In the world of music production, one name stands out for its unparalleled quality, craftsmanship, and mesmerizing tone – Nord.

This Sweden-based brand has been at the forefront of professional stage and studio pianos for many years, earning respect from pianists and music producers worldwide.

This article is a comprehensive guide to Nord’s current line of pianos and synths, highlighting the key features, variations, and innovations that make them some of the best musical instruments on the market in 2023.

A Complete Guide To Nord: Piano, Stage, Grand, Electro

Clavia Digital Musical Instruments, known as Nord, was established in 1983 in Stockholm, Sweden. Their first product was a digital synthesizer, the Nord Lead, launched in 1995.

Over the years, Nord evolved to specialize in producing high-quality digital pianos, synthesizers, and organ sound modules. Nord pianos have become known for their bright red color, high-quality sound, and innovative features.

The Nord Stage 4 is the latest and greatest instrument from Nord. In several ways, it is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the Nord Stage 3. Here are some of the key improvements and differences:

The Nord Stage 4 features a brand-new panel design with dedicated LED faders for each layer.

This provides an exceptional overview and flexibility when creating sounds and performing live. The new Preset Library is packed with inspiring ready-to-use Piano, Synth, and Organ sounds for quick and smooth patch creation.

The Layer Scene allows you to seamlessly switch between two different sound setups at the touch of a button. This is a powerful new feature that greatly enhances the versatility of the instrument.

The Nord Stage 4 comes with a new enhanced collection of Grands, Uprights, and Electric Pianos from the exclusive Nord Piano Library.

New features such as Dynamic compression and Unison have been added to enhance the expressiveness and realism of the piano sounds.

The Synth section of the Nord Stage 4 is based on the powerful Nord Wave 2 Synth Engine, which includes Virtual Analog Synthesis, Samples, FM, and Wavetable. It also has an extensive new collection of samples from the Nord Sample Library.

The Organ section features award-winning simulations of B3 Tonewheel, B3 Bass, classic Vox, and Farfisa as well as two Pipe Organ models.

All Stage 4 models are equipped with new Physical drawbars with LED indicators for optimal hands-on experience and overview.

The Nord Stage 4 has a powerful new Effect section offering a complete setup of Effects for each Layer.

The extensive range of Effects includes a new Pump effect for side chain simulation, a new Spin effect, and brand-new variations of Reverb, Delay, Amps, and Modulation effects.

The Nord Stage 4 comes in three models: Nord Stage 4 88, Nord Stage 4 73, and Nord Stage 4 Compact. Each model has a different keybed and physical drawbars with LED indicators.

The new range of premium pedals is equipped with continuous sensors for optimal dynamic control. The left and middle pedals of the Nord Triple Pedal 2 can be assigned to control the Pump effect, Layer Scenes, Program Changes, Rotor Speed, and more.

The Nord Piano Library will only be compatible with the latest Nord Pianos such as Nord Stage 4 and Piano 5. All new sounds in the Nord Sample Library 4.0 are only compatible with their latest instruments.

For a full review of the Nord stage 4, check out the following article:

The Nord Stage 3 88-Key Digital Piano is a top-of-the-line instrument designed for the performing musician. It features a fully weighted hammer action keybed, making it perfect for both electric and acoustic piano sounds, and is also great for organ playing.

The Nord Stage 3 comes with two super-clear OLED displays for on-stage clarity, seamless transitions when changing programs/sounds, extended Split functionality with optional crossfade, and the addition of the new Song List Mode.

The piano section of the Nord Stage 3 has a large internal memory (2 GB) for the exclusive Nord Piano Library. It boasts 120 voice polyphony and expressive piano filters.

The award-winning C2D Organ simulation, B3 Tonewheel, and Vintage Transistor Organs are also included, along with 2 new Principal Pipe Organs.

The synth section features the acclaimed Nord Lead A1 Synth Engine combined with Sample Playback and a brilliant OLED display for all Oscillator functions.

The Nord Stage 3 also comes with an effect section that features a brand-new Filter Effect, extended morphable parameters, an enhanced Delay effect, and a separate Reverb and Compressor for each slot.

This makes the Nord Stage 3 more intuitive and flexible than ever before for the live performer. The red color and sturdy build make this a standout instrument on any stage.

The Nord Stage 3 is also designed for portability, weighing in at 41 pounds. This makes it a great choice for musicians who are constantly on the move.

The Nord Piano 5 is a digital stage piano that takes the legacy of its predecessors to new heights. It is equipped with dual piano engines, dual sample synths, and twice the memory of the previous generation, making it a powerhouse of sound and versatility.

The combination of a premium Triple Sensor keybed and Nord’s exclusive Virtual Hammer Action Technology ensures an exceptional playing experience that is as close to an acoustic piano as a digital instrument can get.

One of the standout features of the Nord Piano 5 is its advanced layering capabilities. This allows for two separate layered piano sounds and two separate synth sounds to be added simultaneously, offering a vast array of sound combinations.

This feature, combined with enhanced memory, allows for a greater range of sound exploration and customization than ever before.

From classic synth sounds to orchestral samples, the Nord Piano 5 has it all. The OLED display provides an excellent overview and makes navigating through the various sounds and settings a breeze.

The keybed of the Nord Piano 5 is also a standout feature. The 73-note Triple Sensor keybed with grand weighted action provides a playing experience that is remarkably close to that of an acoustic grand piano.

The keys respond to the subtlest nuances of your playing, from the lightest staccato touch to the heaviest fortissimo chords. This makes the Nord Piano 5 a joy to play, whether you’re practicing at home, recording in the studio, or performing on stage.

Whether you’re a professional musician looking for a reliable stage instrument, or a hobbyist seeking a high-quality digital piano for home use, the Nord Piano 5 is a fantastic choice.

Its combination of superb sound, advanced features, and exceptional playability make it a standout instrument in its class. For a full review of the Nord Piano 5, check out the following article:

The Nord Grand is the most premium piano in Nord’s instrument lineup and is only surpassed by the newer Nord Stage 4 in terms of features and sound capabilities.

The Grand is a stage piano that offers a premium weighted keybed with advanced triple sensors, capturing the movements of the hammers with exceptional precision.

This feature provides the smooth and natural feel of an acoustic grand piano. The Nord Grand is lightweight and has an elegant design, making it a great choice for stage performances.

The Nord Grand is the first stage piano from Nord to feature triple sensors that track the movements on the hammers rather than the keys, delivering the smooth dynamic touch of an acoustic grand.

The well-balanced and responsive triple sensor keybed features an advanced mechanism providing extraordinary control both when playing percussively as well as pianissimo with fluent repetitions and retriggering without lifting the key completely.

The Nord Grand contains a wide selection of unique Grand, Upright, Electric, and Digital pianos from the exclusive Nord Piano Library.

The factory bank includes 10 Grands, 9 Uprights, 10 Enhanced Electric Pianos, Clavinet, Digital Pianos, and more from the exclusive Nord Piano Library – all handpicked for their unique character.

The Nord Grand also features a Sample Synth Section with a broad selection of Strings, Brass, Synths, Choirs, and many other high-quality sounds from the Nord Sample Library 3.0.

The Effect section has a wide range of instantly tweakable high-quality stereo effects modeled after classic stomp boxes. All effects can be assigned freely to the Piano or Sample Synth section.

For a full review of the Nord Electro 6D, check out the following article:

The Nord Wave 2 is a powerful 4-part performance synthesizer that combines Virtual Analog Synthesis, Samples, FM, and Wavetable with an intuitive layer-focused interface.

It offers 48 voice polyphony and innovative performance features with hands-on controls for outstanding sonic possibilities with advanced layering and tweaking on the fly.

The Nord Wave is a 4-part Synthesizer with dedicated volume/pan faders, Sample, Virtual Analog, Wavetable, and FM synthesis.

It also boasts 48 voice polyphony, OLED Displays for Program and Oscillator sections, 1 GB memory for Nord Sample Library 3.0, user-replaceable samples, and a 61-note keyboard with Aftertouch.

Wave 2 features an Advanced Arpeggiator with Polyphonic Trig mode, a Gate feature for rhythmic effects, Advanced Morph features with Impulse Morph, Master Clock control of Arpeggiator, LFO, Effects, Vibrato with 3 Delay modes, and Aftertouch assign.

The Wave includes Analog, Basic, Shape, Multi, Sync, and Noise with up to 16 oscillators, Samples, Wavetable, Advanced FM with harmonic and inharmonic algorithms, and True Unison mode.

Wave has an LFO with five waveforms, flexible syncing, and routing options, and an AD/AR envelope.

The Nord Wave features an ADSR Amp envelope and Transient Attack Mode.

12/24 dB lowpass, lowpass M, bandpass, high pass, and LP+HP, Filter Drive, and an ADSR envelope.

It has an FX section with Tremolo, Pan, Ring Modulation, Chorus, Ensemble, and Vibe, an EQ section with Drive, an Advanced Delay section, and a Reverb section with five sizes + Dark, Bright, and Chorale modes.

The Wave supports various control pedals, including Fatar, Yamaha FC7, Roland EV-7, Roland EV-5, Korg EXP2, and Korg XVP10.

The Nord Wave 2 is compatible with the Nord Sound Manager software for OS X and Windows, which allows easy reorganizing, back-up, and transfer of programs.

It also supports MIDI over USB for use with a sequencer or with the included Sound Manager software. The Nord Wave 2 features a 61-key (C-C) semi-weighted waterfall keybed with Aftertouch.

The Nord Wave 2 is handmade in Nord’s Stockholm factory with incredible attention to detail and quality control.

Nord Wave 2 is a versatile synthesizer that offers a wide range of features and capabilities for music production and performance.

It is designed for musicians who want a high level of control over their sound, with a wide range of options for shaping and modifying tones.

The Nord Lead A1 is an analog modeling synthesizer that stands out for its powerful and simplified front panel interface. It is designed to produce exceptional sounds for live performances or studio recordings, making it suitable for all musical genres.

The user interface of the Lead A1 is carefully designed to encourage experimentation, allow for speedy programming, and ultimately deliver sensational sonic results.

At the core of the Lead A1 is a new analog modeling engine that takes virtual analog synthesis to the next level. This modeling recreates a total analog signal path with uncanny realism and is capable of immense sonic variety.

With 26-voice polyphony and four simultaneous synthesizer parts, the Lead A1 is a true synthesizer powerhouse that goes far beyond the current trend for limited-capability analog reissues.

The Lead A1 features a unique oscillator section that generates 47 different waveforms from classic analog to digital harmonic and inharmonic waves.

The oscillator section also includes unique Oscillator Configuration Shortcuts that make programming more immediate than ever.

The end result is high-speed programming without the need for the usual complexity of routing and patching, and with the opportunity for ready experimentation.

The filter section of the Lead A1 features classic 12 and 24 dB Low Pass, a High Pass, and a Band Pass filter, together with stunning emulations of the diode and ladder filters from the legendary Mini and the TB-303 synthesizers.

The filters are super-smooth with a warm analog character. The Lead A1 also features an LFO with a choice of waveforms and a three-stage ADR/ASR Modulation Envelope.

The effects section of the Lead A1 features two stunning brand-new analog models of an Ensemble and Chorus, modeled on specific vintage synths and adding classic warmth and analog feel.

Alongside these, you can choose from great-sounding Ring Modulation, Phaser, Flanger, or Drive per slot, and in addition, a separate Delay and Reverb for each slot.

The Lead A1 also includes a ‘Like’ function, a simple and brilliant practical feature to use during patch creation.

It allows you to save up to 50 variations of a patch, with the ability to scroll between them to compare your favorites or go back to a specific Liked version to edit in a different way.

Another popular feature of Lead 4, the Mutator function, is also included in Lead A1. This function allows variations of a patch to be created by adjusting one, some, or all elements of a patch by set percentages.

The Lead A1 is compatible with the Nord Sound Manager software for OS X and Windows.

This software is a dedicated librarian app that allows easy reorganizing, back-up, and transfer of programs. The Lead A1 also features the convenience of MIDI over USB for use with a sequencer or with the included Sound Manager software.

Like all Nord instruments, the Lead A1 is handmade in Nord’s Stockholm factory with incredible attention to detail and quality control. The keyboard is a Fatar® 49-key keybed with a super-fast response.

With an all-metal chassis, tactile knobs, and an unfaltering emphasis on quality, the Lead A1 is an instrument designed to last a lifetime.

The Nord Piano Monitors are a pair of speakers that are exclusively engineered for optimal dynamic reproduction of the electric and acoustic pianos in the Nord Piano Library.

They are designed to provide the optimal nearfield listening experience, allowing you to experience the true character of renowned piano sounds with impressive depth and dynamics. This makes them a natural extension of Nord instruments.

The Nord Piano Monitors come with a new design that allows the brackets to mount directly to the bottom of the speaker. The brackets are included in the box, making the setup process straightforward.

They can be mounted on various Nord models including Nord Piano 4, Nord Piano 5 73/88, Nord Grand, Nord Stage 3 Rev B (88 and HP76), and Nord Stage 4 73/88. This flexibility makes them a versatile choice for various setups.

The monitors feature dual inputs for keyboards (2 x 1/4″) and aux (3.5 mm Stereo), making them versatile for different audio sources.

They also feature an additional auxiliary audio input for connecting a laptop or smartphone. This is perfect for playing along, rehearsing, or just listening to music.

They are compact, with dimensions of 14″ x 11″ x 16″ and a weight of 5.5 kg per pair. Despite their compact size, they deliver a powerful sound with a wattage of 80 watts. They also come with SUB out RCA for additional connectivity options.

The package includes 2 x Nord piano monitor speakers, piano monitor brackets, stereo audio cables (2 x 1/4″), 0.5m and 1.5m, a mono audio cable 1/4″, 1.2m, and power cables for both US and EU. Rubber feet are also included for stable placement.

The Nord Piano Monitors are high-quality, compact, and versatile speakers designed to deliver optimal sound reproduction for Nord pianos. They offer a range of connectivity options, are easy to set up, and have received positive reviews for their sound quality.

The Nord Drum 3P is a compact percussion synthesizer that combines excellent playability with unlimited sound design possibilities.

It introduces new features such as an integrated multi-pad, Reverb and Delay effects, a simplified sound selection mode, and new Sound Banks for quickly creating custom kits on the fly.

The Nord Drum 3P is a 6-channel Modeling Percussion Synthesizer with an integrated multi-pad, kick pad input, and MIDI. It has a simplified user interface with easy sound selection and a new preset ‘Drum Select’ library for kicks, snares, toms, and more.

The advanced sound engine with resonance synthesis, Subtractive synthesis, and FM synthesis allows for a wide range of sound creation. Each pad can have its Reverb and Delay Effects adjusted individually.

Other effects include Drive, Sample-Rate reduction, Ring Modulation, and EQ effects for each pad. The Nord Drum 3P also has MIDI in/out and full CC-control, Stereo Output with an improved output level, and a Headphone Output with an improved output level.

The ultra-compact Nord Drum 3P features an integrated super-responsive multi-pad and external kick input, weighing under 2 kg.

The global Stereo Reverb and Delay effects add a whole new dimension to your drum sounds, and the effect amount is easily adjusted for each drum channel.

The new Drum Select feature lets you browse a wide selection of great-sounding drum sounds, simply assigned to each pad individually. The new Drum Select banks feature 9 categories of great preset sounds that can be easily assigned to any of the six pads/channels.

The Sound generation takes place in three sections Tone, Noise, and Click.

The Tone Section is specialized for creating tonal and harmonically complex sound spectra and has four synthesis modes – Resonant synthesis, Subtractive Synthesis, Frequency Modulation, and Ring Modulation synthesis.

The Noise section is all about producing noise and is very powerful. The Click-section is a specialized section for an ultra-short attack.

Each of the 6 channels of the Nord Drum 3P has its own powerful effects – Drive, EQ, and Ring Modulation. The Nord Drum 3 features two new Master Effects, Reverb and Delay.

The Reverb features 5 room algorithms (Tiled Room, Room, Plate, Stage, and Hall) with controls for tonal color.

The Delay effect features a tap tempo mode and adjustable feedback amount. The amount of Reverb and Delay can be set individually for each of the 6 channels of the Nord Drum 3P.

The Nord Drum 3P also has special features like Edit All mode, Scale Presets, and Mute Group. The Channel Mixer sets the level for each channel and also features a Pan control for creating a lush stereo image.

MIDI in/out is also available for using the Nord Drum 3P with any kind of MIDI pads, or you can also sequence it from an external MIDI Sequencer.

All of the Nord Drum 3P sound parameters can be controlled via CC-controls over MIDI.

Everything you play when using the multi-pads and external input is automatically output to the MIDI output, making the Nord Drum 3 a brilliant controller for other sound sources via MIDI.

Nord’s commitment to quality, innovation, and musicianship makes it a standout choice for both professionals and hobbyists. With a vast array of options spanning across their various series, there’s a Nord piano to fit every performer’s needs and desires.

Nord continues to shape the landscape of digital pianos, synthesizers, and stage keyboards, maintaining its reputation as a beloved brand by musicians worldwide.