Stage 2 vs Electro 6

[Falcon2e]

I’m considering buying a new 6D. I currently own a Stage 2. I’m really not sure if the 6D is a great improvement, same piano libraries, is the organ sounds and Leslie effect worth upgrading?

[catosim]

I'd say no.
You're loosing the synth section and that's a huge (in my opinion) contribution to the musical possibilities.

[Spider]

It really depends how much you need the synth section (not just the samples) and if you do complex splits and layering, considering that the Stage is essentially "2 Electros in one box" so you have twice of everything (2 pianos, 2 organs, 2 synths etc).

As you say, the piano section is essentially the same.
The effect section is the same.
You can use the same samples, but on the Stage you have much more control to shape them as you like.
As you correctly mentioned, the big improvement in the E6 is the organ section (updated emulation, physical drawbars, pipe organ, B3 bass etc).

If you mostly play piano and organ, and just need a few samples here and there (background strings, pads etc), the E6 will do the job perfectly.
If you need "real" synth sounds, the samples on the Electro will be a very poor substitute (you'd miss all the programming options and the expressivity given by the pitch bend and mod wheel).

All in all I think the Stage 2/2EX is still a very powerful board (I still use one daily!) and still much more capable than any Electro, but it all depends on your needs. If you don't use all the capabilities of the Stage, you may as well "downgrade" to the Electro, save some money and get a newer instrument with a much better organ section!

[NolaNord504]

I realize that this is an older thread, but I just wanted to add that to me, perhaps the most frustrating thing about the Electro 6 is that the Leslie is tied together with the amp sim/overdrive/compressor so even though you can split the keyboard or use a second midi keyboard to trigger another sound, if you are trying to use an electric piano and organ at the same time (an obvious combination), you cannot use the amp sim and overdrive with the piano while the Leslie is being used with the organ. It's a glaring issue that I've posted about here in the forum frequently. I can't believe that the E6 was designed this way. The amp sim/overdrive is essential to both the Wurly and Rhodes samples and severely handicaps the split/layer functionality of the E6 in my opinion. Nevertheless, I agree that the most significant difference between the Stage 2 and the Electro 6 is that the Stage 2 has two "slots" so the layering possibilities are way beyond anything possible with the Electro. In addition, the 4 outputs on the Stage are another big difference.

Also, I think anyone who owns an older Stage or Electro would agree that the build quality has dropped off a bit starting with the Electro 5 and the Stage 3. Make no mistake, the Electro 5, 6 and the Stage 3 are incredible instruments, but the older ones were built more sturdy (buttons, pots, etc.). My E6 has been repaired more times than all of my previous Nord keyboards combined. In fact the E6 is the only Nord I've ever had to repair. I've had numerous buttons replaced, keyboard contact repairs and other things wear out over a very short time. My Stage 2, that I've owned for much longer, has never had a single issue and it's been moved around and used on many gigs over the years. It's built like a tank, still sounds great, and I don't think I will ever get rid of it.