New SW73 has no drawbars

[hammondking]

A bit of a surprise to me, the NE4 SW73 is not a 4D. I can't imagine why not, other than perhaps to bring the price point down after having added some RAM. I have the NE3-73, and was considering upgrading, as the RAM+drawbars+4 live keys would be enough for me to want to spend a few hundred bucks. Without the drawbars, it's really about the RAM and the live keys, which are attractive but it would really depend on the price point whether I'd want to spring for an upgrade. A bit of a disappointment, I was already thinking I'd sell my Ocean Beach drawbars to make up part of the price differential...

[whitenoise]

+1

[whitenoise]

I also think that could add split and layer. It's a shame that $2k doesn't have it.

[whitenoise]

I also think they could add split and layer. It's a shame that $2k doesn't have it.

[hammondking]

Split and layer are the selling points for the Stage, which essentially has 2 Electros in it plus a synth. If they included it in the Electro, there'd be no buyers for the Stage, and the price for the Electro would have to rise. I have no complaints about the value in my Electro, but I am a bit surprised that they didn't include the drawbars.

[simonbeck]

I'm not surprised that the SW73 doesn't have drawbars. You have to think of the NE4 range as a spectrum. At one end (call it "organ") is the 4D, with a 61-note waterfall keyboard, real drawbars and a limited amount of sample RAM. This is squarely aimed at players who primarily use organ sounds but occasionally also use piano sounds. At the other extreme, the "piano" end we have the 4HP, with an E-E hammer-action keyboard, plenty of extra RAM but no physical drawbars. Again, this is aimed at a specific market; players who want an authentic piano action but still occasionally need authentic organ sounds. At each extreme you have specific features which a less specialised instrument doesn't need. So the intermediate, "general-purpose" model has a 73-key (for range when playing piano parts) waterfall (for speed when playing organ parts) keybed, extra RAM (because it will be used as much for piano as for organ sounds) and drawbuttons rather than drawbars (most of us non-purists are fine with our LEDs).

Does that explain it?

[hammondking]

I agree with you for the most part (and have made more or less the same points elsewhere on this site) but in my mind if you buy a semi-weighted keyboard, your primary instrument on that board is going to be organ. If your primary instrument is organ, drawbars are desirable (in general). I like the 61 4D but I do use my board for other instruments at times, so a 73 is more suitable for me. But drawbars would definitely be nice - and expected, in my opinion - for an organ-weighted board. Guess I'll either keep my Ocean Beach drawbars or keep my NE3-73.

[maurizione]

In my opinion, the virtual drawbars are pretty nice, you can switch to a preset and have a quick look at the preset's setup. This doesn't apply to physical DBs. I think physical DBs are old stuff.

[anotherscott]

in my mind if you buy a semi-weighted keyboard, your primary instrument on that board is going to be organ.

OTOH, if you're buying a board with more than the organ's normal 61-key span, it's probably because you want to use it for non-organ sounds.

Since everything has a cost associated with it, let's say the choice was between the drawbars of the E4D or the extra memory of the E4HP, which do you choose? Either choice would make some people unhappy... and if they included both, the price would be higher.

If they were only going to include one, I'm glad it was the extra memory. If you want drawbars, at least you can buy the Ocean Beach device. But if it came with drawbars instead of the extra memory, well, there's no way to buy an add-on to increase the memory.

[hammondking]

Yes I agree it was most likely a cost thing. Me, I'd pay a bit extra for the drawbars (I already did buying the Ocean Beach set), but people already complain about the price so I guess you can't please everyone.