Nord Stage EX88
Piano/Organ/Synth
Item: AWNSEX88
The Nord Stage 88EX is the culmination of Nord's award-winning technology and design in a fully performance-ready stage piano. Designed with practical benefits for real-world pianists, the Stage is a high quality yet very road-worthy performance instrument. Constructed of the same light metal as other Nord keyboards, the Stage holds up to the rigors of touring and constant transportation. At less than 40 pounds, each Stage is among the most portable controllers available. Wood panels round out the style of the Stage, providing the classic yet discernable look of a Nord instrument.
The Nord Stage's organ section contains not only the famous sound of a traditional tonewheel organ, but it also adds Vox™ and the Farfisa™ organ models as well. The complex digital modeling recreates every nuance of these unique instruments giving you the full arsenal of Organ sounds. Features include a rotary speaker emulation, key-click, percussion, vibrato, chorus, and lighted drawbars.
The Piano Section is comprised of acoustic grand, upright, and electric pianos, the Nord Stage contains a full palette of piano sounds. The acoustic pianos are stereo multisamples, recorded at many different velocity levels, adding key-release, pedal down, and pedal up sounds. The grand piano samples produce the sympathetic string resonance when each note is hit with the pedal down, attained through the development of a completely new sampling engine. The same care and attention went into the electric pianos, each meticuloously recorded at multiple velocity levels, and various pickup settings.
The Synthesizer Section is like no other Nord has produced - a fully-functional synth with just the "meat and potato" controls at your fingertips. The synth features analog modeling and FM synthesis, as well as the first wavetable synthesis found in a Nord keyboard - a rich array of sounds that can be used alone, or to enhance the organs and pianos in unique and exciting ways.
The External Section gives you control over any MIDI-connected synth module or computer. Since you may need to use non-keyboard-oriented sounds in your performance, the Stage makes control over them an exclusive and separate function of the Nord Stage.
The Stage 88EX's Phaser, Flanger, and Chorus effects are modeled from the classic analog stomp boxes that were popular in the 1970s. With parameter knobs for realtime adjustment of effects, all the swirling phasers, metallic flangers, and meaty chorus effects found on classic recordings are here - crystal clear and faithfully simulated. Modulations include Tremolo, three Wahs, and Auto-Pan.
There is a Ring Modulator on board, an effect used by many experimental and electronic musicians. From jazz, funk, prog-rock, and pop to fusion, R&B, and avant-garde, this useful effect has conjured incredibly unique tones for a generation of players. A delay unit has been included to create haunting echoes or slap back effects, and its tempo can be controlled with the Rate knob or using the Tap Tempo button.
The Amp Sim Section extends the Stage's vintage authenticity even further by including carefully-modeled emulations of classic stage amplifiers. The three simulated amps are the Fender™ Twin Reverb, a Roland™ Jazz Chorus, and Wurlizter™ speakers. You can also set the drive of the amps creating the sound of an overdriven amplifier which works when no amp model is selected. As with the Effects Section, the Organ, Piano, or Synthesizer can be routed through the Amp Sim, and its sweepable EQ can shape your sound.
Owners of the Nord Electro made many suggestions for improvements, and they were taken considered when designing the Nord Stage - thus the Master Effects Section. The compressor gives you dynamic control over your sound, subtle or laden with special effects. The reverb unit has five algorithms that create different ambient atmospheres for your sounds. The Master effects apply to the entire Program you've created, allowing you to blend with your band whether you're plugged into the PA, or running your sound direct to an amplifier.
Specifications:
- Keyboard: 88 Hammer Action Weighted Keys
- Compact-model: Medium Weighted Keys
Aftertouch
- Supports 3 split zones with visual LED indication
- Master Level Control
- Wooden Pitch Stick
- Modulation Wheel
- 21 x 6 Program Locations
- 2 Live Buffers
- 2 Individual Panel Setups
- 3 Morph sources (Modulation Wheel, Control Pedal, Aftertouch)
- Connections: 4 Assignable Audio Outputs, Stereo Headphone Output, Sustain Pedal, Rotor Pedal, Organ Swell Pedal, Control Pedal, MIDI In, MIDI Out, USB
- Weight: 16,5 kg (36lb)
Organ Section:
- B3 Tone Wheel Organ-, Vox Continental- and
- Farfisa-models with full polyphony
- 9 Digitally Controlled Drawbars
- Percussion Controls
- Vibrato / Chorus Control
- 2-Part Multitimbral (2 manuals)
Piano Section:
- 2 Acoustic Grands
- 1 Upright Piano
- 3 Electric Pianos (Mk I, II, V)
- Wurlitzer A200 Electric Piano
- Clavinet D6
- CP-80 Electric Grand
- 40-60 Voices Polyphony
- 4 Selectable Velocity Curves
- Clavinet EQ Controls
- 2-Part Multitimbral
Synth Section:
- Analog synthesis: 10 Modeling Waveforms - including Dual Saw, Hard Sync and PWM
- FM synthesis: 2 & 3 Operator FM Synthesis
- Wavetables synthesis: 77 waveforms
- 16 Voices Polyphony
- Unison Control: with no reduction in polyphony
- Timbre Controls
- Amplitude Envelope
- Modulation Envelope
- 12/24 dB LowPass Filter with Resonance
300 Memory Locations, 3 Categories
- 2-Band Equalizer
- 2-Part Multitimbral
Instrument Effects:
- Unit One: Ring Modulator, Tremolo, Pan, Wah 1, Wah 2, AutoWah
- Unit Two: 2 Flangers, 2 Phasers, 2 Choruses Delay - includes Ping Pong and Tap-Tempo Function
- Amplifier/Speaker Simulation: 3 types of Speaker simulations, 3-band Equalizer and Overdrive
- Rotary Speaker: selectable Speed and Overdrive
- Master effects: Compressor, Reverb - 5 Algorithms
Includes:
- Owner's Manual
- Sustain Pedal
- Power Cord
- Nord CD/DVD-ROM
- USB Cable