Newbie looking for a nord. Have £1,500 to spend, please help

[Rusty]

Hi all,
I'm Bren. I have just joined your forums,
I play in a rock band and have always been unhappy with the organ sounds I currently use,
I want to replicate songs by Whitesnake, rainbow, deep purple, thunder etc
I currently gig with a roland fantom x6 and a korg M3,
I have been told on a few occasions to buy a nord for the organs,
Two models keep cropping up in conversation, a nord stage 88 and a nord electro 2.

I'm happy with all my current piano, brass strings etc and so would prefer to keep my two keyboards as they are so ideally I'm thinking about buying a nord electro 2 rack that I can sit on one of my keyboards, these sell for around £500 to £700 on eBay so are well within budget and I think ideal for my predicament,

But before I buy one I thought I would just ask opinions on here first,
Would the electro 3 have far better organs than the NE2 because if forced, I could do away with the X6 and replace it with the NE3 as these are not available in rack form.
Also people have mentioned the nord stage 88, but my budget would only allow me to think about an early model stage or revision 2 maybe?
My max budget is £1,500,
It would be nice to start using a hammer keyboard as I play a lot of piano tracks by journey and toto in the set too,
But I've got by without one up to now and wouldn't want the organs to be compromised.
So basically my personal list in order of preferred at the moment is
1 buy a 2nd hand rack mount NE2 @ £600
2, buy a 2nd hand NOrd Stage @ £1400
3, buy a brand new NE3 (6 octave) @ £1400
Any tips or suggestions very much appreciated,
Many Thanks, Bren

[Rusty]

After reading these forums and seeing all the bad issues with the electro 3 it looks like I'm crossing it off my list.

[Gordo]

I recommend the Electro 3- 61.

Regards,
Gord

[TSETS0]

Rusti go in the store and try it.Read the review of E3 in sound on sound.

[Johannes]

Hi Rusti and welcome to the forum!
The Electro Rack can give you some great additional sound in particular for Organ and EPs if you are happy with your other boards.
And indeed, looking at used Nord Stages can be an option as they sell at pretty good prices (for the buyers ) these days, also the weighted keys ones (76/88).
Sorry for not feeling welcomed here but after all it is a forum based on devoted players and it is not "the Nord site", so please be a little patient if sometimes it takes time to get a discussion going
Cheers, Johannes

[Rusty]

Hi Johannes for your info.
Yes. The site does appear good and yes it did need a little shove to get it going but I managed that I think.
Organs are paramount, and if the electro 2 rack is almost as good as the nord stage and electro 3 then I'm happy to keep my current set up and just add the rack to it rather than buying a whole new board.
I am sure this is the way to go now.
There is one on eBay but it is without instructions,
The layout of the lard seems self explanatory but things like transpose etc look like I'll. Red an instruction manual.
Would you say its important to look for a unit with instructions or Can these easily be downloaded.
Many thanks.

[maurus]

Hi Rusty. Nord Electro 3HP user here. The board is excellent, never had any problems with it and I'm playing it a lot. Yes, the keys are a bit uneven and noisy, but I've come to ignore that completely after a while. I don't think there is a better portable allrounder out there, excellent pianos, organs, and samples at that. - If you are more on the organ side of things the lighter keys of the NE3 (not HP) will suit you even better.

[Rusty]

Hi Maurus.
Thanks for your info, I've put the nord electro 3 back on my list and now it's also at the top,
In the next few days I may buy one,
Thank you and the other users for your help,

[stiiiiiiive]

Rusty, I will repeat a piece of advice already given: if you can, try it before any purchase.

[jazzystu]

STOP!!!!

Get a decent secondhand Stage EX88. They are coming down in price now a LOT.

Very powerful synth and hugely better than the electro in many ways.