CLAVIA - NORD STAGE 2 - COMPACT EX - Stage Piano

The Nord Stage 2 EX Compact Stage Piano is an 73 note keyboard that's an update for Clavia's flagship instrument line. 1 GB of memory dedicated to the Nord Piano Library allows for a whole new range of sounds for you to play with.

The keybed on the Stage 2 EX has been meticulously calibrated to ensure an even response across all the keys. The 73 semi weighted waterfall keys are great for rapid organ shredding and synthesizer licks, but also plays nice with piano sounds.

The Stage 2 EX has three sound generating sections which can all be used simultaneously. These sections are piano, organ and synthesiser, and with the two separate slots allowing you to have 2 Pianos, 2 Organs and 2 Synths, you have a huge amount of sonic flexibility. The new Factory Bank features 5 Grand Pianos, 7 Upright Pianos, 11 Electric Pianos, Clavinet and Harpsichords. The Nord Sample Library has been improved delivering great new Strings, Choir and Folk instruments.

State-of-the-art sampling techniques have been used for the sounds in the Piano section. These techniques capture the extraordinary nuances and real character of the individual source instruments. Advanced String Resonance reproduces the sound of the piano strings resonating at their fundamental or harmonic frequencies when other strings are played. This results in mind blowing realism which when combined with an expression pedal, gives you an incredible amount of expressiveness. As well as acoustic pianos, the Stage 2's Piano Section also features some of the most desirable vintage electric pianos.

The dedicated Organ Section is based on the B3 Tone-Wheel simulation, which itself is based on the 91 spinning discs inside several original instruments. The virtual circuitry reacts to the change in settings on the panel as well as during on real time performances. Important foldback and energy robbing characteristics are faithfully reproduced on the Stage 2 EX. The foldback will produce the gentle compression effect that makes those lovely smears absolutely wonderful. Three tone wheel modes allow you to go from a clean, factory spec’d instrument to a worn and battered workhorse with many years of touring, all at the turn of a knob. Digital LED drawbars offer an overview over current settings and lets you easily change the drawbar settings while playing.

A vintage rotary speaker simulator with Slow, Fast and Stop mode as well as a Drive control, adds essential character to a live organ performance. This simulator can also be used with the Piano or Synth section.

The Stage 2's synthesiser engine is very powerful and features classic analogue synthesis with hard sync, dual saw and pulse wave modulation; as well as three-operator FM synthesis with 32 different modulation frequencies, Wavetable synthesis with 62 waveforms and Sample based synthesis. This Synth section also features an arpeggiator that's easily synced to the Stage 2 EX’s Master Clock for perfect timing with other elements of the Stage 2 EX, including its effects.

Programming and control has been designed to be as intuitive and simple as possible. The sound generators and controls have been split into dedicated sections for Piano, Organ and Synth. With no deep menus and complicated screens it makes it easy to see exactly which settings are active. All virtual functions are controlled by dedicated single knobs.

The Stage 2 EX features all the effects needed to complete your sound. Effects such as Tremolo, Auto-Wah, two Choruses, Flanger, and Delay all help to give your performance added dynamics. All three instrument sections can be routed individually through the built-in effects units. Dedicated buttons make it easy to turn the effects on and off and control the routing. The Nord Stage 2 EX has a dedicated Effect Section for each of the 2 slots.

External devices can be controlled with ease. The Extern Section allows for any MIDI device to be seamlessly integrated with the Stage 2 EX’s built-in instruments. Things in the external device such as zones, splits and layers are all handled as it was part of the stage piano itself. Advanced setups can be immediately recalled in real-time during a performance because all settings are saved together.

Thanks to its compatibility with the Nord Piano Library the sounds are future proof. This is a huge free online library that's continuously updated with upgraded existing piano sounds and all new pianos, synths and organs; keeping your library constantly new. The Nord Sample Editor for Mac and PC makes it possible to create your own samples easily, and transfer them to your keyboard in no time, opening up a whole new world of possibilities.

The main features of the Nord Stage 2 EX Compact Stage Piano include :

• 73 note stage piano (Range E - E)
• Semi weighted waterfall keys
• 1 GB memory for the Nord Piano Library
• State-of-the art sample-based Acoustic and Electric Pianos
• Advanced String Resonance (Gen 2)
• Long Release option
• 380 MB for the Nord Sample Library
• Powerful Classic analogue, FM and Wavetable synthesis
• Arpeggiator
• Unison mode
• Master Clock
• B3 Tone-Wheel simulation
• Vintage 122 Rotary Speaker simulation
• Faithful simulations of classic Vox and Farfisa organs
• Digital LED Drawbars for easy overview of active drawbar settings.
• Comprehensive Effects section
• Single-function control knobs and instant visibility of current settings
• External section allowing the Nord Stage 2 EX to serve as a master keyboard
• Expanded Live Mode with 5 locations
• USB-MIDI. No driver required for Mac OS X. WHQL certified driver available for Windows