what exactly is an Electro?!

[NWaveSam]

Hey,

so... as the name of the thread implies, I'm genuinely confused when it comes to the Nord Electro series. I'm a Wave and G2 owner and a Nord product specialist in the music store I work at, but I still know how to sum up the Piano series, the C series, the Stage series and the Lead series... but, when people ask me questions about, oh I don't know let's go with the Electro 4D (seeing as it's the newest Electro in our store), I am completely lost. Is it a piano? Is it an organ? Is it a cheaper way of getting a Piano 2 and a C2D but obviously having to settle with a few quality (sound mainly) differences between those instruments?

Thanks!

[NWaveSam]

I'd say it's a great all-round vintage keyboard clone in a portable package. Ideal for people who mainly play organ, rhodes, wurly, piano and samples but don't need the full keyboard or splitting/layering. It's the swiss knife among the clones.

I mainly got it for the organ and its size/weight.

[stiiiiiiive]

A little history may be what you're missing, NWaveSam.



After the 90ies Nord Lead series was initiated, Nord came back with a brand new concept: a Rhodes, a Wurlitzer, a Clavinet, a B3 and an acoustic piano, all packaged in a single keyboard, with the FX and the feeling of the old days. That is the Nord Electro.

A couple of years later, the Nord Stage took the flagship role: it was advertised as the ultimate stage instrument, with everything you'd need available within a few clicks.
As it embedded an organ and a piano sections, it obviously had this in common with the Electro. But the synth part and the multitimbrality were its big plus.

Later, Clavia introduced the Nord Wave, and with it, the sample read functionality. They took the opportunity to include it in the Electro 3, advertising it as a way to access some good ol' Chamberlin and Mellotron sounds.

What happened next is all the same: adding / upgrading this and that to the different series, so that the features versions (organ model, for instance) would beneficiate to other series and so that users would be happy. It resulted in a slight confusion about which one does what and some common feature sets do exist.

So...
- The Nord Electro is the father of all other, in a way. The lighest way to access those vintage eletromechanical wonders. It has remained monotombral over the years, certainly so that it wouldn't bother the Nord Stage market.
- The Nord Stage is the most complete series in terms of possibilities.
- The Nord C organs are the organ instruments, extracted from the Electro at one point, and enhanced then.
- The Nord Pianos were in the same fashion extracted from the Nord Electro. They were then augmented with the sample feature.

I hope this helps

[anotherscott]

but I still know how to sum up the Piano series, the C series, the Stage series and the Lead series...

If you're comfortable with the Nord Stage 2, the simplest way to think of the Electro is that it's basically a Nord Stage 2 that can only play one sound at a time and doesn't have the synth section. (There are other differences, but those are the biggest ones in terms of a quick pigeon-holing.)

The other way to look at the Electro is basically a "vintage keyboard" emulator. Hammond organ, Vox organ, Farfisa organ, piano, clavinet, Rhodes, Wurli, CP80, and (via the sample library) Mellotron and other classic keyboards (Pianet, RMI electra piano, Solina string ensemble, and others)... basically, all the sounds that were common to pop music in the 60s and 70s. As a bonus, it also has things like strings, brass, etc., but it really started as being a vintage keys board (limited to one sound at a time). So instead of looking at the Electro as a scaled down Stage 2, you could as easily look at the Stage 2 as a scaled-up Electro. Same sounds, but with the ability to split and layer them, plus a full synth section.

(There are other more subtle differences, like aftertouch, pitch stick, mod wheel, ext MIDI control, more memory to hold more sounds, displayable patch names, etc.)

[mjbrands]

Nice explanation Stiiiiive

[stiiiiiiive]

Thanks

I find Anotherscott's point about scaled down NS vs. scaled up NE is relevant too.

[iaorana]

Thanks

I find Anotherscott's point about scaled down NS vs. scaled up NE is relevant too.

+ 1: both presentations are very clear ! Thanks!

[NWaveSam]

Thanks everyone! All extremely good descriptions. I especially liked the little history lesson by Stiiiiiiive, that was great!

[stiiiiiiive]

I'm glad it was informative although it's kind of an ellipsis

[Ignatius]

I will add that the person who wants an Electro has often been flummoxed by the confusion of electronic manipulations involved with using a synthesizer and/or MIDI. That person only has so much time to devote to music and must answer a question - What do you want to do? Become master of synthesizer/MIDI technology or learn to play the piano/organ/other keys as well as you can?

For those who answer the latter, the Electro line is a great solution.