Nord Stage 3 - hammond B3 Sound

[Daddy Cool]

We shouldn't have to be going through all this s*** to try and make the B3 sound as it was on the Electro's. The stage is the flag ship and should do everything that the electro's will do and then some. The organ's are weak which I have noticed, my electro 5 HP was a beast when it came to the organ sounds. Nords bread and butter is the piano's and organ's. So come on Nord get on with your game here and correct this.

[salvasiles71]

https://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads ... rd-stage-3

if you update the software to version 2.54 the B3 closely resembles the NE5 engine.

[Normski]

https://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads ... rd-stage-3

if you update the software to version 2.54 the B3 closely resembles the NE5 engine.

I fail to see anything in the 2.54 update that has anything to do with the organ engine.

- - - - - - - - -
Nord Stage 3 - Update History
v2.54 (2020-03-04)

"Missing" strokes could occur when combining layers and long release times. Fixed.
Changing samples with Osc 1/Waveform dial could cause clicks. Fixed.
Clicks could occur when using Legato + certain samples. Fixed.
In Mono mode, wrong sample would be picked above C7. Fixed.
Samples set to "Unpitched" in Editor would be pitched in Legato mode. Fixed.
Ensemble and Solo Wind/Brass are now divided into separate categories: Ensemble Wind, Solo Wind, Ensemble Brass, Solo Brass
Note: Existing Wind/Brass samples are all found in the Ensemble/Solo Brass categories. Wind samples downloaded from Nord Sample Library 3.0 are from now on placed in Ensemble/Solo Wind categories.
Noise could occur when first playing, after downloading sample through Nord Sample Editor. Fixed.
Program Change messages are no longer sent when browsing Programs in "Store To" dialog.
A Program Change message was inadvertently sent when exiting a Store operation. Fixed.

[Slide]

OK - finally back with keyboard set up here .... let's see. I should qualify that I'm a rock/blues organ player and go for a grittier/raw sound. This likely would not be the best for jazz, etc.

Congrats & thanks, kbmatson. This is a killer sound. (I saved it as "B3 kbmatson" in your honour).

Regarding "..would not be the best for jazz, etc' -- the B3 changes you made in the "Sound" section of the NS3 affect ALL organ programs. Specifically, the following settings become "your B3 organ" :
Type: vintage 2
Click: high
trigger: high
rotary: 122 close
Bass/Horn: 40/60 (more horn)
Rotary speed: Normal
Acc: Normal
Horn speed: normal
Acc: SLOW

I much prefer these settings not only for the driven blues & rock B3's, but also for jazzy, "cocktail" and other subdued B3 programs. IMO, the high trigger setting is a crucial change for an organ-like playing experience, and should be the default (the Manual states this setting is "more similar to how a real B3 functions.") The other settings are taste preferences, and "Vintage2" Tonewheel Mode is much closer to an old, beat-up B3 that had the privilege of playing for several years. Thanks +++

[Hlaalu]

Congrats & thanks, kbmatson. This is a killer sound. (I saved it as "B3 kbmatson" in your honour).

To me the biggest problem with the NS3 organ is precisely that all the settings you listed aren't storable per-program but only at a global level, and they contribute to the final sound in a way that's just as important -- if not more important -- than the drawbar settings themselves.

I think the NS3 organ would be much more flexible if those settings -- or at least some of them -- could be saved per-program. We've been saying this for a while now and I hope Nord is taking notes for the next OS update.

[paolo60]

Code: Select all

I think the NS3 organ would be much more flexible if those settings -- or at least some of them -- could be saved per-program. We've been saying this for a while now and I hope Nord is taking notes for the next OS update. ;)

+1

[anotherscott]

To me the biggest problem with the NS3 organ is precisely that all the settings you listed aren't storable per-program but only at a global level, and they contribute to the final sound in a way that's just as important -- if not more important -- than the drawbar settings themselves.

OTOH, these settings can't be saved on a real B3 either... in fact most of them can't be altered at all. The only ones of those you could vary on the real thing is mic distance and upper/lower balance if you're miking it up, and rotary speed by physically moving a belt inside the Leslie.

Boards do have different philosophies about this sort of thing. Some clonewheels do have entirely different sets of stored and/or user-storable parameters for these and other things (even trims for each of the 91 modeled tonewheels), and you can dial up the sounds of all different kinds of Hammond tonewheel models... older ones, newer ones, well maintained ones or not, ones that were miked differently, etc.. Nord's philosophy in all their stuff has always been simpler and more minimalist, it's never been the kind of board that provides a zillion adjustments for anything, so I'm not surprised they implemented this the way they did. They give you the tools to create the ONE "B3" you like best and use it for all your patches... which is exactly all you'd have if you had a real B3. I would be surprised if they had much interest in doing what some other boards do here, and let you create and store the sounds of a bunch of different B3 organs on a patch by patch basis. I'm not saying that's not useful, I'm just saying it's not particularly Nord-like.

There's also a potential advantage to their approach. If after playing your board for a while, you decide, "gee, I wish my 'B3" had more (or less) click/leakage/acceleration/whatever," you make the one global adjustment, and ALL your B3 patches now have your new, preferred B3 sound, without your having to change the patches one by one. Okay, you could address that by having both global parameters AND program-specific over-rides to those parameters, and Nord has done that kind of thing in other places, but you are adding another layer of complication and lots more menu options, and Nord's philosophy is to be very cautious about such things.

If the NS3 suits you in every other way, you can add a highly tweakable organ by attaching (for example) an iPad running the B-3X app.

[dmamfmgm]

Hi all,

there was a recent discussion in a Facebook group about whether the Nord organ sound would be "junk"

As a disproof: Here is a video/online collaboration I have participated of Rainbow's "Kill the King" in the live version of the "On Stage" album (from 1977, with Tony Carey as keyboardist).
ATTENTION: You SEE an Uhl X3-2 (I found it "more real" for the video), but actually you HEAR the organ of a Nord Stage 3, without any further effects or devices (promised).
I thought the Nord organ fit the rock sound better.



For those who are interested, here is the sound:

B3 Kill the King.ns3f

Organ sound for Rainbow's Kill the King

(592 Bytes) Downloaded 205 times

[alex78]

Awesome cover of an awesome song by a great rock band!
I absolutely agree with you about the nord sound for rock music, the warmth and grit they deliver is ideal for this genre.
I'm sure more and more rock keyboardists think the same, and I believe so because red boards show up more regularly in rock band rigs lately.
Another good example is the band Europe (the final countdown guys), Mick uses nords more than 10 years now and not just because they are swedish!

[Hlaalu]

OTOH, these settings can't be saved on a real B3 either... in fact most of them can't be altered at all. The only ones of those you could vary on the real thing is mic distance and upper/lower balance if you're miking it up, and rotary speed by physically moving a belt inside the Leslie.

That's true, but this argument pivots around an arbitrary line drawn between two extremes: replicating a real Hammond in every single possible aspect, on one hand, and taking the chance, with digital technology, to improve, wherever possible, what the original machine's limits were.

We already know that certain things about the original we are sure we DON'T want: weight, maintenance.
Other things we are sure we DO want: same sound, same level of customisability of that sound.
Other things are in a grey area, because they clearly are not part of the original machine but they are in fact -- at least in some scenarios -- better than the original, and as I said which category you want to put them into is totally arbitrary: LED drawbars vs physical, how many presets to store, key click tweakability, crosstalk...

There is no right answer and everybody will have different preferencies, but my point is that one shouldn't argue in favour or against them just because "the real thing wasn't that way".

but you are adding another layer of complication and lots more menu options, and Nord's philosophy is to be very cautious about such things.

Actually I think that one single page in the menu would address this: "B3 settings: Global / Per Program". That's it. It already happens in the EXTERN Menu for some options, as well as channel routing in the SYSTEM Menu. I don't see why it should be more complicated than make this single option available.