Wait for tomorrow (start of the NAMM 19). They will present the nord lead 5 with the synth engine of the nord Stage 3 including 2 OLED displays, sample memory and more wavetables and sequencer! They also bring back the high-quality keybed of the nord lead 3. This will be the dream machine!

They will cost less than 400 Euros. The same speakers from Audio Pro (the manufacturer of the nord speaker) WITH Bluetooth cost 350 Euros street price a pair.

Ok, the speakers are a dumb idea, but on the workstation thing I think you’re wrong. Nord was one of the first companies to understand that the market is basically saturated. We have many top-notch and loved workstations by Korg, Roland, Yamaha, Kurzweil etc. Nord just thought it’d be better to cut out a nice niche for itself and keep developing from that. Engineers do what they’re told to do, there’s no way they’re gonna be a bunch of clueless programmers: and even if they can’t something specific, you can always hire a couple new people. Nord is simplicity: aside from the Lead (which is EOL, imho, and won’t see a successor), the Big Red means excellent pianos and great organs, along with some vintage banks, the rest is just a plus.

I agree. Although if I’m really honest I think another reason why you see them in stage rigs is because they look really nice. No disrespect, it’s a good thing.

They’re not lazy; they’re focused. Hardware workstations are fading due to computers/iPads. We’re seeing more power-synths like the Montage and Prophet X that purposely include everything *but* a full-style sequencer. Nord can clearly code their @$$es off. Just look at their Leads and the revered Nord Modular. The deal is simply that they have focused on their multi-use pianos and the library thereof. That’s why you see red in a lot of stage rigs. They are very performance-oriented, not studio-in-a-box-minded. You want a “Nord sequencer?” Hook it up to a Korg SQ-1 or Reaper. It’ll step up to the plate.