Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

- ask away
Shepherd_of_Anu
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 624
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:14 am
Location: The space between space

Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by Shepherd_of_Anu »

I am kind of pissed off on my friends behalf. He bought a Nord Rack X2 and after a few months with very light use some of the buttons (or maybe it was the features... it is hard to tell if you are not a electronics technician) stopped working. He works lots of hours so he doesn't have much time to enjoy his toys. There are also bugs in the program saving and recall system. Sometimes it wipes out the programs you have stored. He tried to contact Nord but they have not returned his emails at all. Not even a courtesy email.

I just wanted to put out a caveat emptor warning about this. You are putting your money on the line and when their product goes down they are not there for you at all. Their customer service is terrible. He paid like $1400 for it too, which sounds a bit over priced in my opinion. It still makes noise and I think the synth sounded pretty nice but considering the bugs and the bad customer service when things stop working it is a sketchy buy.

Just sayin.
steevio
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 3495
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:18 pm
Location: wales UK
Contact:

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by steevio »

sounds very un-Nord like.

they are usually rock solid synths, and the one time i contacted customer services they replied immedeately.

ive had 4 different Nords over the years starting with a Nord lead in 1995 which is still working perfectly, the only issue i've had was with a Nord 3 when the power supply failed and the synth began to act erratically, and maybe some of the problems you mention could be caused by that.

I assume it was a used synth out of warranty, otherwise its just a case of returning to the shop, and i know that Nord do not do repairs themselves, they have affilliated companies that do them, and i'm fairly sure i got the contact for the one i used to fix my PSU from the Clavia website,

hope thats some help for your friend
nrjizer
mnml newbie
mnml newbie
Posts: 61
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:26 am
Contact:

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by nrjizer »

I've had a 2X since 2008 and it's been rock solid. Sounds like your friend just got a fluke unit, unfortunately.
steevio
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 3495
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:18 pm
Location: wales UK
Contact:

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by steevio »

Nord has a huge reputation for reliability, my power supply failed after being used every day for about 5 years, and was simple and cheap to fix.

Nords are the most ubiquitous keyboards used in live situations you'll ever see, a huge proportion of bands that have a keyboard player you see on videos/TV etc has a red Nord keyboard on stage.

sounds very unlucky.
Shepherd_of_Anu
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 624
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:14 am
Location: The space between space

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by Shepherd_of_Anu »

I am going to tell him to get in touch with them again... maybe he slipped through the cracks.
lem
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 742
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:31 pm

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by lem »

nrjizer wrote:I've had a 2X since 2008 and it's been rock solid. Sounds like your friend just got a fluke unit, unfortunately.
Yeah this can happen with anything, no matter the companys rep.

I remember Nord G2's having usb board issues which cost almost aa much as the synth to fix. I sold mine and its probably the only piece of gear i regret selling.
Shepherd_of_Anu
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 624
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:14 am
Location: The space between space

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by Shepherd_of_Anu »

My friend gave up on Nord and ended up taking the unit back to Long and McQuade. M&C is an awesome musical gear outlet but I bet he is going to pay an arm and a leg for the inspection and repair. Nord didn't even give him a courtesy reply. Maybe Nord is usually rock solid as some of you say but when a unit goes south they don't seem to own up or help. I don't own anything Nord but after seeing what has happened with my bud I don't think I will be investing in anything Nord anytime soon. Their products may be rock solid as many of you say but when they do fail the company isn't there to help you out. Just a word to the wise.

That being said... it does make some nice sounds... we went on some 'explorations of sound' as my friend put it... good times :D

I suspect there are some bugs in the logic of the software that controls the unit... unfortunate... it really is a nice piece of gear otherwise. fck Nord for not owning up to the problems though. This guy spent about $1600 on the unit... brand new.
Shepherd_of_Anu
mnml maxi
mnml maxi
Posts: 624
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:14 am
Location: The space between space

Re: Nord Rack X2... caveat emptor

Post by Shepherd_of_Anu »

Actually... I forgot... it was a few weeks back when he told me this but... one day he was really frustrated with the hand that life was dealing him (sudden death of a loved one) and he punched the Nord Rack X2 very,very hard... (he figured it was a lost cause because of the Nord's lack of response) and suddenly it (mostly) worked properly again. Oldest trick in the book... a technicians back up tool... punch the machine. Some of the problems went away but many still persisted. Kind of funny how a beating can clear things up though.
Post Reply