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

[shark]

Hi Rusty, welcome welcome welcome!

My two centavos' worth after one year in company of the E3:

I play in a prog rock outfit and my first necessity is a good B3 sound + portability. The E3 fits the bill perfectly in this category.
In the beginning I loaded all sorts of samples like moog, strings, pads etc. into the E3 but over time I found that switching from my main sound to patches took too long and that the E3's lack of pitchwheel and modulation wheel made it not too ideal for synth solos etc. So I got an old Roland JV-1010 and a 49 keys midi controler to sit on top of the E3 for solos, pads, strings, effects etc.
I now use the E3 80% for organ and 20% for piano (the CP80 is awesome) and do everything else with the JV.

I love my E3, it really hit the spot for this old rocker whose back could not possibly lift a real B3.

Again welcome and I hope you'll be happy with your purchase whatever it will be.

Rock on.

[anotherscott]

Would the electro 3 have far better organs than the NE2

Yes.

And also, IMO, better pianos than your Roland or Korg boards. But you can't play the piano and organ sounds simultaneously.

Piano plays much better from a weighted board. If you don't have another weighted board at your disposal, then consider the NE3HP. You can run a MIDI cable so you can trigger its organ sound from your other unweighted board when needed.

[anotherscott]

People have scattered problems (or opinions about what is good or bad) with regard to every keyboard from every manufacturer. As far as I've seen, there is nothing particularly problematic about the E3. They are reliable and stable, it's really just a matter of determining whether or not it does what you need.

[jazzystu]

I used to gig a Rhodes Suitcase and D6 Clavinet. I would sometimes take a Minimoog D and sometimes a Hammond C3 with a Leslie 147.

I have a Stage EX 88 and it is amazing. You can do a lot of splits and layers and even use another board. Apart from the Clavinet, it is as good, or better than any of the others. Also, you get a full, weighted piano board to play with. Believe me, the weighted action isn't really a hindrance with the organ. I can play what I could on the C3 on the Nord.

The lack of pitch and mod wheels on the E3, as well as other shortcomings make it a non-starter for me. I'd have an E3 in addition to a Stage, but I'd have the stage first.

The E3 is a "keyboard", whereas the Stage is a proper musician's instrument....

[Rusty]

I've ordered a NE3 and collect it on Friday,
It's still a lot cheaper than the stage and will be my first step on the nord ladder,
I currently gig with a m3 73 and a fantom x6, but I also own an m3 61 and a fantom x8,
The x8 has hammer action but is too large to gig with,
I think my new rig will be the m3 73 and the nord electro,
In the future I am sure the nord will be great for the organs and ill be happy to use the m3 for all other sounds, so I will just keep upgrading this model but yes, I may consider the more expensive nord stage, probably the 7 octave rather than the 88 key version, for the synths etc too.

I'm eager to test the pianos now that you say they are also really good,

Also, I did go to a music store last month to try one but the guy knew very little about the keyboard so I left the store not
really knowing anything great about it at all. But as I have heard so many good reviews I am sure once I've got my head around it that i'm going to love it,
Really looking forward to getting some good rock organ sounds on it, my first one to replicate will be a song by thunder called in a broken dream,
Thanks for your help guys

[anotherscott]

I think my new rig will be the m3 73 and the nord electro

Nice combination! You can also use MIDI to allow to you select Electro patches from the M3's touch screen, which would be a nice enhancement. Which NE3 did you get?

[Rusty]

Using midi to select patches would be cool, but frightens me at the moment, I like to know that I've pressed the buttons myself and watched the preset change so I know as soon as I hit the first note that I'm on the right song rather than relying on one button to change all the keyboards,
Maybe once I start down the midi select route I'll think to myself why didn't I do this ages ago, lol

I got the 61 key electro 3

Ps. Can these posts be subscribed to so I know when there's a reply being posted ?
Thanks,

[anotherscott]

I like to know that I've pressed the buttons myself and watched the preset change
...
Maybe once I start down the midi select route I'll think to myself why didn't I do this ages ago, lol

I got the 61 key electro 3

Yes, especially on the 61, using the M3 to change patches will probably be a revelation once you decide to do it! Even when you press the button on the M3 touchscreen (i.e. a button you've programmed to change a sound on the Nord), you will still see the preset change on the Nord, so you still do get that visual confirmation on the board itself. The M3 will let you directly access any Nord patch without scrolling, plus you can name the patches on the touch screen so you can call them up by name instead of having to remember a number (or reference a cheat sheet). If you're only using the Nord in its "live panel" modes, it doesn't make much difference, but once you want to call up stored presets, I think you'd find it to be a real benefit.

Had you given thought to getting the 3HP? Then the two boards would give you a combination of a weighted and unweighted action (plus the 3HP has a few other nice extra features too). It is more money, though.

[simonbeck]

To subscribe to the topic, look right at the bottom of the screen on the left. Click the text (not the icon) and you will be alerted by e-mail when there is a new post.

I was considering offering you advice regarding the NE3, but I use mine mostly for Wurlitzer electric piano sounds. Hope you enjoy your new 61!

[shark]

Congratulations on your purchase I hope you enjoy your E3 as much as I do mine.