Starting off our Musikmesse hardware coverage this year, Nord has announced an update to their ever popular “Stage” range in the shape of the Stage 2 EX piano range.
Ever popular with live performers world wide, the new Nord Stage EX range comes in 3 sizes with the EX 88 offering a fully weighted 88-note hammer action keybed, the EX HP76 has a lightweight hammer action keybed, and the EX Compact has a 73-note semi-weighted waterfall keyboard. Other than the keyboard variations, all the keyboards offer the same features across the range and include 1GB for the new factory bank that features a total of 5 Grand Pianos, 7 Upright Pianos, 11 Electric Pianos, Clavinet, Harpsichords and a vastly improved Nord Sample Library selection including great new Strings, Choir and Folk instruments.
Main Nord Stage 2 Ex Features
Piano Section
- 1 GB memory for the Nord Piano Library
- State-of-the art sample-based Acoustic and Electric Pianos
- Advanced String Resonance (Gen 2)
- Long Release option
- Dynamic Pedal Noise via optional Nord Triple Pedal
Organ Section
- B3 Tone-Wheel simulation
- Vintage 122 Rotary Speaker simulation
- Faithful simulations of classic Vox and Farfisa organs
- Digital LED Drawbars for easy overview of active drawbar settings.
Synth Section
- 380 MB for the Nord Sample Library
- Powerful Classic analog, 3 Operator FM and Wavetable synthesis
- Arpeggiator
- Unison mode
- Master Clock
Global features
- Comprehensive Effects section
- Single-function control knobs and instant visibility of current settings
- External section allowing the Nord Stage 2 EX to serve as a master keyboard
- Expanded Live Mode with 5 locations
- USB-MIDI. No driver required for Mac OS X. WHQL certified driver available for Windows.
All said, it looks to be a solid upgrade to a well loved synth range and improvements to the sound engine and keyboard itself should go down well.
The Nord Stage 2 EX Range Homepage