Clavia Nord Electro 3 73

Exceptionally easy to use.

I only looked at the manual once to find out how to take the save-protection off (so I could overwrite patches), only to discover that the instructions were infact printed on the front panel!

Most buttons have shift-multifunctionality, which are seldom confusing.

Some reviewers have complained about the printed menus on the front panel for being ugly, but I think it's useful to have them there.

The Electro 3 looks like a Ferrari.

I find it extremely rare to own a keyboard where I use every single feature. Every function is valuable, nothing seems unnecessary and there is no dead-weight.
Feature-wise, what it does, it generally does well.
What does it omit? Generally nothing you don't need.

According to the website, Clavia claim that:
"the Electro 3 sets a new standard based on its impressive sound quality."
The Electro 3 does not set a new standard based on it's sound quality (and I'll come to that later) but the controls/interface around which the sounds are packaged, are very impressive.

KEYBOARD
The keyboard feels great, I could play it all day!
Some people have complained about the lack velocity-curve-changeability. I've never really paid much attention to velocity curves before, until I played on this keyboard, and realized I want to change the velocity curve. How important and absent it both is.
73-keys? If we're playing acoustic pianos here, I'd have liked an 88-key option.

EFFECTS
The quality of effects are excellent, particularly the distortions/amp simulations and auto-wah. The reverbs sound natural and realistic. The array of effect-types which can be run simultaneous is very reasonable. I've read a number of reviews suggesting that Clavia's effect could be packaged as independent units. Judging from this and the effects sections on the Nord Wave, I'm inclined to agree.
There are 4 knobs to control EQ, which I'm not convinced are entirely necessary, although perhaps because I refrain from using them. They're useful to have just incase.

Compromises vrs efficiency - the tragedy of the effects section:
instead of having a 'rate' and 'intensity' knob for each of the two modulation-based effects sections, there is one knob for 'rate' and you must choose from one of 3 pre-set levels of intensity, which cannot be altered.
In terms of functionality, this is an adequate compromise; extra knobs increase costs etc. However, I found these pre-set intensities to be set far too high, the top level consisting of tasteless over-kill while leaving no pre-set intensities suitable for very levels of effect.
For those who just want a hint of phaser or a subtle tremolo, you may find yourself having to rely on external effects.
In my opinion, an appallingly oversight, but this is the kind of thing that could easily be fixed with a software update.

ORGAN
The organ is also worthy of being packaged as a stand-alone unit and it is. The organ sounds splendid and it's interface is simplicity itself.
The virtual draw-bar panel (which take up about half the entire control surface) represents optimum functionality (reminiscent of the endless encoders found on the Nord Lead 3 and Akai APC40). As well as saving on moving parts, they allow settings to be saved, recalled and generally scrolled through without incident.
The organ has 2 timbres, and key-split assignment is straightforward.
The percussion controls on the B3 emulation are easy to control.

SAMPLED INSTRUMENTS
Efficient interface but insufficient sounds themselves.

SAMPLE PLAYBACK
Make your own samples, install them via USB and you've got a synth that makes any sound you can imagine!
Excellent feature - I never completed the project, but I began preparations for a number of soundbanks based on 8-bit games console Nintendocore-style samples, which would be well suited to the single-velocity-layer nature of the sampler.

BAG (??75)
The Nord Electro 3 carry case is excellent!
It has furry padding on the inside and heavy, durable, water-resistant, red fabric on the outside. Plus a shoulder straps so you can carry it on your back and a good sized pocket on the side for your cables and sustain pedal! Full marks for the bag!

Organs: 10/10

Clavinets: 7/10

Wurlitzer: 7/10

Rhodes Pianos: 5/10

Acoustic Pianos: 4/10

Nord Sample Library instruments: 4/10 (notable exceptions being non-dynamic instruments, such as acoustic organs)

Mellotrons: varied. The few instruments that are good, are very good (Flutes/3 Violins), although in my opinion most aren't. Regardless of the standard of sounds, the quality appears to be faithfully reproduced

Play any of the organ models through the rotary-speaker effect and you're in retro heaven.
Play any of the clavinets through the auto-wah and your in funk heaven.
Play the Wurlitzer with some light twin-amp distortion and you're reasonably satisfied.
Play any of the Rhodes pianos through lots of effects and they're just about acceptable.

The acoustic pianos represent the biggest disappointment for me.
The Electro 3 supports Pianos Library Samples from the extortionate Nord Stage range. The web site provides descriptive prose on each piano's history, mic positions etc, I was expected to be presented with nothing short of symphony of realism, as well as a wealth of choice.
Compared to the factory Grand Piano sound on the Kurzweil PC88 (released in 1995) every single piano sample (both regular and extra large sized) sounds fake, shallow and wierdly EQed. There is an EQ section on the Nord, but this doesn't solve the problem.
Unlike the electric pianos and other sampled instruments (which I'll come to) I don't think it's a lack of velocity layers that lets them down in realism. Some dynamic performances can be achieved from the Upright and Grand piano samples when playing solo, but it just doesn't sound real enough.

The Nord Wave has a synthesis engine which can use sampled audio as a basis for granular synthesis. The sampled audio itself exists to be mangled, therefore realism and quality are not priority. I can appreciate that Clavia are trying to widen the scope and appeal of the keyboard but but I don't think it's appropriate to regard this 2nd hand sampled instrument library as a legitimate library in it's own right. I accept that there are many who would disagree.
Like the Mellotrons, some are very good, but unlike the Mellotrons - many of these instruments require more than a single velocity layer.
The electric piano samples have 2 velocity layers, which sound great at first (even better through effects), but after a while the dynamic limitation becomes obvious. It just isn't expressive enough for an instrument of this magnitude, especially one that specialises in realistic emulations of electromagnetic instruments.

I see no reason to believe that anything would fail on this machine, mechanically or electronically. Special attention is paid to the design and construction of Nord keyboards - I strongly suspect that this might have something to do with the price tag.

Along with Ableton and Access-music, Clavia cannot be accused of sparing any effort with their customer service. Replies to emails are received often within minutes.

Outstanding.

I have owned my Electro 3 for 10 days. I've played it for hours every day, played it with other musicians in an 'unplugged' context, played with other musicians in a 'rock band' context, played it through my professional Beyerdynamics headphone and played it through various amps and speakers.
I'm selling it as soon as possible.

I really hate to criticize Clavia, because I love the company and what they represent, I love their quality and commitment to excellent customer service and I love the Nord Wave.

I've been extremely ruthless in this review, because Nord keyboard are extremely expensive.

"The best emulations of traditional electromagnetic keyboards in a lightweight and compact instrument. Nothing else. No brass banks, no orchestral sounds. No compromises. Just outstanding electromagnetic sounds with a lot of passion, fast keyboard response and a authentic feel" - Nord Electro 2 (Clavia homepage)

What a pure, honest mission statement!
But the ideology of the Electro 2 clearly hasn't been extended to the Electro 3. How ironic it is that compromised brass banks and orchestral sounds now represent a significant part of the Electro's repertoire. And after such a scornful denouncement only a single generation ago.

I wish the designers had stuck with their original vision. I would sacrifice all the sample-playback features, the Nord Sample Library compatibility, either scale down or get rid of the Mellotrons, even the Nord Piano Library compatibility (along with any acoustic piano samples altogether - it's an "Electro" after all) in instead focus on improving the realism, depth and dynamic range of the Wurlitzer, Rhodes and Clavinet, with more samples, physical modeling (like the organs) or a combination of both.
My dissatisfaction with the Electro 3 lies in the limitation of the samples. I would happily pay the same price for something that does a few things brilliantly than fail to do many things.

I'm sorry Clavia.

without any doubt this is a great product. I have been using a roland sd 150 stage piano for years which I still like a lot, but the electro 3 is in a different league.
All presets sound great, the layout of the machine is very well done, tweaking of preset sounds like adding reverb, rotary, overdrive etc. could not be easier... no need at all for the manual, and they have very cleverly printed a complete list of the deeper menu choices on the board itself.

polyphony is unlimited for organ, plenty for piano. Keyboard action is well designed for the organ (waterfall keys, semi weighted) and imo perfectly usable for piano. But really dedicated pianoplayers should probably go for the bigger nord stage with weighted piano keys.
this is not a synth, so built in effects are limited to piano/organ but they are top quality and all you need as keyboard player. they include tremolo, wah wah, flanger, phaser, overdrive, rotary, amp types... all very tweakable, all very realistic.
also you can easily download new software and samples from the clavia site, and these include the nord stage, mellotron and nord wave samples. That clavia offers this wonderful extra service for free makes me a very satisfied and grateful customer indeed!

midi in/out, no sequencer.

now this is why I am in love with this machine. the sounds are GREAT... all of them, but especially the organ. I have to rate this 10 points, no contest.
the Vox and Farfisa sound very real to me but I can only compare to recorded sounds. The hammond B3 is the best digital hammond I have ever come across. I have compared with the Viscount B3 module which used to be my personal top recommendation. But the nord electro wins on all counts: core sounds, flexibility, effects, cutting into the mix. You can even choose from 4 clean or dirty cabinet versions... and then tweak them from the merest whisper to a real screamer. The overdrive, even applied subtly, really screams.

No real drawbars of course but it took me about 10 seconds to get used to the digital nord drawbars and they react just as fast on your fingertips. I just love the B3 sound and the Clavia samples make me very happy...

And then you have a few very good acoustic grands, and fender rhodes and wurlitzer samples to die for... totally real, spot on, if this is what you're looking for look no further.
clavinet is wonderful too, with different types of amp and compression... funky!

I have been playing this board for 6 months now, shlepping it around to rehearsals and gigs, I am a heavy player and the nord still looks and feels brand new... all the sticking out knobs and buttons are completely OK... as with all serious stage pianos power adaptation is internal, no need for extra adaptor, just plug in the mains and play. I expect no problems and see no need for a backup...

when I asked them some technical questions clavia was quick to respond fully. I think it even was one of the chief engineers who got back to me...
anyway my overall impression is of a small and dedicated team of clever people who love music too.

I would buy this machine again without hesitation. I love it and do not want to be without it. The soounds are very inspiring for making music and the design and layout are well done and very clever too. The engineers obviously wanted to design the ultimate pianist gigging keyboard and I believe they have done it. To give an example: you can tweak the pedal function so that the same pedal works as sustain for piano and rotary control for the B3... thus saving you taking 2 pedals... maybe a minor thing, but so nice to even think of it!

the electro is not exactly cheap but it gives you what you pay for many times over... at ca 9 kilos it weighs about half of comparable stage pianos.. the quality of the samples is very high and you can keep on exchanging them for even better samples when they come, for free!

and anyhow, which stage piano gives you so many great piano's, epiano's AND great organs including drawbar functionality? (plus extra downloads from the clavia sound library)

Clavia have done a really excellent job and I after a while I even started to like the color!

Version 2.04 OS - Very Easy to use. Although, in my opinion, The Nord Electro 2 has an easier preset setup. Electro 2 allows you to save a bank of 8 patches - say 8 organ patches each which can be instantly recalled with its own patch button. A little more awkward with Electro 3 which has only 2 Bank buttons (Program A 1-64 parches) and (Program B 1-64 patches). This is not too serious when you consider all the features you are getting.

Thi is a live keyboard players dream machine. Polyphony is unlimitted on B3 organ - somewhat less on piano and other patches but no big problem. The B3 and rotary speaker affects on this unit are far improved over the Electro 2. The addition of reverb alone make the patches sound so much better than electro 2. Add great accousitc pianos and ability to "role your own" samples and you have dream machine. You have the choice to load 8 or 9 of you favorite sounds and not have to deal with usless preset novalties.

Very realistic B3 Organ, Piano, and Clav sounds. Plus you can add a few strings or brass punches for that gig that where only one light keyboard will do because of of 3 flights of stairs. The accoustic pianos are so nice with the choice to download others from the NORD web site. The action is ideal for organ and less than ideal for piano. But given the fact that organ is the featured sound on the Electro 3, you will be glad you are not playing a fully weighted keyboard. Onboard effects are great and easy to add in. Some may complain about the limited control of effects. By IMO, they already have dialed in the sound I am usually trying to find.

My Electro 2 was rock solid and I expect the same here. I plan on using this keyboard alone for some gigs. I am 53 years old and I honestly believe this 18 pound board is going to extend my gigging years.

Clavia responded quickly when I advised the first unit I received had some QA issues out of the box. There was something rattling in the keyboard and the front of the keys had some black smudges. I called my sweet retailer and they immediately replaced and covered shipping both ways.

If lost or stolen I would replace. The sound for the pound is unmatched out there.

So, I got the Electro 3 73 as an addition for my Nord Stage 88. In this review I will try to determine what's so great about the new electro, and that I with this puchase wasn't just gorging.


Right now I'm on OS 1.16, but as with all nords, this is constantly replaced with something better.

The presets are fine, but just using presets is missing the point of this board. It is extremely hands-on and easy to edit, so bringing your own favourite sound for a specific instrument in an instant is no problem - in fact, you could do an entire show with one patch, altering it successively. The only menus are for deep sound- (leslie speed, tonewheel type etc.), MIDI- and system editing.

I do, however, have two complaints about the ease of use
1:
The organ presets (lots of 'em!) are only accessible by the press of the shift button and the matching drawbar button simultaniously. This is pretty awkward, especially if you need to have one hand going while the other one makes a preset switch. Preferrably, the Program section should be placed on the left side of the panel, as the shift button is mostly being used with the preset function while playing.

2:
The patch navigation system isn't too clever. With the previous models there were banks of 6 or 8 patches, so you could have a bank or two dedicated to hammond, one to EP's, or you could simply do with using a single bank. The NE3 has 64 banks with 2 patches each, so you'll either have to have a memory like an elephant or bring a list of your patches.

These drawbacks cound one mark each.


Nord's manuals tend to be great, and this one is no exception. However, I haven't really taken the time to delve into the sample player / editing function, but generally, software is complete nonsense to me.

I am pleasantly surprised with the keyboard action. Of course it's quite a leap from the weighted action on my Stage, and I'll have to adapt to it, but having played it for not that long time by now, it seems that this process will be quickly over.

I'm flying on the organ, and the same goes for the clavinet - something that I find very difficult on the stage action. The EP's sound differently due to a velocity difference in the new keybed, but they don't sound worse, and I have no difficulties playing them.
The acoustic piano's probably need a little bit of handling, but it is definitely playable, and sounds fine too. One point where the new keyboard might require a little training is the velocity of the AP's: It's easy to obtain Piano and Forte, but the dynamically neutral velocity area requires a special touch that I have yet to invent.

The effects are really, really great - sound even better than the ones on the Stage. I only wish they would've included the delay, too - seems like it would do well in an electromechanical environment.
The FX are not as tweakable anymore - there's only the Rate knob left, and there are more FX variations to choose from in the seperate sections, 3 of each with different amounts. It might seem that it will take more buttonpushes to get to the right effect, but a Scroll-backwards function prevents FX searching from getting anoying. I do wish that the FX amount presets were editable.

This deducts a single mark.


As new sounds are being made, these can be downloaded from Nord's website. I believe that Nord is one of the only companies following this procedure, and God knows why! Not only does it make having the instrument more exciting, it probably also extends it's period of validity, as it from time to time will feel as a completely new instrument, and therefore the owner might be reluctant to replace it.

When it comes to MIDI capabilities the NE3 might be a disappointment to some: it features only In and Out, and it's pretty primitive. Furthermore, it obviously doesn't generate pitch bend, but it doesn't recieve either. This is no problem for me, as I prefer having a set of keys for each sound generator.

The NE3 generally sounds plain good! I use it for jazz, rock, blues, funk, soul... just generally rhythmic music.


The Hammond is what this is all about. No matter how you put it, it is a vast improvement over the previous organ generation. Everything's better: More leslie and tonewheel manipulation (though you're only scratching the surface in programming compared to Hammond XK's), the leslie sounds better - especially on Fast, Cho/Vib is awesome, and so is the percussion. Details like keyclick and other noticable features also sound better. It's plain fun, and I love it.

The aforementioned XK's - more specifically the Hammond XK3C has shaken the clonewheel market - it is far better than the previous Nord organ engine, and it also beats the NE3 (Real tubes, come on!). But no matter how you put it, the XK3C simply doesn't have as great pianos as the Nord:


I'm not new to the piano sounds, as they sound just as great as usual. However, the enhanced effects make them even greater.

- I've been a Nord acoustic piano fanboy since the first touch. I find them much more realistic and detailed than the polished samples of Roland, Yamaha, Korg... I could go on. I.e. someone complained about one of the grand pianos being out of tune. How often do YOU come across a grand piano that's perfectly tuned, unless you've just had it done yourself? To me, this is not an annoyance - it's pure charm. The upright, however, needs some refining.
The harpsichords are great and funny, but I don't know what I'd use them for except for baroque jokes.

- The Rhodes' are great. Perhaps pretty close to the NE2 EP's, but the release samples just add another dimension of pleasure. The wurlie, too, is mindblowing - especially on this keyboard action. The CP80 is great, too, but not really my thing.
The clavinet sounds great for typical clavinet playing - raw, funky and ongoing. However, the way that i.e. Vangelis uses a clavinet for odd ambient sounds, cannot be duplicated digitally yet.


The samples are a mixed bag, I think - mostly because I won't use a lot of them. Some of the string sounds are astonishing, and the church organs, accordions, harp etc. might turn out to be useful. The mellotron sounds are great, too.
Expressive instruments like brass winds should not be included, though. They don't sound that well (never was a fan of having a keyboard player do other instrumentalist's jobs), and without the expression of aftertouch, modwheel and pitch bend, which are provided on most workstations, the horns don't really fit in here.


Apart from the squeaky samples, I love the board. It doesn't just feel like another piece of electronic equipment, which I suspect i might feel like with a workstation, but like a real instrument.

The NE3 seems very solid. Metal body and wood ends = R-O-A-D-W-O-R-T-H-Y. I gladly bring it to gigs.

I have some doubts regarding the optional gigbag. It's really awesome that you can put it on the back, and I definitely need one, but for the road I think I'm going to get myself one of those molded flightcases.

I've had a communication with the Nord crew, but when I???ve contacted them they???ve been very helpful and have responded quickly to my e-mails.

I got it cheap, so it's worth more than I paid :)

I've been playing for the most of my life, well, since I was 5. Now I'm 18. For twelve long years I swore by my family's Roland HP-136, until I heard the Nord. I knew that I had to get one.

There's something about Nords. This is no exception - it's a gem. I have only very few gripes (organ preset access + patch navigation) and so many things that offset these. I didn't really compare it to other products, as I knew exactly what I wanted and needed: great sound and semiweighted keys in a lightweight package.

I rarely use the multitimbrality of the Nord Stage, but for the rare situtations when I do, I'll just have to restrict myself - and really, it's no problem.


I bought this beast to have a lightweight alternative to my stage (25 kilos up and down stairs is no fun!) as well as a semiweighted keyboard. Initially I was going to get myself a second hand NE2 and thought "Oh well, I'll have to live with the poor acoustic pianos and having to bring a reverb module". Then this product came by, and I was and still am blown away.


Through my review I have given 8's and 9's, and those marks included everything. This my last one is a maximum because it does all that I need, and does it perfectly. I Couldn't have made a better choice.

Using os v1.16 after it was delivered with v1.02.
Out of the box it is an amazing keyboard. Superb and your mainstream '2008 synth' quality.
Let's face it Yamaha, Kurzweil, Roland, Korg can all do great piano and other voices, it is a matter of subtle taste, live and or studio use.
This is a live musician's board with the right knobs to adjust the things you would need during a live performance.
Drawbar settings, effects, programs etc. All easy to acces.
No layered voices, splits (apart from a hammond organ split to make organ lower/upper registrations.
It is a lightweight monster to carry under one arm.

The polyfonie is a little less on the piano voices (40-60 notes) and with heavily piano parts I can detect some note-stealing in this electro.I am therefor glad I cannot layer a string, because that would really give some problems. (my Kawai has 192 notes)
Compared to the electro2 this unit has included 5 reverb effects next to the phaser,chorus,wah,trem., pan etc, and amp-mod. effects.
The thing missing seems to be an amount knob !?. There is a rate knob (1-10) and the effects seem to do those things they are intended to do more than convinient.So no complains here when you play live.
No pitchbend and it doesn't react on pitchband from an external device.

Sounds........oh yes I have really one answer. Hammond B33333333333333333333333333.
My oh my what a fantastic organ model this is. The keys are lightening fast. The wackopocky plof sounds are slapping in your face.
pure drawbars=alive and very much interacting with eachother.
C3 chorus=dead on
percussie=warm and pongy
keyclick=the best Nord approach so far and AJUSTABLE.
Rotary sim=leave your little leslies and motion sounds (own a pro3-x) at home.A real 122/147/3300 is still better.
overdrive=still acceptable at max., never shrill and cold.
Who needs other sounds with this.But okay,....great piano's this time.
Played from my Kawai mp8, Nord is up with the big companies in this department after all. (all you electro2 owners know what I mean)
Great electric piano's as expected and even mellotron samples.
One let down was the cp80 electric piano. eak and I did an a/b comparrison with a gem RPX wich happen to emulate the cp80 much better.
And almost forgot...a Vox continental and Farfisa model in the organ department.Sorry I had to play such cheezy sounding organs because I could not afford a Hammond, I still hate those crappy sounds.
I think they modelled all the obnoxious elements dead-on.

This is my first digital keyboard that sounds like a real organ.
I tried the hammond xk-1 many times, but I thought (and still think) it wasn't an upgrade enough to change my Emub3+Motion-sound pro3-x set-up.Mainly because it acts like a real instrument not just a playback machine.Not so with this Nord electro3 it is ''alive''
The Gem RPX does this with piano voices, those who play Gem know what I mean.

You simply don't need the manual. All settings you might need to change are printed on the front panel of the instruments. Maybe not that easy to read on stage though, but still easy to use.

The keyboard action is great for piano. Maybe a little bit heavy when playing organ, but you will adjust.

The effect section is new:

Effect 1 - pan, tremolo, auto-wah, pedal-wah and ringmodulator
Effect 2 - phaser, flanger and chorus
Comp/Amp - three amp/speaker simulations, compressor and rotary speaker. Drive/Compression.
Reverb - 5 types (Finally!!!!)

The lesslie simulator is taken from the Clavia Nord C1 and it sound just wonderful. You can tweek several settings for the horns.

All samples are stored in flash memory and can easily be replaced with the Nord Electro Manager Application (PC and Mac). 185 MB is reserved for piano banks (Same as Nord Stage EX!) and can be downloaded for free from Clavia. 68 MB is reserved for user samples. Either you can download some nice Mellotron samples from Clavia or make your own samples with the Nord Sample Editor Application (PC and Mac).

The acoustic pianos are fantastic. Warm and very expressive. Great for jazz, but some pianos should be great for classic piano as well. For stage use you can activate the mono mode and the piano will blend into/cut though the mix. Electric pianos are just as good as in Electro 2 or even better. The new effect section allows you two tweek the sound even more. The amp simulators really adds attitude to the electric pianos.

The organ section is taken from the Nord C1 and you can hear it. B3 is now even better than before and with the new Lesslie simulator I almost starts to cry when I hear the bass horn softly deaccelerates. :)

Vox and Farfisa are also great, although I don't use them as often as the B3.

Mellotron sound are...fun to play around with, but when you get tired you can of course replace them with something else. Mellotron flutes are quite useful. Did I mention that the Electro 3 is now compatible with Nord Wave as they share the same sample file format. I really would like some Solina Strings here, but that could be fixed with the Sample Editor I guess.

So far I've had no problems. My other old Clavia instruments are still working fine and I expect my Electro 3 to do the same.

I've have been in contact with Clavia a couple of times and their respons have been really fast and professional. Impressing for a small company like Clavia.

The old Electro 2 was great for organ sounds and electric pianos but not that great for acoustic pianos, mostly because of the small amount of sample memory. The Electro 3 feels like a completly new instrument (and it is). Now with 256MB memory and a updated effect section that adds even more value.

I think most of the people that bought the old Electro 2 did it because of the organ or epianos, but with Electro 3 it feels like Clavia has made a real killermachine for all piano players. Finally you have access to the greatest piano sounds from the Nord Stage EX and for half the money!

I tried several instruments from Yamaha, Roland and Kurzweil before I found the Electro 3. E.g Kurzweil PC3X has a nice key action and one (1) good piano sound. Its B3 simulator is just a toy compared to the Electro 3.

Yamaha and Roland seems to use their samples in all their instruments. They maybe sound great today, but how about tomorrow? If you're lucky you might be able to upgrade them with new samples by installing an expansionboard but that will cost you several hundred bucks. With Electro 3 you simply download the new sound and there you go.

I must admit that most manufactors do have grand hammer action keys that are far better than Clavias weighted keys in this price range. However, Electro 3 is not only a piano, it's a organ, and who wants to play organ with hammer action?

When it comes to sound quality the Electro 3 plays in it's own devision.

The only drawback I can see it the slow transfer speed when moving samples to the Electro. I guess it's only using USB 1.1 but hey, how often do you really want to change those nice sounds anyway. :)