Everything about the Nord Electro 2, Electro 3, Electro 4, Electro 5, and Nord Electro 6.

NE 5 61 or 73

Postby jesserwhiteley » 20 Oct 2017, 17:51

I'm looking into getting a Nord so that I can have one all-purpose board on gigs rather than bring two to cover piano and organ. I've rented the Electro 5 61, and have played the stage 2 where it's been backline, and the swing vote for me would be for the electro 5 over a stage. I found it easier to use, I would rather have real drawbars, and if I had to pick I'd rather play piano from semi weighted keys than organ from weighted keys.

So I'm wondering which would be better to get, the 61 or the 73. Is there a big difference with the extra octave? The advantage I can see from the 61 is the layout is as it would be on an organ with Cs on the bottom and top, but I do like the idea of some extra range for piano and electric pianos. Does the layout on the 73 take some getting used to for piano and organ? (E to E)?
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NE 5 61 or 73


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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby criss » 20 Oct 2017, 18:17

It's nice to have more keys but for gigs I prefer the portability and weight of 61.
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby Ignatius » 20 Oct 2017, 18:29

I played an NE2 61 for a number of years. Wonderful tool, but the short keyboard was frustrating, especially when playing the acoustic piano.

I graduated to a Korg SV-1 73, another fine instrument with some great sounds. But I missed that rumble in the gut at the bass end and the shattering glass effect at the other when playing piano, and traded it for a Yamaha P-255 88. It wasn't long, however, that I, too, longed for drawbars to affect the B3 sounds. So an NE2 Rack, eventually chained to an Ocean Beach Drawbar module, made up a nice rig for me, the best off all possibles, I thought, except for the tangle of wires, and the awkwardness of switching from board to board mid gig.

Finally a happy set of circumstances made it possible for me to get an NE5 61 with those lovely built in drawbars. Both the NE2 Rack and the Ocean Beach Drawbars have gone the way of Reverb.com, and through some simple settings and single midi connector, I am able to run my NE5 piano sounds through my nicely weighted Yamaha 88, while still enjoying the feel of the waterfall keys on the NE5 61 for all the other wonderful instruments it provides.

So, if acoustic piano is at all important to you, even 73 keys can feel short, but 61 really does. However, I do not feel it is much of a factor playing organ, clav or electric piano.

Forgive the walk down memory lane, but I wanted to let you know the experience my opinion was based upon. Of course, you will figure it out for yourself.

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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby jesserwhiteley » 21 Oct 2017, 00:46

Good to know, and yes I have tried sending the piano sounds via the Nord to weighted 88-keys. When I had the 61 keys I found I could use the octave shift button for piano when I had to.
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby anotherscott » 21 Oct 2017, 01:18

jesserwhiteley wrote:the swing vote for me would be for the electro 5 over a stage. I found it easier to use, I would rather have real drawbars, and if I had to pick I'd rather play piano from semi weighted keys than organ from weighted keys.

The NS3 gives you the real drawbars and the semi weighted keys of the E5D. I think the NS3 *can* be almost as easy to use as an NE5D, by largely ignoring its additional capabilities, but they would be there to grow into.

I actually sold my NS2 for an NE5D, giving up some things to get others, but now that the NS3 has those NE5D features too, I kind of feel it gives you the best of everything. So I'll probably be selling my NE5D to get the NS3.

jesserwhiteley wrote:So I'm wondering which would be better to get, the 61 or the 73.

Advantages of the 61: High note is a C, as is usual for organs. Smaller, lighter, cheaper.
Advantages of the 73: More room for playing 2 sounds at once with a split. Cover more of the piano range, 61 can be limiting for that, depending on your repertoire/style. Covers the full range of clavinet (60 keys F-to-E). Covers the full range of Wurli piano (64 keys A-to-C).
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby harmonizer » 21 Oct 2017, 05:06

My opinion: get the 73.
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby hammondking » 30 Oct 2017, 07:24

I use a NE3 73 (and also a Korg SV-1 73). I'm more of an organ guy, but of course you need to have pianos, so I like the weighted keys on the SV-1.

But, the fact that I have the 73-key Electro means that in a pinch I could get by with just that one board. 61 keys is ok for EPs and Clavs, though 73 is better. But 61 is terrible for acoustic pianos.

Also, once in a while I'm in a solo and running up against the top C. It gets a bit shrill above C, and of course it's not authentic, but the odd time I really just want that one or two more keys, and the 73 gives me that.

61 is nice and compact, but 73 is still pretty light. In my opinion, it give the best of both worlds.
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby ozio01 » 30 Oct 2017, 13:51

My opinion: 73.
For Blues, R&B and Rock the keybed is ok, both for organs and pianos. The lowest/highest keys are ok as well. Regarding the weight/portability... I come from a MotifXF6. 17kgs more or less. The 10kgs of my NE5D73 are nothing in comparison. She is always with me.
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby benny ray » 30 Oct 2017, 14:14

73 key no doubt for piano and splits.
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Re: NE 5 61 or 73

Postby fieldflower » 30 Oct 2017, 15:08

I wasn't sure which one to get, considering I rarely got near the ends of my Yamaha 88 key.
But having purchased the 73 I realize I would have been very frustrated if I had bought the 61.
I'm a happy amateur on keys, but even I get close to the ends on the 73.
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