Product: Clavia Nord Stage Compact
Price Paid: USD 2899
Submitted
04/11/2008
at
04:05pm
by
Therealmuffin
Ease of Use
:
10
Im using Os 2.6 and getting excited for Os 3.0 which should be available any day now.
The presets are great. There's something for almost everyone. It was pretty easy to jump right into editing without the manual plus it's very simple to edit and split/layer on the fly. However you'll still need the manual for some of the other features.
Features
:
9
The panel A/B feature is great. I love it. You can have 3 splits on one panel then another totally differnt layout on the other panel. Plus theres no cutoffs or glitches when you switch between panels.
The built in effects maybe useful for some but not for others. It's a bit limited in that you can only use one effect at one time per panel, but that is more then enough for me.
I like the first set of effects (wahs, tremolo, pans, Rm) but havent found much use for the flangers, phasers or choruses, mostly because its just not my cup of tea. The amp sims are good for adding a bit of drive, but that's about all I use them for.
The delay is good for a bit of colour as is the reverb and compression. However the reverb and compression are global effects.
I haven't used the extern function yet, but I think it could be a handy little feature for layering.
The action is great for organs and clavs but not as great for pianos. However I was impressed with how great it felt to play rhodes and wurli with this action. Obviously people looking for a great piano feel would go for the NS 76 or 88. I bought this specifically for the waterfall action, and to use with my rhodes or 88 key controller.
Oh and yes...its 22 lbs. I can throw it on my back and ride my bike from home to my jam space. No problem.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
10
This will work great for anyone looking for a vintage sound. The acoustic pianos are great but theres some issues with them being stereo samples not mono. However this is being worked on. I don't use them that much anyway.
The Cp80 is useless for me
The Rhodes are pretty good. I like them better then the electros. But I use a real rhodes most of the time.
The wurlitzer is awesome. Add a bit of tremolo and your in wurli heaven.
The clav is great. Ive owned a D6, a pianet/clav duo and now rock out with a E6 and really think it's the next best thing next to the original. Plug this baby into a real wah and your laughing. Even the onboard wah effects with a bit of reverb can be convincing.
The B3 is eveything you would expect from Clavia. I love the farfisa and vox as well. Great for that 60's pop vibe.
Now the synth I have to say is very underratted. I don't expect many people are going to buy a NS for the synth alone, but it is very much a bonus. It sounds just as good if not better than alot of the VA synths out there. It will never replace my Voyager, but can almost replace my Roland Fantom. It is limited but very useful and fun. Layer the synth with some farfisa strings and wow. Or play a lead with the leslie sim and a touch of delay.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
It seems pretty solid. I never had any problems with my electro
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
never had to deal with them, but I've heard good things.
Overall Rating
:
10
If this was lost or stolen, I would defenately cry.
I've been playing for 15 years and have had the privlige to own or use many classics. Of course nothing will ever beat a real rhodes, or a real clav but consdering the quality of sounds you get in a tight little 22 lb package, it can't be beat by any of the sampler synths on the market right now.
