The Nord C1, C2 and C2D Organ Forum

So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby Rob Millis » 27 Jan 2019, 21:58

Following on from this: https://www.norduserforum.com/nord-c1-c2-c2d-organ-forum-f13/theft-of-c2d-and-e2-rack-from-london-uk-t16916.html

Twice now I've had the opportunity to switch from a C2d to one of the more modern clones on the market; once midway through last year when the Viscount Legend Live appeared and woo'd me; then out of necessity this year after my above linked theft.
Twice I've got cold feet and not done it!

The Crumar Mojo was naturally high on the list but infuriating: the lack of flat top for one thing - there's no way out of it on a C2d, but there really isn't that much on the top panel of a Mojo that couldn't have been done elsewhere. Why would you need that flat top when there are some usable EPs in the MOJO, you might ask? Because you can't run the Wurlitzer without having a Farfisa on the other manual, and this is frustrating as I generally play a whole gig with Wurly and B3 sounds. Plus, there are too many tales of reliability issues, and at least one pal found the senior management at Crumar/GSi to be deeply unpleasant and more than a little personally abusive when he had repeat issues. But the crux of it was the EP thing: a Wurly inside, but like a ship in a bottle! I'd have to take a stage piano around and that seemed daft - and this wasn't cured in the Mojo XT revision. This was basically the addition of a proper mains connection and an 11 pin socket. Not the hoped for new model based around the considerably superior Mojo 61 platform. Meh. Onto the next one, then.

The Viscount Legend Live was looking favourite last year (I won't lie; after the theft the price was tempting this time around too) because the dashboard is a thing of beauty; truly a console in stripped back form. But there - another pal had reliability issues. I won't make the Italian car joke, but there's a common thread here! No EPs but at least a flat top to plop an Electro on, so a half bonus point there. But: there are no combo organs at all. It's pure B3, and does it very well, but the Tex Mex-er in me likes to have the 'punk accordion' option - ie accordion phrasing on a combo, just like the sainted Augier Meyers taught us, and Nick Lowe/Costello have made use of over the years. Yum.

The SKX: I am sure I am not alone in saying that I take no pleasure in considering Suzuki the weakest link, being a pure Hammond guy who came to Nord reasonably late (an E4D was my first; the drawbars finally did it). The SKX looked promising: at least the bare minimum of two sets of drawbars now, and promised improved EP voices. But those EPs are still crap - it was tweaking of velocity responses and no improved voicing. AND they haven't put the new organ engine from the excellent but pricey XK5 in it. Meh. The only Hammond in my arsenal is a trusty, battered old A100, and it will stay that way for a while yet.

So I came back to the C2d and re-evaluated. What is it that has people trading it in for Mojos and Legends? It seems to be the onboard Leslie is good. No biggie - I've been a Ventilator user since day one when I was still on a Korg CX3, and never gig without it. It was also said to me by a pal with both a Legend AND a Mojo that while the Leslies in both of these newer clones are quite nice and perfectly usable, and a big step up from the C2d offering, if you own a Ventilator you can't unhear the difference! The other biggie is the chorus vibrato on these newer clones, an aspect of the tonewheel sound which we all know took forever to get right. Maybe it is me - I'm not a jazzer, I'm an Al Kooper/Garth Hudson/Ian McLagan kind of guy, and for the sounds I pull the C2d chorus is fine - and I think I can claim to know my sh*t here: C3 chorus was the singlehanded reason why I stuck to lugging a split A100 for so many years, even for £50 pub/club gigs!

When it comes down to it, none of the options with EPs on it were any good to me in that department, the Leslie was taken care of anyway and the one clone (Legend Live) that offered the same full console dashboard lacked combo organs. I'm sure any Nord organ sound engine update will nail the Leslie and tweak the chorus a bit, even if my fantasy of junking the pipe organ for a Wurlitzer EP from the sound library is the stuff of far-fetched dreams. But there - I replaced my stolen C2d with another C2d and I don't regret it at all. Long live the fully featured console that flies its own flag and plays second fiddle to no other clone.
Last edited by Rob Millis on 27 Jan 2019, 22:01, edited 1 time in total.
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So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...


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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby Quai34 » 28 Jan 2019, 09:01

Well, you make me Happy with my C2 (C2d up adapted) and two Ocean Beach DB, the Vent II being on my list....Thankd for the input.
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby The Franchise » 01 Feb 2019, 17:59

I too, am a C2D believer for life. I'm a jazzer but, do understand and recognize the capabilities for all kinds of Rock applications. (my former life). How ''bout this; the keep the tone module volume to "0" until you need it. Now, select the program (or physical drawbars 'off'), crank up the tone mod volume, and rock on.
I do that with a Roland JV 1010 which has some nice acoustic piano patches. Size of a cigar box, plug and play. Works great for me!
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby LeftyBass68 » 03 Feb 2019, 10:23

Once I heard the C2D high output 1/4" into my 147's and 122's.....I forgot all about those other clones.
Maybe they also have 14VRMS outputs? Don't really know or care.
And for actual mojo? Found mine through a music/film producer like new!
It was the 'prop' on Jason Alexanders musician 'made for TV' show.( the Seinfeld guy?)
No kidding,brand new.

Was asked to play Hammond for a recent recording session at a well known studio.Checked out the house A100.....
Decided not to move in my Hammond A100 either!(much nicer)......Brought in my 251 box(147 amp) and played the C2D through it.
Recorded seven tracks on it before moving over to the Steinway O for some more 'dubs!

I own many. A100/B3/B2/BCV/M3/M102.....145/142/222/147/122/251.
Lots of Behringer (Model D/Neutron)'s and Yamaha/Roland keys too.
Overall,this Nord stuff is a pleasure to perform on.This new Stage III Compact is really sweet!
Aftertouch enabled drawbar pulls along with tremelo while 'legato' reverb tails 'stack' on synth pads.
Let off the aftertouch? This is plain easy.

Having the ability to create Lowery Festival type sounds is important to me as well.Having the synths and Vox/Farf is really nice too!
Dedicated outputs to actual tube guitar amps is nice too.
Nord really thought it through more than others in this regard.
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby LeftyBass68 » 03 Feb 2019, 11:09

This is just mocked up.The real platform is under construction.
The Stages both have one of each too.....and they make two really potent
five voice synths.Stacked together they are really fat.
Will look a little busy with patch cables when done.Old school eye candy too!

Also constructing a pedalboard for this.Adding midi and expression to a Hammond H100 set.
Those Nord sticks are a complete joke.
See those ganged together Yamaha FC7's? That looks after the expression on my Stage stack '2 manual'.(Lowery clone)
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby The Franchise » 04 Feb 2019, 16:56

Hey, interested in a set of real Hammond pedals that are already MIDI'd ? Work very nicely with the NORD. I removed the rightmost 8 pedals, resulting in a 17 note bass pedal board. Fits nicely under the C2D. Yeah, they're a little heavy but..........
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby Quai34 » 05 Feb 2019, 09:07

@lefty bass 68:
You said 5 voice synth but Insee 3 Boog and 3 Neutron? S, 6 voices synth, right? It gave me an idea, I have always been reluctant to buy any mono synth as I'm more a chords guy but at the price of the Boog, I might have the solution for a polyphonic "Moog" sound for way cheaper than a Moog One!!!!
Still a lot of room...12 U for a 4 voices....
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby LeftyBass68 » 06 Feb 2019, 04:21

There are five Neutrons and five Model D's.
Most people just get a Prophet or similar.
Behringer makes the Curtis chips that DSI uses......
The Neutron is not really modeled on anything in particular,
ranges from ARP Odyssey type dual voices to OB'ish leads though!
The Model D is more than enough mono synth for the price IMO.Had the real deal back in the 70's.
These stay in tune.
Not a eurorack fan per se,however these ten little units mix up a potent synth or two.
Just pushing a program for this and that really doesn't sound like these,'super wave' and all?Not even close.......
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby Rob Millis » 01 Mar 2019, 23:13

LeftyBass68 wrote:Having the ability to create Lowery Festival type sounds is important to me as well..


Now you are talking. Clearly a Garth disciple? A C2D update with library option that expands two sets of drawbars per manual to be Lowrey console tabs would be SWEET. I'd happily forsake the pipe organ for that - B3, Festival/Lincolnwood, Vox, Farfisa. THE organ swiss army knife.

How are you getting them currently?

In the meantime, my pride and joy - suffering from a house move and needing a rebuild, but before this happened:
Image
Image

They are funny things if you leave all the tabs on and wander off, though:
Watch on youtube.com
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Re: So I bought another C2d, not a Legend or Mojo...

Postby Farfisameister » 02 Jun 2019, 21:47

I know this is a reply to an old post. First, so sorry about the theft of your equipment! Makes you lose faith in humanity. I have a C2 with os update and a Crumar Mojo. What's happened since I started using the Mojo more than the Nord is that the action of the Nord C2 has really begun to bug me. Not Hammond-like...not really organ-like.. but the Mojo is and the B3 experience on the Mojo allows you to play it as you would a B3 or a100. The Mojo, in my experience, is no where near as reliable if you use the shift and edit functions and has done things like generate no sound at all and taken me 30 minutes to get it back to normal. So, I just use it as a Hammond organ period and use my Nord Stage 2 EX for other sounds. So, a bit of a quandry. No way the Hammond Suzuki XK5 is worth the price. Plus I had a Hammond SK2 and the action, though more playable than the Nord C2, felt cheap like the keys were going to rip off. I do play jazz along with rock and the resistant, springy, stiff action of the Nord C2 (maybe the C2D is different but I doubt it) makes it a stumbling block for me.
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