Clavia Nord C2

Most controls have their own buttons, so only limited editing via sub menus etc. The Manual is well presented with good diagrams. If you know your way around a B3 or similar then you should have no problem. The draw buttons instead of draw bars are fine after a while and have a fast and slow setting. User patches are a breeze to create with a quick flick of the 'store' button.
presets are ok, but thats really not what this board is about, grow your own and change them on the fly, thats real organ playing. This model shipped with OS 1.2

polyphony is full, that is you can play all the keys at once if you realllly want to. Reverb is very usable, there being several modes. delay with variable feedback plus tap tempo, perfect for reggae chops on the Vox organ, three band EQ and ok overdrive too. Good amp modelling, fender twin, leslie 122, 145 etc, midi in and out, no expansion. Keyboard action is good and robust yet fast, and is pressure sensitive for when triggering an external sound source. I think nord could have put their mod and pitch bend on this for external midi control and to play with the organ sounds, but they've been very purist, they could also have added some more FX like ring modulator, wah, chorus,flanger etc as found on the stage and electro, but i guess they want you to buy one of those too. No sequencer, no problem. 11 pin Leslie out, phono ins, stereo outs, mono out, pedal board midi in. nice

AHA, well, of course this is why I got it. I liked the B3 sound on my old electro 2, this is better and more tweekable, I can change percussion and keyclick volume, there are different tonewheel sets and an improved leslie sim. The addition of string bass is welcome. The baroque pipe organ, which is sampled, sounds simply stunning and will inspire you to learn some Bach and don a periwig. Vox and FArfisa organs are true to the originals, they sounded crap then and sound crap now, BUT have become such a nostalgic sound that they are now annoyingly pleasant to play. I have owned two Farfisas, have a Hammond A100 (same as B3) and Leslie 145 at home and grew up singing in a Cathedral choir, so I do know what all these instruments should sound like. IMHO the leslie sim and overdrive do not sound totally real but they are as good as you can get. The whole thing does sound digital and a bit cold and thin compared to the real things. But put it through a speakeasy vintage tube preamp and into a real valve Leslie and you will be very hard pressed to tell the difference. The whole point though is portability so the trade off is well worth it, and if you dont want to lug a leslie around then a 15" Ampeg bass combo (forget keyboard amps) with a Motion Sound Pro 3X and Speakeasy AMA preamp will sound pretty darn good (this is my gig rig) with a consolette midi pedal board and Earnie ball expression pedal. I play Jazz and Blues, sometimes some Soul and Reggae too and I often Rock out too and this covers it all.

I've never had any trouble with Nord stuff and I think I can rely on This baby. I suppose this will be my back up keyboard when I finally start gigging with my A100.

I've only ever dealt with resellers before as everything has a three year guarantee here in Europe.

yes I'd buy it again. Though because I really only use it for the B3 sound I would be interested in the Diversi Key B duo, but its heavier has less FX and is much more expensive. I checked out the Korg CX3 and Hammond XK system, but Bang for buck and authenticity of tone this axe nailed it, better leslie sim too.
you can just sit down at it and play like its a real B3, great for practicing, recording, gigging and rehearsing. I wish it had all the sounds of the electro too but hey, I'm mostly an Organist. i think the leslie speed switch and music stand should be included.
I've been playing for 25 years and also own a Macbook full of samples and plug ins, have an 88 note weighted fatar controller plus have a Kawai grand pano, I play professionally and also teach music.