Clavia Nord Grand 2

Clavia have made their best‑in‑class stage piano even better.

I reviewed the first incarnation of the Nord Grand in 2019, and it’s fair to say that I was impressed. This wasn’t because it was the most flexible digital piano available (it wasn’t) nor because it was the most affordable (it wasn’t) but because I found it to be eminently playable, and it allowed me to perform harder and more intricate passages than I could on the keybeds of lesser instruments. So while I would probably have opted for more features per wotsit and accepted certain compromises if I were spending my own money, I would almost certainly have chosen a Nord Grand if someone else had offered me my choice of a dedicated stage piano.

Five years have passed since then, and I suspect that the designers at Clavia will have spent at least some of that time asking themselves, “How can we improve the Nord Grand still further so that people will choose it as their primary instrument? Moreover, how can we do it without turning it into a half‑arsed workstation and ruining the original concept?” As it happens, the answers to both of those questions were to be found in the latest incarnations of the Nord Piano and the Nord Stage.

So, What Makes It A 2?

In 2021, the leap from the Nord Piano 4 to the Nord Piano 5 (SOS October 2021) was a significant one, and nowhere was this more obvious than in the replacement of the two sample‑based sound generators (named Piano and Sample Synth) in the earlier incarnation with two Layers, each of which comprised a Piano and a Sample Synth. But it was two years later that this architecture reached maturity, with each of the sound generators in the Nord Stage 4 (SOS November 2023) gaining its own effects chain. Notwithstanding a global reverb, this made the instrument truly multitimbral in precisely the way that most other keyboard instruments are not. Today, Clavia have mashed these concepts together, marrying the dual‑layer architecture of the Nord Piano 5 with the individual effects sections from the Nord Stage 4 to create the Nord Grand 2. This architecture is a huge step forward from that of the original Nord Grand and allows the new model to create much more useful sound combinations than before, without demanding that the player deal with the greater complexities of a workstation operating system.

The original Nord Grand felt solid and robust, and so it is here, but the two instruments are not physically identical. You may not notice the differences, but the Nord Grand 2 is quoted to be 6mm higher and 9mm deeper than the original. These are small increases, although you may find that it’s a tight squeeze to fit the Nord Grand 2 into an existing flight case, or you may have to trim the foam to allow it to fit. The new model is also slightly heavier, but only by the weight of a large bar of chocolate, so that’s not an issue. Then there’s the slight change to the angle of the control panel. I don’t mind this. There’s something reassuring and piano‑y about having something that sticks up behind the keys of a piano — whether acoustic or digital — and the new model feels just as good in this regard as before. But it’s when you look at the panel itself that the real differences between the two models become apparent.

The Nord Grand 2 measures 1286 x 396 x 174mm and weighs 21.3kg.

Most obviously, you now have the two Piano generators with their associated level faders and two Sample Synths with their level faders. You can select from the four sources in any combination: in isolation, both Pianos, both Sample Synths, your choice of three or even all four simultaneously should you wish. I particularly liked layering my favourite Bösendorfer Grand Imperial XL piano with two layers of strings and brass to create quasi‑orchestral arrangements but, whatever your tastes, it will probably offer you something that you love. Of course, the amount of control that you have over the sounds is small when compared with a polysynth or workstation, but that’s one of the things that most distinguishes the Nord Grand 2 from its putative competition. If you want to be able to burrow into sounds, edit them in detail and then distribute the results across the keyboard in complex ways, you’ll need something like a Korg Kronos or one of the recent flavours of Kurzweil, or something else beginning with the letter K. But if you just want to tweak library sounds to taste, add some magic sauce from numerous effects sections and then play, the Nord may well be more to your liking.

In addition to having twice as many sound generators, there are several improvements in the engines and effects themselves. Starting with the Pianos, these now offer Dynamic Compression, which reduces the amplitude range as you play from the softest to the loudness notes, but doesn’t limit the range of timbres that you obtain. This evens out the loudness of your performance, which may not be appropriate when playing solo in a concert hall but will be welcomed by anyone trying to create a consistent mix for a rock band. The second is Unison. This is a fascinating feature that takes the samples from neighbouring keys, transposes them to the notes you’ve played, and then layers them with the played notes to create anything from a subtle chorus to some obviously detuned timbres.

Alongside the Pianos, the library for the Sample Synths has been further extended, most obviously with the addition of the Spitfire String Quintet sounds, which feature a more natural release than before. In addition, the Sample Synth engine now offers the Bright/Soft options, delayed vibrato, Unison and mono/legato/glide options introduced on the Nord Piano 5. The last two of these are useful for monosynth duties, making the Nord Grand 2 much more adept at producing lead and bass sounds than was the original version.

Next, there are the...