New Electro 5HP user needs advice on patches

[Ian-C]

Hi, I just got my first Nord, an Electro 5HP 73, very impressed with it so far but I have a huge learning curve ahead. When I was trying the E5HP out, I also tried the Stage 2EX 88 that was in the store. I found some great sounds on this: John Lord, Rays Vox n Bass, Brian Auger B3, Go and Jump (or Eddies Jump?) and Whiter Shade. Can I get these patches onto my E5HP? Thanks, Ian.

[Rusty Mike]

The Electro does not have a synthesizer section like the Stage, so you cannot created or load in patches. You can, however, load in any of the samples from the Nord Sample Library, or create your own using the sample editor software. Between those two options, you can get sounds that are very close for what you need.

With regard to the Lord or Auger sounds, you can use the effects on the Electro on the B3 model. Don't be afraid to experiment.

[Ian-C]

Hi Mike, thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate your advice, things are becoming a bit clearer now, I think I was confusing my samples and patches. I am looking forward to spending more time with this great keyboard. I really want to find those 60’s B3 and Vox sounds. Cheers, Ian.

[greenonion]

The Whiter Shade patch is most probably the famous organ sound from the A Whither Shade of Pale song by Procol Harum. You can get this sound pretty close on your NE5 using the organ section (as Rusty Mike mentioned above). No samples are involved here, just the correct drawbar and other organ settings. This is how I set it up by experimenting (and also googling ):

KB split: on (I split the keyboard to be able to play with both hands)
Organ model: B3
Preset 2 (upper part): drawbars set to 6886, vibrato/chorus: off, percussion: soft, fast: off, third: off
Preset 1 (lower part): drawbars: 00443, vibrato/chorus: off, percussion: off
Lower/Upper balance: 12 o'clock (or whatever you prefer)
Speaker: Rotary (of course), add very little drive, also some stage reverb nicely fits into the picture

This setting is pretty well known (it is not my invention ). You can find many articles on the web about registration for the song, such as this one: http://www.procolharum.com/awsop_reg-cerdes.htm. Maybe some people have their own versions, but this one sounds pretty close.

The Rays Vox sound is also most probable the famous combination of sounds that Ray Manzarek of Tthe Doors used. He played the Vox organ with his right hand and the Rhodes bass electric piano with his left hand (they did not have a bass player). So if you split the keyboard and use organ section on the upper part and MK1 piano sample on the lower part you can get pretty close. The organ model of course is VX (standing for Vox) and only first four drawbars are active (since that organ only had 4 drawbars). To get an idea what sound to get find the Light my fire song on Youtube and experiment on your Nord.

Hope that helps.

[magpie85]

The names of the sounds you provided are the same as some of the factory preset programs in my Electro 3HP. I would surprised if you couldn't find these in your Electro 5HP. If you connect to a computer and look at the Nord Sound Manager you will probably find these sounds in the 'program' section.

[OrpheusNY]

Ian, you might enjoy looking through this thread:

http://www.norduserforum.com/nord-stage ... -t562.html

But I will add that one of the best parts of playing Nord keyboards is getting your hands in the drawbars, EQ, and effects knobs and just playing around until you get a sense of how to get the sound you want. The E5 manual is considerably thinner than any of the Other keyboards I've owned, and that's a good thing. I liked my Rolands but could never develop a strong interest in programming them, too many menus. The Nord is an instrument you grab hold of and PLAY.

[Ian-C]

Hi, thanks for your reply, I share your views about Rolands, loved them but never liked to program them, JX3P, JP8000. Thanks for the link, I am sure I am going to be very happy with the Nord. B3 and Vox sounds top of my list. Now where‘s that manual...