Trying to decide between a Nord Stage 4 Compact and Nord Electro 6D

[ZeroZero]

I have a Nord Stage 4, but for many cases I don't want to lug it about. So, I want either a Nord Stage 4 Compact or an Electro 6d (either 62 or 72 not sure).

I don't play much piano, it's mostly the wonderful Stockholm Rhodes and a Hammond, not too bothered about synthy sounds.

There is a big price difference between electors and stage 4 compact, but I shall buy the right one whatever.

Is the waterfall action on both Electro and Stage keyboards the same tech? Are gtehy both triple sensored?

Hammond:

On Hammond I like using a footpedal to control the Leslie (plus a swell and a sustain). Can this be done on the Electro?

Concerning the drawbars, physical ones are a must, but my Stage 4 88 has also got lights which is great for reading a program that has just been loaded. Do the Electros have this?

Are there any other bear traps one should be aware of?

thank you all. All opinions welcome


Z

[ZeroZero]

Can you split the hammond sound on the Electro? So that you have one drawbar settings for the lower notes and another for the higher?

thank you

Z

[Schorsch]

Hi,

the Electro does not feature a triple sensor keyboard as far as I know, apart from this the keybeds are similar.

The Electro does not have lights at the physical drawbars.

Yes you can split the keyboard and assign different Hammond settings to the upper and lower zone, or add a 2nd midi keyboard for the lower section, having 2 full size organ keyboards instead of a split of the integrated keybed

All of this information can also be easily found on the Nord product pages and manuals, please have a look

[Rusty Mike]

Is the waterfall action on both Electro and Stage keyboards the same tech? Are gtehy both triple sensored?
The Stage has an aftertouch strip which softens the bottom of the action a bit. They both response to initial velocity the same way.
The Electro is a two-sensor action. It also supports a High Trigger setting so the organ responds to a relatively light touch.

On Hammond I like using a footpedal to control the Leslie (plus a swell and a sustain). Can this be done on the Electro?
You can configure the Electro to have the sustain pedal control the rotor speed. The Electro also has a dedicated Rotor pedal input so you can connect a second pedal keep the sustain pedal on sustain duties if you want.

Concerning the drawbars, physical ones are a must, but my Stage 4 88 has also got lights which is great for reading a program that has just been loaded. Do the Electros have this?
The drawbars on the Electro do not light up. However, the main display shows the active drawbar settings, even when you move the drawbars.

Are there any other bear traps one should be aware of?
The one thing that seems to annoy many of us on the Electro is that the 9th drawbar does not cancel when you activate percussion, which is normal behavior on a Hammond. Many of us have requested this feature to be restored, but it looks like it will not happen on the Electro 6. I know the Nord Organ 3 does have the 9th drawbar cancel, but don’t know about the Stage 4.

Can you split the hammond sound on the Electro? So that you have one drawbar settings for the lower notes and another for the higher?
Yes you can split the keyboard for upper and lower manuals, each with independent settings for drawbars, C/V and percussion. There is a button that allows you to switch the drawbar control between the upper and lower manuals. They obviously share Leslie rotor settings and other effects.

In addition, you can add a second keyboard to work as the lower manual on an independent MIDI channel.

I hope this helps.

[ZeroZero]

Yes that helps a lot, so no triple sensor on n electro 61? I can feel this on a RHodes sound. Back in hte day I had a Stage 2, for a week, got rid of it because of the action. I am happy with the Stage 4 action. Probably does not matter on organ sounds.


Z

[ZeroZero]

I am nit sure what you meancabout draw bars lighting up. On teh Stage 4 you have non-lit physical drawbars with a set of lights on the side. This gives you two things. I you can grab drawbars physically. 2 if you change programs then the lights show you where the drawbar settings for the new programs are - which is incredibly useful being as the physical drawbars are not motorised to change with programs

Z

Mike means the same which I mentioned in my first reply here - the Electro does not have the lights on the side of the drawbars to indicate the settings when you call a program. You can see this in the manual and on the Nord product page of the Electro 6, which also provides a number of images

[ZeroZero]

Thank you for all your replies. I understand now

[Rusty Mike]

I would suggest that you download and read the manual if you are still interested.

[FZiegler]

The Electro 6 seems to be a very successful model. It's still produced even if it was released already in 2018. In a nutshell, it's derived from the Stage 3 generation, little familiarity with the Stage 4.

The FX section is pre fader on the Stage 3/Electro 6 (one sound engine attributable per effect) and post fader on the Stage 4 (multi engine per effect).

[ZeroZero]

Thank you people I have decided on an Electro.