Nord Stage 4 - Detailed Review

Is the Nord Stage 4 worth the price? In this longer form video I break down many of the features in the Nord Stage 4 and demo some of the programs and sounds. Between the new synth section, improvements to the organ and piano sections, and the expanded and improved effects section, this keyboard packs a punch and is extremely powerful for live on stage and in the studio!
The Nord Stage 4 is proving to be my favorite keyboard I've played, let alone owned and I couldn't be happier. Be on the lookout for more videos coming soon!
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Thanks for watching and comment below with any questions you have and I will answer them as soon as I can!

[@newgtguy]

Another great video Douglas! Amazing demo and amazing piano playing. Much love my man!

[@finnya4720]

Amazingly helpful videos ! Keep it up, thanks for what you’re doing !!

[@loulo204]

Looking forward to your videos on this keyboard! I’m still waiting for mine. Being new to Nord im so excited. Good job on this overview!!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Hope you get yours soon!

[@dentisceram]

Thank you very much! Very clear overview! Expecting mine May 23. I stay tuned.

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Woohoo, so exciting!

[@beamannydanny]

Dude, this is the best and most detailed review I’ve seen so far! You really answered the questions most of us have had since this thing came out in a very easy to understand way. Thanks so much!!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks man!

[@jamesmullins1990]

@@DSoundman Best sounding board that I've ever heard. Even better than both Kurtzweil and Yamaha (boy is Yamaha tough to beat.) Now, at $6,000 does the Nord use samples, all synth engine, or is it a hybrid? Now again, at $6000 one would want weighted keys which a great for piano, but suck for synth.. BOY, it would be sweet if the weight of the keys were controlled be electronics; then you can toggle between semi, full, and none weighted keys. Oh yeah, and a larger screen (all screens on modern boards and drum machines should be at least the size and resolution of a mobile phone). Yep, for $6000, pop that bad boy right on the top of the board where we can tilt it and make it touch screen!

[@markgeldmacher]

Thank you for the great video. I had a chance to play an S4 recently an NAMM and was completely sold. I too am on order for a new S4 and your video is helping me to get a head start. I'm looking forward to future videos so keep them coming.🤠👍👍

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@glady3166]

Excellent overview! Sounds heavenly, Looking forward to more in depth videos, like maybe sustaining drone pad piano tutorials with those new a/b layers.

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Great suggestion and a video that is on my list to make!

[@jeffg4153]

Thanks for the video. There is a lot of very good information you shared with us. I'll be watching it again, so many things to learn..Oh yeah "I got one"...

[@LolaHouston]

Really nice, thank you! I am new to Nord, and took the plunge for Stage 4 (HA73) and love it... but.... it is overwhelming! I would REALLY LOVE to see you run a few videos on MIDI, AUX KB and EXTERN. This are baffling for me.

[@davepettigrewmusic]

Fantastic review. thanks for taking the time to put this together. Much appreciated.

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@MrNot4saken]

Great review love your channel and My Keys to music

[@ninjaqueen740]

I look forward to your videos bro

[@ChrisP3000x]

Sounds great so far, and your beautiful playing doesn't hurt. Perhaps a video on the storage side of things?

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Great idea!

[@Gudiksen82]

Wow, the piano layer with one having 100% wet reverb sounds amazing 😊👍🏻

[@DSoundman]

Doesn’t it?! I love it.

[@ktvideoproductions]

Great overview. Waiting for my NS4 HA88 from Sweetwater. Ordered 3/2. Was told mine will in next shipment/batch. Hoping soon. I’ve been waiting for non-vendor videos from actual users and yours did not disappoint. You have me wanting mine ASAP. Thanks!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Hope yours comes soon!

[@ktvideoproductions]

@@DSoundman Got shipment notice today. Arrives Wednesday. Woohoo!

[@davefeltenberger6971]

Great video! I am currently using a Nord Stage 2 along with a Roland Fantom G. On a few songs I will have 3 different sounds going between both keyboards, usually a synthy bass, then an airy pad or clav, and then a lead sound. I would like to see you build a sound like this. Of coarse the goal is to get down to one keyboard when playing out. Looking forward to more videos. On a side note, I realize that programs between the different Stage keyboards don't transfer but wondering if the sound samples do? Thanks.

[@MPP9600]

Would LOVE to see you do a complete demo of the EXTERN function on this new S4. They've kind of "hidden" it from the S3 area into the new S4 synth area. Please walk us through that!

[@DSoundman]

I’ll add that to my list!

[@TheLastDay-BobReese]

THANKS for the info! Interested in buying this model but can't find out what I want to know... please expand the Synth section if you would and all options that are available. Looking forward to your next videos!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Anything specific in the synth section you are curious about that I can target?

[@chrischordstv.cctv..1085]

I’ve really learnt a lot🙌🏻☺️❤️❤️

[@Notmehimorthem]

I played this in the store.Deeply impressed. The layout is excellent and very useable and intuitive definitely a step up. The action is very much improved. I could live with it. One thing that is a stroke of genius are the draw bars. Having both the lights and the physical drawbars means that whenever you change presets you get an instant read out of the state of the organ for the lights, yet, even so you can grab a drawbar at any moment and alter things physically. If I am not mistaken, you can also push a button and render the sound directly to the state of the physical drawbars, old skool style.

[@Notmehimorthem]

Bought it, love it

[@timjohns8547]

Can you please do a comprehensive video of the newly designed Extern function on the Stage 4? It's changed from the Stage 3 but I'm sure the approach is similar. No one has gone through a step by step procedure of how to setup and operate this feature. How to utilize a third party sound library into this feature. Your expert knowledge and easy-to-understand explanations would help us all!! Thank you!

[@jasonnull1692]

Great instruction video. Thanks. Too much instrument for me. What starter keyboard would you recommend?

[@JBrm]

Just programmed and played my first gig with the NS4. While I absolutely love this thing and its sounds, playability and usability, there's still quite a couple of things with room for improvement, imho: 1) Organ section: leslie just doesn't feel right. Needs an overhaul. Also: leslie and hammond settings (speed, acceleration,...) are global. Absolutely need those per patch 2) External section: completely misses the point for me. I don't wanna control expanders from the NS4 keyboard, i just wanna switch patches on my synths (who have their own keyboards), so sending program changes is all i would need, but no can do... To make sense, the external section would need to be a dedicated thing with audio inputs and fx layers. 3) Cannot save position of mod wheel, leslie speed, organ swell. So need to check positions of those on every patch (song) change. That really sucks. Besides all that, I love the NS4 and it will be my companion for many years. Hope they'll address some of the things I mention ned above with software updates.

[@namenaim1560]

Can you easily pan each sound within stereo field? Thanks very helpful vid

[@lawrencelougheed]

This review is excellent, and really is a "how to" tutorial 🙂 I actually pre-ordered the Nord Stage 4 88 today. It will likely not me available to me until the summer, but I'm still pretty excited about it. I will be returning to this video, which has lots of tips and clearly explains so many aspects. I have also subscribed to the channel 🙂Also, looking forward to your planned future videos featuring the Nord Stage 4!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Congrats on your preorder…hopefully it comes quickly! 😄

[@lawrencelougheed]

@@DSoundman Possibly end of June, but more likely in July or August . . .

[@jobschapendonktoetsenist3456]

Hi Douglas, can you take us in a new video deeper in in live programsettings? How can my Nord stage 4 work smart for me When I'm in a live performance? Sounds separate in splitpoints, what can my pitchbend do for me when I play live? Can I go up and down a whole tone or more? What can my sustainpedal do live? All that technical stuff more. I hope you can tell us about this.

[@h88sixtyone38]

How’s the keybed in comparison to your yc88 nad M-audio?

[@Steven-zg5bq]

did you turn in your compact3 for an 88 4? does the 88 work well for the organ?

[@javiergutierrez20]

Tiene función de split de dividir los sonidos?

[@Patrick-vm6ke]

You played piano so well 🙏. Do you have your piano courses online? I really love to learn the way you play piano. Please advised.

[@BucF16]

You have a different firmware than is currently available. Any idea when that will be available to the public? I find the program search for the synth to be currently unusable.

[@itsmaistro]

Why doesn't nord allow for custom split points ?

[@chrischordstv.cctv..1085]

Do a review on montage or Mox F8 when you’re free too sir

[@javiergutierrez20]

Tiene función de split de dividir sonidos? 33:16

[@donaldstrauss5177]

First off THANKS for putting this video together Douglas, I am NOT a player yet. That is a whole other story. Please feel free to reach out privately. being retired i am looking for info on keyboards to invest in. Being an engineer and synth owner Seq Prophet 6 (new in Box) My Bad. Very helpful info. Later time for coffee.

[@patentjohntran1283]

the Ferrari of keyboards ❤

[@EverettDudgeon138]

Really would love to hear more Orchestral or cinematic tones from it. To be honest though, one thing I really wish Nord would do is a desktop module of their Stage or even just the Wave 2 engine

[@TheLastDay-BobReese]

Douglas.. I have a number of songs on USB that have the voice track removed that I want to play along with. Can I download those songs onto the Nord , store and playback individual songs and be able to play along live on the keyboard and tweek the songs through the Layers and Synth sections? If so, what sound format (ie. MP3) does the Nord require those songs to be in on the USB to download? How much storage space is available to download entire songs? THX

[@DSoundman]

Hey! While it’s not really meant to do this, there’s a chance you could use sample editor and assign the tracks to different keys. You could then keep KB Hold on for that synth layer and trigger the “samples” which would be your tracks to play along with. Not perfect, but might be a work around for what you’re trying to do!

[@sghsghdk]

Play then from a phone into the monitor input

[@turnersinsurance8656]

after having some of the 'original' and then 'digital' keyboards back in the day, 40 years ago, such as the Rhodes, Yamaha CS5, Crumar Performer, and then adding the Korg Poly800, then later the Yamaha DX7(of course!), and even later the vintage MOOG MemoryMoogPlus, and having 'traded' them all in for a used set of Pearl Export series acoustic drums in 1987(shameful!!), I now wanted to 'go back' to that time where I could now get 'that' single KEYBOARD that would not only bring in the sounds of those times, and the newer 'digital/sampling' sounds, within a single keyboard, but also the great Pianos, Organs(and while I'm not an organ player, per se, I realize that MANY, if not most, of my loved power Rock songs of the era were Organ based(!), and the ability to LAYER all of these and the THREE separate SYNTHESIZER sounds ALL TOGETHER(crazy!!), and even SPLIT those sounds into separate areas of the playing board, THIS STAGE 4 COMPACT I received just the other day has TRANSFORMED my 58 Year Old mind! Thanks for all you do with explaining to us 'newbies' on how these systems and technologies and buttons and knobs and dials all work! It's crazy that the original DX7 was SO DIFFICULT to use and program, and yet this keyboard some 40 years later has gone back to what I believe is the needed PHYSICAL attributes to how to manage your playing, whether 'on the fly', such as with the LIVE option and even the LAYER II option(both great!), but also being able to simply 'see and feel' your way much more easily, even when you have a lot of time in the 'man cave' to do some serious programming and sound creating. Programs, Samples, Patches, Sounds, Presets.... it's all good! Now, if I can just get some time to really PLAY this beast, along with my newly arrived ALESIS STRIKE PRO SE drum set(again, taking me back 35 years from my DRUM playing days in a Christian rock band, and later for the church worship team!), I'll enjoy making some real MUSIC together with the two! : ) ENJOY. Maybe I can get my son, a bass player, to join me ... : ) William, from 'back in the day' .... now driving an all-electric Ford F150 LIGHTNING - like the Stage 4....AMAZING!!!

[@matthewwhitaker4849]

question for everyone, when in program mode, not in live mode, can you make it so those 8 buttons in the middle doesn't act as a number pad or it they act that way all the time? If you can change that behavior, where do you do so?

[@DSoundman]

Holding shift and tapping on the live mode button will turn the number pad functionality on or off. The keyboard will stay in whichever mode you leave it when you turn off and back on. So you could choose to have it always on or always off.

[@cristiancornejo]

can i use two samples for example a sampled bass and a sampled organ? at the same time..?

[@DSoundman]

Yes! You could have all three synth layers be samples instead of the analog synth and basically layer up to three different sampled instruments.

[@cristiancornejo]

@@DSoundman thats what i was looking for !!!!!! cos my nord electro cant do that.. bummer.

[@robinschasfoort4727]

do u think i need upgrade from 3 to the 4?

[@DSoundman]

How do you use your NS3? Live, studio, etc? Do you feel like you take advantage of all it has to offer or do you feel like you have room to grow in the NS3 still?

[@Notmehimorthem]

Has anyone connected a real Leslie

[@predragkalajdzijevic7146]

Why nothing more about Akai MPC Key 61, it's deserve it?

[@DSoundman]

I’ve got more coming on the MPC Key…just lots going on with gear and videos to make right now! 😄

[@predragkalajdzijevic7146]

@@DSoundman Thanks to replay. I like your videos very much, they are very useful. You are very good piano player. I wish you all best in life and music.

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@CRV1958]

The Board seems pretty good to me, but in my opinion it is way overpriced. I think the price will drop in the near future. There are many other options out there that can pull off the same thing with the effects and multi timbrel realities. The dedicated buttons are nice though, but personally, I have the Kurzweil K2700 and if your into programing and willing to invest some time, you can overcome this board for sure and the price is about half. Also, the orientation of the sliders being so far apart is not a plus to me. On the K2700 there are 9 buttons 9 sliders and 9 rotary encoders that can be programmed to do whatever you want along with other control sources. But those are directly right in front of your fingers....... makes things alot faster and create a better flow. Look into the Kurzweil series, especially the K2700 or PC4, Forte....... much better value.

[@gadymarcus5297]

magnifico.🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

[@theclaverman]

I love my Nord Stage 3, but....I´m kinda on the fence about wether or not to buy the Stage 4. Because my gut feeling says that Yamaha is soon going to release a monster of a keyboard as successor to Yamaha Montage.And I think Yamaha has done their homework this time, learned what the professional marked want in a gigging instrument: No more complicated menu diving, way more knob to function controls....Nord, I fear this time it's going to be really ugly.(It's only my gut feeling, I have absolutely no factual information this will happen)

[@DSoundman]

Yeah it’ll be interesting to see what Yamaha does as they seem to be dabbling in that space with the YC series and definitely have workstation capability to develop a really powerful keyboard.

[@theclaverman]

@@DSoundman But as I said, I love my Stage 3 and haven’t made my desicion yet. So who knows, maybe I going to buy stage 4, I need to try it in store first☺️ have an excellent weekend

[@xchalibur77]

Not very much good presentation on this keyboard as yours. You almost made me change my mind about my future buy over the Korg Pa5x. I know it's not ment for this but I would be curious how in depth the arpegiator goes, seeing this is the only thing is not very good at.

[@moogy77]

BOO, BOO! Nord still keeps not adding the most basic things that now, by the 5th edition, they'd get it RIGHT!! I just received my compact 4 and, one day later, it's going BACK! Let's see, NO POLY GLIDE! I had poly glide on my OB X in 84. Let's see, being able to save your patches on a USB stick! How could they have two buttons in addition to the others for morphing on the Wave, but the same old choice of three on the Stagr4? BOO!

[@akibe7608]

For the price, this board should sound A LOT better. A LOT better. It's not a workstation, so what else does it really have to offer that would justify that price tag? This board is overhyped, and a lot of people fall for hype - and you can't convince them otherwise.

[@Jojo.255]

Damn that’s pretty solid.

[@LogicalQ]

The problem is that there has not been a proper new flagship launch from any of the big names lately. (Except maybe Kurzweil K2700) Nautilus is a dumbed down Kronos Fantom0 is a dumbed down Fantom And the Yamahas sounds worse than those… + the software game is stronger than it’s ever been. MIDI Controller and a Laptop is preferable/more capable and upgradable in all but a few live situations. Factor in that us end users have such a diverse set of skills and use cases, it’s really hard to make a compelling mass market flagship keyboard today.

[@albeckwall]

I see a lot of vids of people using Nord Stage keyboards as Mainstage controllers. That's telling.

[@XPJV]

The Nord is way more overpriced! (In my opinion) the Roland Fantom-8 is way more advanced in all dimensions!

[@sghsghdk]

yes - but is has polyphony issues

[@XPJV]

@sghsghdk , No, not at all. V-PIANO itself has unlimited polyphony, and it's separate engine & processor CPU. And everything else is 256 voices. The issue is if unexperienced beginner using 4-5 pads which uses each 4 voices + some extra synth patches, Drums, and more, then do the count, you'll definately run off the polyphony. But it's 256 voices + V-Piano - More than enough to work freely.

[@sghsghdk]

@@XPJV mkay kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2iXc5uEgNCLpKc

[@jwhite1016aol]

You're heavy handed. Looked like you were trying to break stuff.