Nord Stage 4 - Detailed Review

Is the Nord Stage 4 worth the price? In this longer form video I break down many of the features in the Nord Stage 4 and demo some of the programs and sounds. Between the new synth section, improvements to the organ and piano sections, and the expanded and improved effects section, this keyboard packs a punch and is extremely powerful for live on stage and in the studio!

The Nord Stage 4 is proving to be my favorite keyboard I've played, let alone owned and I couldn't be happier. Be on the lookout for more videos coming soon!

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Thanks for watching and comment below with any questions you have and I will answer them as soon as I can!

[beamannydanny]

Dude, this is the best and most detailed review I’ve seen so far! You really answered the questions most of us have had since this thing came out in a very easy to understand way. Thanks so much!!

[Gudiksen]

Wow, the piano layer with one having 100% wet reverb sounds amazing 😊👍🏻

[Notmehimorthem]

I played this in the store.Deeply impressed. The layout is excellent and very useable and intuitive definitely a step up. The action is very much improved. I could live with it. One thing that is a stroke of genius are the draw bars. Having both the lights and the physical drawbars means that whenever you change presets you get an instant read out of the state of the organ for the lights, yet, even so you can grab a drawbar at any moment and alter things physically. If I am not mistaken, you can also push a button and render the sound directly to the state of the physical drawbars, old skool style.

[LolaHouston]

Really nice, thank you! I am new to Nord, and took the plunge for Stage 4 (HA73) and love it... but.... it is overwhelming! I would REALLY LOVE to see you run a few videos on MIDI, AUX KB and EXTERN. This are baffling for me.

[ChrisPx]

Sounds great so far, and your beautiful playing doesn't hurt.
Perhaps a video on the storage side of things?

[JBrm]

Just programmed and played my first gig with the NS4. While I absolutely love this thing and its sounds, playability and usability, there's still quite a couple of things with room for improvement, imho:
1) Organ section: leslie just doesn't feel right. Needs an overhaul. Also: leslie and hammond settings (speed, acceleration, ...) are global. Absolutely need those per patch
2) External section: completely misses the point for me. I don't wanna control expanders from the NS4 keyboard, i just wanna switch patches on my synths (who have their own keyboards), so sending program changes is all i would need, but no can do... To make sense, the external section would need to be a dedicated thing with audio inputs and fx layers.
3) Cannot save position of mod wheel, leslie speed, organ swell. So need to check positions of those on every patch (song) change. That really sucks.

Besides all that, I love the NS4 and it will be my companion for many years. Hope they'll address some of the things I mention ned above with software updates.

[glady]

Excellent overview! Sounds heavenly, Looking forward to more in depth videos, like maybe sustaining drone pad piano tutorials with those new a/b layers.

[MPP]

Would LOVE to see you do a complete demo of the EXTERN function on this new S4. They've kind of "hidden" it from the S3 area into the new S4 synth area. Please walk us through that!

[loulo]

Looking forward to your videos on this keyboard! I’m still waiting for mine. Being new to Nord im so excited. Good job on this overview!!

[dentisceram]

Thank you very much! Very clear overview! Expecting mine May 23. I stay tuned.

[timjohns]

Can you please do a comprehensive video of the newly designed Extern function on the Stage 4? It's changed from the Stage 3 but I'm sure the approach is similar. No one has gone through a step by step procedure of how to setup and operate this feature. How to utilize a third party sound library into this feature. Your expert knowledge and easy-to-understand explanations would help us all!! Thank you!

[ktvideoproductions]

Great overview. Waiting for my NS4 HA88 from Sweetwater. Ordered 3/2. Was told mine will in next shipment/batch. Hoping soon. I’ve been waiting for non-vendor videos from actual users and yours did not disappoint. You have me wanting mine ASAP. Thanks!

[TheLastDay-BobReese]

THANKS for the info! Interested in buying this model but can't find out what I want to know... please expand the Synth section if you would and all options that are available. Looking forward to your next videos!

[davepettigrewmusic]

Fantastic review. thanks for taking the time to put this together. Much appreciated.

[markgeldmacher]

Thank you for the great video. I had a chance to play an S4 recently an NAMM and was completely sold. I too am on order for a new S4 and your video is helping me to get a head start. I'm looking forward to future videos so keep them coming.🤠👍👍

[newgtguy]

Another great video Douglas! Amazing demo and amazing piano playing. Much love my man!

[jobschapendonktoetsenist]

Hi Douglas, can you take us in a new video deeper in in live programsettings? How can my Nord stage 4 work smart for me When I'm in a live performance? Sounds separate in splitpoints, what can my pitchbend do for me when I play live? Can I go up and down a whole tone or more? What can my sustainpedal do live? All that technical stuff more. I hope you can tell us about this.

[davefeltenberger]

Great video! I am currently using a Nord Stage 2 along with a Roland Fantom G. On a few songs I will have 3 different sounds going between both keyboards, usually a synthy bass, then an airy pad or clav, and then a lead sound. I would like to see you build a sound like this. Of coarse the goal is to get down to one keyboard when playing out. Looking forward to more videos. On a side note, I realize that programs between the different Stage keyboards don't transfer but wondering if the sound samples do? Thanks.

[MrNotsaken]

Great review love your channel and My Keys to music

[namenaim]

Can you easily pan each sound within stereo field? Thanks very helpful vid