Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards NORD PIANO 2 & HP ACTIONS-WHICH FATAR, IN WHAT OTHER SLABS?

I've had some in depth experience with the Fatar actions...

When I worked for Kurzweil I spent a ton of time auditioning and evaluating actions and then creating (by hand) the velocity maps that accompany them. Much of the process involved having other players and me spend a ton of time just playing the actions. Also, Kurz has a giant keyboard-pounder machine, one of a kind, that can put years worth of keystrokes on an action over a weekend.

Both the Fatar TP40L and TP100 performed with distinction - and the service records from the field for both reflect this. These actions are very reliable and robust.

The 100 feels great, but its main purpose is to be lighter and less expensive. The 40L (and the 40M used by Nord) is intended for working pros - players who make their living playing keyboards (as opposed to just piano), striking a balance between piano-ish feel with the speed and feel suited for other sounds like EPs, Clav, synth, organ, etc.

Now that I'm out of Kurz, I appreciate the TP40L in my current line of work, programming (but not playing) keys for theater. I use it on dozens of theater shows on Broadway and around the world, in the Kurz PC3K8... and again, it performs with great distinction. It's piano-ish enough for our conservatory-trained players - haven't had a complaint yet. But it's quick and versatile enough for things like xylophone machine-gun 16th notes (Evita), Harpsi and Pipe Organ (Phantom), Synth (Les Mis, Superstar), Banjo (Wizard of OZ) and the list goes on.

For reference, Kurz boards that use
TP40L: PC3K8/A8, PC3x, PC3LE8, Forte

TP100: Artis/Artis SE, SP4-8

The SP5-8 is their only 88 model that doesn't use a Fatar action and it's not my favorite.

I must say that when I initially got my Nord I was a little disappointed with the action (I am used to playing a grand) but now I appreciate it - lovely and even and easy to play. It could be a bit heavier but I don't think that is achievable in a keyboard of that weight, it is designed to be a lightweight gigging board. I got the 76 stage 2 and it is small as well, small and light with a great sound and a decent action. So glad I chose that one, I was tempted by Yamaha for a while ;-)

beeboss
I had a similar reaction to my nord stage 2. I found the action to be weirdly light and didn't like it at first, but came to really appreciate it after I played it for a week or so. I think nord tries to balance their action on the stage 2 for piano playing on one hand and organ/synth playing on the other hand. If the action were heavier, it would make organ/synth playing feel a bit more unnatural, I suspect. And it's good enough for piano that they can use the same action in their nord piano products. It's a good compromise.

I don't know, but I suspect that a lot of people try the Nord and find they don't like it because they made a quick decision. They don't really get a chance to experience how well the action connects to the sound engine. it's really quite impressive and fun to play. I myself had buyer's remorse for a couple of days, but that quickly reversed my opinion as I got to spend more time with it.