dial in to specific levels. Like I said, it definitely takes some getting used to in order to find the right twist to get the response you want!

[@jeremyadam7123]

I wish I played like you!

[@777samuraijosh]

Just bought one for my wife she has only been playing for 3 months but is already playing in the church and we practice at home what would be a good set up at home?

[@it-is-I-here-2727]

great stuff man

[@elleondejuda4681]

Hi, do you have a tutorial on how to add a layer of piano pad with synth? I need something for a piano synth and pad for some songs require those sounds “ like gospel songs etc” Thanks

[@ajubabu4145]

Where is your church !!??? I wanna come and see you live ❤️💯😍

[@pobbob335]

Hi Douglas, Im still kinda new to stage 3. I play, like u at church, and use the programs to switch sounds between verse chorus bridge etc. You mentioned live mode. Ive not got my head round that yet. How do u use it and how is it diff to just using prog buttons? Thx bob

[@DSoundman]

Hey Bob! The difference with live mode is that every change you make to sounds is instantly saved as you go. So for example, you fade the pad out on one live program and switch over to an electric piano, when you flip back to the pad, it will pick up where you left off. Not always ideal, but under certain situations it’s great! I’m working on a video that should be live in the next week or so explaining them live mode functionality. Hang tight for that!

[@atasmrk2012]

Hi, thank you for this wonderful tutorial. I have one question regarding drones when in song mode. Is it possible to sustain the drone when changing the program within the same song bank so that it doesn't end abruptly? This is the one thing I can't figure out:)

[@yecrem65]

Do you ever buy samples like pad. wav files? just purchased a electro 6d and I'm wondering when using the Nord editor to upload pad to my keyboard. Kind of feel like a rocket scientist at this point. Overwhelming getting started. Where's a good site to find worship pads - wav files not mp3. Mp3 would not work. the pad sounds on the electro are okay but not quite there for me. I just know it when I hear it. David and Nicole binion, song called hunger starts with what I'm looking for. thank you for any of your suggestions.

[@chrisrockyngham6521]

hi soundman. thanx for your video. thats great. -- please tell me ..... i heard somewhere that the nord stage has somewhere the possibility to increase the piano key clank sound of a real wooden key. but i cant find that parameter. could you please give me a hint where i should look .... for more wooden ole piano key ambiance "noise" . thanx a lot - chris

[@rickjohnson7609]

Can you walk me through finding an empty bank and then saving a piano to No. 1, piano and pad to No. 2, piano and strings to No.3, etc.? Also, will the Nord Stage 3 allow you to layer three sounds at once on No. 4 in a song? Thanks so much for your help!

[@idahogirl53]

We got this for church and it's so complicated. I really am afraid to change or try anything because I have no idea how to get back to the beginning and come back to where I started. I'm watching the videos and am going to take the laptop to church to see if I can figure it out. I know after a year, I really still am afraid to do anything with it. It would be helpful to find someone local to show me.

[@Llans889]

Agnus dei!

[@AlexCarrillo280]

thank you bro, woowww

[@adamochoa8564]

There are three Nord Stage 3 keyboards on the market. Which one are you using? Do all three models have the same capabilities to create those rich unique worship sounds? The available models I see on the market are Nord Stage 3 88, Nord Stage 3 Compact and Nord Stage 3 HP76. Thanks

[@DSoundman]

I have the Compact version, but any version will produce the same sounds. Really the only difference between the 3 different versions is the number of keys, the weight of the keys, and the organ sound panel controls (the Compact version is the only one with physical drawbar controls). Hope that helps!

[@adamochoa8564]

Thank you. I'm close to making a purchase 👍

[@calvingraham8132]

Hey Douglas thanks for the video - just wondering, is it possible with the Nord 3 to have a pad sound playing independently of the keys? i.e. the pad sound will just play without you touching they keys? Just wondering for layering purposes. Thanks!

[@NoahWonder]

Yes, it's possible to create a drone pad with the Nord Stage 3. I usually create a high splitpoint and control the synth section with the highest notes. (just octave down the pad). To keep the pad going enable "KB Hold" in the synth section.

[@paulsheppard21]

Hi, I have Nord Stage 3 Compact... any suggestion as to how I might create the keyboard part of the ZZ Top song Legs.

[@joaofranciscomartins5749]

As a manly piano player at church that wants to transition to using synths as well, can all of this be done in the Nord Piano 4? Since I don't need the organ engine and Stage 3 is more expensive!

[@dentReviews]

beautiful at 13:00 can't wait to get my nord grand in two days!!!!!!!

[@reisleon]

Can you do a video on how to set up a playback base to play along without a computer?

[@DSoundman]

I’m not sure I understand what you are asking, sorry! Are you wondering how to plug an mp3 or something similar into the Nord to play along with? Or something different?

[@reisleon]

@@DSoundman Sorry, I don't speak English very well, I'm wandering if there's some way to just play a base line that keeps repeating itself while I play the melody line Without an external device? Thank you very much!

[@DSoundman]

No worries! Thanks for explaining. The only way might be to split the keyboard and use an arpeggio on the base line on the lower part of the keyboard and play your melody in the higher side of the keyboard. Another way would be to use layers. Here is a video that might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqvNgZaklpelqpY

[@reisleon]

@@DSoundman Thank you very much for answering all my questions, it was very helpful. I'm subscribing right now to your channel, very good stuff 👍 thanks again!!

[@Jonsadliermusic]

Great video. Thanks a lot for the advice! Only issue was the church nonsense 😂. It’s 2022 that game is well over

[@presciliatraa-pribadi2906]

Thanks for sharing, I have Nord electro HP6 and I play at my church, can you help me how I get this piano pads sounds?

[@88omarz]

Instead of adding this to live mode can you do it in song mode? Thinking we have different keyboard players soo wanting multiple presets

[@DSoundman]

Yes absolutely. You’d need to build it and store it as a program that you can than recall in song mode.

[@88omarz]

@@DSoundman got ya cool that’s great will try that. Great video!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@evandropauli3925]

Thank you! it is perfect. I need your help. I have the Yamaha hs8 pair. Do you think it is necessary or much better if you use the Subwoffer Hs8S together?

[@DSoundman]

Hi Evandro, thanks! I've heard great things about both the HS8 and HS8S, but I don't have any personal experience with them. Based on my experience with other subs though, I would say it's not necessary, but may help take some of the low end from your HS8's giving you a more balanced and full sound. Sorry I don't have more experience there, but hope that helps!

[@RyanHowe]

How did you get the tone of the keyboard to be so true and good-sounding for the video?

[@DSoundman]

I go stereo straight into my audio interface with the keyboard volume set on about 3/4 or 75%. I’ve found this gives me a good clear sound in the recording without distorting when I hit the notes hard.

[@drasmr9596]

@@DSoundman in a live setting, do you use DI boxes or do you do straight into the mixer?

[@DSoundman]

@@drasmr9596 Usually into DI boxes to convert to XLR. Theoretically you could just go into the mixer or snake if you have 1/4 inputs, but I've always used DI boxes.

[@randysutton8636]

Are the sounds you used in this video already in the keyboard or were you using a laptop with it?

[@DSoundman]

They are in the keyboard. I just used factory sounds and tweaked them a bit!

[@eyzyyy4166]

What will be the price for this unit now?

[@Steven-zg5bq]

hi dsoundman, finally got the stage3 88 now the stage4 is coming!

[@katiabermudez8908]

Hey I just got my Nord stage 3 and I’m just wondering how you got the white grand on the piano?

[@DSoundman]

Hey Katie, congratulations! You’re going to love it! I actually have a video on how to do that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioOqp6VpaNiLg80

[@katiabermudez8908]

@@DSoundman Awesome Thanks

[@gabrieljeruta1835]

Hi i have question do i need to use DI box if im going direct to FOH?

[@DSoundman]

Hi there! Not if your FOH accepts 1/4 inputs. One reason to use a DI is to help convert the 1/4 outputs on the Nord to the FOH XLR inputs.

[@gabrieljeruta1835]

Got it thanks man!

[@rickjohnson7609]

I have layered two sounds on A with the Stage 3, but I am having difficulty adding a third sound to the layer. How do I accomplish this? Thanks!

[@DSoundman]

Hey Rick, if the 3rd sound is a sound module you're already using on A, you can use the B panel (press both the A and B buttons together to layer the panels) and put the third sound on B. Hope that helps! Check out my video on layering sounds here for more info: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKPZg5SMl6ujjdk

[@josephbranchflower6270]

If our producers are adding in reverb from the sound board should I bring it up on the nord or keep it off?

[@DSoundman]

Hi Joseph! It's going to depend on the producer, but in most cases I'd say they would want a clean signal coming in with no effects, so they can add the effects they want in post-production. If I'm playing live, it also depends on the sound guy, but most of the time I will change the reverb level depending on the song or even my place in the song, so in that case I want the control from the Nord, rather than the sound guy controlling it. There are exceptions....for example, if you've created a particular sound on the Nord with a mixture of effects and you want that exact sound recorded or live, then I'd say use the effects from the Nord. Work with your producer or sound guy to make sure you're both on the same page in regards to effects and where they are coming from. Hope this helps!

[@Onjay7]

did u know u did not really show how u got the soft pad?

[@mikeymattar6587]

Open heaven in the beginning 👀

[@idahogirl53]

It would be nice if you recorded a little close to the keyboard so a person watching could really see what you are doing.

[@iancunningham7344]

Fine introduction, though I kind of wish you just let the piano do more of the talking. A camera focused on the controls as you adjust parameters and play will speak louder than any explanation imo.

[@marckagisye5903]

Really interest,how can we invite you?if possible I will appreciate to have your contacts