Nord Grand vs Dexibell S9 Searching for the best Steinway Sound

[Mypianoteacher]

1:46 - Nord grand sound
3:09 - Dexibell sound

[richardmcbrayer]

Thanks for the video. I actually own a Steinway B and I thought the Nord was much closer to the way it sounds.

[Morton]

If you ever hit and hold a chord or even a single note on almost any acoustic piano and you will hear a very long sustain, including a noisy mechanical clunk produced by the damper pedal. You are hearing the entire piano sound “open up” via the sound board. Natural vibrations from all over the piano are heard and felt. Press the sustain pedal on almost any digital piano and all you will hear is deadness. Neither of these otherwise fine digitals accomplish this. I still feel hope for future digitals since things have been improving, But real pianos have what I’ve coined a “dirty” sound that have all these mechanical noises along with that beautiful string tone which almost no digital can yet mimic. This must be recognized by the digital designers. Probabaly a few more “tons” of memory and the additional expense are needed to accomplish all this, but well worth it. There, I’ve said it. My first comment on any blog anywhere.

[RobertHopkinsArt]

For me, being an NG owner, there is no comparison. The Nord just sounds like an acoustic piano. I play the White Grand every day and it's great!
Thanks, Tony!

[arcticfoxstudios]

Wow, both sound fantastic. Seems like the low end EQ is turned up on the Nord. Not sure if that is a result of the mics used or post processing EQ. At first I liked the Nord, but after listening to both several times, I think I favor the Dexi. The low end is more powerful on the Nord, but also just slightly muddy. Either way this is just one sample with no effects, so you can easily adjust either of these to get the sound you want. Pretty amazing from the EP's we were playing just 10 years ago.

[the_newvoice]

Nord have the best sound with that even character on a lower notes as a real ones. I like Steinway it's a really precise sounding piano with that saturated note buzz, you can hear exactly how a strings are vibrating.

[JohnWellings-mzue]

Two wonderfull instruments at the very top of the peak. For my musical ear, for what it is, the dexibell just had it. Warmer sweeter sound. Although i would say the Nord had a more dynamic sound. Score wise i would say 9/10 fir the dexibell, and 8/10 for the beautifull Nord. Thanks for good video

[markel-]

Dexibell, i think, better, because clean sound, as like as a Nord, but more powerful sound, may be as like as a Roland, i mean quality of sound, Dexibell is depth of sound (brighter & powerful), richer and deeper low bass tones along with high! I listened fiew times & at a fiew days. Thank you, Tony, for that video!

[mrityunjaytripathi]

Who better than you to play such a magnificent piece?! Marvellous!!

[nookcyan]

The S9 is a good surprise, interesting product but very hard to find in many countries.

[johanng.schmutter]

Dexibell: Broad Bass section, nearly equal to N, clear, well registered Mids. The needle stitching brilliance of the high notes is border lining on my < ache resistance
Nord: The smoother sound and well calibrated. The bass section with good range (as played) from Domination to harmonic accompaniment,
full satisfactory middle section, bright highs.
Thank you, Tony! wish we had your professional advice and a Bonners in Austria!

[johndavidpeer]

Both sound awesome!
I've not had a chance to try a Dexibell, it sounds great.
I have to add though; I've been playing stage pianos since my first FP-8 in 1991, usually moving "up" every few years when a new make or model would inspire me.
I had an RD-700NX last year when I tried a NG at the store. I just bonded with it instantly; honestly the first few notes and chords hit me like lightning, what a connection, just like sitting down at a C7 or even a Steinway. I'm not saying it sounds as good, or fills the air the same, etc...after all, all pianos have variation, in different rooms, etc...what I felt was the "connection" with it. I still smile everytime I sit down at my Nord Grand, the same way I do on the rare chances I get to record/play with a nice grand.
It's the first electric grand to have that effect on me, and a year later it's still there. AND it records so well...
I love my NG.

[lauramelaniemusic]

Tonight happens to be one of my most favorite songs ever. And the Nord won hands down.

[moodyk]

That’s actually quite difficult, I think the Dexibell is slightly brighter, but I guess that’s to everyone’s tastes and styles, but they are both amazing. I personally think the decision might come to price and features / sounds etc. IMO they are both fine instruments, and think which ever someone buys is going to get an excellent instrument.

[johnblasucci]

The Nord sounds the most natural. The dex sounds like it's coming from a keyboard. It's a little smaller and box your sounding. The ambience to the sound and general Elegance is well under what the Nord has accomplished

[paktris]

Both of them have really good piano sounds.

[stuartdarling]

So the decay/reverb on the Nord seems to give everything a nice glue/ambience which sounds somewhat more polished. However as most pianists will know pianos rarely sound that forgiving by themselves, you really have to work at that. Dexibell is drier by default so you get more of an experience of a piano in front of you in perhaps a smaller room. However I own a dexibell sx7 and one thing to bear in mind is that you do need to do a bit of fiddling with the models in the unit to get them to sound good in the midrange, the low mids can be a bit boxy at times, luckily dexibell give you an EQ for that - perhaps it would also be good if you could access more detailed EQ on the Nord which I know is not straightforward. I would also add that the dexibell sounds very 'in tune' and consistently regulated by default. The octave stretch/inconsistencies in the white grand help it to sound more organic.

[stenaldomehilli]

Nord's imperfections make it great. Those few slightly out of tune notes here and there give Nord an outstanding realism. If only its base could open as much as the notes in the mid and second octave...
The Dexibell does splendidly as well, yet if I were to buy one, I'd choose the Nord.
Thanks for the video and all the best!

[DavidIzquierdoAzzouz]

I'm not a fan of Nord, but in this video Nord sounds more vibrating, richer, maybe a resonance thing that I missed at the Dexibel, but I assume he just compared the sounds out of the box without any further tweaking..

[leetingler]

Hello
I'm a retired recording engineer and have had the opportunity to hear many Steinway pianos also Bossendorfer Kawaii and Baldwin, that being said, l look for clear clean distortion free sound.
Now to the comparison. The Nord did appear to have a richer sound but in the first bars the low end sounded artificial with a noticeable bass boost almost curtain like behind the sound. When the pianists moved up the scales it began to sound more natural. It was better then but that artificial bass added was a bit distracting to me.
Now the Dexibell, it was open and airy the sound was not as heavy and the tonality was very real to me although the low end was a bit thinner. On the Nord it was artificial and heavy.
One thing to keep in mind is American acoustic pianos are bit deeper in low end and European pianos are lighter possibly more airy than the US counterparts.

So now my opinion, all that being said l feel the Dexibell with a tiny EQ tweak on the bottom end wins my vote.
It sounds more natural ultimately. It's sampling is superior and has a more satisfying sound to my ear.