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Yes, I probably do sound like a Numa rep at times. LOL
It's just that it's really the only one out there in it's nitch. A weighted keyboard for pianos is a necessity for me, but my body is telling me it won't put up with any keyboards weighing more than 22 lbs (35-40 with case). The only other board out there in that weight class is the PX-3 and I just couldn't warm up to the sounds and the plastic case was really flimsy.
I really hope Numa can make their upgrade process more robust. I think the problem is that with each step you never really know when it's done, and the software will "allow" you to move on to the next step before it's really completed (just my theory). I know that the time that I was successful, I waited for 20 minutes between each step and let the big file go for about 2 hours.

Tom, voxpops, I'm curious - what is the chassis of the Numa constructed from?

Cheers,
James
x

I'm curious, would someone weight the Numa Piano and post what it actually weighs? Based on my conversation with voxpops, the manual says 25 lbs, but the spec sheet says 30 lbs.


I think you might be able to get by with lighter cases. But that's assuming you're handling the gear yourself, transporting it in your car, etc. If you have a roadie cavalierly tossing it into the back of a van, or of course if you need to check it on flights, cases have to be more rugged.


Also the Nord Electro 3HP, but it's only 73 keys. Probably has the best sounds, though.


You can't do anything about the case, but its strong MIDI controller functions make it easy to integrate other piano sounds... though it's more to carry, so that might bring you back to the weight problem. For my own gigging, I always want a second unweighted board anyway, for organ and such. If you're going to bring around a second lightweight board for those purposes, it's easy enough to use the PX3's weighted action to trigger the higher quality piano sound that may be in your other board (if it's, say, a 15 pound Yamaha MOX6 or a 21 pound Nord Stage 2).

Seems to be an aluminum (I still balk at leaving out the second "i"!) base with a plastic composite panel and end-cheeks.

On my bathroom scales (that I'm too afraid to stand on these days) it weighs a fraction under 25lbs.

If the NE3 HP had 3 more keys, it would have been in contention for me as a lightweight board. 76 is my minimum requirement for piano. As for sounds, the NE3 completely smokes the Numa Piano in the organ department. The Numa is a bit like the Korg SV-1 in having a couple of "if-you-really-must-play-organ-on-this" sounds. Studiologic wants to sell the Numa Organ, of course.

When it comes to EPs, the Nord has much more to choose from. On the Numa you get one Rhodes and one Wurli (plus an FM piano). However, the Numa Rhodes is very good. I find it slightly more enjoyable to play than the Nord's, as it seems to have a bit more to dig into. The Nord's Wurli is better than the Numa's (in the original sound pack), but I think the Wurli is improved slightly in the Numa update - although the nod still goes to Nord, I think. The Nord's Clavinet is much more controllable, although the Numa's updated Clav sounds very good.

As for acoustics, despite the wonderful variety that Nord offers, I found myself preferring playing AP on the Numa. The pianos (in both soundpacks) are rich and expressive. There isn't the very distinctive character of the individual Nord samples, but given the lack of resonance etc. in the Numa, they are extremely well implemented. It would be interesting to put the HP alongside the Numa for comparison as I believe they both share the same action.

The other sounds (pad, strings, basses) are not very inspiring, and of course the NE3 has access to the vast Nord sample library, so again no contest there.

For me, when considering how the APs and EPs play, the Numa wins by a hair - but that is totally subjective, and I may be in a minority. However, the objective fact is that the Numa costs over $1k less than the NE3HP, and if you don't need full-on Hammond emulation and a bank of samples, but do need a lightweight 88-note board, the Numa should at least be on the list.

I definitely prefer 88, but if I don't have that, for piano, I don't really care about 73 vs. 76. Basically, I can live without the top octave of the piano, and I can live without the bottom 3 keys, so a 73-key C-to-C would be a perfectly acceptable "small" layout of choice. I guess the point is, to me, it's not so much a matter of 73 vs 76 as it is which 73 or 76 keys they are. I'd rather have a 73 C-to-C than the common 76 E-to-G. If the NE3-HP had 3 more keys on top, I really wouldn't care about having that 76 vs. their current 73. But at least Nord went down to F instead of E this time, that's a big improvement!

I agree that it's more to do with the choice of range. I need a minimum of G as the topmost key. That's where all, or nearly all, 76-key boards end.

The VAX77 (A to C) has a clever approach, you can hold down a foot pedal for when you want to shift up and get to the "missing" top octave. I'd still rather have 88, though!

That's another accident waiting to happen on a live gig!

Yeah, all transposition features increase that risk. But what I thought was also clever about the way the VAX did it is that you can have it so that the octave is only shifted while you're holding the pedal down. Kind of like a sustain pedal. So you only depress it exactly while you want to hear the shifted notes and release it when you're done. So you don't have the accident-provoking unpredictability of not being sure what note/octave you will get before you play. That is, if you work that way, you can't leave it in the "wrong" mode.

Good point. Yes, I can see how the hold-and-release functionality avoids the potential for leaving it in the wrong mode (which I've certainly done before now). Does it only affect the top octave, or does it shift the whole keyboard?

It shifts the whole keyboard, but it will not alter any notes that you're already holding down or that are already being sustained via the sustain pedal.

That sounds pretty neat!

Just did my first all-Numa gig last night (piano and organ). Sound received a lot of compliments from both band and audience. One small niggle on the piano: AP volume seemed slightly lower than EP. But it sounded great, and was a really fun gig to play. The Studiologic gear performed impeccably. I no longer have anxiety about having made the switch from Nord for my lightweight rig.

Glad to read your report, vp. still considering if the Numa Piano should take the place of my RD300NX... Do you find it satisfactory to play slow, gentle piano passages with few 'airy' notes on your Numa?

That was one of my concerns before the gig, as we play a number of original songs with some very gentle passages. The action takes a little getting used to when playing like that, but, with the help of the user velocity curve, I'm pleased to be able to report that the Numa worked fine on those more subtle measures. It is never going to be quite as responsive as my FP-7F, but I'm OK with that.

I haven't played the RD-300NX so cannot offer a direct comparison. What I would say is that, if you made the switch, I expect that you'd lose some things and gain others. Is there any way you can try the Numa before committing?

No. I would have to purchase online, unfortunately. How is it (playing soft and expressive) compared to your MP6? I played the MP6 a couple of weeks ago and have a pretty clear impression of what that feels like.

I think the Numa (with original firmware) is better than the MP6 (with original firmware) at playing soft, expressive passages. I had to tweak the MP6 quite a bit, and load the new firmware, to improve that aspect. They both benefit from activating the user velocity curve.

That said, the MP6 has a more sophisticated action that is easier to control, once you have everything else set right. But as you may have read, I'm not exactly blown away by the AP sample set on the MP6, although it has a nice tone.

I'm considering selling my Numa Nero because bills are starting to pile up. Not completely (no pun intended) sold on the idea, but am contemplating it.

If anybody's interested in acquiring one, feel free to send me a PM.