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Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby dzk20 » 06 May 2018, 08:22

Hi,

A while ago I sold my NE4hp to get a Roland fp90 as I needed an 88key with good action. The organ and EPs aren’t great on the fp90 so I am looking at buying a NE261 secondhand.

For bigger gigs I was going to use the fp90 as a midi keyboard for the Nord EP sounds.

Are the NE261 sounds the same quality as the NE4 upwards?

Are there big differences in sound in organ and EP sounds?

Can the NE2 download new versions of patches?

Any advice would be great

Many Thanks
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Nord electro 2 v NE4&5


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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby analogika » 06 May 2018, 11:25

No, they are very different.

I happen to prefer the distortion of the E2, but in all other aspects, the E4 is vastly superior.

The E2 is stuck with the old sounds. The newer piano and sample formats will only work on the newer hardware.
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby dzk20 » 06 May 2018, 12:31

Thanks for that
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby anotherscott » 06 May 2018, 13:35

dzk20 wrote:Are the NE261 sounds the same quality as the NE4 upwards?

Are there big differences in sound in organ and EP sounds?

Can the NE2 download new versions of patches?


NE3 is the oldest Electro that uses the same downloadable piano/EP sounds as the NE4, along with all versions of the Nord Stage. (That doesn't mean they all sound identical, as there are differences in things like string resonance capabilities.) The sample library sounds are compatible with Electro from 3 up and Stage from 2 up. Organ and effects vary a bit among the models, and are not updatable (except there was a rotary effect update for the oldest Stage models).
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby stiiiiiiive » 06 May 2018, 14:22

I would sum up as follows: for quite basic Rhodes, Wurlies, Clavinet and B3 sounds, the NE2 can do the job of NE3-4.
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby ericL » 07 May 2018, 00:04

stiiiiiiive wrote:I would sum up as follows: for quite basic Rhodes, Wurlies, Clavinet and B3 sounds, the NE2 can do the job of NE3-4.


Agreed. I kept my NE2 that I bought new when it first hit the market and served me well for many years. It holds its own for Wurly, Clav, Rhodes, organ (in that order) as well as the CP70 is just fine on the NE2. Its Leslie is outdated and it cannot load .nsmp from the Nord sample library. If you need those kinds of sounds, go for NE3+. There are some really good deals coming up on NE5 now that the NE6 is coming out.
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby analogika » 07 May 2018, 08:06

Just to weigh in, I think the Wurli is absolutely atrocious. It’s not even fun in a gimmicky way like the acoustic pianos.
The Rhodes are okay with distortion.

The Clavinet is spectacular.
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby nic cue » 07 May 2018, 14:06

I had the NE2 for 10 years before having now the NE4. The old NE2 is not bad but all sounds are for me much better on NE4, especially because they are compatible with the current sound libraries, not on the NE2. Same things for Hammond emulation: the leslie effect seems better on the NE4 and the organ sound is more detailed (I think the keyclic, the leakage and the percussion are much more realistic). Maybe, there will be less difference on distorted E.Piano, or with a cheap PA.
The NE3 can now be found for just a little more money than the 2, but it can download the current sound libraries.
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby ericL » 07 May 2018, 14:21

analogika wrote:Just to weigh in, I think the Wurli is absolutely atrocious. It’s not even fun in a gimmicky way like the acoustic pianos.
The Rhodes are okay with distortion.

The Clavinet is spectacular.


It has been a while since I've played my NE2, but I believe the Wurly sample there is essentially the same as what Nord offers in the library - at one point they created a newer one with "Amped" in the title, but the base sample set seemed to be the same. The NE2 had a rawness to it and I felt it cut through with a really funky character to it.
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Re: Nord electro 2 v NE4&5

Postby analogika » 07 May 2018, 14:49

ericL wrote:
analogika wrote:Just to weigh in, I think the Wurli is absolutely atrocious. It’s not even fun in a gimmicky way like the acoustic pianos.
The Rhodes are okay with distortion.

The Clavinet is spectacular.


It has been a while since I've played my NE2, but I believe the Wurly sample there is essentially the same as what Nord offers in the library - at one point they created a newer one with "Amped" in the title, but the base sample set seemed to be the same. The NE2 had a rawness to it and I felt it cut through with a really funky character to it.


I tried to use the Electro 2's Wurli in rehearsal and live settings once or twice and failed spectacularly. It is soft and rubbery, like biting on a half-deflated bike tube.

The "Amped" 200A is great on the Stage 2 and Stage 3, and it is absolutely no comparison. It handles and bites similarly to the real one in the studio.
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