Are Nord Stage 2 patches cross-compatible with Nord Stage 3?

The short answer is… kind of.

Because the Nord Stage 2 is the older model, they only accept .ns2p files—which are program files that carry the samples and settings assigned to patches. This file type was originally created by Nord, and when they released the Stage 3, they also released a new sample library 3.0 and patch file format to go along with it (.ns3fp).

At the time, Nord also released a “Sample converter application”, which allowed users to convert their Nord Stage 2 patches for use in their Stage 3. This sample converter application eventually got phased out and became available innately in the newest version of Nord Sound Manager, making it possible for Stage 2 files (.ns2p) to be converted into Stage 3 files (.ns3fp) automatically upon import. However, it does not work the other way around. Similar to Xbox One and Xbox 360, the newer files are not backwards-compatible.

So in summary—if you have a Stage 3, both Nord Stage 2 patches AND Nord Stage 3 patches will be compatible. But if you have a Stage 2, only Stage 2 patches will work.