Nord Stage 4 Review

We rated the Nord Stage 4 a 10/10. This instrument is the newest piece of technology from Clavia Digital. While it is quite expensive, it serves the target audience (performing professionals) extremely well. The voices are both stunningly realistic, and plentiful. In fact, speaking of plentiful, the memory bank is huge. Between the sturdy build, stellar effects, and close attention to detail, we find ourselves thrilled with this digital keyboard.

Hello! This is Aleah here with another piano keyboard review. Today we are taking a look at one of my absolute favorites – The Nord Stage 4. Certainly, this piano is the newest piece of technology that the company Clavia Digital Music Instruments has to offer. So, without further ado, let’s dive in a little bit deeper.

Nord Stage 4 Overview

Before I discuss this instrument overall, let’s see what Nord and Amazon have to say about the product in the description: 

“The fourth generation of our award-winning Piano series combines greatly expanded voice polyphony, a premium Triple Sensor keyed, and our acclaimed Virtual Hammer Action Technology for the ultimate piano experience. The Nord Piano 4 also includes brilliant new performance features like Seamless Transitions, dedicated Piano Filters and Split Point Crossfades delivering a live-focused keyboard with an exceptional piano feel. The Nord Piano 4 has dedicated knobs and buttons for all essential functions required in a live performance situation. It features two sound sections that can be combined in a layer or split over the keyboard. Each of the sound sections can have specific effects, Volume Pedal and/or Sustain Pedal assigned to them. The Piano 4 has 7 Split Points indicated with LED lights and the new Split Point Crossfade functionality, introduced with Stage 3, offers smooth transitions between two split zones.

The enhanced Organize mode includes Copy/Paste and Move functionality for quickly rearranging your Programs to your desired order and a new Page View lets you easily sort and organize pages as a song list. All Programs, Pianos, and Synth Samples can be easily navigated using the new uniform List View that offers alphabetical, numerical, and category sorting options. An optional new Numeric Pad Mode gives you instant access to Programs by entering the Program number.

The enhanced Piano section features a broad selection of our latest acoustic, electric and digital pianos from the exclusive Nord Piano Library, greatly expanded voice polyphony, and creative new Piano Filters. The Sample Synth Section features expanded memory for the Nord Sample Library 3.0 and extended voice polyphony. The Effect section features a great selection of instantly tweakable high-quality stereo effects modeled after classic stompboxes. All effects can be assigned freely to the Piano or Sample Synth section.” (Amazon, Nord).

Now that’s a lot to take in. Overall, the Nord Stage 4 is a full-sized, professional-grade electronic keyboard with a huge memory bank, and many features. More specifically, let’s focus on specifics. Here are the best features that this instrument has to offer. 

Features

The Ultimate Control Over your Sound

Take a peek at the picture above. This is the Nord Stage 4’s mixer. All I can say is, wow! While the presets on this instrument are wonderful, this feature allows you to control every aspect of the sound, from adding extra effects, to adjusting delay, EQ, compression, reverb, and more. 

Beautiful and Plentiful Voices

Nords’ sampling is stellar, especially for their piano sounds. This includes sound samples from uprights, grands, and electronic pianos. As if this isn’t enough, this instrument comes with the Nord Sound Bank, so you can choose and download many more sounds from there. 

String Resonance

This instrument has something Clavia likes to call “Advanced String Resonance”. Basically, it replicates how the harmonic series would ring over in real life. This is present in both the upright and grand samples.

Improved “Organize Mode”

This company has improved this model yet again. Organize mode now allows you to copy, paste, and move, so you can put your programs where you want them!

Nord Owners Perk: Even More Sounds

As if the sounds on the keyboard and on the dvd wern’t enough, here’s another perk for you; as a Nord owner, there are hundreds of additional sounds that you can choose and download from Nords website. This extra is entirely free, if you own a Nord. 

Specifications

• Weight: 54 pounds
• Dimensions: Approximately 50 x 5 x 13 
• Number of Keys: 88
• Power: Corded
• Voices: 
• Split Points: 7

Who Is It Suitable For?

The Nord 4 is suitable for professionals in the music industry. If you read our last review, the review on the Nord Stage 3, you probably already know the names of some famous musicians who are verified Nord Artists. Nord is a strong name in the pop music industry especially. 

While anyone will love the sound and feel of a Nord piano, the price tag is a bit high for non-professionals. In addition to this, frankly, there are a lot of buttons and aspects to navigate on this digital instrument. That being said, if you have some technical chops (both in the technological and musical sense), and the funds to back you, why not get a Nord?

Nord Stage 4-In Action

Kraft music was kind enough to create a video of the Nord titled “All Playing, No Talking!”. In fact, this video is twenty minutes of straight playing. So, if you can’t get your hands on the Nord 4 Stage Piano before purchasing it, watching this video will help you get a better idea of what this instrument has to offer.

Here are some of the thoughts I had while I was listening to the many sounds of the Nord Stage 4: 

• If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought the first sound was a grand piano inside a recital hall!
• 6 minutes in, the synth is really groovy and guitar-like.
• The unique sounds are just as high-quality as the piano sounds, which is hard to find!

Typically, we only watch one sample video per keyboard that I review. That being said, this piano comes in at a whopping $3,000 price range. So let’s check out another professional musician’s opinion before making any rash moves with a credit card. 

Bonners music has a great buyers guide and overview of the instrument here. But, if you don’t have time to watch another twenty-minute video, well, you know me. Of course, I’ll put the video timestamps in a nutshell in the next section for you here.

• This piano came out in 2018
• The pedal unit is included, as well as a dvd 
• The piano’s default is the ‘Royal Grand” which is a nice classical/ ballad tone
• At 3’ in he shows us the touch sensitivity and ‘bite’ of the instrument, as he calls it
• At 6’ in you can see examples of him changing the attack/curve of the notes
• Also, at 13’ he shows us how to turn on and off the damper pedal sound as well as string resonance, and other features.
• Around 15’ he shows us the effects units in action
• At 21’ he shows the split function

Pros and Cons

Pros

• In buying a Nord piano, you know that you are purchasing the very best in the piano keyboard industry
• It has a sturdy build, with many parts being made of metal and wood
• There are many, high-quality sounds
• You can adjust almost all the features within those sounds
• This instrument also contains a plethora of features, like the split function, wah pedal sound effects and more

Cons

• It has a high price tag
• You can’t multitrack playbacks
• It does not have built-in speakers
• The interface is difficult for new pianists to navigate
• Like other Nord Stage pianos, this instrument does not come with speakers
• This instrument is over 50 pounds, so it isn’t super portable

Nord Stage 4 Quick View 

So, What’s the Difference? Nord Stage 4 Vs. Nord Stage 3

Did you know that the Nord Stage 4’s biggest competitor is the Nord Stage 3? When a company starts competing against itself, you know it’s good. So what’s the difference?

These two instruments both use fully-weighted GHS keys, while other Nords do not. But here is the main difference: The Nord Stage 3 is technically a synthesizer, while the Nord Stage 4 is technically a digital piano. In particular, aside from this difference, the Nord 4 is essentially an upgrade of the Nord 3. For example, the 4 has expanded polyphony, more reverb options, and a new and improved soundbank. 

Conclusion

Certainly, for those who can afford it, the Nord Stage 4 is a beautifully crafted modern electronic keyboard. So, come back again soon for more thoughts on modern pianos! 

10Expert Score

We rated the Nord Stage 4 a 10/10. This instrument is the newest piece of technology from Clavia Digital. While it is quite expensive, it serves the target audience (performing professionals) extremely well. The voices are both stunningly realistic, and plentiful. And, speaking of plentiful, the memory bank is huge. Between the sturdy build, stellar effects, and close attention to detail, we find ourselves thrilled with this digital keyboard.

PROS

• In buying a Nord piano, you know that you are purchasing the very best in the piano keyboard industry
• It has a sturdy build, with many parts being made of metal and wood
• There are many, high-quality sounds
• You can adjust almost all the features within those sounds
• This instrument also contains a plethora of features, like the split function, wah pedal sound effects and more

CONS

• It has a high price tag
• You can’t multitrack playbacks
• It does not have built-in speakers
• The interface is difficult for new pianists to navigate
• Like other Nord Stage pianos, this instrument does not come with speakers
• This instrument is over 50 pounds, so it isn’t super portable