Clavia Nord Electro 73

I am using the New Version 3 software! It's amazingly simple to upload onto the keyboard and, best of all, is completely free!

The new Steinway piano sounds are amazing as are the Rhodes and Wurlitzers.
I actaully have a Rhodes 73 and the resemblance is unbeleivable. I've played real Wurlitzers too and I'd be hard pushed to recognise a real recording and a Nord recording!!!
The Clavinet is the dark horse! I thought that I'd never use the sound! It's now on every recording I do practically!!
The Hammond sounds are stunning! The rotary effect is second to none to my ears! Wow

The bugs that were evident in the Version 2 Software are completely gone now.....not that I knowticed them anyway!

Editing patches is really simple and the manual is set in complete laymans terms! PERFECT!

This keyboars features Waterfall keys and has a semi weighted action! I'm a piano player and I found the Nord really easy to play! It was hard to get the Rhodes 'bark' sound with the factory preset Rhodes, so I downloaded one of the new free sounds and it was a close mic'd Rhodes this time! Perfect!
The built in effects are great quality! Chorus, Tremolo, Flanger, Ring Mod to name a few! The only draw back is that there's no Reverb! This proved a problem at first as everything sounds very dry! Too dry! So I bought an Alesis Picoverb for ??40 and its done the job perfectly!
THe board only features a certain amount of inbuilt memory with no room for expansion! With each sample you load onto the keyboard it tells you how much space is left! I've used mine completely with the 6 main sounds. 1 Steinway, 2 Rhodes, 1 Wurlitzer, 1 Clavinet, 1 CP 80. You have 6 more banks of 8 presets to fill with variants of these sounds! I find it more than enough personally!

With instruments like the Wurlitzer and clavinet you'l find that they sound authentic straight from plugging in for the first time! The rhodes, Electric Piano and Acoustic Piano are tricky! The best thing to do is download each free file from Clavias site and pick which one suits you! I'm stupidly happy with my choices! For example mine came preset with a Malmsjoe grand piano - in stereo. I didn't like this very much so experimented with the 4 or 5 alternatives from clavia - I found the Steinway close mic file to be perfect!

The Nord Clavia Electro 2 works perfectly with all music!!

It is built amazingly well!
Although it's light weight it seems very sturdy! Mind you I'm not wanting to even get dribble on the thing!
I gig often and it's bloody great!!!

I've contacted the company twice.

Firstly to get more information on how to upload new sounds and secondly to make then aware that I was having problems with their distributors over a Nord gig bag I'd been waiting for for 16weeks! It turned out to be nothing to do with Nord!

Each time I emailed them they replied within 2 working days! 1 was within a few hours!

You have to bare in mind that I belive Nord is run by only 30 staff! There are going to be delays occasionally!

I cannot live without this keyboard!
Everywhere I go I have people complimenting my choice! They're asking where to get on from, comenting on its amazing sounds!
I adds a certain professional touch to live gigs and recordings! It's a great classy instrument for the player that likes authentic, incredibly high quality retro sounds!

Updated to V 3.0 but been with the board since 2.0

Presets are simply the best available apart from the original instruments themselves. Organs and most EPs are thought to be just about as good as the real thing though there is constant debate on the Yahoo Nord Electro Group (a very active site) about minute differences unlikely to be noticed by any other than those with a real Rhodes or Hammond. Clavia have modelled their sounds from specific originals mic'd up and sampled. There are even photos of the actual machines. These people are fanatically committed to getting the right sounds and keep improving them. Some other reviewers have noted the relatively poor acoustic pianos but this is now rectified in V3.

The Electro is a combination of Hammond Organ, Electric Pianos (Rhodes, Wurlitzer), electric grands and a clavinet + typical effects used by those various boards + tube overdrive sim and Leslie. There are separate intuitive controls for all these things and setting up a patch is a matter of selecting the patch number (there are 48) and then hitting the record button to save the patch. If you're modifying an existing patch (actually called presets) then this is a quick 1-button-hit-twice process which can be done on the fly while playing which is great for gradually honing a sound in the mix.

Patch editing is really about recording the drawbar settings (for organ) + all the various effects, tone and leslie controls. There are actually only 8 instruments at any one time (and a total of about 15 to choose from) but this is the nature of the beast; it's a simulator of electromechanical sounds only.

The manual is actually excellent, partly because the Electro is so simple in concept.

Organ Polyphony - got 146 fingers. Use them since like a real Hammond it can handle all keys down on 2 manuals. Not sure what it is on EPs (which use sampled sounds rather than a model), but way OK.

As mentioned all effects (choruses, flanges, phases, wahs, trems, etc) are there and readily usable, all with their own controls. So to is the tube drive sim & leslie amp sim. Tone controls as well. The only important thing missing (and it is important) is reverb. You really will need this to take some starkness out of the sound.

Expansion - extra sounds occasionally updated free by Clavia and able to be slotted in. Updates are by USB. Most people get their best 8 pianos and leave them where they are. No other expansion at all.

Midi is limited but bearable (and fixable at extra cost). This board is both rich in midi controllers (it's many knobs and drawbars all send controller messages) and deficient (no MOD controller, transposable midi or separate send channels on different keyboard splits). Think carefully before making this your master - although using a Midisol Translator box will overcome all these deficiencies. Although hammond organs are not velocity sensitive instruments (use the foot pedal to go louder and softer) and the Electro is true to this, it nevertheless understands and transmits velocity message. There is however no aftertouch.

The Electro is well set up to use a second keyboard as a second lower manual, just like a Hammond. So you can play it just like the real thing, and use the second keyboard to do the sounds the Electro doesn't do.

Onboard sequencer - no.

Overall I gave it 8 but for midi it only gets a 3 without any addin midi gizmos. So on average it's a 6

As mentioned - everything sounds awesome. This is best-of-breed. Even acoustic pianos are now considered excellent by most users.

I play Ska & reggae with this (cheezier hammond, full hammond and clavs mainly), but also perfect for anything where those originals would be found... Oh wait - that's just about everything except classical (and then the a/pianos are pretty close).

Onboard FX are great

The Electro is a keyboard people almost always fall in love with. It has a character of its own. It attempts to be very faithful to its inspiration instruments and appears to have succeeded. It does have a feel. It only has 8 (similar) instruments and an organ, but allows many ways to play them and therefore rewards familiarity over time.

Although true to the originals, there are a few radical differences which cause comment from users. The drawbars on the Hammond are virtual and lack the tactile feel of the real thing. Strangely this has been accepted very well by devotees and poses no problems at all. As there is only one keybed in the Electro, and EPs had totally different key actions from Hammonds, there is a disconnect there. The Electro goes the Hammond way and is generally accepted as a good (though not perfect) replication. The Rhodes and Wurli keys are different but considered passable, though some prefer playing through midi from another keyboard, which they say brings out more in the Electro's sounds. Much debate about velocity sensitivity does occur about this; even more with the acoustics which diehard piano types don't like at all. Of course, the action is not piano action and this is an issue for them (which is why midi was invented).

Overall, although there is constant negative comparison with the original instruments, it actually often reflects the choice of the specific instrument Clavia sampled. Some people like beat up Hammonds, others want Leslies with faster rotating horns, etc. This is more a tribute to the fact that the instrument is so close to the originals that this is the level of debate that goes on. It scores 10.

Had mine for 3+ years now and gigged 1-2 times a week plus far too little practice. No probs yet.

Mostly gig with it as the only keyboard, though I do use double manual (ie. second keybaord) when not feeling too lazy or for gigs far from home.

Never dealt with Clavia.

Software upgrades frelly available from web every so often and these always install without a hitch.

The Electro is the best there is for the price (and as good as any at any price). Stolen? Must buy again and fast.

Played semi-pro for 8-9 yrs now and had the kbd for 3+. Also own a stramge Kawai K5000 which I love and also a Korg Microkorg for odd sounds. Like to dabble in virtual synths too.

Love the Electro ... light, soulfull, creative, red, fantastic sounds
Hate the Electro ... poor midi, some obviously tweakable parameters not allowed to be tailored to taste (so near yet so far).

It competes generally with other Hammond clones from Korg, Hammond Suzuki and Roland. They do have real drawbars but they don't generally have EPs (go to Motif for competition for those). Electro's sounds are at least there equal. They're also MUCH heavier and more expensive. Perhaps the most interesting competitor is the new Nord Stage 73 just announced. Developed from the current Stage 88 it will be very much the same as the Electro but with synth, combo organs and reverb added (plus other stuff of course). It will also be red, which is good, but more expensive which is bad.

In terms of making music. This is one of the machines the "greats" would use if their original trusted Rhodes, Hammond, Wurli or Clav was not available.

Please understand the following about this review. I've made an effort to do a point by point response to the suggested questions.

In terms of the ease of use questions posed here: (1) the software version is os 2.2, which clavia says can all by itself make the original nord electro 73 the nord electro 2, 73 version. (2) Presets sound very good in general, but there are a whole heck of a lot of them, so you really have to set your own in order to have a place to find them. (3) Editing patches. Hmm. Mostly this board will let you throw a variety of effects on a sound, tweakable with a neat knob (a definite plus). There's no way to make this work with the personalized presets, unfortunately, since the knob settings are not digitally presetable. It looks like this is improved on the far more expensive Nord Stage. As it is, the options, for those who are familiar with the effects processors, should be more than usable. Relatively newbies to these classic sounds like myself would benefit from a better integration of digital presets and the knob technology. The organs, which are said to be the best, have an audible "percussive" clicking sound when first pressed. I don't know whether this upsets me because I don't like the click itself despite it being standard in the best songs, or because the click is not easily removable (at least without further study) or some neurotic combination. (4) Despite everything else I'm saying, the manual is good. Tells you what you need to know right up front. Technical details available as far as I've looked. Baby steps for people who don't know how to plug it in.

Over all, very good.

(1a) Polyphony? I'll leave question that to monks and specialists. (1b) Keyboard action. The one I had (just for a week or so), which was sent back mostly for $ reasons, had been shipped out of some company in florida and arrived with the lowest key on the board jammed. The rest of the keys are clunky but solid, which again is both good in terms of the type of instrument it's supposed to be and in comparison to other models, and bad in that no keyboard that costs ~1600$ should be describable as "clunky" IMHO. (2) Built in effects are strong. The variety is nice, the knobs make them usable. I just can't see adjusting chorus, tremelo, etc. without a knob. (3) Expansion capabilities? Yes, banks can be *replaced* with download banks, but this is not the ultimate. Really, with memory being as cheap as it is these days, the board should have onboard space for a 64 more megabytes or so, though realistically do any in this price range and with these sounds? (4) MIDI capabilities not tested. (5) On board sequencer? No, therefore nothing to say about it.

(1a) Reviewers tend to call this the best board for organ sounds and very good at least for everything else. I found the rhodes and wurlies very very nice. (3) The onboard effects are satisfying and (1c) They are as easy to use as a simple but solid actioned board can be. And they sound right as well.

(1) I wouldn't depend on it until I got one without a physical problem. The one I received was delivered with a hole in the box and a corresponding jammed key. (2) I am not rich and I am not touring professionally so it is simply out of the question to consider having an identical backup.

Clavia was helpful, but the repair/refund situation is still a bit up in the air.

3 types of keyboard you're going to want to have.
1. A synth - this is not.
2. An organ/electric piano simulator - this is.
3. A piano - this is not.

It received some impressive awards, it does what it's supposed to well. If I get another organ/electric piano soon, though, I might go another direction, maybe even something crazy like two Nord Electro 61s. I've been seeking and researching keyboards online (and occasionally in person) for about 5 years now, and I have to say that this one is impressive. Also, I think the reviewers of this product are somewhat more realistic in their ratings than I've seen for other products. For instance, check out all those 9s and 10s for the yamaha p80, p90, s90 and s250 despite all the hedging the reviewers do. I read a few months ago on Francis Ford Coppola's reviewing site that the most of the best performances/art/whatever he had seen he rated less than a perfect 10. These 10s, IMO, are like saying there is nothing to consider on the downside which is the antithesis to constructive criticism, or, for that matter, consumer ratings.

The controls are very simple to use, but if you want to tweak, you need the manual, since the display is two cryptic characters!

It's wonderful having direct access to effects, as I hate digging through levels to tweak them.

Good effects, easy to tweak. I find the waterfall keys too short for real piano playing, but the semi-weighted action is a good compromise for piano and organ.

Its monotimbral, so you cannot split the keyboard and play organ and piano at the same time, which something I like to do in some songs. And it means that an outboard MIDI weighted-key controller makes less sense.

Sounds are great, with one exception: the acoustic piano is absolutely terrible. I did an A/B comparison with my XP-80, and the XP-80 blew it away. And the XP-80 patch is very average! I thought maybe the patch would sound okay at a gig with some EQ, but it sounded awful there, too.

The electric piano sounds lame to me, too, but I never like this patch on any board.

The EP sounds are great, but at a gig they did not blow my XP-80 patches away (I have the Vintage expansion module). The Clav, on the other hand, is really something special, especially with distortion and phaser.

I did an A/B with my VK-7, and the Electro 2 organ sounded better is every way: better Leslie, more punch, better vibrato, etc. I would say the organ is the best patch this unit has, and during my gig I kept coming back to it.

The acoustic piano is crucial for me, thus the 7 rating.

The buttons seem a little flimsy, but otherwise the board feels solid.

I tried this board out, and I did not buy it for two reasons: the terrible acoustic piano and the short waterfall keys. But if the acoustic piano were better, I would just buy it and get used to the keys, it would be worth it.

I know that the acoustic piano patch was a "bonus" patch, but for me, I wanted the Nord to be the only board I would need. If I have to get a separate digital piano, then I would also try and get one with great EP sounds. In fact, M-Audio has one out for $600 (ProKeys 88) that is getting good reviews. With a separate digital piano, I would be using the Nord just for organ, and then maybe it makes sense for me to keep using my VK-7, or buy a CX-3 or XK-3.

I'm going to wait for the Stage 88; that might be the ultimate board for me.

- V2.2
- Presets sound great
- Patch edit is simple, all controls directly involving the sound are available on the panel (analog synths teach...)
- The manual is exhaustive, very interesting (for me) the technical/historical section

- On the organ cannot ask for more, full poliphony on both the manuals; something missing on the electric piano section; I have no acoustic samples loaded, but it was a free add-on, I prefear my Yamaha P80. The keyboard action is GREAT for the organ sounds (after all, the keyboard is waterfall...), less on electric pianos.
- The built-in effects are almost no-compromise and easy to use, GREAT leslie simulator (even if you cannot edit the parameters); I feel the lack of the reverb, mainly for the electric pianos.
- Cool idea the six slots for loading the samples you mainly need, but I'd like to have more slots. No external memory expansion, so I think the six slots are the internal memory limit.
- MIDI capabilities lined to the keyboard's nature (great Hammond clone), but, hey, it's not a master keyboard, so the only thing you have is the key velocity, no aftertouch.
- No on-board sequencer, but it would be USELESS.
- What is really missing is a bitimbral capability, I'd like to have it even at a reduced poliphony cost!

- The organ simulation is fantastic, one of the best. The clavinet is really cool; play it throug the auto-wah effect, and emulate Stevie Wonder playing 'Superstition'; with OS 2.x you also have all the pickup/filter variations of the original instrument. There are electric piano samples for almost every personal taste, but some one could be improved (new Nord Stage has introduced samples also for the key release action). Acoustic piano are not so bad.

- Very reliable.
- Perhaps I'm really a lucky man, but none of my keybards gave me any trouble (starting with my 1985 DX7...).

- Never used the Customer Support.
- Always software upgraded and never experienced any problem; the vote is related only to this point

- I cannot think to another keyboard substituting my Electro; considering that I think it's one of the first Electro73 arrived in Italy, I think it's the slightly high price I've paid.
- Played from July 2002. I also own a DX7 first series, a SY77, Yamaha P80, Waldorf microQ omega (another GREAT synth).
- I love it, I hate only the lack of bitimbral capability and (less) a delay/reverb effect.
- Sorry, I made no comparisons, I loved it at first sight.. ahem, ear...
- I wished the effect section and the multitimbral capabilities Clavia guys have added to the Nord Stage...
- I play with my band songs from the glorious past (Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd), but I play it in many other songs, sometimes even if the original song doesn't include an organ/piano sound.
- I think it's a keyboard born with a particular philosophy; in some aspects it remembers me the (sigh...) passed-away Waldorf company concept of hardware synthesizer.

Version 2, much better acoustic pianos than version 1.

The only useful thing I can ad is that I would have kept this keyboard, but the keys are a little short and the action not heavier enough- I was falling over the keys and could not really play it. I use a Kurzweil PC2 (semi-weighted) instead- which has better size keys and better action, but not as good in the electric pianos. The PC2 organ is excellent.

Great organ and e Pianos.

Great, never had a problem

Unsure

It's Lightweight! Only 10 kg's. I'm bought it in march 2005 with software version 2.1 Manual is very easy and in .pdf on net. Just unpack , place on stand, connect to power and amp/monitor/phones and play it! So simply!

Yes, it's monotimbral. Maybe some wants to play rhodes on it, but on other keyboard via MIDI organ... But, i think, it's not so big "lack" on NE2. In my small opinion was no one situation, when in some piece i must play rhodes and organ both @ the same time! Good thing is, that it's possible very quickly jump from one preset to other. B.E. There is 48 presets. In A i store presets for songs in 1st gig's time, in B - for 2nd. And just push buttons 1., 2., 3., 4... Very easy! Yes, how other user there tells, there's no neverending menu's. I own my 1st keyboard - Roland RS - 5. i bought it ~2 years ago, but still don't know all features on this :) :) :) I don't understand people, who bought sequencers. For what is computer? :)

Yes, USB on this is very helpful! Soft updates, new timbres (samples)! i still thinking, how in less than 3 Meg's Clavia's ingeneers can store so good rhodes!!! ??? Any answers? Seems, its top secret of Clavia :) :) :) But Piano samples is around 15MB each! NI Electric piano 4 instruments is ~2 GB... Yess, question is actually :)

Yes!!! it's that's i want! Rhodes, Rhodes, Rhodes and one more time rhodes! On my Roland RS - 5 is some (about 8) rhodes timbres, but, when i unpack and begin play'ing NE2 i understand, Roland automaticly goes to other stand for strings, pads, some leads ONLY! :) It's impossible compare these two's! I never played on live original rhodes so long, that i can compare live with NE, but on ear, when in club i listen one funk band, where was MkII - no difference. Yes, one time i help this guy to bring the rhodes to car, i understand - that's not for me! :)Generally i have no car! :)With bus with real rhodes? It's Suicide!

All styles, i think! We sometimes take a Jam with DJ. playing on housy, funky loops - yes, it sounds, maybe there i need tweak some FX's on NE2. These are amazing! Tremolo, chorus, drive! AAah.

Many people says of lack of piano. Hmm. I don't compare with other stage pianos, but i think, more than OK! Yes, keyboard action is not for piano, but it's playable! A take this piano sound (Malmsjo (Sorry if not right, i don't remember this Sweden piano factory name) stereo) in some songs on PC's sequencer, take a "half mix" of song, show for few people and specially ask - how You like piano sound? All answers was positive! On live situations is very few pieces, when i need piano!

Ha, sceptics. On what instrument You see sapmled upright piano (Sounds VERY good) and Yamaha's legendary CP - 80? :) Hmmm. I have acces to real Yamaha's CP-80 in other studio, in job, should be interesting to compare NE2 with this! :)

B3 - Im don't know what it is :) So i must listen Jimmy Smith and something else and practice, practice, practice! :) Is some pieces with "rocky" ot "reggae" organ sections, but i feel, i still can't play this "by style", so i must practice...

On gigs - take on the stand and go on! :) Many ingeneers are amaze, that mono out is on right, not at left, how other's :)

Again, Very big thank to Clavia for easy acces to all options and EFX! You think, to need more drive or deepest Pan - just turn correspondent knob, not think - Ouch, where it is in menu? Think, think, ouch, sh.. VERSE again, no more need this... :)

Still don't need. But homepage is good! All information!

Globaly - Clavia build instrument, answer all questions of all wants! No strings, no arpeggiators, no more needless things!

IMHO - If You want B3, Rhodes, Clavinet, Wurly - go and buy it! Piano? I like this, other don't like, so take mp3 samples from www.clavia.se and test self! If You are "only" piano player - no, it's not for you, kayboard action is not for piano. Then You need Kawai MP 9500 :) MY next dream! :)

Yes. Sorry for my poor english!

When I first got my NE2 73 in July of '03, it was out of the box and on the stand and jamming within minutes. The B-3 section, while definitely not laid out like the more "purist" clones, is virtually foolproof. Tweaking E pianos (which I did extensively until I realized that things just sounded more "right" untweaked, your mileage may vary) is fun and interesting with the EQ and parametric mid-sweep. To really get "your sound" may take a while, though, so be patient. The only sad thing about this board is the ease of editing internal system parameters (MIDI, key click, etc.), which requires navigation via a 2-segment LED display. A drag indeed. Fortunately, there's not alot of need to keep doing this. The manual is thorough and guides you through every aspect of the machine (and will entertain you in its quirkiness because of the Swedish-to-English translation). The NE, on the whole, is inviting. Take time to get used to those button drawbars, they will catch on with you quickly.

The button-pushers and menu-scrollers among our keyboard-playing ranks may bemoan the lack of such generally superficial features as "tonewheel age," Leslie mic spread, etc., etc., that you find on the CX-3 (which really left me cold no matter how much I tried to like it [don't believe the hype!!]), the XK-2 (yeesh), and the XK-3 (haven't heard it yet). This is not to the Nord's detriment, as the out-of-box sound is just dynamite. If you're one of the above, though, look elsewhere, as B-3 tweakability is limited to key click and EQ. An earlier complaint I had was the lack of E piano velocity tweakability, which has since been addressed in a downloadable software update (Clavia really does care for its customers). The Clav section is just addictive. Bravo, Clavia boys, for bringing us the adjustable pickup/filter positions! The effects section should satisfy the most starry-eyed of classic rockers (technophiles look elsewhere, this is a vintage-electromechanical emulator). They're simple, effective, and as subtle or over-the-top as you could want. However, the way the effects are laid out (there is a "Modulations" block and an "Effects" block with six settings in each) allows only one from each block to be active at a time. This is limiting because, for example, what if I want Wah-Wah AND Ring Modulator on at the same time? Can't do it because they're both "Modulations" (not that I would ever do that anyway, heh). Not a huge deal for me, though. I would like to see a more tweakable Leslie (specifically for baseline speeds, the ramp times are just peachy to my ears)...I feel "fast" is just shy of "fast enough" for some genres. Rotor balance would be nice too...I like a throaty, punchy, pronounced bass rotor sound, which is slightly lacking on the NE. EQ could help you. Minor details, though, as the NE really gives you what a competent musician needs to make superb sounds.

Man oh man. The novelty hasn't worn off yet. I held off on submitting a review for so long so I could really get comfortable with this rig. She's pushing two years old and I still spend most of my free time practicing and jamming on it...I think that's the strongest testament to its enviable playability and sound. I'm no B-3 veteran, but I've played 'em plenty of times and know what a "good B-3" should sound like. The Nord is not perfect, but man, it sure does dance on the edge of it. The organ was the primary reason I bought it. I remember listening to all the sound samples and recordings I could find when I was "shopping," being nonplussed by the XK-2 and CX-3 (just too shiny and digital, and their Leslies needed major tweaking for my tastes), not wanting to go through the hassle of peripheral equipment with the otherwise great Voce V5, and not having the money or truck for the real deal...I heard one clip of the Nord and knew it was something special. It has that more of that elusive throaty B-3 "body" than the others. The Leslie just feels natural and right from the get-go (save for that little niggle about speed). Flutey 00 8000 000 Benmont Tench-type pads are just as beautiful as a full-on drawbars-out lead. This organ is definitely modeled after a recapped, "pristine" Hammond, though, so those 88 8888 888 passages may want to be throttled back to something like 88 8666 666 to save everyone's eardrums during that scorching Gregg Rolie solo. The high C does, indeed, scream. Use it wisely. The scanner C/V is just gravy, with C3, 86 6000 003, slow leslie, overdrive on 1, giving me the shivers every time. It may be too heavy for some used to the "old" scanner sound, so pull it back to C2. The overdrive, when used judiciously, is just this side of true Leslie power-amp grunge. It sounds more like classic "tube" overdrive than some actual tube units I've auditioned (I find myself using it more than overdriving my KT-80's 12AX7 preamp!). The percussion is 90% there I'd say. It misses some of the authoritative, wooden "thunk." But it's still fabulous, I use it all the time. Complaints: there is a faint harmonic beating with some registrations. Sad but true. Nowhere near as bad as the XK-2, though, and at high volume or in a mix you won't even hear it. Also, see above re. the Leslie tweaks. A little more leakage might be nice for a more "vintage" sound, but everyone has different opinions on that. I like the Nord's subtle stock leakage. And, two words: GO STEREO. Once you've done it you'll never go back. Short of using a real rotary cab, the Nord in stereo is as close to the wooden beasts as I can fathom. Anything else is just splitting hairs. One of the most glorious things about it is that when you crank the thing up through some good amps, it just gets fatter and juicier, dare I say more "real." I myself play it through a KT-80 and a Peavey Classic 30. A strange combination, I know, but on stage, the mixture of solid-state punch and tube voodoo just makes this thing sing like I couldn't believe (the Classic 30 is great for E pianos, and is a loud little mother too). At stage volumes, this thing has the heft, spit, and roar of some of the raunchier old B-3's I've heard. You just have to find the sound that works for you. The world does not revolve around Barbettas and Mackies, folks, go out there and find something that excites you! The NE's organ still knocks out all the sound guys, studio engineers, and players it meets.
The E pianos delight no less. The Clavinet's adjustable pickup/filter positions are dynamite. I can't believe no one thought of this before. Throw a little overdrive and Wah-Wah on it, and you're instantly up on cripple creek with Garth Hudson. Throw a little phaser on it, and you're living life during wartime with The Talking Heads. It's unbelievable. The authenticity is stunning. The Rhodes is lovely. Not perfect, as t

It is pretty solidly built. Mahogany end blocks with a black-and-red metal chassis make a good impression (I love the way this thing looks. It's not afraid to stand out the way it should. Screw conformity!). A few of the internal lock nuts came loose, making for a few months of disconcerting jingling when I moved the thing around. Not exactly 100% Built Ford Tough in that respect, but it's easy to open up and poke around for whatever reason (was scared to do it at first, didn't want to break something permanently). The software has been infinitely reliable, no crashes. The keys have so far withstood the most voracious of palm glisses and machine-gun chops. I recommend a high-quality case for the thing...I got the top-of-the-line Wilson flight case from BT Productions. You will thank yourself. As for backups, well, I find that my NE has been the backup on various occasions when the audio cable fell out of the Wurly or the P-80's power supply went south. She hasn't let me down yet.

I've had a great experience with Clavia dealing with various questions. Sometimes they reply to my emails on the same day. In Sweden no less! They are a pretty small company (about 24 I think), so I'd give them the benefit of the doubt if they didn't get back to me right away. They really do care about their customers and their products.

I've been doing the professional keyboard playing thing only since 2001 (I'm currently 21 and in school), but I'm utterly devoted to it. I would only buy something that was the best for me. The Nord Electro is it. It allows me to express myself exactly how I want to, it lets me concentrate on making music and feeling great about it (just the way a B-3 or Wurlitzer does). I can think of no higher praise. It is not perfect, of course, but nothing is. It does exactly what I want it to. If it were lost or stolen I would drop what I was doing and start going about getting another one. The moment I auditioned it at Guitar Center I knew I had to have it. It is one of the few truly great keyboard instruments out there right now.

I own a NE 73, Version 2.1 - bought it in april 2004 after playing it a couple of times in the shop (I had to save the money ...) - this is the first keyboard layout which i understood without any problems.

Since then I've changed some sounds via the clavia-website (no problems there ...), fooled around with the velocity attack of the piano, saved sounds etcetcetc. - NEVER with any problems!

I like the keyboard action very much, especially for organ/electric piano ... with the acoustic piano sounds, you'll have to get used to it a little (but i did play a Roland A-30 Masterkeyboard for a while and actually liked it :-)). The velocity adjustment in the new Version 2.1. isn't really helpful, cause when you adjust the keys for a better acoustic piano playing, all the e-piano sounds will sort of explode in your ear.
On the other hand the whole thing weighs only about 9 kg, the built-in effects need no tweaking (Leslie is one of the best I've heard on organ-clones yet, Tremolo, Chorusses and Phasers sound really nice, and I don't really miss a reverb, cause all the originals hadn't one either). PLUS i don't have to drive a big car just for my keyboards ...

The thing just sounds GREAT - lively, no problems cutting through the sound of a band, and the Hammond is a blast (even the acoustic piano sounds great, at least for all the people in the room who don't have to play it over the semiweighed NE-keyboard).

It's my one and only live-keyboard nowadays, and I've played maybe 90 gigs since I've bought it nine months ago. No problems - and i really work this little thing, lift it up, carry it around with one hand and "play" with the other, sweat on it ...

customer support through the website works fine - upgrades, sounds, whatever. Distribution and dealers in Germany are ok.

This is the first keyboard i absolutely wanted to have (besides an Hammond A-100 and a Steinway Grand, which i neither can afford nor transport nor find a room for in my apartment) - and that sums it up acutally ... i've never had a keyboard, which fitted my requirements better.

Since I started playing Blues and R'n'B in small club bands - which I'm doing for 25 years now - I always wanted to have a decent piano PLUS a good hammond. And that was it, no synthiesounds, no strings, no koto and shakuhachi or whatever. So I bought and played a lot of the originals: bad acoustic pianos, wurlitzers (had an A-200, beautiful, but the repair costs ...), fender rhodes (had a Mark I, great instrument, but have you ever tried to play boogie on that?!), digital pianos from Hohner Pianet T up to KORG SG-1 and Roland RD-150, and expanders and clones and software from Crumar Organizer T1, Korg CX-3 (the old one), Peavey Spectrum, Voce, Kurzweil, GEM, Hammond XM, Hammond XB, Roland VK-7, NI-B4, Rotosphere, Flanger ... you name it.
Before the Electro came along, I used a Roland RD-150 plus an Roland VK-7 plus a Leslie HL822 with custom-built preamp. The day I bought the Electro I played it on a clubgig, 4 sets, 3 hours music ... and afterwards my band BEGGED me never to bring the other stuff again.

So today I go to my gigs with the Electro and an '79 Fender Twin 135 (Accutronics reverb :-)), connect the stuff with one cable, and just play. And i really, really, really enjoy playing ...

Review based upon 40 mins test in store, did not purchase because the unit is non multi-timbral and was only offered #150.00 p/x for my Kawai ES1 piano ( in "as new" condition !!).

Organ and EP presets are fine, B3 not as organic as my EMU module with the overdriven sound slightly bland and digital sounding. The velocity transition between soft and hard Rhodes sounds was unpredictable over the keyboard( maybe my poor playing technique !).
Acoustic pianos usable but need eq and external reverb ( reverb not found amongst the internal effects ). Uninspiring electric grand sound, heard far better on cheap Yamaha portasound boards.

Portability and keyboard action are excellent, polyphony is fine but why no multi-timbral option ?. The ability to layer and split sounds amongst the sections would transform this keyboard. The piano sections will accept new soundsets from the Clavia web site and I suppose they could prepare ready-layered combinations of electro and acoustic piano or split bass and organ samples to offset the lack of multi-timbrality.

Sounds are as described above, good organs and EP's, so so pianos. Clean audio out with low noise ( on headphones ) on-board rotary and chorus are fine, key action good.

Shop demo model was in good condition, assitant took some time to find mains lead which was a small 2 pin type, not the usual kettle plug. Wonderfully light weight and giggable, "cool" design.

If PX had been higher ( I was looking for around #4-500) I would have been tempted for the light weight and giggability, as it is I would still have needed my module midied in for piano sounds. Potentially, this board is a winner if the pianos can be sorted, it's great to see a non-Roland/Korg product out in the mainstream market offering unique features

If you've played a B-3, this keyboard is "unpack and play". I bought it in the morning, never having seen or played the Nord Electro before, and gigged with it that night. It took all one wailing palm smear up the keyboard to convince me. All of the B-3 (actually A-100) features are present, just in a slightly different form and location on the keyboard. Other features are relatively easy (you need to read the manual) but I'd have to say editing and saving presets is a snap.

For a B-3 player, the keyboard action is outstanding. The waterfall keys are appropriately sized and weighted for B-3. Piano action is severely compromised as a result, but still acceptable. Keys have a substantial feel to them. Only negative on the features is that it would be nice to have pedal control of leslie on/off rather than just rotor speed.

B-3. B-3. B-3. This is far and away the best B3 emulator I've ever played or heard. Vibrato and Percussion operate and sound authentic. The Leslie sounds best with stereo output. Overdrive needs improvement. I use a Presonus two-channel instead of the built-in overdrive for necessary wailing. Electronic piano sounds are outrageous, particularly the updates with v 2.0. The Rhodes and Clavi in particular are accurate and it is obvious that Clavia spent a considerable time on the various setting options for a Rhodes. The Accoustic piano sounds just don't cut it, however, and I prefer to use another keyboard or midi-controller for accoustic piano sounds. I suspect this has something to do with the keyboard action and the bottom line works for me.

I had one key crap out after six months but it was an easy fix. Other than than that, it's had a lot of play and has held up well. I strongly recommend an ATA flight case for gigging and travel.

The factory repair on the dead key was lightening quick. I was without the keyboard for about three weeks.

I would definitely buy another one and I have considered buying the rack version which is functionally the same and which I could use with a weighted action keyboard. I regret that Clavia has not distributed more piano sounds for download and I hope they deliver in the future. Bottom Line: An exceptionally well thought out, well-designed, well-executed B-3 emulator that is highly recommended for recording or gigging. And ditto for the Rhodes and Clavia sounds.

It's the easiest of all the clones to use, because it probably has the fewest features. For instance, only 48 programs, etc etc.

The virtual drawbars initially don't feel so easy to use, but with time you appreciate their advantages - ie they instantly reflect the settings for the program you have chosen, which the competitors don't.

Compared to general purposes synths (Triton etc, which I own) it has very limited functionality. But then you knew this already.

Compared to the clones, it has a lot of functionality - other sounds, rhodes, wurli, clav, and crappy piano. It doesn't have reverb, which most do, which I don't miss (I go through PA and therefore have reverb available) but a lot of people do

B3 sound is tremendous. The best out there that I have heard, and I spent a lot of time comparing. The C3 chorus is spot on, and the dry sound of the organ is better than the competitors. The Leslie is good, but perhaps not as good as the Korg CX-3. I think that the Electro has the best pure B3 sound, while the CX3 has the over-the-to
hammond sound that people like to use on commercials these days. I would pick the Electro for playing Jimmy Smith, but maybe the CX3 for swirls behind a rock band.

The Rhodes is great. The best. The Clav is absolutely out of this world. It is better than the Rhodes or the B3. It is spot on and as playable as the real thing (and I have a real B3, Rhodes Mk1, and Hohner Clav E7 to compare against). Innervisions, anyone?


The Wurli is also great.

The acoustic piano is hopeless. Like really, really, unplayably bad. I have to carry around another module just to make up for this. The action of the keyboard I find OK for piano, in spite of the fact that it is obviously optimized for B3 (not as much as the Roland or the Korg).

BTW, the Roland double-triggers notes when you play fast. Try doing a Jimmy Smith style shotgun or really fast funky bouncy playing and the triggering goes to pieces. I think that is is because they made the keyboard so incredibly light, which feels great for Hammond until is screws up.

I have had it for two years and played maybe 50 gigs using only this keyboard without a backup. I do not take care of my stuff and treat it rough. I have had no problems at all. The build quality is way better than most stuff made today.

I emailed them once and they answered.

They did give a free full upgrade to ver 2 for version 1 owners, and I appreciate that, especially as we got the clav that I raved about above.

I've had a lot of good use for this keyboard, and have had greate value from it.

I would compare the new Hammond to it if I had to take another look. It wasn't available when I bought the Nord. I don't know how great it sounds, but it looks like a single manual my cherry wood '65 B3 that I'm looking at while typing this.

The only thing that I regret about the purchase is that it doesn't have a flat top to rest another keyboard on, like the other clones, which makes stands a bit more elaborate, and prevents you getting the manuals together as close as I would like.

Otherwise, I love this board.

Easiest interface I've ever used. It's all right there, in front of you. No LED screens. No "drilling down" into endless menus.

Midi in out, even though I'll never use it. Effects include Phaser, Flanger, Wah, etc. All cool to use with the EPs. Leslie sim is top notch, and the overdrive is pretty cool too/.

Almost perfect. I use NI B-4, and this thing is darn close if not better for a B-3 emulation. Palm smears ?!?!? Turn up the overdrive, put the leslie on fast and instant Jon Lord ! Wurli, Rhodes and Claivnet are all top notch. It's fun putting them through different effects. Piano is only drawbck, but it's not THAT bad....

Only had it two days, but it seems to be built like a tank

Haven't had to contact them

This thing is THE BEST live gigging keyboard I've ever played. My band hadn't rehearsed in 6 months, and we got together for a backyard birthdat party. I literally took it out of the box new, plugged it in, and jammed for 4 hours. We brought the house down ! Intuitive, cut's through the mix....Oh, and those palm smears !! I'll own it until someone pries it out of my cold, dead hands. Gave this a 9 because it is, IMO, a little pricey.

And, yes, I'd replace it.

the electro has one of the easiest-to-use interfaces, if not THE easiest, that i've seen.

the manual is pretty descriptive and also available online.

the polyphony is great. the effects are pretty basic, but decent. i don't really have a use for them (not many people do), so i don't have much to say about them. the software can be upgraded, mine has the newest software update.

you can update the sounds, using samples from clavia's website, but the keyboard only has a limited amount of memory. if you want to put in a really, really good new sound, you may have to delete two existing sounds on the keyboard.

mac users: good luck updating the software with osx. i got so frustrated with it that i dusted off my pc and updated the software in about five minutes.

the rhodes and wurli sounds are amazing, the organ sounds could be better. seeing as i don't play stevie wonder settings, i really don't care about the clavichord sounds. the piano sound is a joke, it sounds like a $100 casio keyboard piano sound. that's really all it has in it. the piano sound was a real let down, but that's not why you're buying this keyboard anyway, so it shouldn't matter that much.

it's extremely well built and extremely light (compared to lugging around a rhodes and a b3). with a road case, it's still lighter than my combo amp.

i tried to contact clavia before i purchased the keyboard asking if there was an electro 3 being released, seeing as it's been about 2-3 years since this one came out and, before that, the electro 1 was out for about 2-3 years. i figured it was time for a new model, and since this one is now discontinued i figured it was coming out soon. i got no response from them. i emailed them again and waited a month. nothing. so, have fun trying to get anything out of them.

here's the real reason i'm writing this review: THIS KEYBOARD IS MONO-TIMBRAL. this means, if you are playing an organ sound, holding it with your right hand and with your left you hit the 'a1' button and change to a rhodes, the organ sound does NOT sustain. the second you change voices, the previous voice stops sounding.

for a keyboard that costs $1700 new, that's absolute crap. granted, not too many people are changing back and forth constantly, but the reason i purchased this keyboard was because i wanted an organ and a rhodes and i figured, 'hey, why not get them all in one keyboard?' if i had enough money, i would get an organ (both the korg cx-3 and roland vk-7 are light years ahead of this keyboard in terms of realism) and use this as a rhodes, because it's about 100 lbs lighter. but i don't, so i'm selling it.

it really says something when you can buy an actual used rhodes and an organ clone for the price of this one keyboard. it's convenient to have them in one light-weight package, but at the same time, it's impractical to use in a live setting because not every song is going to have rhodes 100% of the time and not every song is going to have organ 100% of the time.

only buy this if you have money to burn or if you are a studio musician with a car too small to bring a hammond and a rhodes to a session. using this keyboard live is a dissapointment.

It's a nord!

No reverb? I own a NL2 and the lack of fx on a modeling based instrument seems a shame to me. I don't know if the dsp can't handel it or what, but i get sick of hooking up fx or pedals to a keyboard that should'nt need it.

It does'nt cut it for me. It has the same "square" sort of fattness that I both love and hate with the NL 2. I hate to say it, but the organ sounds similar to the NL2 organ sounds if you bypass the leslie
sim. It could be the D/A conveters but it still has a nord lead sound and a virtual organ/electric piano should not sound like a nord at all! same goes for the pianos. FX are pretty good but I down right hated the sound without FX. The wurlie sounded like a square wave patch off the NL 2.

never - ever had a problem with a clavia product.

armadillo ( distributor ) does a great job with support.

I like clavia products but would not buy one for its intended purpose.
The cx-3 is the best I have heard for hammond but bought a vr-760 v combo for the fact I could gig with this keyboard by itself. The leslie sim in the vr-760 has all the parameters to make some pretty good patches, still wish it sounded as good as the cx-3.
good luck finding any of these at your local guitar center, every store i checked did'nt have a single hammond emulator, but did have about 20 bad digital pianos "with some organ sounds" Ha.

Plug in and play. Unless you want to use the B3, then you need to read the manual to get the most of its features. If you want to save settings and other stuff, read the manual. Otherwise, it's easy to use.

Organ action. Great feel for piano, too because it saves wear and tear on my hands. I've been playing for over ten years and the bones in my hands finally needed a break from weighted keys. Sometimes during gigs I really hit those keys for piano expressions. When I rock, I rock hard. When playing the B3, the keys have a perfect feel.

I don't use midi. I just wanted a keyboard that has all the sounds I'll need and the Nord has them.

My fingers love playing this keyboard.

Nothing sounds as good as a real Hammond B3. But the Nordelecto has THE BEST B3 sound of all the synths. I've tested them all and Nord is it! The best B3 sound under 40 pounds. I'm too old to be lugging around a 500 pound organ.

I bought the Nord because it had B3 and piano on one keyboard. Very convenient. Extra surpises are the Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Clav sounds. Top notch. The Wurlizter and Rhodes sounds are the best I've heard for such a small package.

The only disappointment is the piano sound. The bottom and top ranges are freat for rock but the mid range sounds weak to my ear. I'm using the effect groups to modulate the midrange for the piano. One day the industry will make a piano sound that actually sounds like a piano. But maybe nothing will ever sound like an acoustical piano except an acoustical piano.

The actions of the keys are great as far as I'm concerned. And I don't have to tear up my fingers on weighted keys when I'm doing 3 long sets in one night.

One more thing about the B3. When I need to compete against the guitars or I want to get a Wow from the crowd, I let the B3 wail. The B3 on the Nord is a power house when used right. I just love the B3 sound.

The first Nord electo that I bought crapped out on me two months after I bought it. Since it was still under warranty I sent it to Florida for repair. It took them about 3 weeks but the put a whole new inside for me. According the the tech, the Nord that I had bought had a board whose failure rate was high. According to the tech, Nord has fixed the problem at the factory and the high failure rate has been brought down. I've been using my Nord for about a year since the new board was replaced and no problems. I do not have a back up. I'm confident that the Nord won't let me down. If it does, I'll post it on the internet somewhere.

As I said above, I had to use customer support. The dealer who had sold it ot me and the tech who fixed it did a good job of getting it back to me, considering they had to order a new board for me from over seas.

If it got lost or stolen, I'd get another one.

I love this keyboard because I can carry it in one hand (using the wonderful carrying case with soft handle. Now I can go to a gig and not have to carry anything heavier than what the guitar player carries. For such a small size and light weight this keyboard delivers a Big sound in its B3, Wurlitzer and Rhodes. I know I've said that I'm not satisfied with the midrange of the "grand piano" but I've asked non-musicians and they think the Nord "grand piano" sounds like a "real piano." So, maybe I should quit ragging on that one piano sound and give the Nord an overall +10. I think I will.

The electro is very easy to use.It's a keyboard for people who want rhodes and organ sounds in one keyboard with good waterfall keys.

Keyboard action is not bad, but less sensitive than a real rhodes.
Only good for organ.

I am sorry to say this but this instrument is far too expensive .
The organ is quite good as is the leslie, but the distortion is really bad, forget it!
I use a voce V 5 with a Reussenzehn tube preamp and a CLS Dynacord Leslie Sim: THIS IS IT, much better than the Electro, sorry!
Okay: the V 5 is also expensive and you need an external tube and a good leslie SIM, but hear the difference!!!

I think it's okay.

Surely o.k.

I would not buy a Nord Electro.It surely has some pro's (all sounds in one keyboard) but if you are out for a real good organ sound: Forget it.
I just built some Rhodes sounds on the Yamaha S 30 and they do sound better.No joking!

I own a NE2 73 (that means OS 2.0 and included sounds)
There are 8 programs in every of the 6 banks (=48) and they are are completely filled with presets. some of the presets show effect combinations you would never even have thought of, so you can learn from them.
editing of the sounds is really simple, especially the virtual drawbars. when you load a preset, the "led-bars" show the current state, so you always see what you hear.
all the editing is done with a dedicated button or knob for every function.
storing a program is done by simply pressing two buttons.
the manual (in my cas 73 keys) feels good when you once are used to it

polyphony for organ sounds is 100% (even if you add a master keyboard for a second manual). i don't know what it is for piano, but i think its enough. as the NE2 is mono-timbral, you don't need that much polyphony at all.

the keyboard action is somewhere between organ and piano feel and that's exactly what we need here.

the effect section is as good as the sound themselves. there are 4 effect-groups:
1) Modulation - Pan, Tremolo, Wah-Wah, 2x Auto-Wah and RingMod
2) Effects - 2x Flanger, 2x Chorus, 2x Phaser
both sections are controlled by a rate and an amount knob and an on/off switch:
3) Overdrive
controlled by an amount knob:
4) Rotary Speaker
Fast/Slow knob, Stop knob, on/off knob:

the NE2 can't be expanded, but you can change the piano sounds via USB with the free software. additional piano sounds are available on clavia's homepage and the CD included in the package

the NE2 has MIDI-In and Out but unfortunately no Thru. the keyboard of course is velocity-sensitive, but there are no more masterkeyboard-functions.
on the other hand, all the electro's parameters are controllable via MIDI exept for the master-volume

i unfortunately never had he chance to play a real B3 / rhodes / wurly / clavi, so i can't really say how realistic they are
i can only compare with the (many) recordings i listen to almost every day

i think the organ sounds really great, especially in combination with the leslie-emulation. without that, it sounds a bit flat.
the e-pianos also sound great and i like the "rhodes 2" sound very much, but all others are good, too
together with the effects, they sound even better (e.g. rhodes + pan, clavi + wah, etc.)
i especially like the sound of the lower keys, 'cause it's really fat. the high notes sometimes sound a bit short, but this may be the same with the real things
the only thing i don't 100%ly like is the acoustic piano sound
maybe this is because i can't use the presence and EQ knobs right, but in the standart-preset it sounds a bit too thick. maybe the additional sounds are better (i didn't have the opportunity to check them out yet)

i think the electro is mostly suitable for musicians who play things like rock, blues or jazz, because this is the kind of music where you could use a B3 or rhodes sound

the onboard effects are a perfect addition to the great sounds
with the usual combinations (b3 + leslie + overdrive, rhodes + pan, etc.) you get the common sounds.
but you should also try some strange combinations because they create sounds you don't hear very often (very useful for solos etc.)

the pianos are velocity-sensitive of course and after a short period of practise you can play with the right feel.
clavia says that a new OS will be released soon, including the ability to edit the velocity curves.
the organ sound does not react to velocity and the keyboard doesn't support aftertouch either. (but what would you need it for anyway?)

i don't own it that long yet so i actually don't know.
i can only say that i had no problems so far

didn't need support so far

if it was stolen, i would DEFINATLY get a new one although it's kind of expensive for the number of sounds it has.
but these sounds are really great. in combination with the effects, you don't really hear the difference between the electro and the real thing. of course there IS a difference, but when you think of the trouble the real things make (weight, tuning, hard to repair) you can disregard that

i think, this keyboard can be half of the gear of a good rock keyboardist, especially for live players.
the other half would be a good synthesizer. convinced of the great work clavia has done on the nord electro, i'd try a nord lead 3 for that

B3, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet, CP80 and a Grand Piano in a box
what do you want more?

It's as easy as pie