Electro2 owners ahoy

[TritonuS]

Hi,

I'm about to buy the Nord Electro 2 but I'm still hesitating because of the acoustic piano sounds. I know there are new versions available, but the demos on clavia's homepage are really crappy and it's difficult to say if there's any real improvement there...

So, are the newer sounds (Steinway models etc) any better than the original sound (which is the only sound I can hear in my local music stores)?

Should I look into the Roland V-Combo before I spend my 2000 euros? Haven't tested that one yet.

Thanks,

-Kai

[Kirby]

The acoustic piano sounds of the Nord Electro aren't very good, personally, I see them as some kind of bonus, since it is an instrument to emulate vinatge keyboards like B3, Rhodes and Wurli. These sounds are excellent.

I suggest that you also test the V-Combo.

[Lyngs]

I have a Nord Electro 2. It's an awesome board, but you have to know what kind of keyboard you are looking for.

The Electro is not a synthesizer. But is is really great for what it is made for: It emulates electro-mechanical keyboards, which means, that it emulates Hammond B3, Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Clavinet sounds. Nothing else - besides the acoustic piano, which is more like a bonusfeature, which you can use just in case.

It has very cool built-in effects like wah-wah chorus and overdrive, but no reverb, so you have to add an outboard reverb-effect if you want some room around the sounds.

I use it together with my Kurzweil K2500X.

[pmarafio]

I owned an Electro 2 for a few months and then sold it. I do a few cover bands and I was drawn by the light weight and the waterfall keyboard. I'll summarize the sounds:

- Acoustic Piano - works OK in a live situation. Clavia has a few different options for piano samples, the only one I really liked was the stereo grand. It's probably on par with the 16MB Kurzweil board for the 2500. Definitely nowhere near as awesome as the Motif ES.

- Rhodes - Very good options. The early Rhodes samples nail that classic Chick Corea Herbie Hancock sound. The stereo pan effect is very well done and some of the effects like chorus or phase are very good!

- Wurlitzer - Nice! About as good as it gets...very useable.

- Organ - sounds fantastic! I owned a Hammond/Leslie and gigged with it for about 10 years so I know what they are supposed to sound like. Clavia nailed it... period! In particular, the distortion is on the money - it accurately reproduces the unique overdrive effect that switching the Leslie ohm selector will product. Anyone who has ever owned a hammond knows exactly what I'm referring to. The Leslie sounds very accurate as well. In fact, the only other non-Hammond that sounds this good is the Native Instruments B4. On the downside, the lack of drawbars are what triggered me to sell it. A Hammond player typically plays the drawbars a bit to tweak the sound to the room, the solo, comping, etc. Although Clavia has some dumb "up" "down" switches for drawbars - they don't cut it - the authenticity takes a serious hit as a result. I wonder how many professional Hammond players they tested this axe with - I doubt they consulted many.

- Clavinet - Off the charts!! This is a sick recreation of the original (I had one of those also!) The ability to recreate each switch setting is fantastic...and highly accurate. Adding a little phase or chorus is cool as well. Only complaint here is that they did not provide a damper control - for Clavinet players, the damper gave that real funky short attack sound! Aside from that, Clavia hit a home run on the Claviet - it's ridiculously accurate!!

So why did I sell it?

The drawars (lack of them)
The acoustic piano - average at best
No damper on the Clavinet
The overall palette of sounds is limiting. It gets old pretty quickly.

I replaced it with the Motif, and eventually upgraded to the Motif ES. It weighs more but it is the best keyboard I've ever owned - and I've had dozens!! I also picked up a used Roland VK7 organ. Great value - not quite as accurate as the Electro but it's damn close and it gives me real drawbars.

Good luck.

[TritonuS]

Thanks for your input, guys.

The main reason why I'm (probably) buying the electro is those excellent vintage sounds, which I've tested and found brilliant. I even don't mind the drawbar-button solution. My second board at the moment is a Triton classic, so I'm not looking for a synth, just some compact vintage power, preferably with a slightly better piano than the Triton has.

So I guess I got my question answered, the new samples are better than the original one. Thank you!