Nord User Forum

Two things to try:

1) Get a real amp. All those great old Rhodes tunes that you groove on? Well, the Rhodes was very much NOT being run through a "powered speaker." I know that's the current creme de menthe of keyboard amplification, but if you want to sound like a Rhodes, try running your Nord into a good old Fender amp. If the Twin is too heavy, the Deluxe is a good substitute. Forget about on-board amp sims. You need the circuitry, power, and speaker of the real thing.

2) Get a real Rhodes. The Nord's Fatar keybed is never going to fully replicate what you get on a real MKI, and touch is an overlooked factor in what makes a Rhodes sound the way it does. The best Rhodes emulator I've played was on a Korg SV-1, and that was all because of the keybed. When your fingers bounce just right, so does the sound.

@Gambold, a bit OT, but I think you told in another thread that you also had the Mojo 61.
Have you tried Frank Montis settings for the Rhodes ?
I think Crumar nailed it with their modelled sampling, but the touch and constantly using the octave up/down are a bit frustrating, so I normally use the Nords EP. Wish I could use a Seven, but it do not fit my setup
So perhaps also Nord could come closer with more layers, since I think they will never leave the sample-based model.

It is missing to Clavia to sample a Rhodes MK II Suitcase with the microphone capturing the sound coming out of the amplifier suitcase. It would be awesome to have samples of other Rhodes also like the MK 7 released in 2007, the Vintage Vibe Piano released in 2011 and the Vibanet that was released in 2013 which is based on a Clavinet and more amp simulators.

Hello, a mk2 or mk1, it is the same actually, it is a question of harmonizing the piano, between deep and shallow, less or more bell depending of the striking line of tines, etc, etc. But most of all, what nord should add to their sounds is the release sound, the «kissing tines » which gives life to the rhodes.
If you listen to the rhodes in the cp73 for instance, you can hear a nice release in the sound, it gives breath, moves in the way of playing.
I definitevely love the nord rhodes, they keep secret harmonics that you can bring up with the eq, but the artefacts of the rhodes are missing to me, so that the sound is quite flat.
Nord should proposes as the piano does, a long release fonction, increasing the key off, the ughh sound of the rhodes.

Arnaud, rhodes preparator in France

Thanks for sharing your insights, Arnaud!

To you comment:

Sparkle wrote:But most of all, what nord should add to their sounds is the release sound, the «kissing tines » which gives life to the rhodes.
... but the artefacts of the rhodes are missing to me, so that the sound is quite flat.
Nord should proposes as the piano does, a long release fonction, increasing the key off, the ughh sound of the rhodes.

It's already there Release sounds are definitely a part of the Nord Rhodes sound, and if you use the Soft Release function, it impacts the release sound.

I agree that for some Rhodes sounds, it is not so prominent, but try to play the EP2 and enable one of the Dyno settings. Now play e.g. a C1 or a C2 and release the key (slowly or fast) and listen to the effect. There is a pretty strong release sound, emphasized by the Dyno setting. Now hit the Soft Release function, and you will hear less of the release sound (but it is still there).

So: The release sounds are implemented, and the Soft Release impacts the amount of release you hear. The amount of release sound varies between the different Rhodes samples (some have much less), and some people may want even more than what is there now.

Ok, this is good news, i didn’t play a nord since 2018 i must admitt....the next one will be a nord grand for sure, and if the release sound is stronger, i’m happy, thanks

Sparkle wrote:Hello, a mk2 or mk1, it is the same actually, it is a question of harmonizing the piano, between deep and shallow, less or more bell depending of the striking line of tines, etc, etc. But most of all, what nord should add to their sounds is the release sound, the «kissing tines » which gives life to the rhodes.
If you listen to the rhodes in the cp73 for instance, you can hear a nice release in the sound, it gives breath, moves in the way of playing.
I definitevely love the nord rhodes, they keep secret harmonics that you can bring up with the eq, but the artefacts of the rhodes are missing to me, so that the sound is quite flat.
Nord should proposes as the piano does, a long release fonction, increasing the key off, the ughh sound of the rhodes.

Arnaud, rhodes preparator in France

We do not have an MK 2 Suitcase and neither the MK 2 with the adjustment for the ideal timbre or deep timbre in the Nord.

Sparkle wrote
But most of all, what nord should add to their sounds is ....

IMHO
not add some layer to the V5 samples to make a V6 sample with some butter above (below would be better !).
Comparing Sizes V5/V6 :
EP 1-4 : the sizes are similar V5/V6. There is no 'XL' in V6 ! Original V5 (compressed) sample 'S' + some layering = V6 'L' size,
EP 5 (maybe less compressed because not so old) : in the same manner, the smallest V5 'M' (!) passes to 'XL' in V6,
Idem for EP 6 to 8 (most recent), i think original samples (more rich/see original sizes) were easiest to remaster. (general-nord-forum-f29/from-nord-good-n ... ml#p111201)
sorry for duplicating the chart already posted, but also for NEW SAMPLES from NORD rather than recycling.
or make a Christmasgift NOISE sample-bank with wood, rubber, metal, and all sort of 'plumbing noise' to spread some 'splunks','notches' or 'shtonks'... need also some glueing rubber pads noise for an authentic Pianet T...
(I sold my belly DX7 yesterday)
Cheers
Harvey

Bjosko wrote:@Gambold, a bit OT, but I think you told in another thread that you also had the Mojo 61.
Have you tried Frank Montis settings for the Rhodes ?

I have not! I confess I only use the Mojo for B3, which I think sounds superior to Nord's emulation. Everything else on the Mojo (the Vox, Farfisa, Acoustic piano, and EPs) I barely tried, since on first listen or so it seemed to me that the Nord's were all far better.

However, I'll give this a try! And I said this before - I can't shake the notion that the B3 on the Electro 6 does not sound as true as the one my previous Electro 4. I don't know why I think this since I sold the E4 to buy the E6 and could never do a side-by-side. However, I DID do comparisons of the E4 and Mojo and while the Mojo was better, it was only just so. The E6, on the other hand, is clearly inferior. I'm willing to assume I've made some configuration mistake, but I'm playing it with factory settings, and I did fiddle with the Rotary to see if that mattered. I know this is off-topic, but there it is.

I should add that I'm not disappointed in the E6. Aside from the B3 matter, it's so much better than the E4 in every other way. The layering, the layout, all of it.