Clavia Nord Electro 61 2.0 Upgrade

Using version 2.1, the presets are okay and the editing is extremely easy. I modified the presets to suit my own tastes. Again, very easy. The manual is very informative and cool with histories of the actual instruments emulated on the Nord.

I think they could have done a better job with the Hammond layout using more tabs and less dials. But other than that, wow!

I have a Wurly 200A and I think the 61 does a good job emulating the feel of playing the real thing. There are tons of effects and they are also quite good.

The Wurly is killer. And, to my ears, the Rhodes 2 is awesome as well. I tweaked my Motion Sound Pro 145 with the Nord 61 for about an hour and came up with a near dead-nuts emulation of my Hammond B / Leslie 122 combo which were in the same room. Honestly, in a live band situation, you would NEVER know the difference other than the visual of course!

Seems to be reliable and well built.

n/a

I love it. I was looking for a smaller, portable EP with 61 keys to sit on my Hammond and this was just the trick. Plus, you can leave the Hammond at home for rehearsals and small gigs and this baby will do just fine in its place. I would buy another one and have recommended this unit to friends.

I wish Nord would offer a custom, hardshell case for it.

Missed not having reverb, but most decent amps/PAs/recording units should supply this anyway. 61 keys feels too few for comfortable rhodes/ac piano playing. Effects are well chosen.

I don't own this keyboard, I just tried it out in a shop. I'd heard so much about it and just wanted to hear it for myself.
I was very impressed with the hammond sound (as good as the new Roland VK8, leslie effect actually better) and the clav (especially its tweakability and in conjunction with the autowah - Stevie Wonder's 'Higher Ground' comes off very well indeed) but disappointed with the EP sounds.
I own a Rhodes MkI Stage piano and a Wurli EP200 and felt that the rhodes was just too nice sounding - too '80s studio', and the wurli, whilst being a better sim than the rhodes, also lacked some guts. Maybe it needs to be played through a big valve amp (I play my rhodes and wurli through a 70s fender twin reverb). Having said this, they are both still better than any other sims I've heard.
Similarly, the phaser effect is very 80s - not the chewy type heard on those great Steely Dan records. Pan and tremolo are excellent. Overdrive is great on the hammond - goes from squeeky clean to full on Deep Purple/Steppenwolf.
The piano sounds are good, but won't replace any other decent piano sims.

Overall -
excellent hammond & clav
good rhodes and wurli sounds in their own right, but disappointing compared to the real thing
eminently usable, if not the best, piano sounds

It all depends on what you're after. I imagine a lot of people will buy this thing on the basis of it being the best rhodes/wurli sim (which I'm sure it is) and its excellent hammond and clav sounds. Just beware that you won't sound exactly like Herbie Hancock or Donald Fagen (if that's what you want, of course...) and that 61 keys may not be enough live. And it is rather expensive.

The easiest professional keyboard instrument I've ever used. Of course, it's focused on one thing, vintage electromechanical keyboard emulation, but even so, Clavia seems to know how to make keyboards for performing musicians that are well-laid out. You can set a basic treble/bass EQ, add effects, etc. and save the settings to a Program, and there are plenty of open slots, much more than I ever need.

The manual is not only straightforward but also includes in-depth histories and technical explanations of most of the instruments covered by the Electro.

Also, the free Electro software allows you to download different sounds off of Clavia's site and swapping sounds in and out is a snap.

The only thing this baby really lacks is reverb/delay. That being said, there are so many different combinations of effects and EQing/frequency filtering that you can really shape the sounds greatly.

I found the basic system functions to be straightforward and all-emcompassing. The lack of a full-sized screen doesn't bother me.

Keys are waterfall-style and feel quite unique; they are nice and it just feels "intuitive." It is a challenge to recreate organ and piano sounds on the same keyboard and I believe that Clavia did a good job of incorporating different aspects of Hammond keyboard styles and electric piano key styles.

Wow. Turn on your Electro, go to the Rhodes sounds or Organ sound, or Clav sound, and just play. It's pretty much like having these three instruments in one keyboard (only several hundred pounds lighter!) Yes, nothing will ever sound like a real Hammond or Rhodes or Clav or whatever, but this little board is truly a potent package! I dare anyone to find another hardware instrument that emulates Hammond sounds as well as vintage piano sounds.

The Hammond is incredible. The BEST, I repeat, the absolute BEST rotary speaker simulation. I use a control pedal as a swell pedal (also doubles as the wah pedal when you enable the wah effect) and a sustain pedal to go from fast to slow speed on the rotor. The sustain pedal also assumes its normal sustain function when you switch to a piano sound, by the way.
Some people have said that the Organ sounds strange without the Leslie effect turned on, but I must disagree. Without the Rotary Speaker emulation enabled, the Hammond has a "churchy" sound. If you listen to jazz organ recording from the 50s (before Leslies were really used) the tone of the organ is quite different, and that is faithfully captured on the Electro. Enable the Chorus Scanner (I've always liked the C3 chorus) and there's your vintage jazz organ sound. The Leslie-less sound also works well for religious services. I just think that people aren't used to hearing a Hammond without a Leslie nowadays. The one problem I did have however was the large amount of key click present. This is easily remedied as Clavia listened to their customers and you can now easily lower the key click level as desired. Hammond gets a 10 in my opinion.

Rhodes 1 and 2 - Terrific. Both are advertised as Mark I Rhodes. Rhodes 1 is a sweet, sexy sounding Fender. Put some Tremolo on it or if you have a stereo setup use the autopan effect. Great for comping in many styles of music as well as textures or soloing in intimate musical settings.
Rhodes 2 has more "bite" and cuts through more. This is another great sound. I love using the Overdrive effect (a standalone function on the Electro which is controlled by a single knob) You can get some cool Medeski-style dirty Rhodes tones. The Overdrive works well with pretty much every sound on the board. I dare you to find a better hardware Rhodes sound. I wasn't a big fan of the downloadable Rhodes 3 sound... it is advertised as a shallow sound but it doesn't sound like the famous Chick Corea shallow Rhodes tone. The Mark V sample (Rhodes 4, downloadable) sounds a lot like Rhodes 2 but with more sustain. IMO Rhodes 1 and 2 have a lot of character and I use those. Rhodes get a perfect 10.

Wurly - Great Wurly sound, even better with a slight use of the Phaser effect or Chorus. Don't forget the Tremolo! This isn't the definitive Wurly sound for me, but it still sounds great! Was a little too "weak" so I set up a Program that gave the Wurly some more presence. 9 here.

Clav - OH BABY!! Funky, mean, whatever you want. You get all of the filter and pickup variations from the original D6. Sounds great with or without the Wah effects. You will love this one. Perfect 10, without a doubt in the world.

Electric Grand - I didn't like this at first, but that's because I was not familiar was the CP-80 El. Grand sound when I first bought my Electro. The sound really grew on me and it cuts through a mix nicely. Great for funky or bluesy playing. It's a shame that you don't hear too much CP-80 playing nowadays. It really is a cool instrument. I like the default sample (El. Grand 1) over the new one you can get off the internet. I've never played an original CP-80 and I'm not sure I even heard one, so I can't rate it. Nevertheless I enjoy using this sound.

I don't even consider the Acoustic Pianos as a part of this keyboard... they're more like freebie bonuses. I keep one in the memory just in case I lose my main board (Yamaha P90) during a gig. They really aren't great by any stretch. The u

I haven't owned it for all that long but it's built like a tank and seems very sturdy.

Never dealt with them. However their web site and USB utility is really sweet.

This keyboard will never leave my main rig. I mainly use my Yamaha P90 for piano sounds along with this board and my Nord Lead 2X live, but for bigger gigs I use a Triton Pro to round off my rig. I use this keyboard on nearly every gig I play, from a rock gig to a wedding to my fusion band. I am a jazz musician and to have Hammond, Rhodes, and Clav in my arsenal in such a potent and portable package is God-sent. I would never part with this board. If I lost it I would take out a bank loan and get one again. If it had reverb and/or delay it would be that much better but I honestly rarely miss them; the sounds are so rich and complex that I don't mind playing it dry. If you are a serious keyboard player don't look to a Triton (I own one of those, trust me) or a Roland or what not for cutting edge vintage keyboard sounds... look no further than the Electro. I never really feel that I need the extra octave that the 73-key version offers... 61 notes is the size of a B3 manual and that's enough for me. You can drop an octave easily if needed. Seriously, get your hands on one.

It's just like they all say. Easy.

great, great, great. The only keyboard I've had that's kept me in love this long. I love that it's red... I'm so sick of either boring black or super-woman silver, both are kinda lame.

Electric keyboards still can't quite touch the real things they emulate when it comes to expressiveness, and the electro is no exception. They just don't interact with you the same way. Does the electro sound phenomenal? Totally. If you did a blind test between the real things and the electro, could you tell? Yes. It comes down to how good is good enough? For 90% of us, the electro is definitly good enough and beyond. It's certianly good enough for me, though I'd still buy the real things if I could. It's not as if there's no difference. The upright piano sound to me is the coolest thing ever, no one offers that and I REALLY wanted it, I was about to sample my own sound. that sound and the Ac. Grand 4 sound share my favorite piano sound award. They don't sound like a perfect steinway, but they sound right and they are really usable, though in mono they kinda stink.

The main thing I want to relate that no one else hasn't already is how robust this thing is. I know they all say that, but mine actually fell off my stand about 3-4 from the ground and landed on its face on cold concrete TWICE. Not even a scratch! Everything works flawlessly still. It's mostly indestructable.

They always respond in like a day, it's awesome!

This keyboard has done wonders for my music and my playing, plain and simple. Everyone should sell their crappy Roland "do all" machine and get something by clavia, they are amazing. Expensive, but worth every penny. I've never regreted selling my PC2x for it, not once.

Ready to use without even looking once into the manual (although that one is worth a look, there is some background info on the electromechanical instruments featured in Nord Electro ? unfortunately not about CP80?). Plug and play, very intuitive. Using OS 2.0.

Keyboard action is nice, although it is a mix of Hammond (waterfall) and Wurlitzer feel ? that?s what it has to be, no?? Controllers are easy to use. I would like to have a reverb section included.

Pure heaven. I owned a Wurlitzer 200 and a CP70 before ? now I have those gorgeous sounds without moving around huge instruments.

Rhodes sounds are nice to play, I prefer 1 and 2. I did not fall in immediate love with Rhodes 3 (available for download at www.clavia.se), as I did with the other sounds.

Clavinet is a real knock-out, all the filter/pick-up positions in those samples, play it with Leslie and little distortion??

Acoustic piano sounds are OK, but there is space for improvement (although I do not hope further samples to use more than 40% memory capacity??). The latest Acoustic Piano 4 sample is quite special, an upright piano sound.

The Electric Grand 2 is nice as well, but I am happy with the original CP80 sound! How about a Kawai EP308 sample ??
Hammonds are superb ? with Leslie on, the dry version does not impress me much?..
The effects section fulfils most wishes, I love the distortion. Wish there was a reverb (maybe in an upgrade???)

Seems to be solid. Thanks Clavia for NOT using any wall-wart adaptors!

So far perfect support thru internet ? I am looking forward to downloading many new samples and OS upgrades!

I haven?t been that impressed by a synthesizer in the last years. This one really rocks. For addicts to Wurlitzers, Rhodes, Yamaha Electric Grands, Clavinets and Hammonds like me it is a NEED TO HAVE. On my wish list there is reverb section, Kawai EP308 and Hohner Pianet sample.

I just got version 2.0. I previously had 1.0. I posted previously about 1.0, and here I'll only comment on the upgrade.

As far as ease of use, no significant difference. Clavia has managed to add some nice features while keeping the same hardware.

POlyphony is expanded, which is great. In 1.0, the rhodes would start losing notes just as those sustained passages were ringing beautifully. A shame that. All fixed now, I haven't noticed any notes dropping.

The new rhodes sounds are much more to my liking. More like a Mark I crunch than the bell-sounding Mark II of the version 1. Better for fusion jazz and funk.

The Wurlitzer sounds about the same to me. The electric grand is interesting. Not very pleasing to the ear on its own, but I'll be interested to hear how it sounds in a band mix. Might be just the thing for cutting through.

The clav is vastly improved, and has represented all the filter and pickup variations you find on a real D6. Before I thought the clav was kind of weak, now its one of the best features of the Electro.

The acoustic piano is better but still nothing more than a placeholder. Might work well enough in a band mix, but is not good enough for solo or small group work where the piano would be out front in the mix.

The effects are different, and I haven't yet decided whether I like them better than the 1.0. In any case, you can always substitute your own effects if you don't like these. The distortion sounds better.

The Electro is a better instrument now. Getting the most expression out of the piano sounds means getting used to the Electro's unique key action. Its a skill unto itself, not like playing a synth, not like playing a weighted keyboard. I've put alot of time into it and its been rewarding. Thank you Clavia for making the world a much funkier place.

I've upgraded to v2.0 and haven't looked back.
Fantastic sounding presets, although there is room for improvement.
Editing is a breeze. Editing the organ is easy with the virtual drawbars, but it's not the same without having something real to 'grab and yank'!
The initail version of the manual was well written and this continued in the v2.0 manual which was downloaded from teh Clavia website.

Don't know the polyphony, but I've never had any note stealing problems since the upgrade.
The keyboard action is OK. Clavia had to settle for a compromise between all the instruments inside it.
Having the waterfall action allows for Keith Emerson impressions without breaking the keys. It is a bit light when playing the piano sounds, but if it had been made heavier, the organ would have felt wrong.
I've had a play around with the sound manager software that allow you to change the basic sounds. It's very easy to use.
MIDI is fine. Someone commented in a review of one of the other Electros that it doesn't accept pitch bend information. I have no problem with that. To my knowledge, none of the pianos this machine represents had it either!
Editing is a simple. It's all done using knobs. No Inc Dec buttons in sight!

Here's the section that I am forced to mark it down in.
v1 of the Electro had the standard Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond, Clavi, CP set, plus a bonus sound of an acoustic piano. This acoustic piano was not very good at all.
Since upgrading to v2 the acoustic piano has been improved dramatically, but it's still not perfect. The notes die too quickly.
It is still playable.

The Wurly's and Rhodes are very good; you can almost hear them breathing at you. Using the tremolo and pan effects can get some very good sounds out of them.

The Clavi on v1 was not very good. v2 improved this, but I still don't like it. Personal preference I suppose.
The editing software would not let me replace the clavi with a piano sound I found to be more useful.

The v1 CP80 was fantastic. I sold my real CP80 soon after getting the Electro (for space reasons; it was too big) and managed to do a A B comparision with the two instruments. The sample is very close. The harmonics were preserved. When I close my eyes it sounds like I'm playing the real thing. This is as close as it gets without getting a hernia! v2 is almost as good. See the MP3 comment below.
It was this sound (along with the organ) that I got the Electro for.
Yes, I am a Genesis fan!!!!!

Next the organ. Amazing. The sound is there, as is the playability. The rotary speaker is very useable and convincing. The v2 overdrive is a big improvement from before. It can now go from a quiet purr to an angry growl to a loud roar in subtle increments. Careful use of the elbows can get some great swipe effects.

The effects on the v2 are not as good as before the upgrade. The v1 phaser sounded like a MXR phase 90. in v2 this has been lost in favour of something else. The warmth has been kicked out of it.

Also for noting, the sounds in the v2 upgrade sound a little compressed compared to the v1. Compressed as in MP3. There's something about them that makes them sound as if the air around them has been removed. Another personal preference I suppose.

I gig with my Electro weekly. It starts up every time and puts up with my playing style (elbow swipes, etc). I do depend on it, as it is much easier than carting a CP80 around!

Not dealt with Clavia directly, although having upgrades available via the internet is a great idea.
Korg, Roland, Yamaha take note. This is the way to go.

The instructions for upgrading were simple enough to follow and the end result was well worth the effort.

It does what it ways on the box.
Simple to use, great quality samples.
Totally useable, it fits in with every song I play (funk, rock, disco, etc).
There's still room for improvement, but it's definately heading in the right direction.
If it was lost or stolen I'd have to get another one, although I'd go for the 73 key version.
It's definately easier that trying to lift a Rhodes or Wurlitzer. You can lift it with one hand!

What else can I say. I love this keyboard!

uploaded to v2.0. No problems at all, except for the Windows driver. If you do tell Windows (2000) the location of the driver, it'll say that it contains no information about the device. If you let it scan that directory automatically, it'll find the driver and install it [WEIRD!!]. So, Clavia makes stuff that works, Micrsoft makes stuff that does not. What else is new..

Poly's much, much better now, and the clicking is over. When you play fast chords with the sustain pedal down, Electro would produce some clicks. That's all over now. Effects are better, especially the overdrive, which has tube-yballs now.

AND: the USB upload facility works, and it works great!

The Electro already was the most dynamic digital instrument on the market, and it's got even better. I really like the 2 new Rhodes samplesets, and the D6 sampleset is out-of-this-world. Unfortunately, the stereo acoustic grand sounds like it was recorded on top of the Mont Blanc [...very far away anyway] and is even worse that the original. I don't really understand the need for the new electric grand, I like the CP sampleset and that is the instrument that made history. Organ stayed as it was [except for the key click] and IMHO, it walks all over Hammond.

GO PLAY THIS THING! It'll make you get down and get funky right away.

never had any problems. Really roadworthy!

Very friendly, and fast. And that for a company with 20 (!!) people

I am deeply in love with this board. It is simple. I cannot do a lot of things you will find in workstations. It just does one thing: reproduce electromechanical instruments. And it comes soooo close to the expressiveness of the originals that you will forget about all those menus and useless 'possibilities' from other synths. Go play and find out.

I have upgraded my Electro to OS v2.00. The function of some keys, the piano sounds and the effects have changed but the presets remain the same. Nice!. The tool to delete and load pianos from the computer is great!. The new pdf manual avaible from Clavia's site is very complete. It a new version instrument: Free!

Polyphony on Pianos has been largely increased. Effects work fine. I need more time tweekening the different sounds to fully apreciate all that improving. Key-click is adjustable as users wanted. Good.

The Old Rhodes was superb but was very delicate playing. It wasn't the good choice of Rhodes adjustement for some songs. Now you have three different Fender Rhodes to suit all the songs. The new ones are dirtier and ballsier. They bit!.
Wurli sounds similar to me (very well). The Clavi has improved so much since it is possible to choose between all the adjustement posibilities od the original instrument. Before it was a toy now it is a real virtual clavinet.
The Stereo Grand Piano is superb!. The old Steinway sucked somehow. This is a fantastic piano.
The new Grand Electro is something I don't understand... It's a new sound... It means nothing to me: I bought this unit to recreate all these wonderful old sounds. I have loaded the CP-80 again.

No problems.

The have design a hardware and a way to download new software that means that I have the best possible virtual electromechanicals for many many years. Once I bought the Electro, now upgrade is free! This is a dream. I would like everything would work like that.

The Electro was very good at first (OS V1.00). We thought it was almost perfect. Clavia has now shown us it wasn't yet. With OS V2.00 and the new Pianos it's twice better than before. I believe in these people and what they make. Congratulations Clavia and Electro owners!

the 2.0 software and samples are the real deal. Any questions I had about the previous os and samples (such as sample mapping, key-click level etc) have been answered, and the answer was simply "this is it!" Ease of use is basically no different from 1.x, with one exception; the settings of click, hard pan and the awesome new clav settings are absent from the panel, but very easy to reach anyhow.

Polyphony is vastly increased. I've not run out of notes in any dramatic way with this new os. The effects are much better than before; the digital edge has worn off. Just listen to the release of the auto-wah filter; brilliant!

This is IT. I've NEVER come across such expressiveness in a sample-based instrument. WOW! I want to play it all the time.

Well, it's Clavia... No problems whatsoever, despite of some abuse.

They always answer my mails and the answers are right on the money. The next level up in customer support is a couple of Clavia guys hauling my rig to and from the gigs while treating me to champagne...

Making music with samplers and synthesizers used to mean compromising sound quality, especially that of vintage electromechanical instruments. Not anymore. If you've ever been into these sounds, look no further; THIS IS IT! I've been playing for ten years now, usually hauling a Rhodes and weeping over lousy Hammond and Wurlitzer presets, shying away from Clavinet samples. The Electro makes me genuinly happy. And remember, If you fake the funk, your nose will grow! ;)

I've just downloaded V2.0(had version 0.98) of the system to my Nord electro, It's taking this instrument to new heights. Uppgrading was very easy using a Mac.

I try to focus some on the upgrade, but the instrument feels completely remade on the electro keyboard side of it, hammond side is as fantastic as before but key click volume - is controllable!

It's a breeze to use, except for the midi controllers for selection of piano sounds which I can't get around trying to make a mixer map in cubase, minor problem for now.

Live it's a killer, the only "keys" you need if you're into old keyboard sounds and you get a good sampled acoustic piano on top. The keys are good for organ sounds but pianos needs an extra controller with weighted keys to use the full potential of the instrument(I prefer Roland FP).

Key click level control fixed, happy to not remove the click using EQ.
Keyboard layout problem fixed, no silent keys!
The before usable distortion is even better than before sounding more like a tube amp.

The new Rhodes sounds are even better and gives a larger sound palette covering some different mic and tine settings and are the best sounding mimicked Rhodes I've heard (EVP73 is terrible in comparison). I still prefer my Rhodes mark 1 for recordings but who want's to spoil his/her back from carrying a Rhodes nowadays. Also, It's a terribly boring job to keep it in shape breaking tines and all.

The clavinet is improved from usable to fantastic. It is more similar to the original instrument than any other to me known machine, you can even choose pick up positions and filter as the original instrument. Real clavinet keys feels like toy keys, using a midi controller feels quite good. I played a couple and would propably buy a real one if I found one in good shape, but they are not that easy to find these day's.

The Malmsjo acoustic grand makes life happy, I like the real malmsjo grand pianos and I've played loads of them. This sampled one is also quite good-compared to the unplayable piano sound in the earlier system. I wouldn't mind having a bit of reverb in the unit so i could use as standalone piano. Any way I prefer this piano compared to my kurzweil and yamaha.

To be onest, the electro is steeling all the piano/keyboard jobs from my kurzweil K2600R! This upgrade turns this instrument into a killer!

Polyphony is better!!!

Distortion-much more usable.

see ease of use for comments.

It does Rhodes, clavinets, .....what should i say there is no competition. Could have used two stereo pairs out for live use.

I can rely on it no backup needed. it hasn't failed me once software wise. The front seems to be easy to bend though so the keys could get stuck, don't know if this is a big problem for others!

Always answered when i contacted them via e-mail- good.

I would replace it if it was stolen, there is no other keyboard of this kind! The price is quite high.