Hey guys, I’m back with some more whining for advice…
I haven’t used my NL3 as much as I thought since a year ago when I bought it and I think it’s because the keybed kind of sucks. It’s got decent velocity and aftertouch but the overall feel is a bit cheap and toy like. It has too light a touch.
I read somewhere a post by a guy who replaced the keybed on his Lead. How do I even go about trying to do that?
Or maybe I should replace it with a different synth … I like it a lot but I guess I’m not that attached to it.
Yeah, the keybed is the reason why I parted ways with the NL3 (the Nord Wave too).
The NL3 has some variety of unweighted fatar keybed, I forget which. I think someone on the Nord User Forum made a post about replacing it with the weighted version of the same keybed - but I seem to remember the post was light on details.
Dang you’re right. Less convenient since I bought the thing to gig with but I guess if I run out of options and can’t be arsed to get and learn a new synth…
Any suggestions for alternative synths altogether?
I contacted Fatar and one they don’t know what part I’d need and two they don’t sell to individuals so that sucks. Waiting for a response from Nord but I’m not holding my breath. We might have seen the same post.
I only ever had the rack unit, so I can’t comment on the keys. I’m surprised they’re that bad though. I’ve had the 2 and 2X and thought they were fine.
I use the NL4 KB beneath my NL3 rack. It’s not as nice a keybed as my Hydrasynth KB, but it’s as nice as my Pro 2, or any other Sequential. I dunno, I’m not as much a stickler.
That said, the NL4 doesn’t send aftertouch, so I don’t even use that morph on the NL3. Wish I could be of more help. I believe @circuitghost uses a dedicated key controller that’s known for being very nice, just can’t remember the brand.
I too thought the keys on the 3 were fine but I never want to play it and I suspect it is because I am always making mistakes on it due how light the keys are. It really feels like a cheap home keyboard.
I got a quick response from Nord support and they say they know of no such swap. Guess I’m SOL.
That is interesting. I always wanted the 3 or Wave because they are the only models with the TP/9S keybed in it. All the other Leads have a TP/7 which is the cheapest Fatar in their catalogue.
Digitone and Analog Keys have a Fatar 9s, as does the Virus Polar and many others. There are different models though, semi/weighted and even different shaped of the keys if I am not mistaken. My SubSequent 37 has a TP9s and it looks and feels different than the virus.
I cannot really understand that Nord puts the cheap models in their synths even with a much higher price tag like e.g. Modal Argon that also uses the pretty good TP9s.
And I don’t know if those are interchangeable as the cables to the circuit board might be different?
btw. I ordered a new keybed for my AK from Elektron no problem, was less than 100€. The keys were turning yellow. Put it in myself.