Stage 3 Compact : I've hit a jackpot with this one!

This is my first Nord, but boy it will definitely won't be my last as I'm already considering buying the Stage 3 88 for the band's studio. My previous decision was to by an electro 6D 73 to use it as a light weight bottom keyboard for pianos and organs. After more thought though I decided to upgrade to the stage 3 compact because of the electro's limitation that will require me to always have another keyboard with it. And I'm so glad that I decided to spend that extra amount on the stage 3 compact! it is still very light, the waterfall keybed offers the best compromise between the fully weighted keys and the light synth keys that you would find in most keyboards. in fact, I don't think there's any other keyboard in the market now that offers the stage 3 compact's keybed, besides maybe the Kronos LE which only comes in the 88 key version I think. I can't speak enough about this keybed! It allows me to play synth and organ passages freely and lightly while not taking away the responsiveness of the weighted feeling when playing piano parts. It is really the best of two worlds.

If you're reading this and not knowing what to expect from the nord stage 3 in general then believe me this keyboard IS the real deal. Sound wise I think it beats any other competitor, and I'm not talking about pianos and electric pianos here (which many find to be the best in the market) because those will ALWAYS be subjective. But I'm talking about the power and versatility of both the synth engine and the organ engine. Honestly, I knew exactly what I was expecting from the piano and the organ engine, but it was the synth that really blew me away! The user manual is only 62 pages including the indexes! so we're talking about roughly 50 pages only that will get you up and running in no time to understand the whole keyboard (in case you're totally new to nord like me!).

My ONLY point against it is the fact that while it allows you to layer up to 6 layers of sounds it restricts you to only four zones of the keyboard because the split point cuts through both panels of the keyboard.

Compared to very advanced synths/workstations like Montage or Kronos, those big boys might be able to do more, but they require much more thought in order to achieve what you want to achieve with them.. It is here where the Nord shines! because it does what it does so easily, so logically and so straight forward, which allows you to put that time and thought into actually playing your music.. :)