I'm a long time Nord user and have several of their Keyboards(5 in total),amongst them my original NL1 which I purchased in 1996 and still have it today in full working condition,albeit a few scuffs here and there,Nord has been a solid reliable brand for me for many years now,I just couldn't see myself using any other Brand with confidence both as a studio tool and gigging board
The thing is with Nords philosophy is you either "Get it" or you don't, yes there are cheaper perhaps better sounding alternatives for the price comparison, but in terms of ease of use and playability,portability and reliability you can't fault their gear.
This is why they tend to command higher prices in the 2nd hand market,as the vast majority of them usually are still in solid condition,both functionally and cosmetically, because of the build quality and they are still light enough to gig with without getting slung around or dropped because of the excessive weight,certainly with the stage or Electro series,you can get by with a single Board if your using the sample editor yo create your own sounds,I used to gig with 3 Boards at one time, now I only use a Stage 3,as I've Sampled a lot of the sounds from my other synths, its so easy to make replications of your sound using the No fuss sample editor and they've made it even easier and quicker to use
A lot of appeal with the nords is the fact they are pretty much Knob per function with the odd additional shift+function options,so your not trawling through sub menus all the time to alter different aspects of your sound, everything is live and you only really need the submenus to setup the initial functions of the Boards like midi channels/Outputs etc, things that you pretty much set up to globally and don't have to alter again, thats how my experiences with Nord have always been.
They have a great extensive sound library, perhaps not to everyones taste, which covers all aspects of sounds,and instruments,Vintage and new however like myself your free to replace those with any sound you want,so you can tailor your nord to your own needs I don't want a rompler with 3000 Variations of a Saw Wave,Certainly with the Wave/Electro or Stage series, you can replace the complete sample library with that of your own,Thats perhaps why Nords are always relevant,I think a lot of People are put off by the Nords limited sample memory specs when you compare them to larger Gb Workstation/Samplers but even with 2gb Memory you can still cram a lot of samples inside the nords File system, don't think for a second that they're crippled because of limited sample RAM
I like the simplicity of the Nord Stage,its kind of like having a great Organ,A grand Piano and a Synth,on stage inside one box with the addition of a few great Stomp box type pedals without the bullshit of every type of parameter editable via a large Touchscreen,when all you want to do is add a little wet signal to your piano or Synth,the nord do this easily without having to trawl through pages of menus, certainly my experiences with other Gigging Keyboard players is they always tend to have a Nord in their setup.
In terms of Cost,they perhaps are Expensive,but when you weigh up the reliability and longevity of the instruments certainly from my years of ownership,problem free,I have certainly had my moneys worth out of them i don't really see them as overpriced for me its been money well invested.
What you also have to look at when lusting after a Nord or anything that commands a premium price,is,is this going to still suit my needs in a few years time is it going to continue to inspire me and be a Keeper,even after newer instruments supersede it,if you answer yes then the cost is worth the outlay, even after all these years I still get that from my older Nords,Infact the nords perhaps have stopped me Gasing for other brands as I tend to compare them in terms of ease of use and having to relearn another Brands way of working,most of which never give me that instant gratification
ing much £££ do you want for it?! Say that again!"
). But then neither are any of the products it's competing with, or having its price compared to.
