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Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 16:13
by Rusty Mike
Maybe I can benefit from some enlightenment here, since I don’t understand the pitch stick issue with the Electro.
Now I muse in a limited world of traditional jazz and big band piano/organ. When I was playing pop/rock/fusion/whatever else, I’d use the pitch stick only for synth leads, mostly solos, and even sparingly then. In that context, I would not see the Electro as being my go-to instrument for significant synth solos anyway. To me, it’s always represented that foundational stage piano / organ, and I would prefer something with much deeper synth capabilities to use for leads.
If I was playing that kind of music, the Electro would only be on my radar as a bottom board, where the pitch stick & mod wheel are not critical, then have something more synth-like on top. If I was still playing that kind of music and needed a one-keyboard solution, I’d look at the Stage or one if its competitors like the V-Stage.
Even if the Electro did have a pitch stick, I’d probably never touch it. In fact, I’d probably be annoyed that it’s taking up space on the panel where I usually put my cell phone.
So, for those of you who want a pitch stick, would you actually use the Electro for synth leads, or is there another use that I’m missing in my ignorance?
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 17:30
by ericL
Rusty Mike wrote: 19 Jan 2026, 02:24
Appreciate you asking the question Eric - it compelled me to think through it. It's as much about the schlep as the sound. I only need one keyboard and carry my entire rig by hand (keyboard, stand, amp and cables) in one trip. I play in a few places where the carry is either far walk or up a flight of crappy stairs. And as much as I got frustrated with the key action, I was spoiled with the light carry weight of the Stage 2EX HP and the Electro 3HP before that. While I really like the action on the Piano 5, there are simply places I will not carry it. In addition the P5 obviously has no organ engine. And even though I use organ a small percentage of the time, I really want as authentic an experience as possible; preset samples just don't cut it.
So, for those long carries, I've been using the Yamaha YC 73. The weight is fine and the organ engine is really good, but all of the pianos really irritate my ear, despite relentless efforts to tweak and adjust. I always knew the YC was a stopgap purchase, and I quite honestly can't wait to stop using it. My main hope in anticipating the NE7 was an improved action while maintaining the lighter weight, which they seemed to have delivered on.
The Electro just fits a sweet spot for me. It's simple enough yet very capable. I'm also very eager to just get a rig I can happily use for a few years without thinking about the Next Thing.
Now I really shouldn't complain - these are all first world problems. I will also admit that I'm fortunate in that this is a hobby and I'm a bit insensitive to the price. In reality, if there is a Rev. B version down the line, I can sell what I have and buy the refreshed model. So maybe I should just shut up about it.
The "shiny" and "red" stuff doesn't matter to me at all; I just seem to resonate with the Nord products. I've tried other brands and they all fall short in one aspect or another. A quality piano experience is most important to me and these products bring that satisfaction. Other people are impressed by the "red" but I couldn't care less. Enough about me.
Thanks for the thoughtful response, Mike! I think I missed that you were planning for the future NE7 to be your one stop keyboard shop whereas I thought you were using the NP5 + NE6 and the NE7 would simply be one step up from the NE6. Having it all in the NE7 makes sense based on your application as described.
I've always had a soft spot for the NE and still have my NE2 that I bought around 2001-2002 when I was using it as my upper board above a Yamaha S90 (still have that too) among a few other slab stage pianos before I went all in on the NS, which started with NS1 around late '00s and NS2 in 2011, NS3 in 2018...
I've been clamoring for a 61 note board that can do the core Nord sound set in the smallest footprint possible, mostly for rehearsal purposes and maybe even for some gigs. I have a newer INXS tribute band where I'm hoping my Prophet 6 shares the stage with my Nord...which at the moment would be NS3 Compact + P6...I could easily get by with a NE6 or NE7 + P6 in that setting as the synth performance features in the P6 would make up dramatically for the slimmer features in the NE, no pitch bend, etc.
Time will tell if I decide to do the NE6 vs. NE7 or just sit happy with what I have. I have contemplated the NS4 as an upgrade to NS3 and I haven't been able to justify it for several reasons.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 17:43
by Tracii
Re: pitch stick:
I don't really get it either. I mean, if you really need pitch bend, aren't you guaranteed to be frustrated by all the other synth limitations of the Electro as well?
I had this discussion on a German forum, too. People were saying that extending the synth capabilities while continuing to "withhold" pitch bend would be actively driving customers away.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 17:56
by anotherscott
For someone who could go with an Electro (perhaps as their only board) if only they could bend pitch, you can put a pitch bend pedal on its audio output. I've done this even when I'm using boards with pitch benders, because I don't always have the hand free to use a separate wheel or stick.
Yes, it's more limited. You'd typically set it for a single interval, and the ones I've seen are mono which won't work for everyone. Still, for someone who thinks "I could use the Electro if only I had a way to do a whole step pitch bend" or something like that, it can make the board viable.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 19:22
by Rusty Mike
I don't always have the hand free to use a separate wheel or stick.
This is quite poignant.
Having your left hand free to manipulate wheels, sticks, cutoff knobs, etc. implies that you are focused on playing a synth and nothing else at that moment. With its limited synth capabilities, is that really a viable use for the Electro?
It doesn’t have multiple filter types
It doesn’t have a big cutoff knob
It doesn’t have any kind of flexible LFO
It doesn’t have routable modulation capabilities
It has only a rudimentary glissando/glide
It doesn’t have aftertouch
It doesn’t have an arpeggiator
All of these things should tell you where this instrument is targeted and where is it not.
Not trying to sound mean - I just don’t get it.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 19:29
by Rusty Mike
ericL wrote: 19 Jan 2026, 17:30
I've always had a soft spot for the NE and still have my NE2 that I bought around 2001-2002 when I was using it as my upper board above a Yamaha S90 (still have that too) among a few other slab stage pianos before I went all in on the NS, which started with NS1 around late '00s and NS2 in 2011, NS3 in 2018...
The NE2 was my first Nord way back when. Loved that instrument - was very inspiring! Had probably the best clavinet implementation of any Nord ever. Unfortunately the APs were not quite ready for prime time and I needed more than 61 keys, so it was sold to upgrade to an NE3 73. It was still so unique with the rounded wooden cheek blocks.
Think about that product and how far we’ve come with the Electro 7 or even the 6.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 20:08
by anotherscott
Rusty Mike wrote: 19 Jan 2026, 19:22
Having your left hand free to manipulate wheels, sticks, cutoff knobs, etc. implies that you are focused on playing a synth and nothing else at that moment. With its limited synth capabilities, is that really a viable use for the Electro?
It doesn’t have multiple filter types
It doesn’t have a big cutoff knob
It doesn’t have any kind of flexible LFO
It doesn’t have routable modulation capabilities
It has only a rudimentary glissando/glide
It doesn’t have aftertouch
It doesn’t have an arpeggiator
All of these things should tell you where this instrument is targeted and where is it not.
I wouldn't recommend an Electro to someone who wants a board dedicated to lead synth. But it's nice to have some amount of lead synth functionality there for the times one might need it, without necessarily having to bring a second board... and I do think the E7 comes closer than any previous Electro.
Looking at your list of what you seem to be saying are lead synth essentials, though, I'd point out that a Minimoog lacks much of that as well.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 19 Jan 2026, 21:16
by Rusty Mike
anotherscott wrote: 19 Jan 2026, 20:08
Looking at your list of what you seem to be saying are lead synth essentials, though, I'd point out that a Minimoog lacks much of that as well.
You get my point.
But the Minimoog is a great comparison. It's expensive - overpriced, some might say. It's got cache. Its design and capabilities haven't been updated in 50 years, even the newer iterations. Yet nobody complains that its sounds are old or that it can't make a piano sound. You know why? Because it's built for a purpose and everybody understands that.
That's the last I'll say on this. We are already veering too far off topic.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 20 Jan 2026, 00:02
by Gambold
Some good points about Clavia not wanting to position the new Electro as a simply cheaper version of the Stage. If they did, even fewer people would pony up for a Stage. So it's not a mystery that some features remain off the Electro, particularly the pitch wheel.
But there are two other improvements that I thought would appear, matching what is currently offered on the Nord Piano. These are two layers for piano/samples and 2GB piano memory. Installing either or both these on an Electro would not jeopardize Stage sales.
Not having two layers has been the biggest miss for me as a performer. There have been many, many times when the ability to play two samples concurrently would have been hugely useful. You can do this on the Piano. I can do it on my YC88. Why not on the new Electro, especially after an eight-year wait?
Not having more memory just sucks. To be sure, you can loads lot of pianos on an Electro IF you pick the smaller versions. But if you want to have a nice selection of pianos, electrics and such, 1GB only gives you room for one XL, MAYBE two. Especially now since the best Rhodes samples take up their share of room too. Given the extensive selection of the Nord piano library, one wants to load as many of the larger, richer samples as possible. The Piano has 2GB. Why not on the new Electro, especially after an eight-year wait?
People buy the Stage to have EVERYTHING. The Electro has everything but the Synth. The Piano has everything but the Synth and the Organ. That wouldn't have changed. Sales would have remained consistent across the models. It's a big, disappointing miss that I suspect was done more to save money on product development and increase profits, than from fear of hurting Stage sales.
It's also possible that these two fundamental features (I say fundamental since the Piano has them) were left off to BOOST Stage 4 sales. Either way, the big losers in Nordland are the Electro players. We waited a long time for this new model.
Re: New! Nord Electro 7!
Posted: 20 Jan 2026, 01:12
by ElectroStrat
The Piano 6 doesn’t have an Organ engine.
So even, with 2 layers of piano and synth and the same amount of memory, the Piano 6 cannot compete with the Stage 4.
But an Electro 7 with 2 layers of piano and synth in addition to its organ engine, would make it a serious / cheaper competitor to the Stage 4 (even without a pitch bend and a mod wheel)
Personally, I was not expecting all that.
However, I was expecting some increased memory and even less than what is found in the Piano 6 / Stage 4 :
- 1.5 GB for the piano engine
- 768 MB for the synth/sample engine
Just a 50% more memory would have been great to load more XL pianos and more samples.
The improvements in the effects field are great, but still the lack of increased memory is disappointing.