Nord User Forum

I'm planning to buy a Electro 3. Woo Hoo! Super excited.
What kind of amp should I play it through? I'd like something as light weight and reasonably priced as possible, but to still sound good. I need to be loud enough to play with a drummer etc...
I'm also thinking that I need a sustain pedal and volume pedal.
I'd appreciate any thought you might have about these purchases.

The ElectroVoice ZXA1 is a lightweight reasonably priced powered speaker that sounds quite good.

tallulah wrote:I'm planning to buy a Electro 3. ...
I'm also thinking that I need a sustain pedal and volume pedal.
I'd appreciate any thought you might have about these purchases.

Hello tallulah,
Welcome to the forums.

anotherscott has offered up a good choice of powered speaker(s).

For pedals, my choice is the Yamaha FC4 sustain pedal, and FC7 foot controller (volume).

Cheers, hanon

Hi, Tallulah-

I have a couple of Nord boards and find the QSC K-10 has fantastic sound. I also use two Yamaha FC7 control pedals and also the FC4 Sustain pedal.

Although I prefer the Qsc K10 speakers I think the EV Zxa1 is also a popular speaker for keyboards and lightweight. I am interested in getting one.
But beyond that most keyboardists would probably recommend a powered PA speaker over any of the so called keyboard amps which are usually heavy and short on power or have at least one bad speaker if not two. Stay away from "keyboard Amps' in general and you would probably do well with a known brand powered speaker.
Good Luck,
RB4U1

The Yamaha FC7 is a great volume-pedal!

As sustain-pedal I prefer the Roland DP-10. It seems much sturdier to me and it has this nice rubber pad that prevents it from slipping!

I would recommend to check out the Roland SA300 or SA1000. These mini PAs sound pretty good and they are sufficiently dimensioned with 350 watts of stereo sound. The Leslie sim sounds fabulous through it. It's very lightweight and easy to carry. Unlike any PA speaker it has an integrated stereo mixer with plenty of inputs.

Happy New Year to all!

The QSC K8 is also a great choice, very light. Plenty loud for most contexts.

ybakos wrote:The QSC K8 is also a great choice, very light. Plenty loud for most contexts.

I found the EV ZXA1 to sound noticeably better than the QSC K8, especially for piano. However, the QSC definitely plays noticeably louder.

organaut wrote:I would recommend to check out the Roland SA300 or SA1000. These mini PAs sound pretty good and they are sufficiently dimensioned with 350 watts of stereo sound. The Leslie sim sounds fabulous through it. It's very lightweight and easy to carry. Unlike any PA speaker it has an integrated stereo mixer with plenty of inputs.

I also found the SA300 to not sound nearly as good on piano as the EV ZXA1, but the ergonomics of the SA300 are terrific. It's a very convenient piece to have around, with the integrated mixer, the ease of the two-piece move, and the way the top sits on the bottom to put everything at a good location... easy to get at the controls, and everything at a good height without having to bother with a stand. Sometimes the whole self-contained PA thing is a real time saver on a small gig. The "wide" effect does make Leslie simulation sound particularly nice, but it makes the piano sound worse, and also makes the unit more prone to feedback if you also have a vocal mic hooked up. I wish I could turn on the wide stereo effect on just one channel for organ, without having to turn it on for all the channels. I have actually thought about bring around an SA300 just for organ, but don't know if I could justify shlepping a whole other amp just for that. Which sounds silly from someone who used to gig with a real Leslie just for organ!