Nord C2D press release and pics

[Mooser]

I would sell my third kidney, to find out how those drawbars reflect changing settings and organ types in the C2D.

[Hanon_CTS]

I would sell my third kidney, to find out how those drawbars reflect changing settings and organ types in the C2D.

They don't. (can you accept that as an answer and move past it?)
It would have been better to (at least) keep the LEDs.

[Bruinmac]

For those still wondering about the differences between the new C2D and the C2 (apart from the drawbars obviously), I've had a little more information from Nord, through their UK distributor.

1. The C2D will have improved key-on and key-off clicks, and a change in the way the percussion behaves if you play lines that are almost, but not quite, legato. There will also be some minor adjustments to the actual tonewheel modeling, which results in an increased bass-response. The lower keys will provide more bass, compared to identical drawbar settings on a previous unit.

2. Nord are currently working on a new rotary model to be included in the C2D. This is modelled more closely on a 122 unit, than the other two rotary models in the C2. This new rotary model has not been previewed yet, it was not available in the NAMM units.

At the moment, Nord are unsure if these changes will be available as an update for the current C2. They are investigating this possibility but this cannot be determined until the C2D is 100% complete and is in production. The Nord Stage 2, however, is not able to get these updates, the hardware in the Stage 2 cannot do this. And neither can the C1.

3. The MIDI capabilities will be the same as the C2, so controlling a module from one manual, for example, should not be a problem.

4. The C2D is likely to start shipping in the UK towards the end of Feb. The rrp is still TBC at the moment.

[Mooser]

"They don't. (can you accept that as an answer and move past it?)"

You bet I can! I can move past those drawer-sliders to a 50's or 60's tonewheel organ. The LED drawbuttons are a brilliant and logical evolution for the ancient and dangerous drawbar system, and Nord should not have succumbed to the threats and blackmail of the Hammond-Suzuki (if that is indeed their real name)crowd! When Nord-Clavia is beseiged by suits demanding damages and restitution for taphephobia, teratophobia or coulrophobia, and draw-slider users experience a veritable plague of soteriophobia and paralipophobia, don't blame me. I did my best to warn them, and nobody listened. Maybe you don't think I am adamant, but I am, pretty much. At any rate, I can guarantee I am more than somewhat or "sort of" adamant! You can search your own soul and come up with an answer for your own self. Not that you didn't do a great job on all those exercise books, of course.

[Mooser]

You know, Hanon, on a lot of those big ol' five manual organs like the one pictured as your avatar, the stops will move to reflect the current preset selected. And then stops can be added or subtracted from the pre-set. See "The Organ of the Twentieth Century" (by George Ashdown Audsley, published by Dodd, Mead, and Co. NY, 1919) And they were built before the Hammond drawbar system was even thought of. Ask yourself this, if you dare: Would you trust a man who rejected the Leslie speaker as unsuitable for use with a Hammond organ?

[organut]

At the moment, Nord are unsure if these changes will be available as an update for the current C2. They are investigating this possibility but this cannot be determined until the C2D is 100% complete and is in production. The Nord Stage 2, however, is not able to get these updates, the hardware in the Stage 2 cannot do this. And neither can the C1.

The rrp is still TBC at the moment.

My guess is if the prices are as high as announced, the C2D will not be a big success. As a C2 owner you are better off to invest in one or two DB-1 drawbar controllers and a Ventilator instead of upgrading to a C2D. Or, maybe even better, get a Crumar MoJo or KeyB Organ for much less.

Also, quite a few people including myself are still pissed off because of the Clavia C1. Very shortly after it had hit the market, Clavia launched the C2. C1 owners are still waiting in vain for an OS update that will probably never be available. It is always said that Clavia has such a customer-friendly update policy. In reality, Clavia has often enough used it's clients as OS beta testers (e.g. Electro 3, Stage 2). Also they have always left owners of their older products (Wave, C1) stand in the rain regarding any updates. Clavia's email responses referring to this usually sound a bit arrogant and meaningless. I really hope that they learn to listen better to their loyal ready-to-buy-again customers. Hey, Clavia is charging premium prices. Is it too much to ask for to expect a little more support for legacy products? At least for a little while after the launch of successors. That would be real premium customer service. JM2C.

[Mooser]

OMFG! Sweetwater, a musical instrument retailer, has the C2D priced at $3485!! Virtually the same price as a C2! Not smart, and not available until April.
That is not enough of a price difference to distinguish the two products, especially considering they use the same organ engine. They should have put at least a $1000 premium on those two sets of "real" drawbars.
You know, that reminds me of a funny story, and it's true, too. When I was a budding organist (about 12 years old) my parents went out to get me a full sized organ, to replace the spinet. I gave them specific instructions to return with a Hammond, and very graciously told them I would settle for an A-100, instead of a B-3 or C-3. (My parents had an unreasoning and overwhelming fear of external tone cabinets, and a rotating speaker would have terrified them into heeby-jeebies and instant syncope. I think they later joined a ligyrophobia support group and received, if not relief, at least the quiet fellowship of those similarly afflicted. The group would get together at our house for a silent sing-along once a month) Anyway, they came home with a freakin Baldwin! Had a built-in "spinning dustpan" speaker, but was other wise pretty much a loss. Multi-colored "stops" with instrument names on them, no mixture (fractional) stops. 16', 8', 4', and 2' only. I asked my Mom, very politely of course (she had a mean and sudden left hook, and was not averse to grabbing the first household cudgel she saw and using it on me) why they bought the Baldwin. She told me: "Those Hammond drawbars have no labels on them! How on earth do you know what the organ will sound like when you set it?"
I left home the next day, and never looked back. I'll put up with a lot, but there is a limit.

[robnuckels]

I went thru a simialer experience : we had a BALDWIN ORGASONIC that my mom played. I taught myself to play Booker T & Jimmy Smith . They thought i should have a more 'serious' organ. I told them : a Hammond, either B3, C3, A-100, etc, with a leslie speaker. They got me an ALLEN HOME Theater organ, with a strange rotary that had either brake, or stereo rotary. The one good thing about it, was it had stops that approximated the 9 drawbars. aside from that .......I eventually switched to piano after the Vietnam war.....35 years later, everything was CLONES with me .....I 'd had so many jinxes associated with getting a Hammond, that it hit me like an epiphany ........get a clone that approximates the Hammond SOUND, but use a cross & a string of garlic beads against anything that had the Hammond NAME . The C2 was my 6th clone . amen.

[Mooser]

robnuckels, I guess you and I go back to the days when there was an organ store, if not more than one electric home organ dealer in most large "shopping centers" (that's an old expression for "mall") Of course, I always thought of the Hammond console models (B-3, C-3, A-100) as a real musical instrument, like a piano, and the others were a joke. Built for the only meaningful moment in their existence, the moment they were sold. A testimony to cultural aspirations antique by WW1 and the easy credit of post WW2 Today, they are suspended between Craigslist and the dump, if they survive at all.
All of which tells me that Clavia should have improved the drawbutton system, instead of giving in to the regressive forces advocating the outmoded drawbar system. And I have come up with several ways to do just that, making the drawbuttons more ergonomically intuitive and safer.
And if you taught yourself to play Jimmy Smith, you're a better man than I am! Of course, most people are, even women, but I've gotten used to it.

[Bertotti]

You guys are funny in the early 70's we got a Kimball! I kept it running until 2007 when dad died. I plugged it in and immediately got the cooking transformer smell, shut it off post haste. I haven't tried to fix it since. I have no desire for a C2d it looks awful to me but the C2 is a gorgeous gem. I hope they can update it but the real allure for me is the pipe organ!