Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?

Stranger · Post by **Stranger** » 28 Jul 2016, 02:31

Hi everybody. So I've decided to to purchase a Nord Electro 5. I should have it in October. Choosing the right keyboard was a difficult decision. There are a lot of great ones on the market now.

So since I'm so close to buying one, I'm wondering if there is anything else that I need to consider? Kraft Music offers bundles which seem like a good deal, but i don't want to purchase gear that seems like a deal and find out I purchased great gear I have no use for. So from your experiences, what should an electric keyboard newbie consider? Speakers? Pedals? Circuitry? Any recommendations on brands? Any info you provided will help me plan and budget. I should also note that I'm not planning on gigging just yet. This is more for a home studio.

Thanks

Post by **jfenton** » 28 Jul 2016, 04:14

Well I would first recommend a good pair of headphone and a pair of powered monitors. Don't skimp. I would recommend at least 8" monitors so you get the full frequency range (better base that with 5" monitors ususally.

Stranger · Post by **Stranger** » 28 Jul 2016, 14:01

Thanks for the reply jfenton. Monitors are absolutely on the list and I have a decent pair of headphones already.

Post by **shark** » 28 Jul 2016, 14:34

Powerd speakers: I have some M-Audio 8" sound great and not too expensive but there's a lot of choice out there, best is you test them with your own ears.
A decent stand, sustain pedal (works also as leslie pedal on the Electro), Nord soft case for when you will take it out to gigs, stereo cables, possibly a DI box. That's all she wrote.

Rusty Mike · Post by **Rusty Mike** » 28 Jul 2016, 18:47

Control pedal for organ swell and to control volume for the sample sounds if you see fit. Yamaha FC7 works well.

emartin149 · Post by **emartin149** » 28 Jul 2016, 21:11

Amazon sometimes has good deals and their return policies are almost always the easiest.

I would watch out for bundles, they are usually stuff the vendor is trying to unload, and not the best quality. Even if they aren't adding much to the price, you get what you pay for, and the Nord is such a premium instrument, you are going to want premium accessories

If you are going to be performing, consider buying one quality active speaker before you spring for expensive studio monitors. Electrovoice and Yamaha are decent. QSC is one of the best but really pricey. You can use this speaker for home practice too. 10 inch is enough...if you're in a rock band you'll want to go into the PA anyway, and use it as your monitor. Here's a great article that is still one of the best I've found on this issue:

http://chucksblog.typepad.com/late_bloo ... right.html

The Nord has astonishingly low line output (I would personally say infuriating). All modern keyboards do but the Nord's is even lower than most. You'll find out fast that typical studio monitors (i.e. Mackie), with their 50 watts or whatever, will require a small mixing board for its db boost, or your Electro will just whisper at you. They aren't expensive but it's more cables, another power outlet, and more hassle.

harmonizer · Post by **harmonizer** » 28 Jul 2016, 23:06

I second the fact that the Electro has a low line output level (I have the Electro 3). This might matter more for you, in choosing what keyboard amplification (or powered speaker) thing that you buy, if you will use this to create the volume of your keyboard at live gigs, without going thru a separate PA.

e8ndave · Post by **e8ndave** » 29 Jul 2016, 02:36

I really like Kraft a lot. They have worked with me several times to get good deals. That said, many of their packages are not great deals. The packages I have found the most value in from them is their case packages with the keyboards. They generally use Gator cases which are quite good. Their pedal, cables, stand packages are just ok. There is nothing great in them. I would rather buy some quality stuff locally that I can mess around with than get those. Congrats on your purchase!

Stranger · Post by **Stranger** » 29 Jul 2016, 02:56

e8ndave wrote:I really like Kraft a lot. They have worked with me several times to get good deals. That said, many of their packages are not great deals. The packages I have found the most value in from them is their case packages with the keyboards. They generally use Gator cases which are quite good. Their pedal, cables, stand packages are just ok. There is nothing great in them. I would rather buy some quality stuff locally that I can mess around with than get those. Congrats on your purchase!

Yeah - The kraft bundles are what got me thinking. Are these best options? But in studying them and considering some of the other responses to this thread they seem to provide a good guide as to what else to consider. I'm leaning towards buying the stuff independently so I'm not stuck with sub-standard gear or gear that I won't use. Thanks for your response, it confirmed my thinking.

Stranger · Post by **Stranger** » 29 Jul 2016, 02:59

emartin149 wrote:Amazon sometimes has good deals and their return policies are almost always the easiest.

I would watch out for bundles, they are usually stuff the vendor is trying to unload, and not the best quality. Even if they aren't adding much to the price, you get what you pay for, and the Nord is such a premium instrument, you are going to want premium accessories

If you are going to be performing, consider buying one quality active speaker before you spring for expensive studio monitors. Electrovoice and Yamaha are decent. QSC is one of the best but really pricey. You can use this speaker for home practice too. 10 inch is enough...if you're in a rock band you'll want to go into the PA anyway, and use it as your monitor. Here's a great article that is still one of the best I've found on this issue:

http://chucksblog.typepad.com/late_bloo ... right.html

The Nord has astonishingly low line output (I would personally say infuriating). All modern keyboards do but the Nord's is even lower than most. You'll find out fast that typical studio monitors (i.e. Mackie), with their 50 watts or whatever, will require a small mixing board for its db boost, or your Electro will just whisper at you. They aren't expensive but it's more cables, another power outlet, and more hassle.

Thank you emartin! The blog post you linked to was awesome! Upon doing a little research after reading your post, mind you, probably not enough research yet, I sense that the QSC K series is awesome, but like you said, it might be pricey. Going to explore Yamaha. Thanks for your insight and the link! Extremely helpful. It's becoming clear that I have to put as much thought into the speakers as I did with the keyboard.

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Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?

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Re: Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?

Re: Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?

Re: Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?

Re: Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?

Re: Purchasing an Electro - what else should I consider?