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Using MIDI

The Stage 2 is designed to be as flexible as possible when you use it 
with its MIDI capabilities . You can use it as a master keyboard to con-
trol other hardware or software sound sources, or as a set of individual 
sound engines to be played/controlled by outboard gear such as a 
sequencer . If you like, you can even do both these things at the same 
time . 

There are four major parts in the Stage 2’s MIDI functionality: Global, 
Slot, Extern and Instrument . Each of these are independently assign-
able to any of the thirty-two available MIDI channels: sixteen channels 
on the standard MIDI port and sixteen more MIDI channels accessed 
via USB MIDI . You can also choose to disable MIDI by selecting Off 
instead of a channel number . These channels are set in the MIDI and 
Extern menus, see page 44 .

Global and Extern are used to transmit MIDI data to other units, while 
Slot and Instrument only receive MIDI data . All settings relating to MIDI 
functions are made in the MIDI Menu, except for the Extern settings 
that are made in the Extern Menu .

Stage 2

MIDI IN

MIDI OUT

Global

a

a

Slot A/B

a

Extern

a

Instrument

a

Global 

The Stage 2 Global MIDI is a transmitting and receiving part at the 
same time . It allows you to control every aspect of the instrument, 
just as if you were playing on its own keyboard and it can transmit 
keyboard, pedal- and panel actions .

Any MIDI data that enters the Stage 2 on the Global MIDI channel (or 
Global USB MIDI channel) will play the instruments that are active on 
the program that is selected on the Stage 2 . If your program includes 
layers and/or splits, those aspects will be acknowledged in the same 
way as if you used the keyboard itself, when incoming MIDI “plays” the 
instruments in the program .

Global will transmit both keyboard- and panel-generated MIDI data . If 
you turn a knob on the synth section or use the modulation wheel, after 
touch, any of the connected pedals or pitch stick, these will generate 
MIDI data that is transmitted on the Global channel . This makes the 
Global the preferred choice as the MIDI source from the Stage 2 to a 
computer when you for example want to record panel changes in a 
sequencer .

 

M

Global MIDI can be turned Off in the MIDI menu. This will disable 
both transmission and reception of MIDI from the Global compo-
nent. 

Slot A/B

The Slot MIDI setting is for receiving MIDI only and allows you to control 
an entire Slot with instruments that are active, from external devices . 
Slot A and Slot B can be set to individual MIDI channels in the Stage 2 
MIDI Menu . 

Extern

The Extern is the part to use when you want to integrate external MIDI 
units in your performance . The Extern chapter can be found on page 40 . 
Look at the example on the following page .

Instrument MIDI

Each of the six instruments in the Stage 2  - Organ Slot A, Organ Slot 
B, Piano A, Piano B, Synth A and Synth B - can be set to receive on 
individual MIDI channels . This is done in the MIDI Menu . This can be 
used to have individual control of instruments, either from a other key-
boards or by using the Stage 2 as big sound source in a sequencer/
computer environment . 

Let’s have a look at a four different scenarios: 

13

MIDI



Chapter13MIdI

| 47

Summary of Contents for nord stage 2 ha/sw

Page 1: ...User Manual Nord Stage 2 HA SW OS Version 1 7x Part No 50361 Copyright Clavia DMI AB Print Edition J ...

Page 2: ... KB Zones 19 5 Common features Instrument Extern Controls 20 On Off buttons 20 KB Zone Select buttons 20 Creating a split 20 Setting split points to change Zone ranges 21 Layering instruments 21 Octave Shift 21 Note Range 21 Latch Ped KB Gate 21 Output Routing 21 Using an external keyboard Dual KB 22 Using multiple keyboards 22 Master level 22 6 Organ Drawbars and buttons 23 Selecting The Organ Mo...

Page 3: ...DI Control Local 44 MIDI Global Channel 44 MIDI Slot A B Channel 44 MIDI Organ A B Channel 44 MIDI Piano A B Channel 44 MIDI Synth A B Channel 44 MIDI Dual KB Channel 44 MIDI Ctrl Change Mode 44 MIDI Prog Change Mode 44 Send MIDI Ctrl 44 Dump Program 44 Dump Synth 44 Extern Menu 45 Extern MIDI Mode 45 Extern MIDI A B Channel 45 Extern MIDI A B Volume 45 Extern MIDI A B Prog Change 45 Extern MIDI A...

Page 4: ...dual manual B3 organ emulation and easy setup of all kinds of instrument layering and splits About the User Manual The manual is arranged mainly as a reference manual In many cases you ll get tips on how to practically use the functions alone and also together with other functions Reading the manual in Adobe Acrobat Reader This manual is also available in the digital PDF file format It can be down...

Page 5: ...f charge on the www nordkeyboards com website Small Medium Large The acoustic grand pianos and uprights are available in several sizes X Large large medium and small The large medium and small sizes share the same amount of velocity layers and the same number of zones that are mapped across the keyboard This means that you can rely on a consistent quality in regards to the playability and expres s...

Page 6: ...wn and also releasing it If you allow your foot to slip off the edge of the pedal it will spring back with full force creating an obvious sound The floor sound is heard when the pedal reaches the bottom of its travel You can experience this in isolation if you press down the pedal completely then lift it less than halfway back up and then press down again If you lift the pedal and immediately pres...

Page 7: ...below the display An alternate method is to turn the Value Dial located to the right of the display 2 The Pages are accessed by pressing the Program Page 3 4 buttons repeatedly located above the Value Dial M M Some of the programs are labeled with MW or AT This indicates that the Mod Wheel or AfterTouch has an active part in the sound and invites you to use these performance features 3 The Banks a...

Page 8: ...ediately snap to the knob s position Hold Shift and turn a knob to view the stored setting of a parameter in the display without changing it The Buttons Selector buttons are used to select one setting in an array They have a set of round or triangular LEDs to indicate the current setting Press the button several times to cycle through the possible options The On Off buttons are used for activating...

Page 9: ...ore As renaming a program and assign ing it to a category in the Program chapter on page 17 Live Mode Nord s Live Mode feature provides you with five temporary program buffers any one of which will automatically save program edits for you on the fly without having to perform a Store operation 1 If you press the Live Mode button to turn Live Mode on all chang es to the panel settings you make will ...

Page 10: ...tional layer combination If you press and hold a Slot button you can copy the settings of any other Slot in the memory by turning the Value Dial until you find the sound you wish to copy Release the Slot button and the settings of the selected source will be copied to the edit buffer Do not forget to save the new settings if you want to keep them in a Program Create a Split 1 Make sure that only S...

Page 11: ...gs for that one organ model on the different slots to create e g a traditional dual manual organ setup The Extern section can also be part of a split or layer scenario e g if you wish to control an external unit from just one zone 5 Turn off a Slot combination by holding the slot button you wish to keep and press the other slot button The Morph By setting up a Morph you can use a physical controll...

Page 12: ...tton There are 300 memory locations for synth sounds Arpeggio clinic Are you ready for some action Let s try the Synth arpeggio 1 Make sure that only the Synth section is turned on Set the attack times to 0 the decays to 250 ms select a sawtooth waveform and open up the filter a little bit This will produce a percussive sound Add some Mod Env control of the Filter Freq if you want to in crease the...

Page 13: ...io but there is another way Let s synchronize the delay to the same clock as the arpeggio 5 Hold Shift and press the Focus Mst Clk button between the effect dials the Mst Clk LED lights up 6 Turn the effect Rate Tempo dial and look in the LCD to select the subdivison for the delay 7 Try 1 16 which will be half the note value or twice the speed of the arpeggio Turn up the Amount knob up to but not ...

Page 14: ...orrespond ing Slot button To get out of a dual slot situation hold the button of the slot that you wish to remain in focus and press the other one Copy settings from a slot Press and hold one of the Slot buttons and turn the Value Dial This action allows you to copy the settings from another Slot to the current Slot The display will indicate which Slot of the Stage 2 s entire program memory will b...

Page 15: ...ory is selected and you decide you wish to store the settings permanently as a program you can do so using the standard methods see below You can also store Programs into the Live memory locations in which case the program settings will replace the current Live memory set tings Note that when you store a program into either of the Live mem ory locations the stored settings will be transferred to L...

Page 16: ...e Ins Page 4 button you enter a blank space at the cursor position By holding down Shift and pressing the Del Page 3 button you erase the character at the cursor position Alternatively you can press and hold down the KB Zones 2 or 3 button This will bring up the characters in the display with the focus on the character the cursor was last on Use the Value Dial to select a character at the current ...

Page 17: ...Program Page button M M The Program Bank and Program buttons are not affected by the sort mode If you e g use the Abc Sort to dial up a program named Betty 1 and this is located in Bank 2 Page 20 Program 3 pressing the Program 4 button on the panel will call up the Bank 2 Page 20 Program number 4 no matter what that program name is Cursor Del Ins During a Store As procedure the Program Page button...

Page 18: ... control simultaneously using Morph The following parameters can be controlled by the Morph sources The Level setting for all Instruments The Shape setting in the Synth oscillator section The filter Frequency setting in the Synth filter section The Drawbars in the Organ section The Effect Rate Tempo setting for the individual effects The Effect Amount setting for the individual effects The Paramet...

Page 19: ...fferent keyboard zones Proceed as follows 1 Activate two instruments by pressing the KB Zone Select buttons in each corresponding section which makes the KB Zone LEDs Lo Up Hi light up 2 Press the KB Zones 2 button located above the Value Dial This splits the keyboard into two parts an upper and a lower zone The split point is indicated by a green LED above the correspond ing key on the keyboard 3...

Page 20: ...ve button in the corresponding instrument section to activate the sustain pedal for an instru ment The Sustped LED is lit when this is turned on Press again to activate Pitch Stick reception and a third time to have both functionalities A fourth press will turn them both off as indicated by the LEDs M M The bend range is fixed to 2 semitones In most of the factory programs the organ has neither su...

Page 21: ...s internal sounds but would in certain circumstances like to use to play the Nord Stage 2 second manual By activating Dual KB you can quickly switch between these modes without having to bother with MIDI menus Hav ing this function easily accessible on the front panel makes it simple to quickly enable and disable the mode effectively switching your external keyboard in and out of the Stage 2 s int...

Page 22: ...ld a drawbar button the corresponding drawbar setting will continue to increment or decrement within its range until you release the button The drawbars can be Morph controlled if you want to make dra matic changes with for example the Wheel or a control pedal While holding a drawbar button you can press its sibling button to momentarily auto increment decrement in the opposite direction With the ...

Page 23: ... percussion is only present when you hit the keys when no other note is sounding In other words if you play a note or a chord and then add on more notes without releasing the previously pressed keys there will be no percus sion effect in the new notes You have to release all keys to be able to play new notes with the percussion effect The Volume Soft button toggles between Normal and Soft percussi...

Page 24: ...ce any sound Vibrato There are several types of vibrato and choruses available for the Vox model which is activated using the On button in the Vibrato section The V3 setting is the one that is modeled after the original instrument The VX models vibrato setting is common for both the swell and great manual The Farf Model The typical buzzy sound of this vintage instrument is one of the most distinct...

Page 25: ...ll is a characteristic feature that you control from an continuous pedal Swell is not only a volume control for the B3 it also changes the character of the sound in a special way To use Swell control on the Nord Stage 2 simply plug in a standard expression pedal to the Organ Swell input on the rear panel see page 55 and configure the pedal on the System Menu see page 42 An expression pedal connect...

Page 26: ... instrument into the empty Model location Piano Select Type Use the Piano Type selector to choose which piano sound you want to use Type Description Grand Acoustic and electric grand pianos Upright Upright pianos E Piano 1 Electric Pianos tines E Piano 2 Electric Pianos reeds Clavinet Clavinets Harpsi Harpsichords M M The type of a piano has been set for you by a bloke named Hans at the Nord HQ Yo...

Page 27: ...econd Acoustics feature available if you have connected the Nord Triple Pedal to the Stage 2 not included sold separately By activating this the mechanical noise that happens when you operate the sustain pedal on an acoustic or electric piano will be recreated The Nord Triple Pedal is dynamic you can control the level of the noise by the force you use when you operate the sustain pedal M M If a pi...

Page 28: ... Using the Slots you can play two different sounds simultaneously layered or in splits If you for example layer the Synth sections of both slots you can create really complex and evolving sounds Oscillator A lot of effort has been spent on creating a versatile and powerful oscillator section for the Stage 2 synthesizer Based on a vari able architecture it provides four different oscillator techniq...

Page 29: ... and not very strong harmonics Sawtooth The sawtooth wave contains all harmonics and is the richest of the available waveforms It is suitable for all sorts of sounds Pulse The pulse wave contains only odd numbered harmonics 3 5 7 etc at 50 pulse width square wave This waveform is special in that its harmonic content can be varied continuously by adjusting the pulse width The examples below have 50...

Page 30: ...dulator s frequency relation to the carrier If an operator uses feedback it is indicated by a dot next to the digit In the chart below all available algorithms together with the notation used in the display are listed FM Algorithms LED LCD Description FB feedback Sin 1 OP FB Carrier only with feedback 1 1 2 OP 1 1 Carrier Modulator same frequency 2 1 2 OP 2 1 Carrier Modulator frequency ratio 2 1 ...

Page 31: ...ed on the sample playback will begin at a fixed alternative starting point which will bypass most if not all of the original attack portion of the sample Load Sound When you save a Stage 2 program the current synth settings are of course stored together with all other panel settings but you can also select and store synth sounds separately from programs In this way you can build up a library of yo...

Page 32: ...quency can be controlled by the low frequency oscillator the LFO The Freq Mod 1 knob sets the amount of modulation Freq Mod 2 This knob governs the amount of the second modulation source to the Filter Frequency Set the knob to a position after 12 o clock the Mod Envelope will modulate the Filter Frequency Set the knob to a position before 12 o clock to control the Filter Frequency by the velocity ...

Page 33: ...ener ated by the LFO Waveform Description Notethat theModulationalwaysstartsat maxim Square no LED lit Use for abrupt modulation changes suit able for trills distinct tremolos etc Notethat theModulationalwaysstartsat maximu Sawtooth Use for ramp type modulations Notethat theModulationalwaysstartsat maximu Triangle Suitable for natural vibrato effects and also used for classic pulse width modulatio...

Page 34: ...ynth Sound press Shift and the Store Synth button in the Vibrato section The waveform display starts blinking You can now use the waveform selector dial to navigate to a memory location where you would like to store your sound To name a Synth Sound you can use the Page buttons to move the cursor and the Value Dial to select character just as for Programs read more about this on page 16 To confirm ...

Page 35: ...e mono in stereo out The channel configuration is stated in the related text for each individual effect Whenever this ap plies it will also be explained in the corresponding effect description The Slot effects Activating Slot effects To enable a Slot effect press the ON OFF button at the bottom of the corresponding effect section The LEDs above the button will indicate which instrument the effect ...

Page 36: ...n effect is stereo in stereo out Static Pan control of an Instrument Manual control of over the panning of an instrument can be achieved with the A Pan effect 1 Enable Effect 1 for the instrument you want to pan and select the A Pan effect type 2 Set the Rate Tempo knob to zero Place the instrument anywhere in the stereo panorama with the Amount knob just like a pan control on a mixer Trem Tremolo...

Page 37: ...t and press the tap tempo button to activate the Ping Pong mode This will make the delay repeats alternate between the left and right channels If short delay times are used these repeats will be asymmetrical and produce delays that are more like early reflections in reverb units Tap Tempo You can use Tap Tempo to set a delay time matching the tempo of a song Simply tap the Tap Tempo button in the ...

Page 38: ...lot Effects by pressing the Source button You switch between fast and slow rotor speeds by pressing the Slow Stop button To stop the rotors press the Stop Mode button to activate the Stop Mode and then the Slow Stop button this does not deactivate the Rotary Speaker it only stops the rotors When you press the Slow Stop button again the rotors will accelerate to the Fast speed setting This function...

Page 39: ...n Activating Activate the Extern section in order to have Extern transmitting MIDI from Nord Stage 2 This is done by pressing the On button under the Parameter rotary encoder in the same fashion as you activate the Stage 2 instruments Keyboard Zones There are two Extern sections one for each Slot A and B Use the keyboard zones to create splits and layers just like for the internal in struments If ...

Page 40: ...the external instrument organizes programs in Banks there is an op tion to send Bank Change messages on the Extern Menu page see page 45 MIDI CC This feature makes it possible to transmit MIDI Control Change mes sages to control a parameter of your choice on the external instru ment First you have to decide which Controller number the Parameter encoder should transmit this is done in the Extern Me...

Page 41: ...ge how the Nord Stage 2 keyboard triggers Organ sounds When High is selected you will trigger organ sounds before the key is fully depressed This mode closely mimics the way a original tonewheel organ works Range High Low Default Sustain Pedal Type This allows you to select the type of a connected sustain pedal in case the functionality of the pedal is reversed when the pedal is up sustain is on a...

Page 42: ...e Stage 2 instruments Range Swell Default Volume Memory Protection This is set to On when Nord Stage 2 leaves the factory meaning that you cannot save any changes to Programs or Synth Sounds Set this to Off if you wish to store your own Programs Menu settings and the five Live buffers are not protected by this setting Range On default Off Sound Menu Hold Shift and press Program 2 Sound to access t...

Page 43: ...ailable only through MIDI Range MIDI 1 16 USB1 USB16 Off Default off MIDI Piano A B Channel This sets the receiving MIDI channel for the Piano section A B If a channel is selected here you can assign the corresponding instrument to no KB Zone at all that is make it active but available only through MIDI Range MIDI 1 16 USB1 USB16 Off Default off MIDI Synth A B Channel This sets the receiving MIDI ...

Page 44: ... message on Control Change address 32 cc 32 M M There are many different variations between instruments in how Banks are numbered and accessed via MIDI Please consult your other unit s manual Range Off Default 0 127 Extern MIDI A B CC Number This decides which MIDI Controller number the Extern section should be transmitted when MIDI CC is activated Range MIDI CC 0 119 Default is 2 Extern MIDI A B ...

Page 45: ... to the unit and a function to backup and restore the entire Nord Stage 2 memory The Nord Sound Manager and the user manual for the application can be found on the DVD that was delivered with the instrument or on the www nordkeyboards com website in the Download area System requirements The Nord Sound Manager is compatible with computers running Mac OSX 10 4 or later Windows XP Windows 7 Windows 8...

Page 46: ...are active on the program that is selected on the Stage 2 If your program includes layers and or splits those aspects will be acknowledged in the same way as if you used the keyboard itself when incoming MIDI plays the instruments in the program Global will transmit both keyboard and panel generated MIDI data If you turn a knob on the synth section or use the modulation wheel after touch any of th...

Page 47: ...ber and the desired value and it will be transmitted along with the rest For yet another layer of integrated control set up a Morph to control the Extern encoder via the mod wheel aftertouch or a control pedal By assigning the CC address of your choice to that encoder it is pos sible to generate MIDI data streams to the external device seamlessly from the Stage 2 And due to the flexibility of the ...

Page 48: ...I notes to the Stage 2 and the Extern section is activated on the Stage 2 those incoming MIDI notes can be re routed to the MIDI Output of the Stage 2 on the MIDI chan nel that is set for the Extern section This allows you to control one external device from another external device The incoming notes have to be on the same MIDI channels as set in the Stage 2 for the Dual Kb the Slot A or Slot B MI...

Page 49: ...other being controlled by the Stage 2 itself There are no limitations to the channel settings in the MIDI menu it is quite possible to have more than one receptor react to the same MIDI channel which may or may not be what you want If you for example want to control one instrument in the Stage 2 on MIDI channel 4 it would be a good idea to make sure that no other part Global Slot or Instrument MID...

Page 50: ...if you experi ence double triggered notes when you play both from the keyboard internally and via the MIDI loop Local On Off is set in the MIDI menu which is described on page 44 Panic If notes should hang using the Nord Stage 2 in a MIDI setup all you need to do is hold down the Shift button and press the Panic Program 5 button This will execute an internal All Notes Off and reset incoming CC mes...

Page 51: ...k 13 Synth Oscillator Mode 43 Synth Waveform Select 44 0 127 Synth Oscillator Shape 45 Synth Oscillator Shape Mod 46 Synth Filter Frequency 48 Synth Filter Resonance 49 Synth Filter Vel Env Mod 2 Synth Filter LFO Mod 51 Synth Filter KBT Keyb track 52 Synth Filter Type 53 Synth Amp Envelope Attack 54 Synth Amp Envelope Decay 55 Synth Amp Envelope Mode 56 Synth Amp Envelope Velocity 57 Effect 1 Type...

Page 52: ...27 After Key s Touch Channel X O X O Pitch Bender O O Control Change O O Program Change True O 0 127 O 0 127 System Exclusive O O System Song Pos Common Song Sel Tune X X X X X X System Clock Realtime Commands X X O X Aux Local on off Message All notes off Active Sense Reset X X X X X X X X Number True Voice Mode 1 Omni On Poly Mode 2 Omni O Mono Mode 3 Omni Off Poly Mode 4 Omni Off Mono O Yes X N...

Page 53: ...o pre recorded music M M Signals connected to this input will not be processed with the Stage 2 s effects or appear at the line level output jacks1 4 USB Connection The USB connection is used for the Nord Stage 2 to communicate with a personal computer in order to update the OS or to add or replace any of the piano sounds The computer can run the Nord Sound Man ager application or be used to trans...

Page 54: ...ry pedal connected to the Rotor Latch input to operate as a latching pedal for selected instruments This func tionality can be activated for the instruments and the latch operation needs to be selected in the System Menu Sustain pedal The Nord Stage 2 has one input for a sustain pedal This input can be used with a standard momentary pedal like the included Nord pedal Stage 2 HA88 and Stage 2 HA76 ...

Page 55: ...e and remember these settings after the power is shut off Furthermore the Synth is capable of storing 300 synthesizer sounds The content of Program Bank A is duplicated in Bank D This allows you to store any edits you make in either Bank A or D without risking to overwrite anything that you might want to keep Factory presets Every factory Program in the Nord Stage 2 can be replaced To make sure yo...

Page 56: ... Info Piano 27 Ins 18 Instrument MIDI 47 K KB Gate 21 KB Track 33 KB Zone Select 20 L Latch Ped 21 Legato mode 35 Level encoders 20 LFO 34 Live Mode 16 Load Sound 32 Low Pass 32 M Master level 56 MIDI Controller list 52 MIDI Implementation Chart 53 MIDI In 54 MIDI Indicator 17 MIDI Input Only 50 MIDI Out 54 Mod Envelope 33 Monitor In 54 Mono mode 34 Mono Output 15 Morph Assign 19 Morph Clearing 19...

Page 57: ...rt Mode 18 Sostenuto 7 55 Sound Init 35 Sound Menu 43 Split Keyboard 19 Stop Mode 39 Store 16 Store As 16 String Resonance 28 String Resonance Level 43 Sustenuto 28 SustPed 21 Synth Init 18 System Menu 42 T Transpose 15 Trem 37 Triangle 30 Triple Pedal 28 U Unison 35 V Value Dial 17 Velocity 34 Vibe 38 Vibrato 35 Voices 34 Vox Model 25 W Waveform selector 30 Wavetable 32 Wa Wa 37 ...

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