User Manual
Nord Stage EX
OS Version 6.x
Part No. 50250 Copyright Clavia DMI AB 2010
Print Edition 6.0
CAUTION - ATTENTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
RISQUE DE SHOCK ELECTRIQUE
NE PAS OUVRIR
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK).
NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
ATTENTION:POUR EVITER LES RISQUES DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE, NE
PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE.
AUCUN ENTRETIEN DE PIECES INTERIEURES PAR L´USAGER.
CONFIER L´ENTRETIEN AU PERSONNEL QUALIFE.
AVIS: POUR EVITER LES RISQUES D´INCIDENTE OU D´ELECTROCUTION,
N´EXPOSEZ PAS CET ARTICLE A LA PLUIE OU L´HUMIDITET.
Instructions pertaining to a risk of re, electric shock or injury to persons.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
Warning - When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following:
1) Read these instructions.
2) Keep these instructions.
3) Heed all warnings.
4) Follow all instructions.
5) Do not use this apparatus near water.
6) Clean only with dry cloth.
7) Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance
with the manufacturer’s instructions.
8) Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat
registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including ampliers) that
produce heat.
9) Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or
grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one
wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades
and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong
are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not t
into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the
obsolete outlet.
Additional Safety Information
No naked ame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on
the apparatus;
Do not use the apparatus in tropical climates.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of re or electric shock, do not expose
this apparatus to rain or moisture.
The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing and that
no objects lled with liquids, such as vases, shall be placed on the
apparatus.
The maims plug is used as the disconnect device and shall remain
readily operable.
The lightning ash with the arrowhead symbol within
an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of uninsulated voltage within the products en-
closure that may be of sufcient magnitude to constitute
a risk of electric shock to persons.
Le symbole éclair avec le point de èche à l´intérieur d´un triangle
équilatéral est utilisé pour alerter l´utilisateur de la presence à
l´intérieur du coffret de ”voltage dangereux” non isolé d´ampleur
sufsante pour constituer un risque d`éléctrocution.
The exclamation mark within an equilateral triangle is
intended to alert the user to the presence of important
operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the product.
Le point d´exclamation à l´intérieur d´un triangle équilatéral est
employé pour alerter l´utilisateur de la présence d´instructions
importantes pour le fonctionnement et l´entretien (service) dans le
livret d´instructions accompagnant l´appareil.
10) Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched
particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point
where they exit from the apparatus.
11) Only use attachments/accessories specied by the manufacturer.
12) Use only with the cart, stand,
tripod, bracket, or table specied by the
manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus.
When a cart is used, use caution when
moving the cart/apparatus combination to
avoid injury from tip-over.
13) Unplug this apparatus during lightning
storms or when unused for long periods of time.
14) Refer all servicing to qualied service personnel. Servicing
is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way,
such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been
spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus
has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
Il convient de ne pas placer sur l´appareil de sources de ammes nues,
telles que des bougies allumées;
L´appareil n’est pas destiné á étre utilisé sous un climat tropical.
L´appareil ne doit pas étre exposé á des égouttements d´eau ou des
éclaboussures et de plus qu´aucun objet rempli de liquide tel que des
vases ne doit étre placé sur l´appareil.
Lorsque la prise du résau d’alimentation est utilisée comme dispositif
de déconnexion, ce dispositif doit demeuré aisément accessible.
Trademarks: The Nord logo is trademark of Clavia DMI AB. All other trademarks mentioned
in this publication are the properties of their respective holders.
Specications and appearances are subject to change without notice.
Copyright © Clavia DMI AB
Nord Stage EX v6.x Table of contents
Table of contents
1. Introduction ......................................................... 5
Welcome ....................................................................................... 5
About the Owner’s Manual........................................................ 6
Clavia on the Internet ............................................................... 6
2. Overview ................................................................ 7
The Nord Stage front panel ..................................................... 7
The Keyboard............................................................................... 8
About Knobs & Buttons............................................................. 8
3. Connections ........................................................10
Nord Stage rear panel ............................................................ 10
Audio connections .................................................................... 10
MIDI connections ...................................................................... 10
Connecting pedals.................................................................... 11
4. Getting Started .................................................12
About Instruments ................................................................... 12
About Programs........................................................................ 12
Activating instrument sections .............................................. 13
About Panel A & B .................................................................... 14
Setting output Level for instruments .................................. 15
Adding a Global effect ............................................................ 15
5. The Program section ..........................................16
Overview..................................................................................... 16
What is a Program? .................................................................. 19
Storing Programs..................................................................... 20
6. The Instruments .................................................22
Introduction.............................................................................. 22
Common Features...................................................................... 22
The Organ Section.................................................................... 24
The Piano section...................................................................... 30
The Synth section..................................................................... 34
1
Table of contents Nord Stage EX v6.x
7. The Effects ......................................................... 49
About the effects .....................................................................49
The Panel effects......................................................................50
The Rotor section ....................................................................55
8. Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups ......... 56
Keyboard Zones .........................................................................56
Octave Shift ..............................................................................58
Dual Panel setups ....................................................................58
9. The Morph Assign feature ................................ 60
About Morph Assign .................................................................60
Using Morph - an example.........................................................60
Morph Assignable parameters.................................................61
About setting Morph parameter ranges ................................62
Clearing Morph Assignments...................................................62
About Aftertouch .....................................................................62
10. The Extern section .......................................... 63
About the Extern section ........................................................63
Setting up ..................................................................................63
Using the Extern section.........................................................63
The Parameter section..............................................................64
11. System functions.............................................66
System menu...............................................................................66
Sound Menu................................................................................68
MIDI menu ...................................................................................68
Extern menu ...............................................................................70
2
Nord Stage EX v6.x Table of contents
12. Factory Presets and OS .................................71
Internal memory........................................................................ 71
Factory presets........................................................................ 71
OS upgrades.............................................................................. 71
13. Nord Stage Manager .......................................72
Overview..................................................................................... 72
The Quick Tour .......................................................................... 75
Nord Stage Manager reference.............................................. 79
Tabs ............................................................................................ 84
14. MIDI functions..................................................86
About the MIDI implementation ............................................... 86
Using Nord Stage with a sequencer ...................................... 87
Program, Controller and Synth Sound dumps..................... 88
Panic........................................................................................... 89
15. MIDI implementation.........................................90
MIDI Controller list................................................................ 90
MIDI Implementation Chart...................................................... 93
Index........................................................................95
3
Table of contents Nord Stage EX v6.x
4
Nord Stage EX v6.x 1. Introduction: Welcome
1. INTRODUCTION
WELCOME
We’d first like to thank you for purchasing the Nord Stage EX Eighty Eight/Seventy Six/Compact!
Clavia’s goal when developing the Nord Stage was to create a flagship stage instrument encompassing the whole range of Clavia’s expertise. Building on the success of the Nord Electro, the Nord Stage
incorporates the best emulations of traditional electromechanical/acoustic keyboard instruments on
the market as well as a synthesizer section designed for maximum ease of use, yet offering wide sonic
possibilities.
The Nord Stage EX features outstanding classic keyboard sounds with true feel, from natural keyboard response to authentic sound. A medium weighted hammer action 88/76 note keyboard, or a 73
note semi-weighted waterfall keyboard makes this instrument the largest in Clavia’s range, yet it
weighs only 18,5/16,5/9,7 kilos which is an achievement in itself.
To make a great tool you have to put all the focus on a few things, and that’s what we did with the
Nord Stage. Think about it, the best tool isn’t a Swiss army knife.
FEATURES
The Nord Stage EX has the following main features:
• Organ section with faithful reproductions of three classic models; B3 (Hammond), V-Type (Vox
Continental) and F-Type (Farfisa).
• Piano section with concert grand/upright acoustic pianos, Electric Pianos and Wurlitzer electric
pianos, Clavinet, and Electric Grand. The total memory capacity in the Stage EX units is 256 MB.
The available space for the pianos is a bit smaller, part of the memory is used for the wavetables.
• Synth section with subtractive, FM and wavetable synthesis.
• Comprehensive effects section.
• A medium weighted hammer action 88/76 note keyboard with Aftertouch, or a 73 note semiweighted waterfall keyboard with Aftertouch.
• An Extern section for controlling external MIDI instruments.
• A Morph feature for applying multiple parameter changes to a sound with controllers.
• Splits and layers are easily set up by assigning instruments to Keyboard Zones.
But that’s not all. There are two independent Panels “A” and “B”, each containing a full setup of the
Stage instruments. This means that you have access to six instrument sections and two independent
effect sections! Amongst other things, this allows for “dual manual” B3 organ emulation, and easy
setup of all kinds of instrument layering and splits.
Page 5
1. Introduction: About the Owner’s Manual Nord Stage EX v6.x
ABOUT THE OWNER’S MANUAL
The manual is arranged mainly as a reference manual. In many cases you’ll get tips on how to practically use the functions, alone and also together with other functions. Every time the manual wants
your attention to an object on the Stage, the name of that object will be printed
TORE button’. The LCD display on the Nord Stage EX is always referred to as the DISPLAY.
the S
Whenever there is a reference to the ‘keyboard’, that reference also applies to any incoming MIDI
note messages.
READING THE MANUAL IN ADOBE ACROBAT READER
This manual is also available in the digital PDF-file format. It can be downloaded, free of charge,
from Clavia’s web site at http://www.nordkeyboards.com. When reading the manual as PDF-file, you
will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or later.
This program can be downloaded, free of charge, at http://www.adobe.com.
With Adobe Acrobat Reader it is possible to use special navigation features like hyperlinks. This
means that you can click with the mouse on a word or sentence and automatically get to the location
indicated by the word/sentence. To better show what words or sentences are hyperlinked in this manual, these words are written in magenta.
LIKE THIS, e.g. ‘press
NORD ON THE INTERNET
If you have access to the Internet, you’re very welcome to visit http://www.nordkeyboards.com.
There you will find the latest information about Nord Stage EX and other Nord products. You can
also download new Nord Stage EX sounds and software upgrades, free of charge.
Page 6
Nord Stage EX v6.x 2. Overview: The Nord Stage EX front panel
2. OVERVIEW
THE NORD STAGE EX FRONT PANEL
Organ section
Master
Level/Rotor
effect section
Piano
section
Program
section
Synth section
Effects section
Extern
section
THE PROGRAM SECTION
The central Program section is where you select and store Programs, access System parameters, activate keyboard zones for splits and layers, and assign Morphing functions. See “The Program sec-
tion” on page 16 for details.
MASTER LEVEL/ROTOR SECTION
The leftmost front panel section contains a Master Level control and a rotary speaker simulator effect.
The M
PHONES output.
The Rotor effect section is logically placed close to the organ section (as rotary speaker effects are
most commonly used with organ sounds), but can be applied to any instrument section just like the
other effects. See “The Rotor section” on page 55
ASTER LEVEL knob controls the overall output level for all four CH OUT jacks and the HEAD-
THE ORGAN SECTION
The Organ section in the Stage features emulations of three classic organ models; a Hammond B3, a
Vox Continental II (V-Type) and a Farfisa Compact DeLuxe (F-Type). See “The Organ Section” on
page 24.
THE PIANO SECTION
The piano section in Nord Stage EX comprises various multi-sampled piano instruments. The Nord
Stage EX utilizes advanced multi-level sample playback, catching every nuance from soft to hard key
strokes. Nord Stage comes right out of the box with several classic piano instruments stored in a Flash
memory with a total capacity of 256 MB. The big advantage with Flash memory is that you can replace instruments with new ones and that no backup battery is required. The Stage also sports a USB
interface for quick and easy download of new piano sounds. See “The Piano section” on page 30.
Page 7
2. Overview: The Keyboard Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE SYNTH SECTION
The Synth section has been designed for maximum ease of use in live situations, while keeping flexibility and sound control. It is based on standard subtractive synthesis, with a very flexible oscillator
section that can produce all common analog-style waveforms, up to three-oscillator FM synthesis,
and a bank of carefully designed wavetables for those unusual timbres. The synth also sports a highquality resonant low-pass filter with selectable slope, two envelopes, a simple EQ, and a very powerful Unison mode.
See “The Synth section” on page 34.
THE EXTERN SECTION
The Extern section controls an external MIDI instrument. You can use the PARAMETER knob to control various parameters on the external device. You can also assign the external instrument to any
Keyboard Zone, just like the built-in instruments! See “The Extern section” on page 63.
THE EFFECTS SECTION
Here you’ll find the numerous effects and modulations you can use to add that extra flavour to your
sounds. See “The Effects” on page 49.
THE KEYBOARD
The keyboard of the Nord Stage EX features 88/76 medium weighted keys or 73 semi-weighted waterfall keys for optimal feel and response with piano instruments. For organ sounds there is also a fast
trigger response option which closely mimics the feel of a real organ.
The keyboard can be split into three Keyboard Zones to which any instrument section can be freely
assigned. Assigned Keyboard Zones are saved with a Program. See “Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel
setups” on page 56.
ABOUT KNOBS & BUTTONS
THE KNOBS
There are two types of knobs on the Nord Stage EX:
• Rotary Encoders that show the position with red LED indicators.
These always reflect the “true” value, and can also be controlled using the
Morph function (see “About Morph Assign” on page 60).
• Other knobs are of the potentiometer type. After you load a program, the corresponding parameter may not correspond to the actual position of the physical
knob. As soon as you begin turning a knob, the parameter value will ‘snap’ to
the knob’s physical position. The display will indicate the parameter value if the
corresponding section is active, with an exception for the Effect parameters.
These will be shown regardless of the Effect sections active status.
Page 8
Nord Stage EX v6.x 2. Overview: About Knobs & Buttons
THE BUTTONS
There are three types of buttons for editing sounds on the Nord Stage EX:
ELECTOR BUTTONS
S
Press the SELECTOR button repeatedly to select between options printed
next to the corresponding triangular LED (see figure).
O
N/OFF BUTTONS
The ON/OFF buttons have a LED next to them to indicate the status.
RAWBAR BUTTONS
D
The DRAWBAR buttons are special in the way that they auto-increment/decrement the corresponding
parameter when held. I.e. if you hold a D
continue to increment or decrement (within its range) until you release the button.
RAWBAR button the corresponding drawbar parameter will
THE SHIFT BUTTON
Many buttons and knobs have a second function, printed in darker text just below the button or knob.
You access these additional functions and parameters by holding S
turning a knob.
The S
HIFT button is also an EXIT button, used for example to exit menus and store operations.
HIFT while pressing a button or
Page 9
3. Connections: Nord Stage EX rear panel Nord Stage EX v6.x
3. CONNECTIONS
NORD STAGE EX REAR PANEL
AUDIO CONNECTIONS
• Make all audio connections before turning on your power amplifier!
• All signal cables used with the Nord Stage EX must be shielded.
• The four audio outputs (CH O
• If you wish to connect the Nord Stage EX in stereo to your audio equipment, you should use CH1
UT in pair with CH2 OUT.
O
• You can also route individual instruments to CH O
channels. This is done on the System page - see page 66.
UT 1-4)) are line level and unbalanced.
UTPUTS 3 & 4 either in stereo or as two mono
MIDI CONNECTIONS
• If you are using a Nord Stage EX together with a MIDI keyboard, connect a MIDI cable from
MIDI Out on the keyboard to MIDI I
• If you are using Nord Stage EX to control an external MIDI instrument, connect a MIDI cable
from MIDI O
UT on the Nord Stage EX to the MIDI In connector on the other instrument.
N on the Nord Stage EX.
Page 10
Nord Stage EX v6.x 3. Connections: Connecting pedals
CONNECTING PEDALS
The Nord Stage EX has four pedal inputs: one CONTROL PEDAL input (configurable to control various Nord Stage EX parameters), one O
TOR SPEED input (for rotary speaker fast/slow selection). You can select for each instrument whether
it should react to sustain or not (see “Activating the Sustain Pedal/Pitch Stick for Instruments” on
page 22). Connect the pedals as shown in the figure below:
RGAN SWELL input, one SUSTAIN PEDAL input and one RO-
When connecting an expression-type pedal to the C
should use a stereo cable (Tip-Ring-Sleeve). Please note that the pedal must have a stereo output jack.
Pedals from various manufacturers have different characteristics. To simplify setup, the most common pedal models (Roland, Yamaha, Ernie Ball and Fatar) are preconfigured in the Nord Stage EX,
and you simply select the type of pedal in the System menu. See “Ctrl Pedal Type” on page 67 for
more information about this setting.
ONTROL PEDAL or ORGAN SWELL input, you
THE ORGAN SWELL INPUT
You can connect an expression pedal to the ORGAN SWELL input to control organ swell. For the B3
organ, the characteristic swell volume/frequency response is faithfully reproduced. If you want to
control the entire Stage’s volume with a pedal, this can be set in the System Settings to apply to a
pedal connected to the Organ Swell input. See “Swell Pedal Dest” on page 68 for more information
about this setting.
USING A ROTOR SPEED PEDAL
You can use a pedal connected to the ROTOR SPEED input to switch between Slow and Fast rotor
speed for the Rotary Speaker effect. This pedal can work in hold or toggle mode, which is set in the
System Menu (see page 66).
Page 11
4. Getting Started: About Instruments Nord Stage EX v6.x
4. GETTING STARTED
ABOUT INSTRUMENTS
When “Instrument sections” or “Instruments” are referred to in the manual, this is a collective reference to the Organ, Piano and Synth instruments which can be all be active within a Program.
ABOUT PROGRAMS
A Program in Nord Stage EX basically contains all settings (instruments and effects etc.) when the
Program was saved. A Program can consist of a single instrument or a combination of up to six instruments and two Extern sections, which can be assigned to one ore more Keyboard Zones for split
and layered sounds.
Programs also contains settings for both Panel A and B (see “About Panel A & B” on page 14.
For more details about the Program memory architecture see “What is a Program?” on page 19.
SELECTING PROGRAMS
The Program memory in Nord Stage EX consists of 21 Program Pages, with each Page holding 6 Programs for a total of 126 Programs. All Programs can be edited and replaced at any time. To select a
Program for playing/editing, proceed as follows:
1. Select a Page (1-21) by pressing the P
section. Hold a P
2. Select a Program on the current Page by pressing one of the six P
GRAM buttons 1 to 6.
• You can also use the V
PLAY to select Programs. By turning the knob you can con-
tinuously scroll between all Programs (on all Pages).
AGE -/+ to scroll quickly through the Program Pages.
ALUE DIAL to the right of the DIS-
AGE -/+ buttons in the Program
RO-
Page 12
Nord Stage EX v6.x 4. Getting Started: Activating instrument sections
EDITING A PROGRAM
Actually, how to change a programmed sound can be described in one sentence: “tweak the knobs
and press the buttons”. It is as simple as that! Don’t be afraid to edit and overwrite the factory Programs. If you want to restore any of the original factory programs later, you can download them at
http://www.nordkeyboards.com and transfer them to your Nord Stage EX as MIDI SysEx files or use
the Nord Sound Manager to reload them. To indicate that a Program has been edited (changed from
the stored version), an asterisk (*) is shown to the right of the Program number in the D
ISPLAY.
REVERTING TO THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM
If you have edited a Program and want to revert to the stored original, just press the corresponding
ROGRAM button again.
P
STORING AND NAMING PROGRAMS
How to store and name Programs is described in a separate chapter - see “The Program section” on
page 16.
ACTIVATING INSTRUMENT SECTIONS
There are three main instrument sections in Nord Stage EX: the Organ section,
the Piano section and the Synth section. You can activate/deactivate instrument
sections in the following ways:
• Pressing the KB Z
that one or more of the LEDs lights up will activate the corresponding instrument. If all LEDs are
lit, the instrument will play across the whole range of the keyboard. Any other active instrument(s)
will in this case be layered with the instrument you just activated.
• Pressing the KB Z
will turn off the corresponding section.
• For information on how to use splits see the chapter “Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups” on
page 56.
INSTRUMENT INITS
Alternatively, you can use the following method to select one of four basic INSTRUMENT INIT setups
(Init-Organ/Init-Split Organ/Init-Piano/Init-Synth). This will activate the corresponding instrument,
and deactivate all other instruments.
ONE SELECT ON/OFF button for an Instrument section so
ONE SELECT button for an active Instrument section (so that the LEDs go dark)
1. Hold down the S
2. Press one of the O
activate the corresponding instrument section. The “Split Organ” setup uses a split for a Lower/
Upper manual organ where the lower half of the keyboard plays an organ belonging to Panel A
and the upper half plays Panel B (see “About Split Organ Setups” on page 29).
HIFT button.
RGAN, SPLIT ORGAN, PIANO OR SYNTH buttons in the Program section to
Page 13
4. Getting Started: About Panel A & B Nord Stage EX v6.x
ABOUT PANEL A & B
All instruments in Nord Stage EX are two part multitimbral. This means that each instrument section
can produce two sounds simultaneously, with completely independent settings. The key to this feature are the two Panels; A and B.
The two P
ANEL buttons A and B selects which Panel is currently active (or edit active - see below).
Each Panel controls three instrument sections and four Panel effects. Having two Panels with their
own settings not only allows you to alternate between two sound setups within a selected Program. It
also lets you have both Panels activated, giving you access to two simultaneous instruments in each
section, e.g. a Electric Piano and a Clavinet, two Synths etc. In dual panel mode you are basically
layering two full sets of the Nord Stage EX panel.
• You activate both panels by holding down one of the P
ANEL A/B buttons and then pressing the
other.
• To exit “Dual Panel” mode, hold down one of the P
ANEL A/B buttons and then press the other.
• To copy the settings from another Panel to the active Program/Panel, press and hold one of the
Panel buttons and turn the Value dial. The display will indicate which of the Panels in the entire
Program memory of the Stage that will be copied to the current Program/Panel. Don’t forget to
save any new Panel combination that you have created using this method if you want to keep it.
ABOUT PANEL EDIT FOCUS
Both Panels activated. One of the PANEL button
LEDs will blink to indicate which Panel is currently
has the edit focus.
If both Panels are activated, the settings on the front panel always reflects settings for one of the Panels (A or B) at a time.
• Any tweaking of parameters will only affect the Panel that has “edit focus”, which is indicated by
a blinking P
ANEL button.
• If you select pianos to both Panels, they can be detuned by using the Unison Detune feature.
• Pressing the other P
ANEL button will then instantly switch edit focus to the other Panel and allow
you to edit the settings.
• Each Panel contains independent settings for the Organ, separate instances of two instruments
(Piano and Synth), one Extern section, as well as four Panel effects (Effect 1/2, Delay and AmpSim/EQ).
• Thus, within a single Program you can use up to six instruments, two external instruments and
eight independent effects.
Page 14
Nord Stage EX v6.x 4. Getting Started: Setting output Level for instruments
SETTING OUTPUT LEVEL FOR INSTRUMENTS
Each instrument has a LEVEL rotary encoder at the top of the panel. This adjusts the output level for
the corresponding instrument section. The L
EVEL encoders can be controlled in a Morph scenario.
ADDING A GLOBAL EFFECT
Nord Stage EX features four effect groups; the Rotor section (rotary speaker effect),
the Effects section (three separate effects units; Effect 1, 2 and Delay), the Ampsim/
EQ section (overdrive and amplifier/speaker modelling with EQ), and a Compressor
and Reverb section. The Compressor and Reverb effects are global, and affect all instruments routed to the main CH OUT 1/2 jacks. The Rotor can process the same
instrument from both panels (Organ A&B, Piano A&B or Synth A&B). The other
effects can process one freely selectable instrument per Panel.
• To add a global reverb effect to a sound, simply press the O
section.
Now you can adjust the amount of reverb effect using the D
the basic reverb character (Hall/Hall soft/Stage/Stage soft/Room) using the Selector
button!
How to use the other effects is described in the Effects chapter, see “The Effects” on
page 49.
N button in the Reverb
RY/WET knob, and set
Page 15
5. The Program section: Overview Nord Stage EX v6.x
5. THE PROGRAM SECTION
OVERVIEW
The Program section comprises central functions such as Program handling, system pages etc. System pages are covered in a separate chapter - see “System functions” on page 66.
LOAD A PROGRAM
You can load a program in several different ways.
• Press any of the P
gram Page.
• Press or hold P
• Turn the V
shifted as needed.
• Hold S
is shifted as needed.
• Press either of the L
Live 1&2 Buffers” on page 19).
ALUE DIAL in either direction to scroll through all Programs. Program Page focus is
HIFT and press or hold the PAGE buttons to step through the Programs. Program Page focus
ROGRAM 1-6 buttons to load the corresponding program from the current Pro-
AGE + or - to step through the 21 Program Pages in the Nord Stage.
IVE 1-2 buttons to activate one of the special Live Buffers (see “About the
Page 16
Nord Stage EX v6.x 5. The Program section: Overview
PENDING PROGRAM CHANGE
Normally a program is loaded the same moment you press a PROGRAM button, or as soon as you turn
ALUE DIAL. Sometimes you may want to browse through the programs without leaving the cur-
the V
rent program, for example while still playing with the other hand. Then you can use the “pending program change” feature:
• While pressing S
ISPLAY. Release the SHIFT button. The corresponding PROGRAM BUTTON will flash to show
D
HIFT, turn the VALUE DIAL until you see the program you want to load in the
you that it is ready to load. Press the flashing button to load the program.
• If you change your mind, press E
XIT (SHIFT) to cancel the operation.
PAGE -/+ BUTTONS
The PAGE -/+ buttons are used to select Program Pages and to navigate between System menu pages.
Hold either button to browse quickly through the pages.
When combined with the S
HIFT button, the PAGE buttons step through all the 121 available Pro-
grams.
DISPLAY
The MAIN DISPLAY normally shows the name of the currently selected Program, but is also used for
displaying various system parameters and messages.
THE SHIFT / EXIT BUTTON
Many buttons and knobs have secondary functions that you can access by holding down
S
HIFT and pressing the button or turning the knob. The Shift induced functions are always
printed below the corresponding button or knob. For example, pressing S
GRAM 3 button will allow you to access the MIDI system parameters.
HIFT + PRO-
In a few cases, the “shift” functionality can be achieved by double-clicking a button. This works primarily with Keyboard Zone assignments and Effect source selects.
HIFT button is also an EXIT button, for example when you want to exit a menu, or cancel a Store
The S
operation.
VALUE DIAL
The VALUE DIAL to the right of the DISPLAY is used to select Program locations, to set system parameter values and to “type” in Program names.
When used with the S
press the corresponding, blinking P
HIFT button, the VALUE DIAL selects a Program, but does not load it until you
ROGRAM button. See “Pending program change” above.
Page 17
5. The Program section: Overview Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE STORE BUTTON
The red STORE button is used when storing Programs (see “Storing Programs” on page 20).
PROGRAM BUTTONS
Below the DISPLAY are the six PROGRAM buttons (1- 6). They are used to load Programs, to access
menus and to load either of the two Organ Inits.
THE LIVE 1/2 BUTTONS
Pressing either of the LIVE 1/2 buttons will activate a Live buffer - see “About the Live 1&2 Buffers”
on page 19 for a description of this special memory feature. They are also used to load the Piano and
Synth Inits.
KB ZONES 2/3 BUTTONS
These buttons are used to activate keyboard zones. Each Program can have up
to three keyboard zones (Lower/Upper/High), and each instrument section can
be set to play across all, two or one of these zones - see “Keyboard Zones and
Dual Panel setups” on page 56.
MORPH ASSIGN BUTTONS
This section allows you to assign panel parameter(s) to be controlled using the Mod wheel, a control
pedal or keyboard aftertouch. Multiple parameters can be Morph-assigned so that when you for example move the Mod wheel it will change the drawbars settings for the organ and the volume of the
piano section simultaneously. See “The Morph Assign feature” on page 60.
PANEL A/B BUTTONS
For each Program you have two independent Panels; A and B, where each Panel contains independent
instances and settings of the three instrument sections and effects. If you activate both Panels you can
use two instruments of the same type at the same time, e.g. two Piano instruments or a Split Organ
setup (see “About Split Organ Setups” on page 29. This is done by simultaneously pressing both
ANEL A and B buttons. When both panels are active you have access to six instrument sections and
P
eight effects sections (Effect 1 & 2, Delay and AmpSim/EQ x2).
One of the P
settings that are currently shown and can be tweaked. To switch edit focus to the other Panel, press
the corresponding P
ANEL A & B buttons will then blink to indicate edit focus, i.e. which of the two Panel’s
ANEL button.
Page 18
Nord Stage EX v6.x 5. The Program section: What is a Program?
To copy the settings from another Panel to the selected Program/Panel, press and hold one of the Panel buttons and turn the Value dial. The display will indicate which of the Panels in the entire Program
memory of the Stage that will be copied to the current Program/Panel.
WHAT IS A PROGRAM?
A Program basically stores everything (except System functions which are mostly global). To understand the internal architecture in Nord Stage EX, keep the following in mind:
• For each Panel
independent (except the choice of organ model, which is always shared between the panels).
• A Program
six instruments, eight Panel Effects, and two Extern sections.
• A Program also stores all settings from the Extern menu, except the Extern A & B MIDI channels
and the Send on Load setting (see “Extern menu” on page 70), and the output routings for each
instrument (see “System menu” on page 66).
• The Global effects (Compressor/Reverb) and the Rotor effect affect both Panels, and are stored
with the Program as well.
• Splits, layers (Keyboard Zones) and Morph assignments are of course also part of a Program.
, settings for all three Instruments, the four Panel Effects, and the Extern section are
stores settings for both Panel A and B, so a Program contains independent settings for
ABOUT THE LIVE 1&2 BUFFERS
The special Live memory feature can be described as a “live program memory”. If you activate the
IVE 1 OR 2 buttons, all changes to panel settings you make will be continuously saved. If you switch
L
the power off, or select another Program, the settings are still stored in the Live memory, so when you
power up next time (or return to the Live memory) all settings will be exactly as you left them.
Having two Live memory locations means that two independent setups can be “saved” in this way.
If Live memory is selected and you decide you wish to store the settings permanently as a Program
you can do so using the standard methods (see below).
You can also store Programs into the Live 1 or 2 memory locations, in which case the Program settings will replace the current Live memory settings. Note that when you store a Program into either
of the Live memory locations, the stored settings will be “transferred” to Live memory, i.e. any
changes you make will be stored continuously, and you will not be able to revert back to the exact
settings as they were when “stored”.
The Live buffers are useful, e.g., for improvisatory performances, and as scratch pads for new sound
setups.
Page 19
5. The Program section: Storing Programs Nord Stage EX v6.x
STORING PROGRAMS
Storing a Program will overwrite the existing Program in the selected memory location.
Note! When Nord Stage EX is shipped from factory, Memory Protect is set to ‘On’. To be able
to store Programs, you need to change this to “Off”. See “Memory Protect” on page 68.
STORING A PROGRAM
You can store a Program in two ways, with the old name or with a new name. To store a Program
without changing its name, proceed as follows:
1. Press the S
rently selected P
the D
TORE button once. The STORE button and the cur-
ROGRAM button indicator starts blinking, and
ISPLAY will read “Store to X : X” (the current Page and
Store to 1:5
Wizard
Program number), plus the Program name,
2. Next step is to select a Page/Program location to store the edited Program in. You can use the
P
AGE -/+ buttons to select a Program Page (1-21), and the PROGRAM 1-6 buttons to select a Pro-
gram number on the selected Page (or the Live 1 or 2 memories). Alternatively, you can use the
ALUE DIAL to scroll through all Programs (on all Program Pages). To cancel the operation,
V
press E
XIT (SHIFT).
• From here you can opt to name the program before finally storing it - see “Naming a Program”
below.
3. Press S
TORE again to store your Program. The Display now reads “Program Stored!” for a short
duration.
Page 20
Nord Stage EX v6.x 5. The Program section: Storing Programs
NAMING A PROGRAM
To name a program, proceed as follows:
1. Hold down S
blinking, and the D
HIFT and press the STORE AS... button once. The STORE button indicator starts
ISPLAY will read “Set Name”.
2. Now use one of the following methods to name your Program:
• You can move the cursor position left or right in the D
ISPLAY by using the PAGE -/+ buttons.
• When the cursor is at the position where you want to enter/change a character, you can use the
V
ALUE DIAL to scroll through all available characters (a-z.A-Z, 0-9, Space and “-”).
• By holding down S
HIFT and pressing the INS (PAGE +) button, you enter a blank step at the cursor
position.
• By holding down S
HIFT and pressing the DEL (PAGE -) button, you erase the character at the cur-
sor position.
• Alternatively, you can press and hold down the KB Z
characters in the D
ALUE DIAL to select a character at the current cursor position. When you release the KB
the V
ONES button the cursor automatically moves to the next position.
Z
3. Press S
TORE again. Now you can use the same methods as outlined in “Storing a Program”
ISPLAY with the focus on the character the cursor was last on. You can now use
ONES 2 OR 3 button. This will bring up the
above to store your name with the Program.
Page 21
6. The Instruments: Introduction Nord Stage EX v6.x
6. THE INSTRUMENTS
INTRODUCTION
The Nord Stage EX features 3 different Instruments; Organ, Piano and Synth. Each Instrument is two
part multitimbral meaning that there are actually two independent sound engines for each Instrument.
These “engines” are internally connected to the Panels, one for Panel A and another for Panel B. The
Organ behaves a little differently in that there is actually only one “engine” but it supports two manuals with separate drawbar settings - see “About Split Organ Setups” on page 29.
COMMON FEATURES
ACTIVATING THE SUSTAIN PEDAL/PITCH STICK FOR INSTRUMENTS
You can freely set which instruments should respond to a connected Sustain Pedal and to Pitch Bend.
• To activate the Sustain pedal for an instrument, press S
ing instrument section so that the S
eral method to deactivate reception of Sustain for an instrument section, which in that case turns
off the S
• To activate Pitch Bend for an instrument section, press S
STICK button in the corresponding instrument section so that the
P
STICK LED lights up.
P
The bend range is fixed to -/+ 2 semitones.
USTPED LED indicator.
USTPED LED lights up below the button. You use the same gen-
HIFT + SUSTPED button in the correspond-
HIFT +
Page 22
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: Common Features
LEVEL ENCODER
The LEVEL rotary encoder allows you to adjust the volume for the instrument.
Instrument level can be Morph controlled.
KB ZONE SELECT BUTTONS
The KB ZONE SELECT buttons allow you to assign the instrument to Keyboard
Zones to create splits and layers. This is described in “Keyboard Zones and
Dual Panel setups” on page 56.
OCTAVE SHIFT
Each instrument has a finite note range. You can use Octave Shift to shift the pitch up or down within
the instruments note range. See “Octave Shift” on page 58 for more information.
OUTPUT ROUTING
The Nord Stage EX has four audio outputs. Each instrument can be freely assigned to output 1&2
(default) or 3&4 in stereo, or to output 3 or 4 in mono. The output routings can be set for each program, or globally for all programs, which is the default setting. In global mode, the routing settings
stored with the program are overridden by the global settings. See “System menu” on page 66 for
more information about the output routings.
Page 23
6. The Instruments: The Organ Section Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE ORGAN SECTION
The Organ section in the Stage features emulations of three classic organ models; a Hammond B3, a
Vox Continental II (V-Type) and a Farfisa Compact DeLuxe (F-Type).
You select which model to play using the O
RGAN MODEL button.
THE B3 MODEL (HAMMOND)
The B3 Organ in the Nord Stage EX is based on a digital simulation of the mechanical tone wheels
of the classic Hammond B3 organ. This simulation utilizes innovative and advanced methods to capture every nuance of the original B3 sound, for example:
• An extremely accurate digital model of the original chorus and vibrato scanner.
• Modeling of the individual random contact bounces for each harmonic.
• Modeling of the unique frequency characteristics of the built-in pre-amplifier which forms the
”body” of the B3 sound.
• Simulation of the energy robbing on the tone wheels that results in the typical ”compressed”
sound.
• Authentic tuning of the tone wheels according to the original B3 design.
• Extremely fast keyboard response.
• Full polyphony.
T
HE DRAWBARS
The drawbars of Nord Stage EX are represented by buttons and LED chain graphs instead of ordinary
mechanical drawbars. This gives you a big advantage: when you change preset or Programs, the correct drawbar settings are recalled immediately and shown by the LEDs. In other words, no need for
the regular ’trial and error’ method. It’s very easy to get the hang of changing the drawbar settings in
a natural way with the buttons.
Page 24
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Organ Section
The drawbars of Nord Stage EX
SUB SUB3 FUND 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH 8TH
behave similar to their mechanical counterparts, i.e. you “pull
out” the drawbars by pressing
OWER DRAWBAR buttons
the L
and “push them back in” by
pressing the U
buttons. The D
PPER DRAWBAR
RAWBAR buttons
are special in the way that they
auto-increment/decrement the
drawbar value when held. I.e. if
you hold a D
RAWBAR button the
corresponding drawbar value
will continue to increment or
decrement (within its range) until you release the button. Each
drawbar represents a harmonic
(sometimes called a partial). In
the figure you can see the pitch
interval among the nine drawbars. Note that the SUB3 drawbar actually lies a 5th above the
In the illustration above we have chosen C3 as our reference note. The
FUND drawbar is considered the basic (fundamental) harmonic in the
organ sound. The arrows point at the respective note that each drawbar
represents when C3 is our reference note.
fundamental harmonic. However, in most situations it is perceived as sounding below the basic harmonic. When you play different
notes on the keyboard, the harmonics are being transposed up or down with the fixed harmonic intervals.
ERCUSSION
P
In the original B3 the Percussion effect is generated by a single envelope generator that controls either the 2nd or 3rd harmonic. The
envelope “opens up” for a short moment in the beginning of the
sound when you press the key(s).
• You activate and deactivate the Percussion effect by pressing the
O
N button.
• The Percussion effect can be set to control either the 2nd (H
ARMONIC 3RD button LED Off) or 3rd
harmonic.
Page 25
6. The Instruments: The Organ Section Nord Stage EX v6.x
• The envelope Decay time can be set to Fast (DECAY button LED Off) or Slow and the Volume
characteristics to Normal (V
OLUME button LED Off) or Soft.
(The horizontal dotted
lines represent the current drawbar level without Percussion).
The figure above shows the Percussion envelope in SOFT mode.
The figure above shows the Percussion envelope in NORMAL mode.
Like on the original B3, the Percussion is a single-triggered non-legato effect. By “single-triggered”
we mean that the percussion is only present when you hit the keys when no other note is sounding.
In other words, if you play a note or a chord and then add on more notes without releasing the previously pressed keys, there will be no percussion effect in the new notes. You have to release all keys
to be able to play new notes with the percussion effect. Also, like on the original B3, in Normal Percussion mode the sustain level is significantly lower than in Soft Percussion mode (or with the Percussion effect disabled).
IBRATO
V
The original B3 chorus and vibrato scanner consists of a modulated delay line in
combination with a rotating scanner. For the Vibrato effect, phase shift is applied
to the signal. For the Chorus effect, the phase modulated signal is added to the
original signal. A lot of time and effort have been spent in accurately recreating
the chorus and vibrato scanner effect. Like on the original B3, Nord Stage EX
offers three different types of choruses (C1-C3) and three different types of vibratos (V1-V3). Select one of these types by pressing the S
tivate the Vibrato section by pressing the O
EY CLICK CONTROL
K
N button.
ELECTOR button. You activate and deac-
On an original B3 organ, the key click produced by the random contact bounces was originally an
unintended audio artifact. This particular artifact later became a desirable effect amongst musicians.
In the Nord Stage EX you can select the amount of key click that should be present in the B3 organ
sounds.
1. Press the S
HIFT + SOUND buttons to access the Sound menu page.
2. You use the P
3. Now you can use the V
When you are done, press the E
Page 26
AGE -/+ buttons to navigate to the Organ Key Click Level menu item.
ALUE DIAL to change the Click Level 0-100%. Default setting is 50%.
XIT (SHIFT) button.
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Organ Section
THE V-TYPE MODEL (VOX CONTINENTAL II)
The Vox Continental is probably the most famous of all the transistor-based combo organs that
emerged in the early 60’s. Transistor technology made it possible to manufacture much more compact
and portable organ instruments. Compared to the mighty sound of tone-wheel based organs, transistor
organs generally sounded reedier and weaker, but the Vox Continental had a distinctive sound character which together with the portability and cool design (inverse keyboard and chrome “Z-frame”
stand) made the instrument massively popular at the time. The sound is timeless and recreated faithfully in Nord Stage EX.
HE DRAWBARS
T
The original Vox Continental used drawbars to change the timbre of the sound. The harmonic intervals for the V-Type organ are printed on the upper row above the drawbars (see page 24 for a general
description of how the drawbars work in Nord Stage EX).
In the figure you can see the
pitch interval among the six
drawbars used by the V-Type
organ. Note that the 6th drawbar from the left controls three
harmonics simultaneously (3rd4th-8th). The two rightmost
drawbars determine the mix of
the two basic waveforms that
make up the sound generating
source of the organ sound, just
like on the original. You have
access to sine (soft) and triangle
(bright) waveforms which can
be freely mixed together. If
these drawbars are both fully
“pushed in”, the organ will not
produce any sound.
In the illustration above we have chosen C3 as our reference note. The FUND
drawbar is considered the basic (fundamental) harmonic in the organ sound.
The arrows point at the respective note that each drawbar represents when C3
is our reference note.
V
IBRATO
There is only one type of vibrato available for the V-Type, which is activated using the ON button in
the Vibrato section.Note that the V-Type vibrato is common for both Panels if a dual manual organ
is used.
F-TYPE MODEL (FARFISA)
The typical “buzzy” sound of the Farfisa organ is one of the most distinct and easily recognizable
keyboard sounds ever created, yet it is actually possible to get quite a wide range of sounds out of the
instrument. For the Nord Stage EX a Farfisa Compact DeLuxe was used as the source model.
Page 27
6. The Instruments: The Organ Section Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE REGISTER SELECTORS
The drawbars act as on/off
switches, or “Register selectors”
when the F-Type model is selected. Instead of drawbars, the
original Farfisa organs featured
“rocker”-type switches to select
instrument “voices” (actually
different filter settings) in various footage (octave) ranges. In
Nord Stage EX, this functionality is reproduced. When the FType organ model is selected,
OWER DRAWBAR buttons
the L
are used to turn voices on, and
the H
IGHER DRAWBAR buttons
turns them off. The drawbar
LEDs 5-8 are lit up for an activated voice, and drawbar LEDs
1-4 are lit up for a deactivated
voice. The available voices for
the F-type (also printed on the
panel directly over the draw-
In the illustration above we have chosen C3 as our reference note. The
four ‘Register selectors correspond to the fundamental harmonic (but
with different tonal characteristics). The arrows point at the respective
note that each drawbar represents when C3 is our reference note.
bars) are as follows (from left to
right):
Register
selector #
1 Bass 16 BAS16
2 Strings 16 STR16
3 Flute 8 FLUTE8
4 Oboe 8 OBOE8
5Trumpet 8 TRMP8
6 Strings 8 STR8
7 Flute 4 FLUTE4
8 Strings 4 STR4
9 A bright voice, pitched an octave and a
Voice Panel Name
2 2/3
fifth above the fundamental.
Note that the voices aren’t supposed to replicate the instruments they are named after, but rather to
describe the basic tonal characteristic of the voice (i.e. flute=soft/oboe=reedy/strings=bright/trumpet=brassy).
Page 28
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Organ Section
VIBRATO
The F-Type Model has two basic vibrato modes; “Light” and “Heavy”, with different rates for each
mode. Slow/Fast rate for the Light mode is set with the V1/V2 Selectors and C 1/C2 sets the rate for
Heavy mode. Note that the F-Type vibrato is common for both Panels if a dual manual organ is used.
SWELL CONTROL
Swell is the characteristic volume function that you control from an organs pedal. Swell is not only a
volume control - for the B3 it also changes the character of the sound in a special way. To use Swell
control on the Nord Stage EX, simply plug in a standard expression pedal to the O
on the rear panel (see “Connecting pedals” on page 11) and configure the pedal on the System Menu
(see page 66).
RGAN SWELL input
A expression pedal connected to the O
RGAN SWELL input will control Swell for all organ models.
If you have only one expression pedal, it can be used both as a generic Control Pedal and a Swell
Pedal. See “Control Pedal Use as Swell” on page 67.
ROTARY SPEAKER
The Rotor section (rotary speaker simulation) is logically placed next to the Organ section, but you
can also use it for Piano or Synth sounds, just like the other effects. The Rotor effect is described on
page 55.
ORGAN PRESET I & II
For each Organ Model, and separately for Panel A & B, you can store two organ Presets within a single Program. This is a quick way of changing between two sound variations, without having to
change Programs.
You change between Presets I & II by pressing the P
Vibrato/Percussion (on/off) settings are stored in a Preset.
RESET II button. The drawbar settings and the
ABOUT SPLIT ORGAN SETUPS
If you press SHIFT and the SPLIT ORGAN button you will activate a basic Split Organ setup, where
Both Panel A and B are active. In this mode the keyboard is split to play a “Lower” and an “Upper”
Manual organ. Panel A settings control the Lower Manual and Panel B the Upper Manual. By default,
the split point is set at middle C.
A blinking P
are currently shown. To edit/show settings for the other Panel/Manual, press the corresponding P
EL button.
Each Panel/Manual can have their own drawbar, Vibrato (on/off) and Percussion (on/off) settings.
ANEL button indicates which Panel is edit active, i.e. which of the two Panel’s settings
Page 29
AN-
6. The Instruments: The Piano section Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE PIANO SECTION
PIANO
/ 1
UNISON
DETUNE
/ 2
The Piano section of Nord Stage EX contains six Piano Categories, and each Category can contain
different instrument Types. You can freely add new piano instruments via USB using the Nord
Sound Manager utility (see “Nord Sound Manager” on page 72).
Right out of the box, Nord Stage EX features a fine collection of carefully selected acoustic and electromechanical pianos. A lot of effort was put in to ensure that the play response and sound of the sampled instruments matches every nuance of the real article. Each piano instrument has been multisampled in a vast amount of velocity levels. That’s one reason why they all sound and feel so authentic.
ABOUT THE PIANO INSTRUMENTS
Since all piano samples are stored in Flash memory you can easily add and/or replace the stored piano
instruments with new ones, supplied free from Clavia. The size of the available memory for the piano
samples is approx. 256 MB.
When you download Piano instruments, these will always automatically be loaded into the corresponding Category.
A Program saves Piano instruments by Category and the Type number. If a Program refers to a Piano
instrument that isn’t currently loaded, i.e. an empty Type slot, the Type display will blink showing
the missing Type number. If this happens, you can either navigate to another instrument Type in the
selected Category and select to use this instead, or use the Nord Sound Manager utility to down-
load an instrument into the empty Type location.
Page 30
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Piano section
SELECTING PIANO INSTRUMENTS
You use the SELECTOR button to select an instrument category and then use the TYPE button to select
a specific instrument or variation within the selected category.
Category Description
A.GRAND Acoustic grand pianos
A.UPRIGHT Acoustic upright pianos
E.GRAND Electric grand pianos
E.PIANO Electric Pianos
WURL Wurlitzer electric pianos
CLAV/HPS Clavinets and Harpsichords
ABOUT THE FACTORY SOUND LIBRARY
As mentioned previously, the Piano section is open-ended which means that you can load new or improved instruments using the Nord Sound Manager utility. Here is a description of the pianos that are
included with the Nord Stage EX when it left the Nord factory:
Category Type # Description
A.Grand 1 Grand Lady D StwD Med. The Grand Lady D is a carefully voiced German
Model D that has been carefully selected by us because of its special tonal
characteristics. The unique voicing brings out the best of this 9-foot beast, you
just add a bit of your talent to create wonderful musical moments..
A.Grand 2 Studio Grand 2 Ya C7. This is a Japanese grand that we meticulously prepared
in order for it to be as expressive as possible. The mic’s were positioned close
to the strings and it is sampled in stereo. The medium version has additional
pedal down resonance samples and can take advantage of the String Resonance feature.
Upright 1 Black Upright Petrof Sml. Our Black Upright is a Petrof 132 upright piano. It is
a tall piano and typically used for musical schools, in clubs and homes.
Upright 2 Romantic Upright Schimmel Sml. Touch and tone are harmonized perfectly
from the powerful bass notes up to the sparkling treble register. This upright
shines in every aspect with its beautiful and delicate sound.
E.Grand 1 A CP-80 Electric Grand, a classic touring grand from the eighties.
Page 31
6. The Instruments: The Piano section Nord Stage EX v6.x
E.Piano 1 Electric Piano Mk I Stage Piano SeventyThree. It was built in May 1978 and
was adjusted to “deep timbre adjustment”. The volume adjustment is set to
‘Low’. These settings gives the piano a warm sound with a rich fundamental.
E.Piano 2 Electric Piano Mk I Suitcase. Built in January 1975. We fine-tuned the mechan-
ics and adjusted the tines according to the ‘ideal’ timbre adjustment. The volume adjustment was set to ‘close’.
E.Piano 3 Electric Piano Mk II Stage Piano built in April 1981 and adjusted to ‘shallow’
timbre. The volume adjustment is set to ‘close’.
E.Piano 4 Electric Piano Bright Tines Custom Mod. With the invaluable help of one of the
planets most acclaimed electric piano technicians, we have prepared one of
our magnificent 1975 mk I Suitcase with a special selection of hard hammer
tips in certain ranges. It is adjusted with ''close miking'' and set to ideal timbre
in order not to loose the fundamental and the bottom end. The preparation also
involved adjustment of the striking line and re-voicing of the harp, in order to
get ''that'' bell sound.
Wurl 1 Wurlitzer 200A electric piano.
Clav/Hps A-D A sampled Hohner Clavinet D6.There are 4 Types selectable, with different
pick-up variations. (See “Pick-up Type” on page 33.). In addition, all possible
filter combinations of the original Clavinet D6 can be recreated in the Clav EQ
section. (See “Clav EQ” on page 33).
Clav/Hps 2 A double stringed Italian harpsichord, set to the Long string only registration.
Clav/Hps 3 A double stringed Italian harpsichord, set to the Lute registration.
More information on the included factory pianos and other pianos in the Nord Piano Library can be
found on the www.nordkeyboards.com website
(CLAV EQ/)PIANO UNISON DETUNE
The Unison Detune feature allows you to detune two pianos if they are used simultaneously by activating both Panel A and Panel B. Press this button repeatedly to select one out of three detune depths.
The setting will have no effect if only one Panel is active.
(CLAV EQ/)PIANO RES
If you press the Piano/Res button when a Grand or an Upright is selected, the String Resonance functionality will be activated. This mimics the behavior inside an acoustic piano when strings or parts of
strings may resonate at their fundamental or overtone frequencies when other strings are sounded.
This feature is only available on the v4 XLR pianos and on the v5 pianos, read more on our web site.
(CLAV EQ/)PIANO MONO
If you press the A.Piano/Mono button when a Grand or an Upright is selected, the stereo sound will
be played back in mono instead. This can be useful if you only have access to one channel on a mixing
desk.
ABOUT INFO
If you hold SHIFT and the INFO button in the Piano Select section, the display will show the instrument’s name and additional information about the currently selected instrument, e.g. mic placement
(Close or Ambient) and a revision number (e.g., “R5”).
Page 32
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Piano section
CLAVINET SOUND
PIANO
On an original Clavinet D6 you can select different pick-up and filter combinations by pressing a number of rocker switches. This functionality is very
faithfully simulated in the Nord Stage EX, which means that you get all possible original Clavinet D6 sound variations (plus an additional four) by selecting different pick-up and filter combinations! Here’s how it works:
LAV EQ
C
The two C
combinations of the B
LAV EQ buttons works as filter selectors. By selecting different
RILLIANT/TREBLE and MEDIUM/SOFT filter buttons
you can reproduce all 15 possible filter variations, exactly like on the original
D6.
ICK-UP TYPE
P
A Clavinet D6 has two separate pick-ups, one on the “neck” and one on the “bridge”. By selecting
either one pick-up or both in different combinations you can alter the character of the sound quite
drastically. When the Clavinet is selected in the Nord Stage EX, you use the T
YPE button in the Piano
Select section to select pick-up variations according to the table below:
Pick-up Type Description
A (CA) Only the "neck" pick-up; a warmer, less bright sound.
B (CB) Only the "bridge" pick-up; a bright sound.
/ 1
/ 2
UNISON
DETUNE
C (DA) Both pick-ups on and in phase; a very full sound.
D (DB) Both pick-ups 180 degrees out of phase; the fundamental is almost cancelled out and the
sound becomes thin.
DYNAMICS (VELOCITY SENSITIVITY)
Some of the piano instruments sampled for the Nord Stage EX have very wide dynamic ranges by
nature and naturally we wanted to capture this as accurately as possible.
Therefore, it could be perceived that it is a little hard to reach the most extreme levels when playing
the Nord Stage EX piano sounds with the default keyboard Dynamics setting. This is because the dynamic response curves have been very carefully adjusted to match each original instrument's response
characteristics. In other words, Clavia's intention was that when you play a Electric Piano sound, for
example, it should almost feel like you are playing a Electric Piano. However, If you want the piano
sounds to respond more easily to keyboard velocity, you can set this in the following way.
• Hold S
The Dynamics setting is saved with a Program.
HIFT and press the DYNAMICS button to select one of the four modes. The LEDs to the right
of the T
YPE DISPLAY light up to indicate what mode is selected. Select between 1-3, where 3 is the
most compressed response. If all LEDs are off, this indicates the instrument’s original sensitivity.
Page 33
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE SYNTH SECTION
BASICS
The Synth section in Nord Stage EX was designed to be a versatile yet easy to use “stage” synthesizer
to complement the other instrument sections. While being compact and easy to use, it is capable of
all kinds of synthesized sounds, from piercing leads and fat basses to swirling pads and shimmering
bells. And you have hands-on control over all parameters, which is essential on a stage instrument.
It is based on traditional “subtractive” synthesis with faithful models of analog-style waveforms, but
it is also capable of FM (frequency modulation) and Wavetable synthesis. In subtractive synthesis,
you start with a bright waveform with lots of overtones, and then shape the colour of the sound with
a filter, usually a low-pass filter that removes some of the upper harmonics. By modulating the filter
cut-off frequency while the note is playing, dynamic timbres are created.
The Nord Stage Synth also provides other means to generate dynamic and rich sounds, such as pulse
width modulation, oscillator sync and dynamic control over FM amount. There are two envelopes
(one of them loopable), one LFO for vibrato and a simple EQ for one-the-fly sound shaping. The basic signal path is shown with grey boxes and arrows on the Nord Stage panel.
There is one Synth section for each panel, and they share 16 voices, which are dynamically allocated
between the panels. You can play two different sounds simultaneously, layered or in splits. If you,
for example, layer the Synth sections of both panels, you can create really complex and evolving
sounds.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
OSC GROUP
OSCILLATOR ARCHITECTURE
A lot of effort has been spent on creating a versatile and powerful oscillator section for the Nord Stage
Synth. Based on a variable architecture, it provides three different synthesis techniques: Analog, FM
(frequency modulation) and Digital wavetables. For each category there is a number of predefined
algorithms with the main parameters mapped to the T
For example, the Analog category provides one or two oscillators with various waveforms, with or
without hard sync. In each case, the T
IMBRE knob controls one essential parameter, such as pulse
width, relative pitch or sync oscillator frequency. This Timbre parameter can then be modulated by
velocity or the Modulation Envelope to create dynamic sounds.
IMBRE knob.
The sonic potential is further enhanced by the fact that the oscillator section actually contains a
number of extra oscillators for each voice, which are brought in by the U
NISON knob in he Voices
section (see page 46). You can in fact have up to nine oscillators per voice, without losing polyphony.
This allows for some really thick sounds!
IMBRE
T
The central TIMBRE control is used to shape the sound in various ways (depending on waveform and
algorithm, see below). Timbre can be Morph controlled, allowing wheel, aftertouch or pedal control
over the sound. For some algorithms, the T
IMBRE CONTROL
T
IMBRE knob is disabled.
This knob governs the amount of modulation applied to the Timbre parameter. The Timbre parameter
can be modulated by Velocity or the Mod Envelope, indicated by the E
ELOCITY
V
NV MOD LED below the knob.
If the ENV MOD LED is dark, Timbre will be modulated by velocity. If you turn the TIMBRE CON-
TROL knob clockwise, the Timbre parameter will be raised if you play harder.
OD ENV
M
If you press SHIFT and turn the TIMBRE CONTROL knob so that the MOD ENV LED lights up, the
Timbre parameter will instead be modulated by the Mod Envelope (see page 41).
AVE SELECTOR BUTTONS
W
The two WAVE selector buttons are used to switch between the different algorithms and categories
in the osc group. Hold S
FM/Digital). The LED indicators show which category is activated. Press the W
down (without S
HIFT) to switch between the different algorithms or waveforms within the selected
HIFT and press the WAVE buttons up or down to choose a category (Analog/
AVE buttons up or
category.
Page 35
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
WAVES IN THE ANALOG CATEGORY
The Analog category has ten waveforms to choose from, summarized in the chart below.
Wave display Waveform Explanation
S Sawtooth A plain sawtooth oscillator.
Sd Sawtooth detuned Two sawtooth oscillators with adjustable relative
pitch (Timbre knob) and detune (Unison knob).
S\ Sawtooth synced A sawtooth oscillator with adjustable pitch offset,
hard-synced by a second oscillator.
P Pulse One pulse oscillator
with variable pulse width.
PF Pulse fixed time One pulse oscillator with adjustable pulse width.
The pulse width is constant over the keyboard.
P\ Pulse synced A pulse oscillator with adjustable pitch offset,
hard-synced by a second oscillator.
t Triangle A plain triangle wave oscillator.
t\ Triangle synced A triangle oscillator with adjustable pitch offset,
hard-synced by a second oscillator.
C\ Cos synced A cosine oscillator with adjustable pitch offset,
hard-synced by a second oscillator.
n Noise A white noise generator.
When you change waveform, the name of the currently selected waveform is shown briefly in the
AIN DISPLAY.
M
AWTOOTH
S
The sawtooth wave contains all harmonics and is the richest of the available waveforms. It is suitable
for all sorts of sounds.
The sawtooth signal shape.
The T
IMBRE knob does not have any effect on the sawtooth wave.
The sawtooth signal frequency spectrum.
Page 36
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
PULSE
The pulse wave contains only odd numbered harmonics (3, 5, 7 etc.)at 50% pulse width (square
wave). This waveform is special in that its harmonic content can be varied continuously, by adjusting
the pulse width (PWM).
The pure square wave: a pulse
wave with 50% pulse width.
The pulse wave at 10% pulse
width.
The pulse wave at 5% pulse width.
The frequency spectrum of a pure square wave. The
signal contains only odd harmonics.
The frequency spectrum at 10% pulse width. Now,
also even harmonics are gradually introduced making the sound “sharper” but also “thinner”.
The narrower the pulse width, the more harmonics
are present in the frequency spectrum.
IMBRE knob controls the pulse width of the pulse wave, from 50% (square wave) to 99%. You
The T
can modulate the Timbre using Morph (see page 60), Velocity or Mod Envelope. This waveform is
suitable for many type of sounds and has a more “hollow” character than the Sawtooth wave.
ULSE FIXED TIME
P
A normal pulse wave has a pulse width adjusted relative to the wavelength, usually in % (see above).
The Pulse Fixed Time algorithm instead generates a pulse wave where the pulse width is adjusted in
absolute time values (with the T
IMBRE knob), i.e. the pulse width is constant over the keyboard. This
results in a spectrum with fixed formants, similar to the character of many acoustic instruments.
The waveform in itself is not different from the normal Pulse algorithm, but it behaves differently
over the keyboard range.
RIANGLE
T
The triangle waveform has only odd numbered and not very strong harmonics. It is suitable for flute
and similar sounds.
Page 37
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
NOISE
The noise waveform is a chaotic waveform, containing all frequencies at the same time. With the resonant filter and the EQ, you can shape it to produce special effects, e.g. wind noises and whistling
sounds.
SCILLATOR SYNC WAVEFORMS
O
The Saw, Square, Triangle and Cosine waveforms can be synchronized. These modes are marked
with a special character in the W
AVE DISPLAY. Oscillator Synchronization means that you use the
signal from one oscillator to restart another oscillator. Nord Stage EX has a “hidden” sync oscillator
for waveforms with this option. Oscillator sync is very useful for generating lead lines with classic
“hard sync” sounds. When sync is applied, the basic pitch of the oscillator is locked to that of the sync
oscillator. When you vary the relative pitch of the synchronized oscillator with the T
IMBRE knob, this
will be perceived as a change in timbre, with a frequency spectrum with deep resonance in the oscillator’s harmonics.
Tip! When using Oscillator Sync, it can be very useful to have the Timbre amount(s) modulated from
any of the Morph assign sources, or by the Modulation Envelope. This will generate a signal with
continuously varied harmonic content.
If you choose one of the synchronized oscillator mode, the Oscillator will start over with a new period
of the waveform, each time the sync-oscillator does so. If the Oscillator then has a higher frequency
than the sync-oscillator, it will get a complex waveform that depends both on its own pitch and on
that of the sync-oscillator.
Page 38
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
Example 1: a sawtooth wave synced by a sync oscillator. The sawtooth wave is restarted every time
the sync oscillator begins a new cycle. The resulting signal gets deep resonance in its harmonics.
In the Nord Stage, oscillator sync is possible with sawtooth, pulse, triangle and cosine waveforms,
each providing different spectral character.
FM
CATEGORY
The basic principle behind FM synthesis is to have one oscillator (the modulator) modulating the frequency of another (the carrier). The carrier can in turn modulate the frequency of yet another oscillator, etc. There are several different algorithms in the FM category ranging from one up to three
oscillators (operators) modulating each other in series, with or without feedback on the first operator
in the chain.
Page 39
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
feedback
feedback
feedback
CARRIER CARRIER CARRIER
output
MODULATOR
output
MODULATOR
MODULATOR
output
The three different FM algorithms in the Nord Stage: one, two and three
oscillator FM with feedback. The feedback is not active in all algorithms.
The Timbre knob controls the FM and feedback amounts. When you turn the knob, all modulations
are increased simultaneously. The number of harmonics, and their intensity, increase proportionally
to the FM amount. As usual, the Timbre parameter can be modulated by Velocity or the Modulation
Envelope, and it can be Morph controlled by any combination of wheel, aftertouch and pedal.
Each algorithm comes with a number of preconfigured frequency ratios. Depending on what kind of
sound you want, choose from the different combinations available and you have many interesting FM
sounds at your disposal. When a new wave is selected, the M
AIN DISPLAY shows, for a short dura-
tion, the algorithm together with information on the frequency relations between the operators and
whether feedback is used. The W
AVE DISPLAY shows the modulator(s) frequency relation to the car-
rier. If an operator uses feedback it is indicated by a dot next to the digit. In the chart below all available algorithms together with the notation used in the W
AVE DISPLAY are listed:
Page 40
Wave disp. Algorithm Freq. relation
Cr 1 op with feedback 1
1 2 op 1:1
2 2 op 2:1
3 2 op 3:1
5 2 op 5:1
9 2 op 9:1
1. 2 op with feedback 1:1
2. 2 op with feedback 2:1
3. 2 op with feedback 3:1
5. 2 op with feedback 5:1
9. 2 op with feedback 9:1
11 3 op 1:1:1
21 3 op 2:1:1
31 3 op 3:1:1
51 3 op 5:1:1
91 3 op 9:1:1
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
Wave disp. Algorithm Freq. relation
22 3 op 2:2:1
42 3 op 4:2:1
82 3 op 8:2:1
1.1 3 op with feedback 1:1:1
1:2 3 op with feedback 1:2:1
1:3 3 op with feedback 1:3:1
1:5 3 op with feedback 1:5:1
1:9 3 op with feedback 1:9:1
1.F 3 op with feedback 1:1:2
2.F 3 op with feedback 2:1:2
3.F 3 op with feedback 3:1:2
5.F 3 op with feedback 5:1:2
9.F 3 op with feedback 9:1:2
Tip! The one-operator algorithm can be used to produce a perfect sine-wave, if the TIMBRE knob
(feedback) is set to zero.
IGITAL WAVEFORM CATEGORY
D
This category features 77 different digital waveforms with various tonal characteristics. The waveforms have been carefully designed and selected to provide rich and interesting timbres with a great
variety, for those exquisite sounds that could not be produced with the other algorithms. Advanced
wavetable synthesis techniques have been used to reproduce the waveforms perfectly over the whole
keyboard range.
Some waveforms have a number of peaks high up in the spectrum, making them suitable for voicelike sounds (e.g. 3, 7, 8, 12), while others are combinations of several overlapping spectra (e.g. 5, 6,
18, 19). Yet others are extremely bright, with a fundamental that is softer than the many harmonics
(e.g. 21, 23, 26, 27). Using these waveforms with the different filters and the Synth EQ, you should
be able to create a wide variety of timbres. The T
IMBRE knob does not have any effect in the Digital
Wavetable category.
MOD ENVELOPE
The Modulation Envelope is a simple two-stage envelope used to modulate the tone colour
over the duration of a note, e.g. create a bright attack by modulating the filter in the start
of the note. The Mod Envelope has three modes:
• Attack - Decay (ignoring key release)
• Attack - full sustain - Release
• Repeat mode: Attack - Decay - Attack - Decay - Attack - etc. In this the Mod Envelope
acts as an LFO with shapable waveform.
The Mod Envelope can control the Filter Frequency and the Timbre parameters. The
A
TTACK
amount of modulation is set with the F
REQ CONTROL and TIMBRE CONTROL knobs.
Attack sets the time it should take for the envelope to reach maximum level after you have pressed a
key. Turn the A
TTACK knob clockwise to increase Attack time.
Page 41
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
RELEASE/DECAY
When the attack phase is over, the envelope drops back to zero level. Use the REL/DECAY knob to
set the time this should take.
NV VEL
E
If you press SHIFT and turn the ATTACK knob so that the ENV VEL indicator lights up, the Mod Envelope will be scaled with the keyboard velocity (i.e. how hard or soft you play). This is normally
used to make higher velocity (louder notes) produce brighter sounds (because of higher modulation
of the filter or the Timbre), which is how most acoustic instruments behave.
NV MODE
E
Hold down SHIFT and turn the REL/DECAY knob to select Envelope Mode. The LEDs below the
knob will show the selected mode. The Attack/Decay and Attack/Release modes are illustrated
below:
In Attack/Decay mode, the Mod Envelope
outputs a control signal that rises to maximum amount at the set Attack time and then
immediately falls back to zero at the set Decay time.
.
In Attack/Release mode, the control signal
from the Mod Envelope stays at the maximum value until key release.
R
EPEAT
In Repeat mode, the Modulation Envelope restart directly after the Decay phase, creating cyclic modulation, like an LFO with shapable waveform, where you can change the waveshape and cycle time
by adjusting the Attack and Decay times.
A slow looping Mod Envelope can be used for example to produce continuously sweeping pads,
while shorter Attack and Decay settings can produce special effects or repetitive sounds.
Page 42
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
AMP ENVELOPE
The final stage of a synth signal chain usually consists of an amplifier to control the signal
volume. By modulating the amplifier with an envelope, the sound is given its basic
“shape” over time. In fact, the “volume shape” is one of the most important factors to how
we identify the sound. By setting up a proper volume envelope you can make a sound
“soft”, “hard”, “plucked” “static” etc.
The Amp Envelope has three modes:
• Attack - Decay (ignoring the key release)
• Attack - full sustain - Release
• Attack - Decay - fixed short release
Each mode has two time parameters, Attack and Release/Decay.
TTACK
A
The ATTACK knob is used to adjust how long it should take for the sound to reach from zero to full
amplitude after a key has been pressed. With long Attack settings the sound will gradually “fade in”.
ELEASE/DECAY
R
When the attack phase is over, the envelope drops back to zero level. Use the REL/DECAY knob to
set the time this should take.
E
NV VEL
If you hold SHIFT and turn the ATTACK knob so that the ENV VEL indicator lights up, the volume of
the notes will be velocity controlled.
NV MODE
E
Hold down SHIFT and turn the REL/DECAY knob to select Envelope Mode. The LEDs below the
knob will show the selected mode. The Attack/Decay and Attack/Release modes are illustrated
below:
In Attack/Decay mode, the Amp Envelope
rises to maximum amplitude at the set Attack time and then immediately falls back to
zero at the set Decay time.
In Attack/Release mode, the Amp Envelope
stays at maximum amplitude until the key
is released, and then fades to zero.
Page 43
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
The third Envelope mode, indicated by both LEDs, is similar to the first mode, except that the envelope quickly goes to zero when the key is release.
FILTER SECTION
The filter is, together with the oscillators, the most important sound-shaping tool in a synthesizer. The
filter section in Nord Stage EX comprises a lowpass filter with either a 12dB or 24 dB slope, with
selectable keyboard tracking. The filter has adjustable resonance, and is self-oscillating at high resonance settings. The filter cut-off frequency can be modulated by velocity or by the Mod Envelope.
ILTER FREQUENCY CUTOFF
F
With the FREQ knob you set the cutoff frequency. Simply put, if you turn the FREQ knob clockwise,
the high-frequency content in the signal will increase. This parameter can be Morph controlled.
When you “open” a lowpass filter, the high-frequency content increases
in the output signal.
LP F
ILTER
In the Nord Stage EX you can select between 12 dB/octave and 24 dB/octave (4-pole) slopes for the
low pass filter. Press S
HIFT and the 4 POLE button to switch type. The 4 POLE LED shows which
filter mode is selected.
The figure shows the filter
with 24 dB and 12 dB
slopes.
DB (4-POLE)
24
This is the classic “synth filter” slope used in the Minimoog and Prophet-5 among others. It cuts out
frequencies rather drastically, 24 dB per octave. A 24 dB filter is also known as a 4-pole filter.
Page 44
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
12 DB
The 12 dB/octave slope leaves more harmonics than the 24dB variation discussed above. This type
of filter has been used in various early Oberheim synthesizers and others. A 12 dB filter is also known
as a 2-pole filter.
RACK
KB T
The reason for having the Keyboard Track switch is related to basic acoustics. If you raise the pitch
of a waveform, the harmonics naturally raise in frequency. If the cutoff frequency is constant, the
sound will be perceived as getting “muddier” the higher up the keyboard you play. To avoid this effect, use KB Track.
KB Track (keyboard tracking) has three modes; “FULL”, “2/3” and “1/3”, which is set with the KB
T
RACK button. With KB T turned off (both LEDs off), the filter frequency setting is constant regard-
less of where on the keyboard you play. When Keyboard Track is activated, the filter frequency setting will be higher for higher notes as indicated in the illustration below. At “Full” tracking (both
LEDs on) the filter frequency tracks the keyboard 100% (if you turn up the Resonance parameter to
full so that the filter self-oscillates and produces a pitch, Filter Frequency will track to 12 notes/octave). If “2/3” or “1/3” is selected, the filter frequency/keyboard relationship is more subtle, i.e. the
filter frequency will increase less with higher notes (66% and 33% respectively).
The figure shows how
the Frequency1 value
changes according to
where on the keyboard
KB
ESONANCE
R
you play when
RACK is activated.
T
The Resonance parameter is used to further adjust the characteristics of the Filter. Increasing the Resonance will emphasize frequencies around the set Filter Frequency (cutoff frequency), making the
sound thinner. Further raising the Resonance will make the sound resonant to a point where the filter
starts to self-oscillate and produce a ringing pitch. Exactly where in the frequency spectrum this
“ringing” occurs, depends on the Frequency value.
4
The figure shows a 24
dB lowpass filter with
different resonance
amounts (Q-values).
Page 45
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
FREQUENCY CONTROL
This knob governs the amount of modulation applied to the Filter Frequency. The Filter Frequency
can be controlled by Velocity or the Mod Envelope. The F
REQ CONTROL knob controls the modu-
lation Amount for both modes.
V
ELOCITY
If you turn the FREQ CONTROL knob clockwise, the filter frequency cutoff will be raised if you play
harder.
OD ENV
M
If you press SHIFT and turn the FREQ CONTROL knob so that the MOD ENV LED lights up, the filter
frequency will instead be modulated by the Mod Envelope (see “Mod Envelope” on page 41).
VOICES SECTION
In this section, you set various voice modes for the synth. You choose between monophonic and polyphonic playing, and control glide between notes. Here you also find the powerful Unison mode.
ONO MODE
M
In Mono mode you can only play one note at a time, just like on a traditional monophonic synthesizer.
If you play one key and then a second key without releasing the first key, the last note will sound. If
you now release the last key, the first one will retrig and start sounding again.
To activate Mono mode, press the S
EGATO MODE
L
ELECTOR button so that the MONO LED lights up.
To activate Legato mode, press the SELECTOR button so that the LEGATO LED lights up.
In Legato mode you can only play one note at a time, just like on a traditional monophonic synthesizer. If you play a new key before releasing the previously played key (legato), the new note will
replace the previous one at the current Envelope phase of the previously pressed key. I.e. the new note
will not retrigger the Envelopes (Amp and Mod).
If you release the last played key before playing a new key (non-legato), the new note will sound exactly like in Mono mode, i.e. the complete Envelopes will be retriggered.
G
LIDE (PORTAMENTO)
When activated, the Glide function makes the pitch “glide” from one note to the next when playing
(this is sometimes called portamento). It operates in legato/mono mode only. The glide characteristics
can be described as “constant rate”, which means that the greater the “distance” between two subsequent notes, the longer the glide time. Turn the G
LIDE knob clockwise to increase the glide rate.
Page 46
Nord Stage EX v6.x 6. The Instruments: The Synth section
AUTO
Press SHIFT and turn the GLIDE knob to select Auto Glide mode (the AUTO LED is lit). This means
that glide is active only when you play legato (you press a new key before you release the previous
key).
NISON
U
The oscillator section has a number of “hidden” oscillators. The number of extra oscillators varies
with the algorithms, but is usually between three and eight. When you activate Unison, these slightly
detuned voices are gradually added to the basic sound for those classic synth chorus effects. Note that
Unison doesn’t reduce the polyphony!
You adjust the number of extra oscillators and the detune amount among the voices with the U
knob:
• The left half of the U
• As a special case, in the “Sawtooth detuned” oscillator mode, the left half of the U
NISON knob range controls a classical two-voice detune effect.
NISON knob
range controls the detuning between the two main oscillators.
• The right half of the U
NISON knob range introduces a thicker multi-voice detune, which can be
very powerful.
VIBRATO
Vibrato modulates the pitch of the oscillators to produce natural vibrato effects.
There are three basic methods you can use to control Synth Vibrato which is set using
the S
ELECTOR button in the Vibrato section:
• If Aftertouch (A.Touch) is selected you can control the vibrato by pressing down
held notes on the keyboard. See “About Aftertouch” on page 62.
• You can also control vibrato using the Mod Wheel.
• There are also three delay (Dly 1-3) modes which automatically activates vibrato after a certain
time for held notes. The difference between the three delay modes is the time it takes for vibrato to
activate; Dly1 is the fastest time and Dly3 the slowest. The basic Delayed Vibrato depth and speed
settings are set globally on the Sound Page - see “Sound Menu” on page 68.
NISON
EQ
The Synth also features a basic 2 band EQ section. This allows you to
quickly boost or cut treble and bass frequencies by +/- 15 dB. Turn the
REBLE or BASS knob clockwise (from center position) to boost the re-
T
spective frequency band and vice versa. A LED indicates when the EQ is
active.
SOUND SELECT SECTION
When you save a Program the current Synth settings are of course stored together with all other panel
settings, but the Sound Select section allows you to select/store Synth sounds separately from Programs. in this way, you can build up a library of favourite synth sounds to access whenever you need
them.
Page 47
6. The Instruments: The Synth section Nord Stage EX v6.x
SELECTING SYNTH SOUNDS
The available memory slots are divided into three categories; Synth, Pad and Bass, with 99 memory
slots in each category, a total of 297 sounds. Having categories helps you quickly find the type of
sound you are looking for.
Use the two S
available sounds. To jump between categories, press S
ATEGORY buttons. When you select a sound, the name is shown briefly in
C
the M
AIN DISPLAY. The smaller LED Display in the Sound Select section
OUND SELECT UP/DOWN buttons to step through all the
HIFT and the
always shows the patch number.If a Synth sound has been edited, a dot is
shown after the number to reflect this in the S
OUND SELECT DISPLAY.
STORING SYNTH PATCHES
To store a Synth Patch, press SHIFT and the STORE SYNTH button in the Voices section. The display
in the Sound Select section starts blinking. You can now use the S
OUND SELECT UP/DOWN buttons
to navigate to a memory location where you would like to store your Patch. To switch category, press
S
HIFT and the CATEGORY buttons.
To name a Synth Patch you can use the P
AGE -/+ buttons to move the cursor and the VALUE DIAL to
select character just as for Programs, see page 13.
To store, press the S
TORE SYNTH button again.
SOUND INIT
To start with a “clean slate” when programming sounds you can use the Sound Init function. This will
initialize the Patch to basic default settings. This is done by pressing S
HIFT and SOUND INIT.
Page 48
Nord Stage EX v6.x 7. The Effects: About the effects
7. THE EFFECTS
ABOUT THE EFFECTS
The effects available in Nord Stage EX can be divided into three main categories:
• Panel Effects - these can affect one instrument (per Panel) at a time. Panel effects are the effects in
the main Effects section and in the AmpSim/EQ section. All Panel effects have separate engines
and settings for Panel A and B, thus you have two sets of Panel effects available for each Program.
See below for a description of the Panel effects.
• Global Effects - these affect all instruments routed to the main outputs CH1 & CH2. The Compressor and Reverb on the far right of the front panel are global effects. See page 54.
• The Rotor Effect works slightly differently compared to Panel effects. See “The Rotor section” on
page 55.
ABOUT MONO/STEREO AND EFFECT ROUTING
Some of the effects are mono in/out, some are stereo in/out and others are mono in/stereo out. For
each individual effect the channel configuration is stated in the related text. The internal routing of
some effects, means that the instrument level has to be taken into account. Whenever this applies it
will also be explained in the corresponding effect description.
Page 49
7. The Effects: The Panel effects Nord Stage EX v6.x
THE PANEL EFFECTS
ACTIVATING PANEL EFFECTS
To enable a panel effect, press the ON/OFF button at the bottom of the corresponding effect section.
The LEDs above the button will indicate which instrument the effect is assigned to. Hold down S
and press the S
You can also step through the instrument assignments by double-clicking the S
is convenient when you only have one hand free and cannot reach the S
OURCE button to change the instrument assignment.
OURCE button. This
HIFT button.
MAKING SETTINGS FOR PANEL EFFECTS (EFFECTS SECTION)
To make settings for individual effects in the main “Effects” section (Effect 1/Effect 2/Delay), you
mainly use the R
pend on the selected effect - these are described for the corresponding effects below. The R
T
EMPO and AMOUNT knobs can also be Morph controlled - see page 60.
BOUT THE FOCUS BUTTON
A
ATE/TEMPO and AMOUNT knobs. Which parameters these two knobs control de-
ATE/
If you have more than one effect activated in the Effects section (e.g. Effect 1 and Effect 2), The
OCUS button is used to select which effect’s settings (Rate/Tempo and Amount) you currently “see”
F
and can edit. Pressing the Focus button will alternate focus between the currently activated effects.
The LED beside the corresponding Effect 1/Effect 2/Delay section is lit for the edit active effect.
EFFECT TYPE SELECTION WHEN AN EFFECT IS OFF
When an effect is off, you can still check which effect type is selected by pressing the corresponding
Selector button once. The Selector LED will briefly show the current effect type. If you press the Selector button repeatedly, you change the Effect type without turning on the effect. In this way, you
can make sure that the right effect type is selected before it is turned on.
HIFT
This feature is available for the Effect 1 & 2 type, Amp simulation model and Reverb type selectors.
You can also adjust the effect settings even if the actual effect is turned off. The values of the parameters will be shown in the display.
Page 50
Nord Stage EX v6.x 7. The Effects: The Panel effects
EFFECT 1
The Effect 1 section offers six different types of modulation. Use the SELECTOR button
to switch between the available modulation effects. The following effects are available:
RM (R
ING MODULATION)
Ring Modulation is a type of modulation where two signals are multiplied with each
other. The result is an inharmonic “bell like” sound. Herbie Hancock used this effect a
lot in the ‘70s. In the Nord Stage EX the instrument signal is multiplied with an additional sinewave.
When RM is selected you set the sinewave pitch with the R
amount of ring modulation with the A
REM (TREMOLO)
T
MOUNT knob. This effect is mono in/out.
ATE/TEMPO knob and the
Tremolo is basically volume modulation that continuously varies the output signal volume. Tremolo
is a commonly used modulation, especially for Wurlitzer electric pianos.
The Tremelo effect is stereo in/out.
The filled curve indicates maximum AMOUNT value and the
dashed curves indicate lower
AMOUNT values. At zero
AMOUNT value the output level is constantly at maximum level
Use the R
put volume is at maximum level at zero A
A-P
ATE/TEMPO and AMOUNT knobs to control the Tremolo rate and depth. Note that the out-
MOUNT setting.
AN (AUTO PAN)
The A-Pan is an auto panning modulation that smoothly pans the signal between the Left and Right
outputs.
The filled curve indicates maximum AMOUNT value and the
dashed curves indicate lower
smoothly pans between the Left and Right outputs as indicat-
You control the rate and amount of panning with the R
AMOUNT values. The signal
ATE/TEMPO and AMOUNT knobs. The Pan
effect is stereo in/out.
S
TATIC PAN CONTROL OF AN INSTRUMENT
Sometimes you may want absolute manual control of over the panning of an instrument. This can be
done with the A-Pan effect as follows:
• Enable Effect 1 for the instrument you want to pan, and select the A-Pan effect type.
• Set the R
field manually with the A
AH-WAH
W
ATE/TEMPO KNOB to zero. Then you can place the instrument anywhere in the stereo
MOUNT knob, just like a pan control on a mixer.
The Wah-Wah modulation is often used for electric guitars to get that characteristic “talking guitar”
sound. Wah-Wah can also be extremely useful on electric piano sounds. Try out the Clavinet sound
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7. The Effects: The Panel effects Nord Stage EX v6.x
with Wah-Wah modulation and you’ll understand. Basically, the Wah-Wah modulation is a lowpass
type of filter that can be swept across the frequency range. During the sweep, the filter’s characteristics also changes. The Wah effect is mono in/out.
For the Wah-Wah1 modulation you control the “pedal position” with the R
wet/dry mix with the A
If you use an expression pedal connected to the C
MOUNT knob.
ONTROL PEDAL INPUT you can control the filter
ATE/TEMPO knob and the
sweep and thus the Wah-Wah effect from the pedal by using the Morph function - see page 60.
HA 1&2 (AUTO-WAH)
A-W
Auto-Wah 1-2 are variations of the Wah-Wah effect described above. For A-Wha you control the
filter sweep range from the signal’s amplitude envelope (envelope follower). For the Auto-Wah 1
modulation you control the range with the R
ATE/TEMPO knob and the wet/dry mix with the AMOUNT
knob.
A-Wha 2 works in the same way, but produces a different character.
EFFECT 2
The Effect 2 section offers six types of vintage style effects to add that extra flavour to
your sounds.
LANGER 1&2
F
The flanger produces a very characteristic comb filter effect. You set the flanging rate
with the R
fect is mono in/out.
HASER 1&2
P
The phaser effect produces a very characteristic “sweep” effect commonly used with
electric piano sounds. You control the rate of the phase shift with the R
knob and the phase shift amount with the A
ATE/TEMPO knob and the amount with the AMOUNT knob. The Flanger ef-
ATE/TEMPO
MOUNT knob. This effect is mono in/out.
HORUS 1&2
C
The Chorus effect simulates having several slightly detuned signals. You set the rate for the chorus
effect with the R
ATE/TEMPO knob and the amount with the AMOUNT knob. This effect is stereo in/
out.
DELAY
The Delay effect produces echo/repeat effects. You set the Delay time with the RATE/
EMPO knob (745-0.1ms). While you turn the knob, the delay time and corresponding
T
tempo and rhythmic subdivision will be shown briefly in the D
knob adjusts the balance between the dry signal and the delay repeats.
If you adjust the Rate/Tempo knob, the delay may or may not change the pitch of the
current repeats. This is a user selectable option, and is set in the Sound menu - see page
68.
The F
EEDBACK knob controls the number of delay repeats. Delay is stereo in/out.
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ISPLAY. The AMOUNT
Nord Stage EX v6.x 7. The Effects: The Panel effects
PING PONG
If you press SHIFT and turn the FEEDBACK knob so that the PING PONG indicator lights up, the delay
repeats will alternate between the left and right channels. When short delay times are used, the repeats
will be “asymmetrical” and produce delays that are more like early reflections in reverb units.
AP TEMPO
T
You can also use Tap Tempo to set a delay time matching the tempo of a song. Simply tap the TAP
EMPO button in the tempo you wish the delay to sync to a number of times, and the delay time will
T
adjust automatically. As long as the Tap Tempo LED is lit the tempo is calculated - wait until it goes
dark to tap in another tempo. Tapping will never result in a pitch change of current repeats.
While you tap the tempo, the calculated tempo and corresponding delay time in milliseconds will be
shown briefly on the D
ISPLAY.
AMPSIM/EQ
This effect section combines an three-band equalizer with a sophisticated
amplifier and speaker cabinet simulation. No real amplifier or speaker is perfect, or behaves the same. They all differ in their frequency response, and respond differently to e.g. transients, high gain and load. This characteristic
response and sound character of various amplifiers and speaker cabinets is
often a desired effect that gives an organic quality to a too clean and perfect
sound.
The special behaviour of an amplifier/speaker combination when pushed to
its limit, “overdrive”, has been exploited by musicians for decades. The
Ampsim models faithfully reproduces the overdrive response of different
amplifier/cabinet combinations, lending you sound that authentic feel.
When no Amp Model is selected, the Ampsim/EQ section provides a more
neutral EQ and overdrive.
The Ampsim/EQ effect is mono in/out.
D
RIVE
The DRIVE knob controls the amount of overdrive for the Ampsim section.
If the D
EQ
RIVE LED is on, it indicates that overdrive is active.
SECTION
This is a 3-band equalizer which features controls for bass, midrange and treble.
When there is no amp modelling, the EQ operates like a standard mixer EQ, with +/- 15 dB boost/cut
for each band.
When amp modelling is used, boosting and/or cutting will produce different tonal characteristics, depending the selected amp model.
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7. The Effects: The Panel effects Nord Stage EX v6.x
AMP MODEL
You select a type of amplifier/speaker simulation using the SELECTOR button in the Amp Model section. There are three types available, with different characteristics:
Amp Model Description
Amp 3 A simulation of a Roland Jazz Chorus
speaker cabinet, powered by a tube amp.
Amp 2 A simulation of the Wurlitzer 200A internal
speaker, powered by a tube amp.
Amp 1 A simulation of a Fender Twin tube ampli-
fier and speaker cabinet.
If all LEDs are off, the effect combines EQ with overdrive (no amp/speaker modelling).
GLOBAL EFFECTS
If activated, the Compressor and Reverb effects will process all signals routed to
the CH 1/CH 2 outputs, but do not affect any signals routed to the CH 3/CH 4 outputs. Both these effects are stereo in/out.
OMPRESSOR
C
The Compressor will even out the dynamics of what you play, making low level
sounds louder and high level sounds lower. This produces a tight, punchy sound
and makes the overall level easier to control in a live mix situation. You activate
the Compressor using the O
N button. The AMOUNT knob controls the amount of
compression applied.
EVERB
R
The Reverb section simulates the natural sound reflections in various acoustic environments. You can choose between five reverb types, indicated by the three
LEDs lit one or two at a time
Reverb name Description
Hall soft A reverb with the response and character
Hall 2 A hall reverb with a slightly brighter char-
Stage soft A reverb with a medium decay time and
Stage 2 A medium decay reverb, with slightly
Room Room ambiance with a rather short decay
:
of a spacious hall, with long decay and a
mellow character.
acter
mellow character.
brighter character.
time.
The DRY/WET knob sets the balance between the unprocessed and the processed signal.
Page 54
Nord Stage EX v6.x 7. The Effects: The Rotor section
THE ROTOR SECTION
The Rotor effect (rotary speaker simulation) in Nord Stage EX accurately reproduces the sound of the rotating horn and bass rotor, as well as the characteristics
of the built-in amplifier of the original Leslie units. The Rotor effect is mono in/
Stereo out.
• You activate or deactivate the Rotor effect for a selected instrument in the same
way as Panel Effects (see “Activating Panel effects” on page 50).
• You switch between fast and slow rotor speeds by pressing the S
• To stop the rotors, press the S
TOP button (this does not deactivate the Rotary
Speaker simulation - it only stops the rotors). When you press the S
PEED button.
TOP button
again the rotors will accelerate to the Slow Speed setting.
• The Rotor acceleration rate, i.e. the time it takes to go from slow to fast and
vice versa, can be adjusted on the Sound menu, see “Sound Menu” on page 68.
The D
RIVE knob controls the amount of overdrive. This simulates the pre-amp
overdrive effect of the original Leslies.
By plugging in a sustain pedal or a foot switch to the R
OTOR SPEED PEDAL input
you can control the Rotor speed, see “Using a Rotor Speed pedal” on page 11. The Rotor Speed can
also be Morph controlled - see page 60.
ABOUT THE ROTOR EFFECT’S INTERNAL ROUTING
The Rotor effect is internally placed after the panel effects in Nord Stage EX. It also “sums” signals
if both Panel A and B are active. This means that if you are using a split organ setup for example,
both “manuals” will be affected by the Rotor (just like on the real thing).
Note also that the Rotor Drive parameter is dependent on the processed instrument’s Level setting. If
the instrument being processed by the Rotor uses a very low level setting, the amount of available
drive will be significantly reduced. Again, this is very much like it works with the “real articles” when you increase the organ level, e.g. by using a swell pedal, the amount of distortion from the Rotor
effect increases.
Page 55
8. Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups: Keyboard Zones Nord Stage EX v6.x
8. KEYBOARD ZONES AND DUAL PANEL SETUPS
KEYBOARD ZONES
You can split the Nord Stage EX keyboard in up to three Keyboard Zones; Lower (LO), Upper (UP)
and High (HI). You can then assign any of the Instrument sections to any (or all) of these zones. An
instrument can also be assigned to no keyboard zone at all, which is useful when you want to play it
from an external keyboard or from a sequencer.
CREATING A SPLIT
Creating a split so that different instruments are assigned to different keyboard zones is very easy to
set up. Proceed as follows:
1. Activate two instrument sections, e.g. an organ sound and a piano sound, by pressing the
KB Z
ONE SELECT buttons in each corresponding section so that the KB ZONE LEDs (Lo/Up/
Hi) light up. If you now play the keyboard you should hear both instruments layered.
2. Press the KB Z
The split point is indicated by a green LED above the corresponding key on the keyboard.
ONES 2 button. This splits the keyboard into two Zones, an upper and a lower.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 8. Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups: Keyboard Zones
3. To assign the Organ instrument section to play on the lower Keyboard
Zone only, hold down S
button for the Organ section until only the LO KB Z
HIFT and then press the KB ZONE SELECT
ONE indicator is
lit.
4. To assign the Piano instrument to play on the upper half of the keyboard
hold down S
section until both the UP/HI KB Z
HIFT and press the KB ZONE SELECT button for the Piano
ONE indicators are lit.
Now the lower half of the keyboard will play the organ sound, and the upper
half will play the piano!
You can also step through the different Keyboard Zone assignments by double-clicking the KB Z
S
ELECT button. This is convenient when you have only one hand free and cannot reach the SHIFT
button.
To activate all three Keyboard Zones, press the KB Z
three Zones. Now if you press the S
S
ELECT button) for an Instrument section, you can step through the following options:
HIFT + KB ZONE SELECT button (or double-click the KB ZONE
ONES 3 button. Now the keyboard is split into
• LO/UP/HI indicators lit - the corresponding instrument will play across all Zones 1-3.
• LO indicator lit - the corresponding instrument will play across Zone 1 only.
• LO/UP indicators lit - the corresponding instrument will play across Zones 1-2.
• UP indicator lit - the corresponding instrument will play across Zone 2 only.
• UP/HI indicators lit - the corresponding instrument will play across Zones 2-3.
• HI indicator lit - the corresponding instrument will play across Zone 3 only.
• No indicator lit - the instrument will not play at all from the internal keyboard, but only from
MIDI. This alternative is only available when an instrument has been assigned an individual MIDI
channel (see “MIDI menu” on page 68).
SETTING SPLIT POINTS TO CHANGE ZONE RANGES
You can set the split points for Zone 2 and 3 in the following way:
• Press S
the keyboard alternates between the available split points. There are split points at C and F in each
octave.
HIFT and SET LO SPLIT button repeatedly. As you can see the green split indicator above
ONE
• You use the same procedure but with S
When using two zones, the split point is set with the S
ET HI SPLIT button to set the split point for Zone 3.
ET LO SPLIT button.
Keyboard Zone split points are shared between Panel A and B.
LAYERING INSTRUMENTS
When two or three instruments are assigned the same keyboard zones, they’re layered, i.e. play at the
same time. You can freely select which instrument(s) should play in each Zone, e.g. you could have
a piano assigned on its own to the Upper Zone, but have piano layered with organ in the Hi Zone.
Another way to layer instruments is to activate both panels simultaneously (see “Dual Panel setups”
below).
Page 57
8. Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups: Octave Shift Nord Stage EX v6.x
OCTAVE SHIFT
Each Instrument section and the Extern section have two OCTAVE SHIFT buttons, which can be used
to transpose the notes up or down in octave steps within the total note range of the instrument.
Each instrument in Nord Stage EX has a finite note range:
• The Organ extends one octave below and one octave above an 88 note keyboard range.
• The Piano extends one octave below the 88 key range, but not above.
• The Synth extends one octave in either direction, just like the Organ.
You cannot transpose an instrument so that non-existing notes would end up in the current Keyboard
Zone. Thus, when playing over the whole keyboard, you can only transpose a maximum of one octave
up or down. But when you are using splits, e.g. so that a piano is set to play in a Zone with a range of
2 octaves, you can use the O
2 octave range of the available 9 octaves is to play in this Zone. Thus, you can always access the
whole note range of any instrument within any set Zone range.
CTAVE SHIFT buttons to transpose the piano up or down to select which
Down 2 octaves
Down 3 octaves
Up 1 octave
Up 2 octaves
In the illustration above, a piano has been assigned to play in a KB Zone stretching from C4 to C6.
Without Octave Shift, the actual note range that will be played will be the same as the set Zone. The
dotted lines show which note range will be played in the set Zone when using Octave Shift. In this
case you can transpose the piano up or down two octaves so you can play any two octave note range
from the selected Zone. No matter what a Zone range is set to you can always reach the entire octave
range of any instrument.
DUAL PANEL SETUPS
If you press both PANEL A and PANEL B buttons so that they both light up, this means that both Panels are active. One of the Panels is always “edit active”, i.e. it is the panel settings for either Panel A
or Panel B that is currently shown and can be edited. The active Panel is indicated by a blinking
ANEL LED. To show/edit the settings for the other Panel press the corresponding PANEL button so
P
that it starts blinking.
To disable one of the panels, hold the P
briefly the P
ANEL button you want to disable.
Press and hold a Panel button and turn the value dial to copy the Panel settings from another Program
to the one currently active.
ANEL button for the panel you want to keep active, and press
Page 58
Nord Stage EX v6.x 8. Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups: Dual Panel setups
When you have both Panels active you have access to two of each Instrument section, and two Effect
sections. Amongst other things, this allows you to play two sounds from each Instrument section simultaneously, e.g. a Clavinet and a Electric Piano or two Synths. For the Organ section things work
slightly differently. Instead of two completely separate organ sections, you have one organ engine
with two manuals, i.e. different drawbar settings, like on a real B3. See “About Split Organ Setups”
on page 29.
USING AN EXTERNAL KEYBOARD (DUAL KB)
If you like to use an external keyboard to control Panel B, you set it up as follows:
• Select a MIDI channel to transmit over from the external keyboard, and select the same MIDI
channel as the “Dual KB” channel on the Nord Stage EX MIDI page menu - see “MIDI menu” on
page 68.
• Press S
Now the internal keyboard will control Panel A and the external keyboard will control Panel B. It is
not possible to activate both Panels in this mode.
This function is ideal for live situations when you have a second keyboard in your rig that you mostly
use to play internal sounds, but would in certain circumstances like to use to play the Nord Stage EX
“double manual”. By activating Dual KB you can quickly switch between these modes without having to bother with MIDI menus. Having this function easily accessible on the front panel makes its
easy to turn off and prevent the external keyboard to play when its used to play its own sounds.
Another advantage with the Dual KB mode is that you can access the knobs and parameters for either
panel from the Nord Stage, while the internal keyboard is always playing Panel A, and the external
keyboard controls Panel B. For example, you can keep on playing Panel A with one hand on the internal keyboard while you simultaneously adjust the drawbars for the second keyboard on Panel B.
Please note that the Dual KB setting is saved with a Program, together with all other Panel settings.
This makes it easy to access any complicated keyboard setup with the push of a button - ideal for live
situations.
HIFT and the DUAL KB button so that the DUAL KB indicator lights up.
USING MULTIPLE KEYBOARDS
Sometimes you may want to control the Nord Stage from more than two keyboards. For example, you
may want to have two external keyboards for Organ A and B, while keeping the internal keyboard
for the piano sounds. Thanks to the flexible MIDI configuration of the Nord Stage, this is no problem
at all.
The Nord Stage can be set up to receive on a separate MIDI channel for each instrument (see “MIDI
menu” on page 68). When such a MIDI channel is assigned, the instrument can be assigned to no
Keyboard Zone at all (when no KB Zone indicator is lit). This means that the instrument is active and
you can adjust all parameters on the panel as usual, but it can only be played via MIDI, i.e. from your
external keyboard (or a sequencer).
Page 59
9. The Morph Assign feature: About Morph Assign Nord Stage EX v6.x
9. THE MORPH ASSIGN
FEATURE
ABOUT MORPH ASSIGN
The three main MORPH ASSIGN buttons are located in the Program section.
The Morph function can be used to control single or multiple parameters using the Wheel, a connected Control pedal or After-
touch (see “About Aftertouch” on page 62). This gives you plenty
of real-time control possibilities to augment your playing style. It
is very simple to set up and use, and all Morph assignments are
stored with the Program.
Many of the Factory Programs have Morph assigned parameters. If a Program uses Morph, one or
more of the M
ORPH ASSIGN indicators will be lit to indicate this.
E.g. if the W
and all Morph assigned parameters will move correspondingly so you “see” exactly what parameters
are currently assigned.
HEEL indicator in the Morph Assign section is lit for a Program you can move the wheel
USING MORPH - AN EXAMPLE
In this example we shall describe how to assign Morph to the LEVEL rotary encoders for two Instrument sections and use the Wheel to lower the level of one instrument while simultaneously raising it
for the other. This allows you to “morph” seamlessly between two sounds by using the Wheel.
1. Set up so that you have two Instrument sections active e.g. the Piano and Organ section, and that
these are assigned to the same Zones so that they are layered when you play the keyboard.
2. Set the L
clockwise) and the L
(fully counter-clockwise).
3. Hold down the W
imum value down to minimum value.
As you can see, the encoder LED pointing to the maximum value position (where it initially was set)
stays lit and the encoder LED pointing to the minimum value position (where you just set it) is also
lit. The two lit encoder LEDs now indicate the Level range (see “About setting Morph parameter
ranges” on page 62) controlled by the Morph Assign function, which in this case was the full range
of the Level rotary encoder.
EVEL knob for one of the two active instrument sections to the maximum value (fully
EVEL knob for the other active instrument section to the minimum value
HEEL button in the Morph Assign section and turn the LEVEL knob set to max-
4. Release the W
Page 60
HEEL button in the Morph Assign section and push the Wheel forward. The Level
knob is now controlled by the Wheel and the LED’s continuously reflect the level changes when
moving the Wheel. In this example, when the Wheel is fully forward the Level goes down to
zero, and when you move the Wheel back the Level goes back up to maximum.
Nord Stage EX v6.x 9. The Morph Assign feature: Morph Assignable parameters
5. Hold down the WHEEL button in the Morph Assign section again while turning the Instrument
EVEL knob that was set to minimum value in Step 2 up to maximum value.
L
6. Release the W
HEEL button in the Morph Assign section.
7. When you now move the Wheel, the Level is gradually lowered for one instrument and raised for
the other instrument, allowing you to “morph” between the two instruments!
If you double-click a Morph button (W
HEEL, A.TOUCH or CTRLPEDAL), it will stay active, and you
can assign any number of morphs without holding the Morph button. When you have finished assigning Morph parameters, press E
XIT (SHIFT) to exit. This for example allows for one-handed Morph
assignments.
MORPH ASSIGNABLE PARAMETERS
Basically you can use the Morph function to control all rotary encoders (knobs that show parameter
values with LEDs) and the organ drawbars. Apart from the number of assignable parameters, there is
no limit to how many parameters you can control simultaneously using Morph.
The following parameters can be Morph controlled:
• The L
• The T
• The F
• The D
EVEL knobs for all Instrument sections.
IMBRE knob in the Synth section.
ILTER FREQUENCY knob in the Synth section.
RAWBARS in the Organ section.
• The Effect R
• The Effect A
• The P
ARAMETER knob in the Extern section (see page 64).
• The R
press the R
by clearly lit R
ATE/TEMPO knob.
MOUNT knob.
OTOR SPEED button. E.g. hold down the WHEEL button in the Morph Assign section, and
OTOR SPEED button once. Now the Wheel controls the Rotor Speed, which is indicated
OTOR SPEED LEDs when the corresponding Morph button is held. Note that this
enables you to set Rotor Speed continuously, instead of just alternating between two fixed speeds.
To deactivate, hold down the W
PEED button again.
S
HEEL button in the Morph Assign section, and press the ROTOR
Page 61
9. The Morph Assign feature: About setting Morph parameter ranges Nord Stage EX v6.x
ABOUT SETTING MORPH PARAMETER RANGES
In the previous example we controlled the full range of two Instrument LEVEL knobs with Morph.
But you can also set relative ranges for parameters. For example, you could assign one parameter to
be controlled fully (min/max), and another parameter knob to be controlled from 12 o’clock position
to 3 o’clock position. This would mean that the first parameter would vary between the min and max
values whereas the second parameter would vary between 12 o’clock position to 3 o’clock within the
Morph assigned controller’s full range.
When you press and hold down one of the buttons in the Morph Assign section to assign Morphing,
the initial position of a parameter determines the first value, and the position you move the parameter
to determines the second value. Using the Wheel as an example, this means that when you move the
Wheel fully forward the parameter will move from the first value to end up on the second value.
CLEARING MORPH ASSIGNMENTS
To clear Morph Assignments, press SHIFT and the corresponding button in the Morph Assign section
that stores the assignments that you wish to clear.
To remove an individual parameter, hold down the M
signed to. The current range will be shown by the rotary encoder LEDs for the parameter. Move the
rotary encoder until both LEDs go off to erase the Morph assignment.
ORPH ASSIGN button that the parameter is as-
ABOUT AFTERTOUCH
We have previously used the Wheel as an example controller, but you can also use Aftertouch to
Morph control parameters.
The Nord Stage EX keyboard can respond in two ways to how you play. The first is velocity (not
applicable for organ sounds or Morph), which means that the faster the player presses a key down,
the higher the velocity value. Once a key is played and held down, there is also 'Aftertouch' (sometimes called channel pressure). The player can apply more pressure on a key while it is down; and
this will generate a signal that can be used to control parameters. Applying Aftertouch to one key will
affect the sound of all sounding notes of the instrument.
Page 62
Nord Stage EX v6.x 10. The Extern section: About the Extern section
10. THE EXTERN SECTION
ABOUT THE EXTERN SECTION
When developing Nord Stage EX, Clavia aimed to make external control an integrated feature of the instrument, where all the essential external MIDI control
functions would be as accessible and easy to use as the functions and parameters
for the built-in instruments. That’s what you get in the Extern section.
The Extern in most cases behaves like the internal instruments. For example, it is
enabled and assigned a keyboard zone in the same way. It has a multi-purpose Parameter knob, which is used to send MIDI Volume, Program Change and Continuous Controller messages. You select the current Parameter focus with the
ARAMETER SELECT button. Detailed settings for MIDI Channel, Program
P
Change and Continuous Controllers, among other things, are accessed through the
Extern Menu (see page 70).
SETTING UP
1. Connect a MIDI cable from Nord Stage EX’s MIDI Out to the MIDI In on the
external device.
2. Press S
3. Use The P
4. Use the V
P
ton briefly to exit the menu.
5. Set the external instrument to receive on the same MIDI channel.
HIFT and the EXTERN button to access the Extern menu.
AGE buttons to access the “Extern MIDI A/B Channel” page.
ALUE DIAL to select the MIDI channel (1-16) you would like to transmit over. Use the
ANEL A and B buttons to access the channel setting for each panel. Press the EXIT (SHIFT) but-
USING THE EXTERN SECTION
ACTIVATING
Before Extern MIDI is sent out from Nord Stage EX, you have to activate the Extern section. This is
done by pressing the O
N button under the PARAMETER rotary encoder.
ABOUT KEYBOARD ZONES
There are two Extern sections, one for each panel. You can use Keyboard Zones to create splits and
layers just like for the internal instruments. If you set the Extern section to only play in the LO Zone,
the external instrument will only respond to notes played in this Zone. In other words, it works transparently together with the built-in instruments!
Page 63
10. The Extern section: The Parameter section Nord Stage EX v6.x
In addition to the usual Keyboard Zones, there is an extra option that doesn’t assign the Extern section
to the internal keyboard at all. However, all other External features are still active, such as the Pitch
Stick and the P
need for MIDI keyboard messages.
See “Keyboard Zones and Dual Panel setups” on page 56 for information on how to set up and use
Keyboard Zones.
ARAMETER knob. This is useful when you want to control external equipment with no
OCTAVE SHIFT
The OCTAVE SHIFT buttons in the extern section also work exactly as for internal instruments. As
with them, the shift range depends on the total note range of the external instrument, and the range of
the Keyboard Zone(s) that the external instrument is currently assigned to. See “Octave Shift” on
page 58.
ACTIVATING PITCH STICK/SUSTAIN PEDAL MESSAGES
By pressing SHIFT and one of the PSTICK or SUSTPED buttons you can set up whether Nord Stage
EX should send Pitch bend and/or Sustain pedal messages via the Extern MIDI channel (a lit LED
indicates it is activated).
THE PARAMETER SECTION
The Parameter section comprises the three buttons in the Parameter Select section and the
ARAMETER rotary encoder at the top. Simply put, you select a parameter and vary the value of the
P
selected parameter with the rotary knob. The P
led - see page 60.
The following parameters can be set using the Parameter Select buttons:
VOLUME
If this is activated, the PARAMETER rotary encoder will send MIDI Volume messages (0-127), allowing you to control the level of the external device. The external instrument may have to be set to receive MIDI CC messages for this to function. You can turn this off on the Extern menu - see “Extern
menu” on page 70.
PROG CHANGE
When this is on, the PARAMETER rotary encoder will send Program Change messages (0-127). This
allows you to select Programs for the external instrument. This works slightly differently than for other parameters. The Parameter rotary encoder will in this mode send a Program Change message for
each individual rotary encoder LED. To access all 127 messages simply continue to turn the rotary
encoder multiple times - it will continue to send messages across the whole range. The external instrument may have to be set to receive MIDI Program Change messages for this to function.
You can turn this off on the Extern menu - see “Extern menu” on page 70.
ARAMETER rotary encoder can also be Morph control-
(If the external instrument organizes programs in Banks, there is an option to send Bank Change messages on the Extern Menu page, - see “Extern menu” on page 70.)
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 10. The Extern section: The Parameter section
MIDI CC
This allows you send MIDI Control Change messages to control a parameter of your choice on the
external instrument. You first have to decide which Controller number the P
coder should send value changes for. This is done on the Extern Menu:
ARAMETER rotary en-
1. Press S
2. Use the P
3. Use the V
HIFT and the EXTERN button to access the Extern menu.
AGE buttons to select the “Extern MIDI CC Number” menu page.
ALUE DIAL to select a MIDI CC Number (0-119). You may want to check the manual
for the external instrument to see which parameters are assigned to which CC numbers.
4. Press the E
XIT (SHIFT) button briefly to exit.
If you now activate the MIDI CC button in the Parameter Select section, you can control the selected
external parameter using the P
ARAMETER rotary encoder in the Extern section. You can turn this off
on the Extern menu - see “Extern menu” on page 70. The external instrument may have to be set to
receive MIDI CC messages for this to function.
ABOUT SEND ON LOAD
You can set whether Program Change, Volume and MIDI CC messages are sent out when you load
a Program in Nord Stage EX. If you do not want this to occur, make sure “Send On Load” is set to
“Off” on the Extern menu.
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11. System functions: System menu Nord Stage EX v6.x
11. SYSTEM FUNCTIONS
The System functions are divided into four menus; System, Sound, MIDI and Extern. Press SHIFT
and the corresponding button in the Program section to access the desired menu.
To leave a menu at any time, press the E
XIT (SHIFT) button briefly.
All changes you make to the system functions are automatically stored in Nord Stage EX, except the
Local On/Off setting, which is always set to Local On at power on.
SYSTEM MENU
Press SHIFT + SYSTEM to enter the System menu. Use the PAGE -/+ buttons to navigate between the
different pages. Push a P
ly. Use the V
ALUE DIAL to change the settings. When you are done, press EXIT (SHIFT) briefly to
exit the menu.
The following items can be found on the System menu:
Function Description Range/Values
Transpose Transpose allows you transpose the pitch of instru-
Fine Tune Fine Tune can be used to adjust the pitch of instru-
Audio Routing
Mode
AGE button once to step through the menu, or hold the button to scroll quick-
-/+ 6 semitones (in steps of
ments up or down in semitone steps
ments in finer increments.
The output routing of the instruments in the Nord
Stage can be determined in two different ways, globally, or independently for each program. When “Global” is selected, the output routings will be the same
for all programs, and the global settings will override
the routings stored with each program.
.
1 semitone). Default value
is “0” (no transpose).
+/- 50 Cents (half a semitone). Default value is “0”
(no fine tune).
Global (Default), Program
Page 66
Organ Audio
Output
Piano Audio A/B
Output
This allows you to set which channel output pairs (or
mono output) to use for the Organ section. Note that
you cannot have different routings for Organ A and B.
If the Audio Routing Mode (see above) is “Program”,
this setting will be saved with the program.
This allows you to set which channel output pairs (or
mono output) to use for the Piano A and B sections.
Use the Panel A & B buttons to access the settings
for each panel. If the Audio Routing Mode (see
above) is set to “Program”, these settings will be
saved with the program.
“1 & 2” (Default), ”3 & 4”,
”3” ,”4”
“1 & 2” (Default), ”3 & 4”,
”3” ,”4”
Nord Stage EX v6.x 11. System functions: System menu
Synth Audio A/B
Output
Organ Keyboard
Trig Mode
Sustain Pedal
Polarity
Sustain Pedal
Use as Rotor
Rotor Pedal
Polarity
This allows you to set which channel output pairs (or
mono output) to use for the Synth A and B section.Use the Panel A & B buttons to access the settings for each panel. If the Audio Routing Mode (see
above) is set to “Program”, these settings will be
saved with the program.
This allows you to change how the Nord Stage EX
keyboard triggers Organ sounds. When “Fast/High” is
selected, you will trigger organ sounds before the key
is fully depressed. This mode closely mimics the way
a real B3 triggers notes.
This allows you to change the polarity of a connected
sustain pedal, in case the functionality of the pedal is
reversed (i.e. when the pedal is up, sustain is on and
vice versa).
If you have only one pedal connected and want to
use it as both Sustain Pedal and Rotor Speed Pedal,
enable this setting. Note that even if this is enabled,
and you connect a pedal to the Rotor Speed input,
this setting will be overridden and you will be able to
use both pedals separately.
This allows you to change the polarity of a sustain
pedal connected to control Rotor Speed, in case the
functionality of the pedal is reversed (i.e. when the
pedal is up, Rotor Speed is fast and vice versa).
“1 & 2” (Default), ”3 & 4”,
”3” ,”4”
Fast/High (Default), Normal
Open, Closed (Default)
No (Default), Yes
Open, Closed (Default)
Rotor Pedal Mode If you are using a sustain pedal connected to control
Rotor Speed this allows you to set how this should
operate. “Hold” means that the Rotor Speed is fast for
as long as the pedal is down and reverts back to slow
when the pedal is released (or vice versa depending
on the set pedal polarity). “Toggle” means that the
fast/slow rotor speed is switched with a pedal depression, like an on/off switch pedal.
Ctrl Pedal Type Different brands of control pedals have different
specifications (resistance, offset and linearity). To
simplify setup and to optimize the response of the
pedal for the Nord Stage, the most common pedal
makes are preconfigured, and you simply select the
type of pedal you connect. Roland, Yamaha and
Fatar are linear control pedals with different scaling
and offset. Ernie Ball pedals (“ErnieB”) are marketed
as volume pedals, with a logarithmic response, but
the response is rescaled internally in the Nord Stage
to make them work nicely as control pedals. They
may need a Y-cable (stereo plug -> 2 mono plugs) to
work with the Nord Stage.
Control Pedal
Use as Swell
You can use a control pedal to control organ swell. If
you wish to do so set this to “Yes”. Note that even if
this is enabled, and you connect a pedal to the Organ
Swell input, this setting will be overridden and you will
be able to use both pedals separately.
Hold (Default), Toggle
Roland (Default), Yamaha,
Ernie B, Fatar
No (Default), Yes
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11. System functions: Sound Menu Nord Stage EX v6.x
Swell Pedal Type This setting configure the Swell Pedal. See “Ctrl
Pedal Type” above for details.
Swell Pedal Dest This setting configure the Swell Pedal destination.
Set this to Organ if only the Organ section should be
controlled or to All if the volume of all sections should
be controlled.
Memory Protect This is set to “On” when Nord Stage EX leaves the
factory, meaning that you cannot save any changes
to Programs or Synth Sounds. Set this to Off if you
wish to store your own Programs. System settings
and the two Live buffers are not protected by this setting.
Factory Reset This resets all system settings and restores the origi-
nal Live-buffers. Hold the flashing
onds to perform the reset. The display will take a few
seconds. Stored programs are not affected by this
action (except the live buffers).
STORE a few sec-
Roland (Default), Yamaha,
Ernie B, Fatar
Organ (Default), All
On (default), Off
SOUND MENU
Press SHIFT + SOUND to access the Sound menu. Use the PAGE -/+ buttons to navigate between the
various menu items on the Sound menu. Hold a P
used to change settings. When you are done, press E
AGE button to scroll quickly. The VALUE DIAL is
XIT (SHIFT) briefly to exit the menu.
Note! The settings on the Sound menu are not saved with a Program.
The following items can be found on the Sound menu:
Function Description Range/Values
Synth Vibrato Rate This determines the rate of the Synth Vibrato. 4.00 - 8.00 Hz (Default
6.00 Hz)
Synth Dly Vibrato
Amount
Organ Key Click
Level B3
Rotor Acc The acceleration rate of the Rotor effect, i.e. how long
Delay Mode This sets if the delay should change the pitch on
This determines the amount of Synth Vibrato when
any of the vibrato delay modes are used.
This sets the amount of Key Click for B3 organ
sounds (see
it takes for the Rotor to speed up or slow down.
sounding repeats if the Rate/Tempo knob is adjusted,
or not. When set to Normal, the pitch does not
change.
“Key click control” on page 26)
0-50 cent (Default value is
25 cent)
1-10 (Default value is 5)
Slow, Mid (Default), Fast
Analog (Default), Normal
MIDI MENU
Press SHIFT + MIDI to access the MIDI menu. Use the PAGE -/+ buttons to navigate between the
various menu items on the MIDI menu. Hold a Page button to scroll quickly. The V
used to change settings, the Panel buttons to switch between A and B where applicable. When you
are done, press E
XIT (SHIFT) briefly to exit the menu.
ALUE DIAL is
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 11. System functions: MIDI menu
The following items can be found on the MIDI menu:
Function Description Range/Values
MIDI Control
Local
MIDI Panel A/B
Channel
MIDI Organ A/B
Channel
MIDI Piano A/B
Channel
MIDI Synth A/B
Channel
MIDI Dual KB
Channel
Here you set whether the Nord Stage EX keyboard
and front panel controls should control internal Programs or only send MIDI. Local On is the normal
“play mode”. In Local Off mode, the front panel and
keyboard actions are transmitted via MIDI only and
do not control the internal sound(s) directly.
This sets the MIDI channel for Panel A/B 1-16, Off (Default A ch 1)
This sets the MIDI channel for the Organ section A/B.
If a channel is set here, you can assign the corresponding instrument to no KB Zone at all, i.e., make it
active but available only through MIDI.
This sets the MIDI channel for the Piano section A/B.
If a channel is set here, you can assign the corresponding instrument to no KB Zone at all, i.e., make it
active but available only through MIDI.
This sets the MIDI channel for the Synth section A/B.
If a channel is set here, you can assign the corresponding instrument to no KB Zone at all, i.e., make it
active but available only through MIDI.
This sets the MIDI channel for an external keyboard
when using Dual KB mode - see page 59.
On (Default), Off
(Default B ch 2)
1-16, Off (Default off)
1-16, Off (Default off)
1-16, Off (Default off)
1-16, Off (Default 16)
MIDI Prog Change
Mode
MIDI Ctrl Change
Mode
Send MIDI Ctrl You can perform a dump of all MIDI Controllers for
Dump Program
Source
Dump Synth Sound Here you can perform a separate MIDI SysEx dump
Instrument SysEx ID Most instruments have a unique Instrument ID #. If
This allows you to set whether you want Nord Stage
EX to transmit and/or receive MIDI Program Change
Messages.
This allows you to set whether you want Nord Stage
EX to transmit and/or receive MIDI Controller Messages.
the selected Panel. Hit Store to perform the dump.
See “Sending MIDI Controller dumps” on page 89.
Here you can perform a MIDI SysEx dump of the currently selected Program or of all 126 Programs of the
internal memory (plus the Live buffers 1 & 2). See
“Sending Program dumps” on page 88.
of just the Synth memory settings. See “Sending
Synth Sound bank dumps” on page 89.
more than one of the same instruments are connected in a MIDI network, this ensures that no instrument will receive SysEx dumps not intended for it.
Off, Send, Receive, Send
& Receive (Default)
Off, Send, Receive, Send
& Receive (Default)
Panel A, Panel B
One (Default), All
Slot A/B, Synth, Pad, Bass,
All (Default)
1-16, All (Default)
Page 69
11. System functions: Extern menu Nord Stage EX v6.x
EXTERN MENU
Press SHIFT + EXTERN to access the Extern menu, where you can find settings and functions relating
to the Extern section - see “The Extern section” on page 63. Use the P
between the various menu items on the menu. The V
are done, press E
XIT (SHIFT) briefly to exit the menu.
ALUE DIAL is used to change settings. When you
Most items on the Extern menu have separate entries for Panel A and B! Most settings from the Extern menu are saved with a Program. The only exceptions are the “Extern MIDI A/B Channel” if Extern MIDI Mode is set to Global, and “Send on Load”.
The following items can be found on the Extern menu:
Function Description Range/Values
AGE -/+ buttons to navigate
Extern MIDI
Mode
Extern MIDI A/B
Channel
Extern MIDI A/B
Volume
Extern MIDI A/B
Prog Change
Extern MIDI A/B
Bank Sel cc00
Extern MIDI A/B
Bank Sel cc32
Extern MIDI A/B
CC Value
Extern MIDI A/B
CC Number
The Extern MIDI Channel can be determined in two different
ways, globally, or independently for each program. When “Global” is selected, the Extern MIDI A & B channels will be the same
for all programs. If Program is selected, the Extern MIDI A & B
channel will be saved with each Stage EX program.
This sets the MIDI channel the Extern section should use . 1-16 (14 default for
The Extern section can send MIDI Volume messages (0-127),
allowing you to control the level of the external device.
The Extern section can transmit MIDI Program Change messages (0-127), allowing you to change programs on external
devices.
This allows you to set a value for a MIDI Bank Select message
on Control Change address 00 (cc00).
This allows you to set a value for a MIDI Bank Select message
on Control Change address 32 (cc32).
Note that there are many different variations between instruments in how Banks are numbered and accessed via MIDI.
This will transmit values for the selected MIDI CC number. Off (Default), 1-127
This decides which MIDI Controller number the Extern section
should be transmitted when MIDI CC is activated.
Global, Program
Panel A, 15 is
default for Panel B)
Off (Default), 0-127
Off (Default), 1-128
Off, 0-127
Off (Default), 0-127
MIDI CC 0-119
(Default is 2)
Page 70
Extern MIDI A/B
Send Wheel
Extern MIDI A/B
Send A.Touch
Extern MIDI A/B
Send CtrlPed
Extern MIDI A/B
Vel Curve
Extern MIDI
Send on Load
To avoid transmitting Modulation Wheel messages make sure
this option is set to “No”.
To avoid transmitting After Touch messages make sure this
option is set to “No”.
To avoid transmitting Expression Pedal messages make sure
this option is set to “No”.
Use this setting to adjust the velocity response curves in the
Extern section.
To avoid transmitting Program Change, Volume or MIDI CC messages when you load a Program in Nord Stage EX, make sure
“Send On Load” is set to “Off” on the Extern menu.
Yes (Default), No
Yes (Default), No
Yes (Default), No
Norm (Default),
Soft, Hard
No (Default), Yes
Nord Stage EX v6.x 12. Factory Presets and OS: Internal memory
12. FACTORY PRESETS AND OS
INTERNAL MEMORY
The Operating System, Programs and Piano samples in Nord Stage EX are stored in a so-called Flash
memory. A Flash memory keeps the data also when the power is shut off. Another big advantage is
that you can replace data in the Flash memory at any time. This means that you will be able to download OS upgrades and Programs to your Nord Stage EX from a computer or sequencer without needing to replace or add any new hardware. Nord Stage EX also features a USB port for quick and easy
download of new Piano instrument samples. The total capacity of the Flash memory is 256 MB in the
Stage EX.
The internal sound memory of Nord Stage consists of 21 Banks holding 6 Programs each for a total
of 126 Programs. In addition there are the two Live buffer memories, which will continuously store
any changes as they are made, and remember these settings after the power is shut off.
FACTORY PRESETS
All factory Programs of Nord Stage EX can be replaced. To make sure you don’t accidentally overwrite Programs you want to keep, it’s a good idea to back up your sounds regularly on a computer or
on a hardware sequencer that can record and play back MIDI SysEx. data. For information on how
to back up Programs please refer to “Sending Program dumps” on page 88. This functionality as also
available with the Nord Sound Manager.
RESTORING THE FACTORY PRESETS
The factory Programs will be available as a MIDI SysEx file for download at the Nord web site at
http://www.nordkeyboards.com. Please refer to “Receive MIDI SysEx Dumps” on page 89 for information on how to restore the factory presets using MIDI.
If you like to reset everything including the pianos, use the Restore functionality in the Nord Sound
Manager together with a Stage EX backup file, that is available on the DVD or as on the
www.nordkeyboards.com web site.
OS UPGRADES
The latest OS version for Nord Stage EX is available for download at:
http://www.nordkeyboards.com.
Page 71
13. Nord Sound Manager: Overview Nord Stage EX v6.x
13. NORD SOUND MANAGER
The Nord Sound Manager is the application that allows you to organize the various memory areas,
the partitions in the Nord Stage EX. It is also used to download pianos, programs or synth patches to
the Nord Stage EX or to upload any of these items - called sounds - from the Nord Stage EX memory
to the computer hard drive. The Nord Sound Manager provides access to various methods to download the sounds to the unit and a function to backup and restore the entire Nord Stage EX memory.
YSTEM REQUIREMENTS
S
The Nord Sound Manager is compatible with computers running Mac OSX 10.4 or later, Windows
XP and Windows Vista. If you run the Nord Sound Manager on a Windows computer, you also need
a Clavia USB Driver of version 2.14 or later installed. The Nord Stage and Stage EX OS has to be
v5.0 or later.
• Nord Stage EX OS Updates, USB drivers and instructions on how to install these are available at
the www.nordkeyboards.com website and on the DVD that accompanies this unit.
OVERVIEW
You can work with the contents of the piano partition, the program partition and the synth patch partition. These are all accessed from the tabs, conveniently labelled Piano, Programs and Synth. Below
the tabs is a drop down menu, with which you select one of the banks in the partition.
• If no Nord Stage EX is connected properly to the computer, pages and memory locations will be
greyed out.
Page 72
Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: Overview
Important: The actions that take place in the Nord Sound Manager will affect the memories in
the Nord Stage EX. The Manager is on-line with a connected Stage at all times; any changes that
you perform in the Manager will immediately be executed in the Nord Stage. If you e.g. delete a
piano or a program from the list in the Nord Sound Manager, that same piano or program will also
be deleted from the Nord Stage EX Flash memory.
THE TOOLBAR
The Toolbar gives you direct access to some of the more frequently used functions in the Nord Sound
Manager. Clicking on an icon will activate one of these functions, and a dialogue will often appear
asking for confirmation or further instructions from you.
THE TABS
Select the partition that you wish to work in with the Tabs. The Piano tab allows you to change the
content of the Nord Stage piano partition, the Programs tab is the program partition and the Synth tab
allows you to organize the synth patches. Each of these tabs is then divided into banks, according to
how the actual partition is organized in the Nord Stage EX. The individual samples, programs or
patches will be referred to as "sounds" in this manual and in the application itself.
Tip: Press Ctrl+Tab on the computer keyboard to cycle between the three tabs.
In order to make organizing the content easier, you can have two lists open by selecting Dual View
in the View menu. This makes it easy to e.g. drag a sound from one bank to another. If a program or
a patch is dragged and then dropped upon another program/patch in the lists, they will trade places.
• Piano sounds can not be moved between the banks in the piano partition.
The bank lists can be ordered according to location, name, size, version and date, in ascending and
descending order. Just click on a headline to select a preferred view.
PARTITION MEMORY INDICATOR
The memory indicator at the bottom of the window indicates how much memory is being used in the
selected partition. The red area shows the used memory, green indicates space that is available for
new sounds.
RIGHT-CLICKING
If you right-click on a sound, a context menu will provide the following options:
Page 73
13. Nord Sound Manager: Overview Nord Stage EX v6.x
SELECT IN INSTRUMENT
This will select the chosen sound in the Manager list, to be instantly accessible on the Nord Stage.
PLOAD
U
This will upload the selected sound from the Nord Stage to the computer hard drive in a folder of your
choice.
OWNLOAD
D
This is only available if you right-click on an empty location that does not contain a sound. This allows you to choose a file on the hard drive, to be downloaded to the location in the Nord Stage EX.
Note: When a Nord Stage EX leaves the factory, every program or synth location is filled with patches. You need to use the Delete function to get any empty locations, which are displayed without any
characters in their name.
R
ENAME
This allows you to rename a Program or a Synth patch. Characters supported are: a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and
a hyphen (-) and the name can contain up to 16 characters. Any other characters will not be displayed
in the Sound Manager lists or in the Stage display.
• Pianos cannot be renamed, this option will not be available if you right-click on a Piano.
ELETE
D
This will delete the selected sound(s) from the Nord Stage EX memory.
ILE FORMATS
F
The Nord Sound Manager v5.x creates and uses files with the following extensions:
• .npno - These are the piano samples.
• .nspg - These are the Program files. The file name will also be the name of the Program that is
shown in the Nord Stage EX display.
• .nss - This is the extension for the Synth patches. The file name will also be the name of the Synth
patch that is shown in the Nord Stage display.
• .nsb - This is the extension used for the Nord Stage backup files.
Just as any other computer file on your hard drive, these files may be renamed, emailed, copied,
moved, lost or even stored in a safe location if an evil computer crash suddenly decides to take your
hard drive for ride.
Page 74
Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: The Quick Tour
THE QUICK TOUR
Let’s get acquainted with some of the functions in the Nord Sound Manager.
TRANSFER PIANO SAMPLES TO THE STAGE
When the Nord Stage EX leaves the factory, the Piano partition is filled with piano sounds. In order
to be able to download additional pianos, you may have to delete some of the factory pianos. If you
ever want to restore any deleted pianos, they are available on the DVD that was included with the
Nord Stage EX, or available as a download from the www.nordkeyboards.com web site, in the Nord
Stage download area.
D
ELETING A PIANO FROM THE NORD STAGE EX
1. Connect the Nord Stage EX to the computer and launch the Nord Sound Manager 4x.
2. The Piano tab will open and the current content of the Piano partition in the Stage will be dis-
played.
3. Select the piano to delete and press the Delete icon in the toolbar. You can also right-click on the
sound and choose the Delete option or use the backspace or delete keys on the computer keyboard. You will be asked to confirm your intentions and then the piano in the Stage EX will be
deleted.
Page 75
13. Nord Sound Manager: The Quick Tour Nord Stage EX v6.x
DOWNLOAD A NEW PIANO
1. Using drag and drop: Open the folder on the computer hard drive where the new piano is
located.
2. Make sure that the Sound Manager window and the folder are visible on the screen.
3. Drag the new piano to the white area or to an empty location in the Sound Manager piano list.
4. The Clean Deleted Space process will start to prepare the memory and then the new piano will be
downloaded to the Stage. If there isn’t enough free space, a message will appear in the lower left
text area in the Sou.
• The pianos are categorized and can only be added to the correct bank; electric pianos can not be
added to the grand bank, the grand’s cannot be dropped in the clavinet bank etc.
Tip: If the Organize option is active in the View menu, you can drop a sound on any free location
in the bank. If this function is not active, the new sound will be automatically placed at the first
free location in the bank. The various locations are selected using the Type selector on the Nord
Stage.
1. Using the Toolbar or menu command: Click on the Sound Down icon in the toolbar. The same
command is also available in the File menu: Sound Download (Ctrl-D)
2. Browse to the folder on the hard drive where the desired sound is located, select it and click
Open. The piano will now be added to its parent bank.
These methods can also be used with any individual Programs or Synth patches that you wish to add.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: The Quick Tour
UPLOAD ONE OR SEVERAL SOUNDS FROM THE NORD STAGE TO THE HARD DRIVE
1. Select the desired partition that holds the sounds that you wish to store on the computer hard
drive.
2. Select the bank and the sound. Shift-click will allow you to select several consecutive sounds;
Ctrl-click will allow you to select nonconsecutive sounds. Here we have selected a few of the
Programs:
3. Click on the Sound Up tool or right-click on the selected sound(s) and select Upload. The dia-
logue will prompt you to browse to the desired destination folder on the hard drive. The upload
process may take a few moments depending on the size of the sounds.
PLOAD A COMPLETE BANK OF SOUNDS FROM THE STAGE TO THE HARD DRIVE
U
1. Make sure that the desired partition and bank is focused in the Nord Sound Manager. You will
also have the opportunity to change the source bank in an upcoming dialogue.
2. Click on the Bank Up tool, or select the File/Bank Upload menu command (Ctrl-Shift-U). Verify
that the source bank is correct and browse to the desired destination folder on the computer hard
drive.
You can also select All at the bottom of the bank list drop down. This will upload the entire content
of the partition to the computer hard drive.
If the Create Subfolders option is checked, a folder structure - partition/bank/sounds - will automatically be created in the destination folder.
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13. Nord Sound Manager: The Quick Tour Nord Stage EX v6.x
DOWNLOAD A COMPLETE BANK OF SOUNDS FROM THE HARD DRIVE TO THE STAGE
1. Click on the Bank Down tool, or select the File/Bank Download menu command (Ctrl-Shift-D).
2. Verify that the destination bank is correct and browse to the desired source folder on the computer hard drive.
• Note: When you click on Download a dialogue appears to inform you that the content of the desti-
nation bank in the Nord Stage will be replaced with that of the source file.
If you select All in the destination bank drop down, you can replace all the sounds in a partition with
those on a folder structure on the hard drive. If Search Subfolders is active, you can browse to the top
folder of a structure as the parent of the source files.
RGANIZE THE PROGRAM OR SYNTH PARTITIONS
O
By using drag and drop, you can organize the content of the Program and Synth partition.
1. Make sure that Dual View and Organize is activated in the View menu.
2. Select the banks you wish to use as the destination and the source.
3. Select and drag a sound from the destination bank to the source bank. If you drop a sound on a
free location, the sound will be moved from the source location. If you drop on a location that is
occupied, the two sounds will trade places.
EARCH BOX
S
1. By entering one or several characters in the Search Box, you can filter out the content that is presented in the lists.
This provides you with a quick way to find duplicate programs, all programs made by the mysterious
AD (Ake Danielsson) or all programs with e.g. the phrase “string” in their names.
UTO SELECT
A
By clicking on the Auto Select icon in the toolbar, you toggle the Auto Select function on or off.
When this is activated and you scroll through the Pianos, Program or Synth patch list using the computer keyboard arrow keys, these will automatically be selected in the Nord Stage EX.
Double-clicking on a Piano, Program or Synth patch will also select it in the Electro 3.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: Nord Sound Manager reference
NORD SOUND MANAGER REFERENCE
TOOLBAR
ORGANIZE
When this option is active, the lists will show all the available locations in the selected partition/bank
and not only the occupied ones. This will for instance make it easier to drag a file to a specific free
location in the middle of the list. If this is inactive, only the occupied locations will be shown.
UAL VIEW
D
When this option is checked, the window will be divided in two lists. The two lists makes it easy to
move programs from one location to another. You can make the lists show separate banks with the
dropdowns. Rearranging programs is simply a matter of drag and drop. Drag a program from one
bank/list to another bank/list in either direction.
UTO SELECT
A
With this function active, scrolling through the program list with the computer keyboard arrow keys
will automatically select the programs in the Nord Stage EX.
S
OUND UP
Use this function to upload one or several sounds from the Nord Stage to the computer hard drive.
OUND DOWN
S
Use this function to download one or several sounds from the computer hard drive to the next available location in the selected partition.
R
ENAME
Allows you to rename a sound. 16 characters can be used, and the supported characters are: a-z, AZ, 0-9 and the hyphen (-). Any other characters will not be displayed in the Sound Manager lists or
in the Stage display.
• Pianos cannot be renamed so this function is not available if you have selected a piano.
ELETE
D
Allows you to delete one or several selected sound. You will be asked to confirm your intentions. You
may also use the delete or backspace key on the computer keyboard to perform the deletion.
Note: Any Program in the Nord Stage that used that particular piano or synth patch that you deleted will probably sound very different, since it will be missing an important component.
The space that a deleted Piano occupied is not immediately available to other pianos, even though it
is gone from the list and its location is free. The Flash memory needs to be cleaned to free up the space
where the deleted sounds have been. When you add a new piano sample the cleaning process will be
initiated automatically. You also have the option to manually start the cleaning process with the Clean
Deleted Space command from the File menu.
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13. Nord Sound Manager: Nord Sound Manager reference Nord Stage EX v6.x
Note: A flashing number in the Nord Stage EX piano type LED indicates that the Piano location
that the current Program tried to use is not available in the Flash memory. Select another piano
type or download the missing piano sample to the Stage.
ANK UP
B
This function will upload an entire bank of piano samples, programs or synth patches to the computer
hard drive. The default source will be the currently active bank, but you may choose another partition
and bank if you wish. Click on the Choose Folder button to select the destination on the hard drive.
If the Create Subfolders option is checked, a folder structure - partition/bank/sounds - will automatically be created in the destination folder.
Note: If a folder with the same name as the source partition/bank already exists in the location on
the hard drive, this folders entire content will be replaced by the uploaded files from the Nord
Stage
ANK DOWN
B
This function will download an entire bank of pianos, programs or synth patches from the computer
hard drive to the Nord Stage. The default destination will be the currently active bank, but you may
choose another partition and bank if you wish. Click on the Choose Folder button to select the source
on the hard drive.
Note: The destination bank in the Stage will be replaced by the content of the source folder.
B
ACKUP
This will make a backup of all the pianos, programs and synth patches in the Nord Stage EX. The file
that is created on the hard drive will have the extension .nsb.
Backing up the entire memory content in this manner will take some time, depending on the amount
of pianos in the Nord Stage. The Nord Sound Manager will suggest a location for the backup, the first
time this function is activated (in My Documents/Nord Sound Manager files/). If you rather save the
backup file elsewhere, use the file browser dialog to pick another location.
Tip: Backing up from the Nord Sound Manager is done in an incremental manner. Unless you
change the name or the location of the back up file, only the content that have been changed since
the previous backup will be saved.
R
ESTORE
To restore a previously saved backup file to the Stage EX, select this option and browse to a backup
file on the hard drive (file extension .nsb) and click Open.
Important: The restore function will begin after you have clicked Open and confirmed your intentions in the dialogue. All the content of a connected Nord Stage will then be irrevocably replaced by
the content of the backup file.
The Nord Stage EX memory has twice the capacity of the Nord Stage “classic”. This means that a
backup from a Stage EX may not fit in a classic Stage if this backup exceeds the available memory
capacity in the classic Stage.
Page 80
Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: Nord Sound Manager reference
MENUS
In the Nord Sound Manager, the usual Windows and Mac OSX keyboard commands can be used. The
menus can be accessed by pressing the Alt key and the underlined letter in the menu bar.
Most of the commands can also be accessed by pressing the Ctrl (on the Mac - Command) key together with the letter shown next to the command name in the menus.
FILE
SOUND UPLOAD (CTRL+U)
Use this function to upload one or several sounds from the Nord Stage memory to a folder on the computer hard drive.
OUND DOWNLOAD (CTRL+D)
S
Use this function to download one or several sounds from the computer hard drive to the next available location in the selected partition.
ANK UPLOAD (CTRL+SHIFT+U)
B
This allows you to upload an entire bank (pianos, programs or synth patches) to a folder on the computer hard drive. Select the desired source (partition and bank) and the destination folder.
If you select All, all the banks in the partition will be uploaded. The hierarchical folder structure of
the chosen partition - partition/bank/sounds - will be automatically created in the destination folder.
B
ANK DOWNLOAD (CTRL+SHIFT+D)
Use this function to download an entire bank (or all banks) from the hard drive to the Nord Stage.
Please note that you need to match the format of the source and the destination, it is e.g. not possible
to download a set of pianos to any of the synth patches banks.
Note: The content of the source folder will replace the selected bank in the Nord Stage.
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13. Nord Sound Manager: Nord Sound Manager reference Nord Stage EX v6.x
BACKUP (CTRL+B)
This will make a backup of all the Piano samples, Programs and the Synth patches in the Nord Stage.
The file that is created on the hard drive will have the extension .nsb.
Backing up the entire memory content in this manner will take some time, depending on the sizes of
the samples.
Tip: Backing up from the Nord Sound Manager is done in an incremental manner. Unless you
change the name or the location of the back up file, only the samples and/or programs/patches that
have been changed since the previous backup will be saved.
ESTORE (CTRL+R)
R
To restore a previously saved backup file to the Stage, select this option and browse to a backup file
on the hard drive (file extension .nsb) and click Open.
Important: The restore function will begin after you have clicked Open and confirmed your intentions in the dialogue. All the content of a connected Nord Stage will then be irrevocably replaced by the content of the backup file.
C
LEAN DELETED SPACE
This function will clean up the space where any previously deleted pianos, programs or synth patches
have been. This is done in order to make this deleted memory space available to new additions.
Note: Cleaning is automatically done if you download a new piano, program or synth patch to the
Nord Stage, but this menu command makes it possible to manually start the cleaning process.
F
ORMAT
This is a radical function; it will format the entire partition that is in focus. All the sound in the partition will be deleted. You will be asked to confirm your intentions.
XIT (CTRL+Q)
E
Exits the Nord Sound Manager application.
EDIT
RENAME (CTRL+N)
Allows you to rename a sound. 16 characters can be used, and the supported characters are: a-z, AZ, 0-9 and the hyphen (-). Any other characters will not be displayed in the Sound Manager lists or
in the Nord Stage display.
• Pianos cannot be renamed so this function is not available if you have selected a piano.
ELETE
D
Allows you to delete a selected item(s) from the Nord Stage memory. You will be asked to confirm
your intentions.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: Nord Sound Manager reference
SELECT ALL (CTRL+A)
Select all items in a bank.
NVERT SELECTION
I
This will deselect the original selection(s) and then select all the other items in the list.
VIEW
ORGANIZE (CTRL+O)
When this option is checked, the lists will show all the available locations in the selected partition/
bank and not only the occupied ones. This will for instance make it easier to drag a file to a specific
free location in the middle of the list. If this is unchecked, only the occupied locations will be
shown.
UAL VIEW (CTRL+L)
D
Select this option if you need to move items between different banks. Please note that both lists represent the actual memory content in the Nord Stage. Any actions that you make in either of the lists
will affect the memory content in the Stage.
UTO SELECT
A
When this function is active, programs will be automatically selected in the Nord Stage EX when you
browse through the Programs in the Manager list, with the computer keyboard arrow keys.
HELP
ABOUT
Brings up the About box with a information regarding the version of the Nord Sound Manager. You
will also see a list of compatible instruments and OS versions..
Page 83
13. Nord Sound Manager: Tabs Nord Stage EX v6.x
TABS
PIANO - PROGRAM - SYNTH
Use the tabs to select the desired partition. Type Ctrl+Tab on the computer keyboard to cycle between
the three tabs. The drop down menu is used to select the desired bank within a partition. The content
of the partition will be presented in the list.
EARCH BOX
S
Enter a phrase to quickly present any samples or programs that contains the characters. Press Clear
to clear the filtering and show all entries again.
L
OC - LOCATION
The banks are organized in locations; the amount of locations varies for the different bank types.
AME
N
The name of the item.
IZE
S
Shows the file size of the Piano samples. This may be useful if you need to know how much space
e.g. a particular piano occupies in the Piano partition. This unit is not shown in the Program or Synth
lists.
ER - VERSION NUMBER
V
Version number of the actual format of the pianos, programs or synth patches.
• Please note that pianos in the .npno format, 4.x or 5.x. programs or synth patches cannot be used
with a Stage that has an older version 2.x or 3.x operating system.
NFO
I
This area may contain error information about broken, corrupted or rejected files, if e.g. something
has happened with a particular piano in the Stage EX.
FOOTER AREA
The footer area is located at the bottom of the Nord Sound Manager window.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 13. Nord Sound Manager: Tabs
PARTITION MEMORY INDICATOR
This indicates the usage of the selected partition's memory. The red area shows the used memory and
the green area indicates space that is available for additional sounds.
ANCEL BUTTON
C
Use this function if you need to cancel a process that is in progress. Certain functions like e.g. a restore process cannot be cancelled.
ROGRESS BARS
P
The two progress bars indicate the progress of an ongoing process. The upper bar shows the progression of the individual processes, and the lower indicates the status of the entire task.
M
ESSAGE AREA - TEXT AREA
The left part of the text area will present any confirmations or error messages from the Nord Sound
Manager.
The right part will indicate of a Nord Stage EX is connected to the computer and in communication
with the Nord Sound Manager. The OS version of the Stage will also be presented here.
UPDATES AND PIANO SAMPLES
Please visit our website at http://www.nordkeyboards.com to download any updates of the Nord
Sound Manager and sounds that have been released for the Nord Stage EX. These items will be available as free downloads in the Nord Stage EX download area.
Page 85
14. MIDI functions: About the MIDI implementation Nord Stage EX v6.x
14. MIDI FUNCTIONS
ABOUT THE MIDI IMPLEMENTATION
The following MIDI messages can be transmitted and received from Nord Stage EX:
NOTE ON/OFF
• Note On and Note Off messages are transmitted and received.
PITCH BEND
• Pitch Bend messages are transmitted and received by Nord Stage EX.
CONTROLLERS
On the MIDI Menu (see page 68), you can select if the Nord Stage should transmit and/or receive
Control Change messages.
• If you have an Control/Expression pedal connected to the O
ted and received as Controller 4.
• If you have an Control/Expression pedal connected to the C
mitted and received as Controller 11 (Expression). By using the Morph function you can control
most of Nord Stage EX’s parameters with a Control pedal.
• If you have a sustain pedal connected to the S
received as Controller 64 (Sustain Pedal).
• If you have a sustain pedal connected to the R
as Controller 90.
• Almost all other controls (knobs and buttons) on the front panel are also transmitted and received
as Control Change messages. This can be used to record your actions on the front panel into a
MIDI sequencer. For a full list of which parameters correspond to which Controller number, see
the MIDI implementation chapter on page 90.
USTAIN PEDAL INPUT, this is transmitted and
OTOR SPEED INPUT, this is transmitted and received
RGAN SWELL INPUT, this is transmit-
ONTROL PEDAL INPUT, this is trans-
KEYBOARD VELOCITY
Nord Stage EX can transmit and receive Keyboard Velocity messages. Organ sounds will always be
played back at nominal level regardless of incoming MIDI Velocity data. Release velocity is transmitted, but ignored on MIDI In.
AFTERTOUCH
The Nord Stage EX keyboard can transmit Aftertouch messages (sometimes called channel pressure).
The player can apply more pressure on a key while it is down; and this will generate a signal that can
be used to control parameters - see “About Aftertouch” on page 62.
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 14. MIDI functions: Using Nord Stage EX with a sequencer
PROGRAM CHANGE
On the MIDI Menu (see page 68), you can select if the Nord Stage should send and/or receive Program Change messages.
When you select a Program, a Program Change message is transmitted via MIDI on the active Panel
MIDI Channel. If a Program Change message is received on any of the Panel A/B MIDI Channels,
Nord Stage EX will change Program accordingly.
Note! A program change on either of the two Panel MIDI Channels will affect both Panels.
The 126 Program locations send and respond to MIDI Program Change values 0-125. Live buffers 12 correspond to MIDI Program Change 126-127.
MIDI SYSEX (SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE)
Single Programs/Synth sounds or all Programs/all sounds can be transmitted and received as a System Exclusive dump (see “Sending Program dumps” on page 88).
USING NORD STAGE EX WITH A SEQUENCER
CONNECTIONS
1. Connect the MIDI Out on the Nord Stage EX to the MIDI In on your sequencer.
2. Connect the MIDI Out from your sequencer to the MIDI In on the Nord Stage EX.
Make sure that the Nord Stage is configured to respond to Program Change and Control Change
MIDI messages (see the “MIDI menu” on page 68).
LOCAL ON/OFF
Local Off should be used when you use a sequencer to record and play back from Nord Stage EX.
Since the sequencer echoes back incoming MIDI data, Nord Stage EX will respond normally to your
playing and knob tweaking via the MIDI “loop”. If you use Local On with a sequencer setup as described above, this would cause “double-triggered” notes when you play; both from the keyboard internally and via the MIDI “loop”. Therefore, always use Local Off when used in this way together
with a sequencer.
Local On/Off is set on the “MIDI menu” on page 68.
MIDI CHANNEL
Each Panel can respond its own MIDI channel. This is convenient when you want to play split and
layered sounds. If you want to control each instrument separately, you can assign an individual MIDI
channel to each of the six instruments of the Nord Stage. The MIDI channels are set up on the MIDI
menu - see “MIDI menu” on page 68.
PROGRAM CHANGE
Usually you select a Program Change value for a track in the sequencer track settings. The 126 Program locations send and respond to Program Change values 0-125., while Live buffers 1-2 correspond to Program Change 126-127. Make sure the Program Change is sent on either of the Panel A/
B MIDI channels.
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14. MIDI functions: Program, Controller and Synth Sound dumps Nord Stage EX v6.x
If you want to record a Program Change message, activate recording in the sequencer and simply load
the program once on the Nord Stage.
CONTROLLERS
When you record knob movements and button presses, make sure that the sequencer “echoes” the
changes back on the correct MIDI Channel, or your changes won’t have any effect.
SOME NOTES ABOUT CONTROLLERS AND “CHASING”
Consider a situation where you record a Controller message, e.g. a Drawbar opening, in the middle
of your sequencer song. Then you “rewind” the sequencer to a position before the recorded Drawbar
opening. The problem is that the Nord Stage’s Drawbar will remain opened, although it really should
be as it was before you recorded the opening. To solve such problems, several sequencers include a
function called “Controller Chasing”, which keeps track of Controller changes and tries to adjust the
settings on the instrument according to the current position in the sequencer song.
However, in our example this wouldn’t help much, because the Drawbar opening was the first Controller message recorded in the song. The sequencer has no information about the Drawbar setting
before the recorded change, and therefore cannot “chase” the settings properly. To solve this, you
could record a “snapshot” of all Controller settings of the Nord Stage EX Program(s) at the beginning
of your sequencer song. See "Sending MIDI Controller dumps” below.
PROGRAM, CONTROLLER AND SYNTH SOUND DUMPS
To dump Program, Synth Sound or MIDI Controller SysEx via MIDI, either to another Nord Stage
EX or for recording the data into another MIDI device, proceed as follows:
SENDING PROGRAM DUMPS
1. Connect a cable from MIDI OUT on the Nord Stage EX to MIDI In on the receiving device.
2. Set up the receiving device so that it accepts MIDI SysEx and MIDI Controller data.
3. Press S
tons. Here you can select whether to send all Programs (‘ALL’), or the currently selected program (‘ONE’) by using the V
4. If needed, set the receiving MIDI device to “recording mode”.
5. Press the S
tor will stop flashing once the dump has been sent.
To quickly send a dump of the current Program, press S
Note: For Organ and Synth sounds, the complete settings for the sound will be dumped as MIDI
SysEx. For Piano sounds, all parameters will be sent but NOT the actual instrument samples.
Therefore, when dumping back a Piano sound, make sure the actual instrument samples are
already loaded in the Nord Stage EX. Otherwise the parameters in the SysEx message will be
applied to another available Piano instrument.
HIFT + MIDI and select the “Dump Program Source” menu item using the PAGE -/+ but-
ALUE DIAL.
TORE button to send the dump to the MIDI OUT of Nord Stage EX. The Store indica-
HIFT + DUMP ONE (the PANEL A button).
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Nord Stage EX v6.x 14. MIDI functions: Program, Controller and Synth Sound
dumps
SENDING MIDI CONTROLLER DUMPS
1. Set up as in steps 1 and 2 in the previous description.
RESS SHIFT + MIDI and select the ‘Send MIDI Ctrl” menu item using the PAGE -/+ buttons.
2. P
Select to send all Controllers from Panel A or Panel B by using the V
the corresponding P
ANEL button.
ALUE DIAL or by pressing
3. Press the S
TORE button to send the dump to the MIDI OUT of Nord Stage EX. The STORE indi-
cator will stop flashing once the dump has been sent.
SENDING SYNTH SOUND BANK DUMPS
You can perform a separate MIDI SysEx dump of the Synth memory banks. You can select to send
a single sound from the currently active Panel, one of the category banks (Synth/Pad/Bass) or all
banks at once:
1. Set up as in steps 1 and 2 in the preceding description.
RESS SHIFT + MIDI and select the ‘Dump Synth Sound” menu item using the PAGE -/+ but-
2. P
tons. Select to send the synth patch from the active Panel, one synth category or all synth sounds
by using the V
3. Press the S
ALUE DIAL.
TORE button to send the dump to the MIDI OUT of Nord Stage EX. The Store indica-
tor will stop flashing once the dump has been sent.
RECEIVE MIDI SYSEX DUMPS
To receive a MIDI SysEx Dump, do like this:
1. Connect a cable from the MIDI Out on the transmitting device to MIDI I
EX.
N on the Nord Stage
2. Initiate the transmission on the transmitting device.
If the dump contained all Programs (All), it will replace all Programs currently stored in the Nord
Stage EX. If the dump contained only a single Program (One), it will be temporarily placed in the
currently selected Program memory location. You will then have to store the Program manually to a
memory location using the Store function (see “Storing Programs” on page 20).
PANIC
If notes should hang using the Nord Stage EX in a MIDI setup, all you need to do is hold down the
HIFT button and press the PANIC button in the Piano section. This will execute an internal All Notes
S
Off, and reset certain parameters to their default values.
Page 89
15. MIDI implementation: MIDI Controller list Nord Stage EX v6.x
15. MIDI IMPLEMENTATION
MIDI CONTROLLER LIST
The following is a list of the MIDI Controller numbers used for all KNOBS and BUTTONS on the front
panel:
Nord Stage Parameter MIDI Controller #
Organ Preset II 3
Organ Swell 4
Organ Drawbar 1 9
Organ Drawbar 2 14
Organ Drawbar 3
Organ Drawbar 4 16
Organ Drawbar 5 17
Organ Drawbar 6 18
Organ Drawbar 7 19
Organ Drawbar 8 20
Organ Drawbar 9 21
Organ Percussion Enable 22
Organ Type 23
Organ Vibrato Type 24
Organ Vibrato Enable 25
Organ Percussion Harmonic 26
Organ Percussion Speed 27
Organ Percussion Level 28
Organ PStick Enable 29
Piano Clav Filter 1 30
Piano Clav Filter 2 31
Piano Dynamics 33
Synth Glide Rate 34
Synth Glide Auto 35
Synth Voice Mode 36
Synth Unison 37
Synth Vibrato Mode 38
Synth Mod Envelope Attack 39
Synth Mod Envelope Decay 40
Synth Mod Envelope Mode 41
Synth Mod Envelope Velocity 42
15
Page 90
Nord Stage EX v6.x 15. MIDI implementation: MIDI Controller list
Nord Stage Parameter MIDI Controller #
Synth Oscillator Mode 43
Synth Oscillator Wave 44
Synth Oscillator Timbre 45
Synth Oscillator Timbre Amount 46
Synth Oscillator TimbreVelocity 47
Synth Filter Frequency 48
Synth Filter Resonance 49
Synth Filter Amount 50
Synth Filter Velocity 51
Synth Filter KBT (Keyboard tracking) 52
Synth Filter Type 53
Synth Amp Envelope Attack 54
Synth Amp Envelope Decay 55
Synth Amp Envelope Mode 56
Synth Amp Envelope Velocity 57
Synth EQ Gain Lo 58
Synth EQ Gain Hi 59
Effect 1 Type 60
Effect 1 Source 61
Effect 1 Amount 62
Effect 1 Rate 63
Effect 1 Enable 69
Effect 2 Type 70
Effect 2 Source 71
Effect 2 Amount 72
Effect 2 Rate 73
Effect 2 Enable 74
Delay Destination 75
Delay Amount 76
Delay Rate 77
Delay Feedback 78
Delay Ping Pong on/off 79
Delay Enable 80
AmpSim Type 81
AmpSim Destination 82
AmpSim Drive 83
AmpSim Bass EQ 84
AmpSim Mid EQ 85
AmpSim Treble EQ 86
Page 91
15. MIDI implementation: MIDI Controller list Nord Stage EX v6.x
Nord Stage Parameter MIDI Controller #
AmpSim Enable 87
Rotor Destination 88
Rotor Drive 89
Rotor Speed 90
Rotor Stop 91
Rotor Enable 92
Compressor Amount 93
Compressor Enable 94
Reverb Amount 95
Reverb Size 96
Reverb Enable 97
Organ Enable Sustain Pedal 98
Organ Octave Shift 99
Organ Level 100
Organ Enable 101
Organ KB Zone Assignment 102
Piano Enable PStick 103
Piano Enable Sustain Pedal 104
Piano Octave Shift 105
Piano Level 106
Piano Enable 107
Piano KB Zone Assignment 108
Synth Enable PStick 109
Synth Enable Sustain Pedal 110
Synth Octave Shift 111
Synth Level 112
Synth Enable 113
Synth KB Zone Assignment 114
Page 92
Nord Stage EX v6.x 15. MIDI implementation: MIDI Implementation Chart
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART
Model: Clavia Nord Stage EX Eighty Eight/Seventy Six/Compact OS v4.x Date: 2008-12-09
Function Transmitted Recognized Remarks
MIDI Channels 1 – 16 1 – 16 Individual channels for Panel A and B.
Velocity
Note On/Off
Aftertouch Yes Ye s Channel aftertouch only.
Pitch Bend Ye s Ye s
Control Change Yes Yes See “MIDI Controller list” on page 90.
Program Change Yes Ye s 0-125, 126=Live1,127= Live 2
System Exclusive Ye s Ye s See the MIDI Implementation section.
Ye s Ye s Incoming Velocity data ignored for
Organ.
Release velocity sent but not received.
Page 93
15. MIDI implementation: MIDI Implementation Chart Nord Stage EX v6.x
Page 94
Nord Stage EX v6.x Index
D
Index
Numerics
2nd, 3rd (Organ Percussion) 25
A
Aftertouch 62
Amp Envelope
Attack
43
Amp Envelope (Synth) 43
Ampsim/EQ 53
Attack
Amp Envelope
Mod Envelope 41
Audio Routing Mode 66
Auto Glide mode 47
Auto-Wah (modulation) 52
B
B-3 Organ 24
Bank
Selecting
Buttons
About
9
43
12
Decay/Release
Amp Envelope
Mod Envelope 42
Display 17
Drawbars (B-3) 24
Drawbars (V-type organ) 27
Dual KB 59
Dual Panel setups 58
Dump (Program source) 69
Dump Program Source 69
43
E
Editing Programs 13
Effects section 49
Env Mode 43
Env Vel
Amp Envelope (Synth)
Mod Envelope (Synth) 42
EQ (Synth) 47
Ernie Ball control pedals 67
Expression pedal
Technical requirements
Extern Section
About
63
Setting up 63
Using 63
F
43
11
C
C1-C3 (Organ Chorus) 26
Chorus (effect) 52
Chorus (organ) 26
Clav EQ (Piano section) 33
Compressor 54
Connections
Audio
10
MIDI 10
Pedals 11
Control pedal
Connecting
Technical requirements 11
Controllers
dump
List (MIDI) 78
MIDI transmission and reception 74
Ctrl Pedal Type 67
11
76
Factory presets 71
Restoring 71
Factory Reset 68
Fast (Rotary Speaker) 55
Fatar control pedals 67
Fender Twin 54
Filter
KBT (Keyboard Tracking)
Resonance 45
Filter Frequency Cutoff (Synth) 44
Filter Section (Synth) 44
Fine Tune 66
Flanger (effect) 52
FM (Synth) 39
Focus button (Effects) 50
Frequency Control (Filter modulation) 46
Front panel 7
45
Page 95
Index Nord Stage EX v6.x
G
Glide (Synth) 46
Global Effects
Compressor
Reverb 54
54
I
Instruments
Activating
Internal memory 71
Internet 6
13
K
KBT
45
Filter
Key click control (B-3 organ) 26
Keyboard
8
About
Keyboard splits 56
Keyboard Tracking
45
Filter
Keyboard Zones 56
Knobs
8
About
L
Legato mode 46
Live Buffer memory 19
Live Buffer mode 18
Live buttons 18
LP Filter (Synth) 44
M
Master level 7
Memory (internal) 71
Memory Protect 68
MIDI
about the implementation
channels
using with sequencer
connections 75
Controller list 78
controllers
"chasing" when using a sequencer
recording in sequencer 76
implementation chart 81
74
75
76
local on/off 75
Program Change 75
recording in sequencer 75
Program dump 76
send all MIDI controllers 77
Sysex dump of single Programs 76
Sysex reception of Program and Program
77
Banks
MIDI Page 68
Mod Envelope
41
Attack
Decay/Release 42, 43
Modulation Envelope 41
Repeat mode 42
Mono mode 46
Morph Assign
60
About
Assignable parameters 61
Clearing 62
Multiple keyboards 59
N
Note On/Off
MIDI transmission and reception
74
O
Octave Shift 58
Octave Shift (Extern section) 64
Organ B-3 section 24
Organ Key Click Level (Sound Page) 68
Organ Output 66
Organ Trig Mode 67
OS upgrades 73
Oscillator
Analog waveforms
Sync 38
Waveforms
Digital
FM 39
Pulse and Square wave 37
Sawtooth wave 36
Sine wave 38
Triangle wave 37
Oscillator section (Synth) 35
Output Level
Instrument
41
14
36
Page 96
Nord Stage EX v6.x Index
P
Page +/- buttons 17
Panel A & B 58
About 14
Edit focus 14
Panel Effects
Activating
Ampsim/EQ 53
Effect 1 51, 52, 53, 54
Effect 2 52
Making settings for 50
Pan 51
RM (ring modulation) 51
Wah-Wah 51
Panic button 77
Patch selector (Synth) 47
pdf file (reading the manual as...) 6
Pedals
Connecting
Rotor Speed 11
Percussion (B-3) 25
Phaser (effect) 52
Piano
downloading new instruments via USB
Piano instruments
Selecting
Piano Output 66
Ping Pong (Delay Effect) 52
pitch bend MIDI messages 74
portamento 46
Preset II button (Organ section) 29
Program
Naming
reverting to stored 13
What is it? 12
Program buttons 18
Program Change (MIDI) 75
Programs
About
Saving 20
Selecting 12
50
11
31
21
12
Q
Q-value (Filter) 45
R
Rear panel 10
72
Register selectors (V-type) 28
Release
Amp Envelope
Mod Envelope 42
Release velocity 74
Resonance (Filter) 45
Reverb 54
RM Effect 51
Roland control pedals 67
Roland Jazz Chorus 54
Rotor Effect 55
Rotor effect
Internal routing
Rotor Pedal Mode 67
Rotor Pedal Polarity 67
Rotor Speed pedal
Connecting
43
55
11
S
Send On Load (Extern) 65
Shift button 17
Slow (Organ Percussion) 25
Soft (Organ Percussion) 25
Sound Page 68
Split Organ 29
Splits
Creating
Stop (Rotary Speaker) 55
Store button 18
Storing Programs 20
Storing Synth Patches 48
Sustain pedal
Connecting
Sustain Pedal Polarity 67
Swell (Organ) 29
Swell Pedal Type 68
Sync Oscillator 38
Synth
Amp Envelope
Digital (wavetable) 41
EQ 47
FM 39
Mod Envelope 41
Osc section 35
Sound Init 48
Sound Select section 47
Vibrato 47
Synth Output 67
Synth Sound bank dumps 77
56
11
43
Page 97
Index Nord Stage EX v6.x
Synth Vibrato
Amount
Rate 68
System menu 66
68
T
Tap Tempo (Delay Effect) 53
Timbre control (Synth) 35
Transpose 66
Tremolo (modulation) 51
U
Unison (Synth) 47
USB (for downloading Piano instruments) 72
V
V1-V3 (Organ Vibrato) 26
Value Dial 17
Velocity Sensitivity (Piano)
Dynamics (Piano)
Vibrato (F-Type organ) 28
Vibrato (organ) 26
Vibrato (Synth) 47
V-Type Organ (Vox Continental) 27
33
W
Wurlitzer 200A internal speaker 54
Y
Yamaha control pedals 67
Page 98
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