The 7 Best Nord Keyboards That You’ll Absolutely Love

Is the Nord Piano 4 worth your money? Find out in this review

In this article I will provide an overview of a number of Nord keyboards, helping you best determine which instrument is worth your time and money.  This includes both their single-purpose designs with a specific target focus, and their multi-purpose powerhouses that can do a bit of everything. 

They have a very wide breadth of products available, which are targeted at many different types of keyboardists, and I tried to represent most of these here.  This will include:

  1. Nord Stage 3
  2. Nord Electro 6
  3. Nord Grand
  4. Nord C2D
  5. Nord Lead 4
  6. Nord Lead A1
  7. Nord Lead 3

Without further ado, let’s begin with the Nord Stage 3.

Nord Stage 3

The Nord Stage 3 is the latest version in the Nord Stage line.  It comes in three different models.  The “Nord Stage 3 88” is their finest flagship model, and has an 88 key fully weighted hammer-action fatar keybed. 

The “Nord Stage HP76” has a 76 key hammer-action fatar keybed; it is smaller and more lightweight without sacrificing the hammer action.  The third model is the “Nord Stage 3 Compact”, and features a 73-note semi-weighted waterfall action keybed, much like the keyboards in the Nord Electro range.  

This “waterfall action” is similar to a synth action, and is meant to simulate the keys you would find on a traditional Hammond Organ.  If you are a pianist that requires a music stand, Nord sells a music stand accessory that attaches right onto the keyboard itself.  In addition, if you plan to use this keyboard in your home, they offer a wooden keyboard stand in signature Nord red that is certainly a bit more luxurious than a standard keyboard stand.  

Clavia’s Nord Stage range combines the best features of all of their other major keyboard.  It has the sample-based piano and vintage electric piano section, which features intricately-recorded samples of grand pianos and upright pianos, as well as the Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Clavinet, and several other sought-after vintage electric pianos.  In addition to that, the Nord Stage 3 has their amazing C2D organ engine, which is one of the best Hammond Organ/Leslie Rotary Speaker emulation of any keyboard on the market. 

On the Compact model, this organ section features physical drawbars to further give it an authentic Hammond Organ feel alongside the waterfall keybed.  The HP76 and 88 models unfortunately do not have physical drawbars, instead opting for the digital LED drawbars also offered on some models of Nord Electro.  It also features the full synth engine that you would find inside the Nord Lead A1, and the sample engine found in the Nord Electro range, with full access to the Nord Sample Library.  

The Nord Stage 3 is geared toward live performance above all else, and makes an amazing centerpiece for any live keyboard setup; there is a reason why you see it’s signature red color so often in bands of all genres.  One of its newest features is called “seamless transitions”, which allows you to change sounds without worrying about any sort of abrupt cutoff of sound, pops, etc.  It also has a new “Song Mode”, which allows you to easily switch between sounds and programs (groups of sounds).  

In addition to this, it has expanded split and layer functionality, which allows you to have three different keyboard splits simultaneously.  It is 6 part multi-timbral, meaning you can use two different piano sounds, two different organ sounds, and two different synth sounds at the same time, along with dedicated effects for every sound.  These sounds can also be controlled with external MIDI controllers, for setups utilizing multiple keyboards.  

The piano section on the Nord Stage is one of many reasons this keyboard is so beloved by professional keyboards around the world, and the Stage 3 adds even more amazing features to this section. 

Nord uses advanced sampling techniques to capture the very nuanced character of a real acoustic piano, and when paired with their fatar keybed and Nord Triple Pedal accessory, brings you as close as you can get to a proper grand piano.  The “Triple Pedal” is an assembly of three pedals; sustain, sostenuto, and soft.  

When used in conjunction with a Nord keyboard, these pedals allow you to use techniques such as half-pedaling, and simulate the noise that is made on an acoustic piano when pressing down and releasing the pedal.  This incredible level of precision is unparalleled on the keyboard market. 

In addition to their grand piano and upright piano samples, the piano section also includes samples of harpsichords, electric pianos, and digital pianos.  Similarly, these samples are some of the highest quality and most realistic on the market.  

The organ section on the Nord Stage features Nord’s C2D Hammond organ and Leslie rotary speaker emulation at its forefront; it captures the authentic, classic sound of a real Hammond in a much-more-easily-transported package.  As mentioned above, the Compact version of the Stage 3 features physical drawbars, while the other two versions use digital drawbars.  

If you are using the Stage 3 Compact, you can also buy the optional half-moon switch attachment to give you the same rotary speaker control interface that is found on a real Hammond/Leslie.  In addition to the C2D engine, this section also offers the sounds of vintage transistor organs like the Farfisa and Vox Continental, as well as Pipe/Church organs.  

The synthesizer section on the Nord Stage 3 utilizes the same synth engine as the Nord Lead A1.  It is a powerful virtual-analog synth with a deep oscillator section, featuring classic single-cycle waveforms (saw, square, etc.), digital wavetables, sample playback, and Nord’s new “S-Wave” technology. 

It also sports 6 different digital filter types; standard 12 and 24db low pass, a Moog-style ladder low pass, band pass, high pass, and a combined low pass & band pass filter.  In addition to the subtractive-synth engine, the Stage 3’s synthesizer section also has the ability for sample playback, much like what you would find on the Nord Electro range, with full access to the Nord sample library.  

Lastly, the Nord Stage 3 features a very capable effects section, which allows you to run 6 different high quality effects simultaneously.  First, the “Effect 1” allows you to choose from tremolo, wah, and auto-pan effects.  “Effect 2” lets you pick from phasers, choruses, or a flanger.  

Third in the effects chain, you have a choice of either an amp simulator, equalizer, or filter.  From there, the audio runs through dedicated delay, compressor, and reverb sections.  These effects give you the ability to further shape your sound, without needing to run it through any external hardware or software effects.  Notable users of the Nord Stage 3 include Jesús Molina, a virtuosic jazz keyboardist from Colombia.

The Nord Stage 3 is compatible with the “Nord Piano Monitor”, which is a pair of speakers made by Nord that you can mount right on the keyboard.  These speakers have been engineered to give the most accurate, faithful monitoring experience specifically for Nord’s piano sounds. 

The Nord Stage 3 88 retails for $4,499 (USD)

The Nord Stage 3 HP76 retails for $4,199

The Nord Stage 3 Compact retails for $3,599

Below, please take a moment to view some of the best selling keyboards online, and see how well they stack up to the Nord instruments we discuss throughout this article:

BEST SELLERS
1) Casio PX-770
2) Yamaha YDP-145
3) Roland RP-102
4) Yamaha YDP-165
5) Casio PX-870

Nord Electro 6

The Nord Electro 6 is the latest and greatest in their Electro range, which is very similar to the Stage range, except it does not include a full-featured synthesizer section, and is not available in an 88 key model.  It is the perfect choice for a gigging musician who is looking for some of the highest quality piano, electric piano, organ, and more, all in one portable unit.  

It comes in three different variations: the Nord Electro 6D 61 with a 61-note semi-weighted waterfall-style keybed, the Nord Electro 6D 73 with a 73-note semi-weighted waterfall keybed, and the Nord Electro 6 HP with a 73-note hammer action Fatar keybed. 

The two editions with waterfall keys also feature physical drawbars in the organ section, while the hammer action model has digital LED drawbars.  It features 4 different velocity response curves, which you can change depending on your playing style.  If you are a pianist that requires a music stand, Nord sells a music stand accessory that attaches right onto the keyboard itself.

The piano section on the Nord Electro is one of many reasons why this keyboard is so beloved by professional keyboards around the world.  Nord uses advanced sampling techniques to capture the very nuanced character of a real acoustic piano, and when paired with their fatar keybed and Nord Triple Pedal accessory, brings you as close as you can get to a proper grand piano. 

The “Triple Pedal” is an assembly of three pedals; sustain, sostenuto, and soft.  When used in conjunction with a Nord keyboard, these pedals allow you to use techniques such as half-pedaling, and simulate the noise that is made on an acoustic piano when pressing down and releasing the pedal.  

This incredible level of precision is unparalleled on the keyboard market.  In addition to their grand piano and upright piano samples, the piano section also includes samples of harpsichords, electric pianos, and digital pianos. 

Similarly, these samples are some of the highest quality and most realistic on the market.  In particular, their vintage Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer Electric Piano sounds are amazing and pair nicely with the organ section to create a perfect vintage keyboard experience.  

The organ section on the Nord Electro features Nord’s C2D Hammond B3 organ and Leslie 122 rotary speaker emulation at its forefront; it captures the authentic, classic sound of a real Hammond in a much-more-easily-transported package.  Both sizes of the Electro 6D, with waterfall keybed, feature physical drawbars, a physical interface that brings you even closer to the authentic Hammond experience.  

The Electro 6 HP, with hammer-action keybed does not have physical drawbars, instead opting for the digital drawbar design.  You can also buy the optional half-moon switch attachment to give you the same rotary speaker control interface that is found on a real Hammond/Leslie.  In addition to the C2D engine, this section also offers the sounds of vintage transistor organs like the Farfisa and Vox Continental, as well as Pipe/Church organs.  

This keyboard also features Nord’s powerful sample playback engine.  This gives you access to the entire Nord Sample library, which includes strings, brass, choirs, synth sounds, and more.  It also has a full-featured effects section like the one on the Nord Stage range; it allows you to run 6 different high quality effects, assignable to any section.  First, the “Effect 1” allows you to choose from tremolo, wah, and auto-pan effects.  “Effect 2” lets you pick from phasers, choruses, or a flanger.  

Third in the effects chain, you have either an amplifier simulator or compressor.  From there, you can run the audio through an equalizer, delay, and finally a reverb.  These effects give you the ability to further shape your sound, without needing to run it through any external hardware or software effects.  

For a gigging musician that is looking for a powerhouse keyboard but can’t quite justify the price of the Nord Stage, the Electro 6 may be the best option for you.  It has almost all of the same features and same great sounds, except for the full-featured synthesizer engine which it lacks. 

In particular if you do not need an 88 key keyboard, the Electro range, especially the waterfall-keybed models, are a great choice.  They are lightweight and portable, but do not sacrifice the build quality that Nord is known for.  

However, unfortunately the Electro 6 at this time does not support the use of the Nord Piano Monitor, a feature I would like to see them add in the future.  Notable users of the Nord Electro 6 include Jesús Molina, a virtuosic jazz keyboardist from Colombia.  If you’re still having trouble choosing between the Nord Stage 3 and Electro 6, here is a forum post on the Nord User Forums that may provide a bit more insight into the key differences between each keyboard:

  • The Nord Electro 6 HP retails for $2,999 (USD)
  • The Nord Electro 6D 73 retails for $2,499
  • The Nord Electro 6D 61 retails for $2,199

Nord Grand Stage

The Nord Grand is the latest addition to the Nord keyboard brand, and is aimed at providing an uncompromised, authentic acoustic piano experience.  It features an 88 key, fully-weighted hammer action keybed specially made by Kawai, as opposed to Fatar like most of their keybeds.  This key mechanism has three sensors instead of the usual one sensor, in order to deliver an unparalleled, smooth, responsive feel.  

With this special keyboard, you are able to do things that you can only do on a real acoustic grand, such as retriggering notes without fully lifting the key.  Beyond that, the keys feature a simulated ivory surface to further emulate the feel of a real piano.  These keybed innovations with an emphasis on realism are the key features that set the Nord Grand apart from any of the other Nord keyboard models.  

For further performance customization, this keyboard gives you the ability to set up 7 individual split points between any of the sounds on the piano and sample playback engines.  If you are a pianist that requires a music stand, Nord sells a music stand accessory that attaches right onto the keyboard itself. 

In addition, if you plan to use this keyboard in your home, they offer a wooden keyboard stand in signature Nord red that is certainly a bit more luxurious than a standard keyboard stand.  

The Nord Grand has a revamped version of the piano section that one would find on the Nord Stage, Electro, or Piano.  The piano section is one of many reasons this keyboard is so beloved by professional keyboards around the world, and the new Nord Grand adds even more amazing features to this section.  

Nord uses advanced sampling techniques to capture the very nuanced character of a real piano, which feature “advanced string resonance”, which simulates the sympathetic resonance you would get on a proper acoustic grand.  It also supports the Nord “Triple Pedal”, which is an assembly of three pedals; sustain, sostenuto, and soft. 

When used in conjunction with a Nord keyboard, these pedals allow you to use techniques such as half-pedaling, and simulate the noise that is made on an acoustic piano when pressing down and releasing the pedal.  The Nord Grand includes a whopping 10 individual grand piano sounds and 9 upright piano sounds, in addition to their samples of harpsichords, electric pianos, and digital pianos.  Similarly, these samples are some of the highest quality and most realistic on the market.

This keyboard also features the sample playback engine found on the Nord Electro and Stage models.  This gives you access to the entire Nord Sample library, which includes strings, brass, choirs, synth sounds, and more. 

It also has a full-featured effects section like the one on the Nord Stage range; it allows you to run 6 different high quality effects simultaneously, for each section.  First, the “Effect 1” allows you to choose from tremolo, wah, and auto-pan effects.  “Effect 2” lets you pick from phasers, choruses, or a flanger.  

Third in the effects chain, you have a stereo delay.  From there, you can run the audio through an equalizer, compressor or amp simulator, and finally a master reverb section.  These effects give you the ability to further shape your sound, without needing to run it through any external hardware or software effects.  

The Nord Grand is compatible with the “Nord Piano Monitor”, which is a pair of speakers made by Nord that you can mount right on the keyboard.  These speakers have been engineered to give the most accurate, faithful monitoring experience specifically for Nord’s piano and electric piano sounds. 

The Nord Grand retails for $3,500 (USD).  

Below is a link to a fantastic review of the Nord Grand.  It delves quite a bit deeper into the features of this keyboard and the Nord Piano Monitor; if you are seeking some more information about it, definitely give this a read.

Nord C2D Combo Organ

The Nord C2D is the newest edition in Nord’s Combo Organ range.  It is about as close as one can get to a real Hammond B3 organ, in a frame that is a fraction of the size and weight (193 kilograms vs 16 kilograms, a considerable difference).  It features two manuals with 61-note waterfall action keybeds, and 2 sets of physical vintage-style drawbars per manual, just like you would find on the real thing.  

The emphasis on realism is very apparent in this keyboard, and makes it into the ultimate portable organ for keyboardists of any genre; rock, jazz, and even classical music.  Also, if you are a keyboardist that requires a music stand, Nord sells a music stand accessory that attaches right onto the keyboard itself.

There is only one sound section on the Nord C2D; the organ.  It features Nord’s C2D Hammond B3 organ and Leslie 122 rotary speaker emulation at its forefront, which captures the authentic, classic sound of a real Hammond. 

It offers an unparalleled tonewheel simulation, complete with key click and percussion settings, vibrato, chorus, and tremolo.  You can also buy the optional half-moon switch attachment to give you the same rotary speaker control interface that is found on a real Hammond/Leslie.  

The “Nord Pedal Keys” is another optional accessory only available for the C2D Combo Organ.  It gives you 27 full-size, organ-style pedals and a volume pedal, and is connected to the organ via MIDI.  Alongside the standard ¼ inch jack outputs, this organ offers an 11-pin output, which gives you the ability to connect directly to a real Leslie rotary speaker. 

When all of these features are used in conjunction with the organ-style waterfall keybed and physical drawbars, this keyboard gets you about as close as possible to the real thing.  

In addition to the C2D engine, the combo organ also offers a full-featured baroque-style pipe organ, complete with coupler and stops settings.  The features and complex settings of this pipe organ simulation are some of the most intricate and realistic that I’ve ever seen on a keyboard.  You are able to have a different sound on each manual, and on the pedal keys (if attached), just like on a real pipe organ.  

If you are a classical organ player looking for a portable keyboard that can get you as close as possible to a massive cathedral organ, look no further than the C2D.   

Lastly, this organ also features the sounds of vintage transistor organs like the Farfisa and Vox Continental, perfect for 60’s style Rock and Roll, or even 80’s style New Wave.  In addition to the Hammond-style vibrato, chorus, and tremolo effects, the C2D also offers delay, equalizer, drive, overdrive, and reverb effects.  

The Nord C2D Combo Organ retails for $2,995 (USD).

Nord Lead 4

The Nord Lead 4 is the latest and most powerful in the Nord Lead range of digital synthesizers.  It was released alongside the Nord Lead A1, which was meant to be moreso a “virtual analog” synthesizer in a similar vein of the older Nord Lead synths, with a focus on performability. 

The Lead 4, however, is very much in the digital domain and proud of it, occupying a similar market to synths like the Access Virus and other “VST-in-a-box” powerhouses, and is certainly one of the best digital synthesizers on the market right now.  

It is four-part multitimbral, meaning you can have four different sounds at once, and can use the split feature to have two sounds on each half of the 4-octave synth action keyboard.  

The Lead 4 has two digital oscillators per voice, with a whopping 20 voices of polyphony, meaning you can create some absolutely huge sounds.  In addition to the classic waveforms like sawtooth, square, triangle, and sine; this synth boasts a number of digital wavetables, which are crucial in designing many modern electronic sounds.  

The oscillator section also features many classic features like soft and hard sync, unison, and a rudimentary implementation of FM.  It has several different filter types, including 12 & 24dB lowpass filters, as well as highpass and bandpass filters.  This synthesizer also features simulations of the amazing Moog ladder filter, and the squelchy diode filter of the TB-303.  

This synth offers some very deep modulation possibilities, with two powerful LFOs per voice, an arpeggiator, a dedicated modulation envelope, and the “impulse morph” feature.  This gives you the ability to immediately jump to up to three different modulation “snapshots” with the press of a button. 

The performance features continue with the modulation wheel, pitch bend, and velocity sensitivity.  You can map any number of parameters to these, allowing you to shape your sound quickly and easily during a performance.

You can shape your sound even further with the Nord Lead 4’s powerful effects section, available independently on each of the 4 parts.  The first effect is a drive/overdrive, modelled after a tube amp.  This is post-filter, but there is also a similar drive effect available pre-filter.  

The next effect is called “Talk”, and can give you talkbox/vocoder-style vocal or formant sounds.  From here, your sound runs through a compressor, a “Crush” effect for bit-crushing and sample rate reduction, a comb filter, and finally a reverb/delay. 

Most of these effect parameters are able to be modulated with the LFOs and impulse morphs, allowing you deeply integrate these effects into your sound design.  Notable users of the Nord Lead 4 include Canadian DJ/Producer deadmau5 and songwriter Jacob Collier.  

The Nord Lead 4 retails for $2,299 (USD).

Nord Lead A1

The Nord Lead A1 is an analog-modelling synthesizer with a classic sound.  It contrasts with the modern-sounding, deeply programmable Nord Lead 4, instead having a huge emphasis on live performability, making it perhaps the best synthesizer for live performance.  It allows you to create sounds quickly on-the-fly, with a vintage analog style of subtractive synthesis and a huge 26 voices of polyphony. 

Similarly to the Lead 4, it is four-part multitimbral, meaning you can have four different sounds at once, and can use the split feature to have two sounds on each half of the 4-octave synth action keyboard.  It also features four separate line outputs, one for each of the four parts.

At first glance, the oscillator section of the Lead A1 may seem lackluster, with only a single oscillator.  However, this oscillator is extremely versatile.  It has 47 different single-cycle waveforms to choose from, including classic waves like sawtooth, square, triangle, and sine; however, it also features a number of digital-style, harmonic-rich waveforms.  

You can then shape this oscillator further with a number of configuration options: pitch adjust, detune (adds a second oscillator to detune against), sub oscillator, waveshaping, hard sync, analog-style FM, AM (amplitude modulation), and noise.  It also has a unison mode, for creating huge leads and bass sounds. 

It has several different filter types, including 12 & 24dB lowpass filters, as well as highpass and bandpass filters.  This synthesizer also features simulations of the amazing Moog ladder filter, and the squelchy diode filter of the TB-303.  

From here, you can modulate your sound further with one powerful LFO per voice, three different envelopes, a dedicated vibrato, and arpeggiator.  The performance features continue with the modulation wheel, pitch bend, velocity sensitivity, and the “morph” feature, which gives you the ability to control a number of settings simultaneously via the mod wheel or velocity.  

The Lead A1’s effects section is designed to push you even further into a classic analog sound.  It has analog-modelled chorus, ensemble, phaser, flanger, ring modulation, and drive (available pre- and post-filter).  From here, your sound is run through independent delay and reverb effects.  All of these effects are available independently on each part.  Notable users of the Nord Lead A1 includes Jean-Michel Jarre, a composer and pioneer of synthesizer-based electronic music.  

The Nord Lead A1 retails for $1,799 (USD).

Nord Lead 3

The Nord Lead 3 is an older model of Nord Lead, but is still very beloved and considered to be the best iteration of this synthesizer line.  It features a powerful sound engine and intuitive knob-per-function interface, with rotary encoders that have LED indicators for knob position. 

This is something Lead 4 and A1 do not have, instead opting for regular potentiometers, and is one of the reasons the Lead 3 is so sought after even with newer versions available; the LED encoders are infinitely-more useful on a preset-based synthesizer, giving you immediate, accurate information of any patch.  

Much like the newer editions, it is four-part multitimbral, allowing you to have four different sounds simultaneously.  It came in a keyboard version with 4-octave Fatar keybed, but was also offered in a rack-mountable module version, called the Nord Rack 3, something that Nord no longer offers in any of their models. 

Many synthesizer users prefer to use rack-mounted synthesizers with a single master MIDI keyboard controller, and the newer Lead synths unfortunately are no longer available in this form factor.  

The oscillator section on the Lead 3 is arguably even more powerful and versatile than that of the newer models, and boasts a very fat sound, somewhere between digital and analog.  It has two oscillators-per-voice, with six different waveforms available on each.  Both oscillators also have their own dedicated sync voice, which can be used for hard sync without needing to sacrifice one of the oscillators.  

From here, you are able to run the oscillators through a number of different oscillator modulation types, including amplitude modulation, ring modulation, frequency modulation, distortion modulation, distortion, filter FM, and stereo unison. 

The stereo unison feature allows you to have 5 different detune-able, panned voices per note, without a loss of polyphony.  The oscillator section also has a feature that was not found in any Nord Lead synth before or after it, something called “Dual Sine FM.”  

This is another one of the features that makes this such a desirable synthesizer.  The Dual Sine FM (frequency modulation) feature gives you the ability to make a two or four operator FM patch, much like you would find on the Yamaha DX7 and other digital FM synths of that era. 

However, the catch is, Nord have managed to make the process of digital FM considerably less complicated, giving you the ability to dial in these sounds quickly and easily.  The fact that this synth is able to do this style of frequency modulation in addition to traditional subtractive synthesis gives it a huge leg up on other synths.  

The Nord Lead 3 has a versatile multimode filter with a number of different filter types.  This includes lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch, triple peak, and triple notch filters.  This synth has a unique setting called “multi filter mode”, which lets you combine any of the filters together, resulting in some very interesting sound design possibilities.  It has some very flexible modulation options, with two LFOs per voice, one modulation envelope per voice, global vibrato, and an arpeggiator.  

Each LFO can be set to single-cycle mode to be used as another modulation envelope, and the dedicated mod envelope can be set to a looping mode, for use as another LFO.  In addition, the Lead 3 has polyphonic legato and polyphonic glide settings, and a keyboard hold button for holding chords or drones.  Unlike the newer models, the Nord Lead 3 unfortunately lacks any sort of built-in effects engine.  

If this is something you would not be able to live without, then the Lead 4 or A1 might be a better match for you.  Quite famously, the Nord Lead 3 was used as one of the primary synths on the seminal 2008 album “Random Album Title” by Canadian DJ/Producer deadmau5.  

The Nord Lead 3 and Rack 3 are no longer available for purchase on the retail market, but can be found for around $1,000-$1,500 (USD) on the used market.  

If you are still having trouble deciding between the Nord Lead 3 and 4, below is a link to a forum discussion on Gearslutz, which does a great job further highlighting the points that I have mentioned above about the advantages of each synth.  

In conclusion, it is clear that Nord has a number of different types of keyboards, all with their own advantages and target audience.  No matter what you are looking for in a keyboard, you likely will find what you need in at least one of their models.  It can’t be denied that their products are targeted towards professional musicians, with a price to match.  

However, they are absolutely worth the price; their overall build quality and sound quality are hard to match in other products on the market.  Nord are no doubt working on the next generations of each of these products, and I look forward to seeing the new features and advancements they make in the future.  I hope this article helped you out, whether you are trying to decide on a keyboard to buy, or simply seeking more information on what is available on the market.  

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