New Grand and Organ/Rhodes

[alex149]

Hi,

I'm interested in the new Grand and am not too familiar with how Nord's function. Would it be possible to get any organ sounds on this new machine? I realize it has no organ engine, but is it possible to download other sounds? Specifically, I need Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes. Thanks in advance.

[Schorsch]

The Grand supports samples, so if you find Nord samples which suit your needs you can use these

[alex149]

Thank you Schorsch. Do you know if the Nord samples include B3 and Rhodes sounds? Also, where can I find and hopefully listen to the list?

[Schorsch]

Here you can find all samples provided by Nord including audio demos: https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-lib ... library-30

However I don’t think they provide Hammond samples, but you may be able to get some from other forum members if they would like to sample some from either an Electro or a Stage. The “problem” is that there is no default Hammond sound, there are nearly infinite possible sounds from a Hammond B3, so you should know which B3 sound you really need

Edit: you can find some B3 samples here which sound quite good:
nord-user-samples-nsmp-samples-f14/look ... tml#p29274

[baekgaard]

Just to add... The Rhodes sounds are part of the piano library, which is what the grand is built around, so it should support the same epianos as the other Nords, like the stage, electro or piano models.

It has two engines (piano and sample player for other sounds) like the piano, but compared to the electro it lacks the organ engine, and compared to the stage additionally has a much simpler synth section (mainly a sample player).

So if you need organ, you need to make do with a sample based sound like the ones above, but it lacks nothing in the Rhodes department.

[alex149]

Thank you all for the replies. Excellent to know that Grand will work with the Rhodes sounds and I can probably make do with the organ samples (with the limits of not having the organ engine). I like the sounds of the Grand (per the recent youtube vid) and assume the action is very comparable if not better than the best keyboards (e.g. Kawai Mpse11).

I want a keyboard primarily for home use and occasional gigs. Mostly I need a good piano sound, and occasional Rhodes?organ. Any other non Nord models to consider? The Grand seems like the supreme option.

[CountFosco]

Sounds like an Electro would cover your requirements better than the Grand, although your choice of action is limited to SW or HP. If the Kawai action is your priority, you can probably fill the gaps in organ and any synth requirements with modules or VSTs down the track. The Grand's flat-top seems ideal for adding toys.

[anotherscott]

Thank you all for the replies. Excellent to know that Grand will work with the Rhodes sounds and I can probably make do with the organ samples (with the limits of not having the organ engine). I like the sounds of the Grand (per the recent youtube vid) and assume the action is very comparable if not better than the best keyboards (e.g. Kawai Mpse11).

Another limitation to the organ sounds, besides being a function of whatever samples you might find, is that a lot of the way tonewheel organ sounds are used can depend on real-time manipulation of the sounds in ways that cannot be accomplished by samples or Nord Grand on-board processing, like leslie speed, single trigger percussion, overdrive that tracks the volume, etc. The Electro and Stage have all the same piano sounds as the Grand, but have true organ capabilities. Though you could also consider adding an organ keyboard to the Nord Grand, i.e. a Roland VR-09 or a Numa Organ 2 or Hammond XK-1c/SK1 or Mojo61 depending on weight/budget/sound/feature preferences (all are cheaper than an Electro)... That would also address the issue that playing with organ-specific technique doesn't work so well on hammer actions.

The Kawai action of the Grand is probably closer to their MP7 than their MP11. You can't fit the action of a 70 pound piano into a 45 pound board.

[lawman]

alex149,
The Nord Piano Library contains 8 Rhodes Pianos, which were all factory preloaded into my NP4 and presumably will likewise be preloaded into the Nord Grand. Together with the new EP filters, you'd have a full quiver. The Nord Sample Library contains no Hammond sounds, but you can download 10 of them at http://www.sc-sounds.com/organs.php Also, you can download a few user-generated Hammonds at norduserforum.com/nord_sample_collection.php (#827 Perc Organ, #756 Jazz Organ and #426 Hammond 88843 Slow all sound pretty decent). The Electro would obviously give you better organ, but you'd be limited to a 61- or 73-note keyboard with a Fatar action and keytops.

[maurus]

Here is my (broken record) suggestion: Get a Kawai VPC-1 and place a Nord Electro 6D 61 on top.
Overall: Cheaper than the Nord Grand, better (wooden) action, full organ engine with adapted (waterfall) action, the same pianos plus Rhodes. A tiny tad less functionality (e.g. no triple pedal for piano).

Caveat, obviously: Two instruments, thus more hassle to set up, and overall more weight.