Year after year, a lot of what the music instruments industry does is iterative – evolutionary, not revolutionary. But for the day-in, day-out operation of a lot of gigging musicians, some of the less-thrilling announcements are the ones that simply make life better.
That means, for example, Clavia’s announcement of a new Nord Electro 5 keyboard matters. The number of stage musicians who rely on the signature red keyboards from Sweden is simply stunning. Nord aren’t cheap, but their attention to detail has earned them a lot of impassioned enthusiasts.
I actually had the pleasure of visiting Clavia when I was in Stockholm last year, hosted by the city. These things really are built by hand in the middle of the city, in a tiny assembly line tucked away in an unassuming residential block. Now, that wouldn’t ordinarily make any difference, except that the keyboards’ success I think is owing to some careful design and construction and a lot of listening to customers. (The Scandinavian wood is just icing on the cake.) This isn’t an enormous business, but it represents what modern electronic instrument building is about – it’s making highly tailored tools for a small but dedicated clientele.
Now, the Nord Electro 5 series doesn’t really have any banner features; it’s just the old Electro, but better. In fact, you might have some trouble working out what’s new from the press materials, so let me help. A lot of this borrows from Nord’s combo organ and piano – but that could mean the Electro is the Clavia axe you really want:
It’s a better piano. 1GB of sample memory with sympathetic string resonance, first seen on the Nord Piano, have made it to the Electro. Making a stage piano sound right is sort of voodoo; there’s something special about those Nord samples that people really love for gigging, so this matters.
It’s a better, bassier organ. Here, the Electro borrows from the Nord C2D Combo Organ. You get a new Principal Pipe Organ, and a B3 Tone Wheel Bass.
It has more samples. The dedicated Sample Synth section has a library of sounds including some licensed officially from Mellotron and Chamberlin. This is no computer – think 256 MB – but it’s still in a special league for dedicated keyboards.
It finally has stereo effects. Everything is in stereo, you get control pedal access to effects, there’s a new Stereo Tub overdrive, and you can use Delay and Reverb separately.
It’s gone OLED. You get a brighter, clearer OLED display.
It’s more capable in live situations. Layer or split Organ/Piano, Piano/Sample Synth, or Sample Synth/Organ into separate sound slots. And – in a feature every single live keyboard and live-oriented software ought to have, you can make Set Lists of programs so you’re not lost dialing through presets between songs.
There are three models. The 5D 61 and 5D 73 sport drawbars, and semi-weighted “waterfall” keyboards preferred by electric piano and organ players. That also keeps their weight at 8 kg or less.
The Electro 5 HP 73 is for piano players, with a 73-note hammer action piano. And it weighs a tidy11 kg. It’d be high on my list for serious dedicated keyboards, alongside entries like the Kurzweil or Kawaii – but more portable. (Why so many hammer action keyboards insist on a full 88 keys, when you don’t need that many keys to actually play music, I don’t know. Acoustic pianos depend on sympathetic resonance from the bigger strings for their sound, so at least they have an excuse.)
Press announcement:
http://www.nordkeyboards.com/about-us/press/nord-electro-5
This is exactly the iteration I was waiting for. I let the Electro 4 pass by, because the improvement in specs was just too homeopathic for my taste. Now, I’ve got a perfect set of reasons to part with my trusty Electro 3 and upgrade. That display alone is reason enough. Ok, the 1 GB piano memory is awesome too. I am all in.
This is exactly the iteration I was waiting for. I let the Electro 4 pass by, because the improvement in specs was just too homeopathic for my taste. Now, I’ve got a perfect set of reasons to part with my trusty Electro 3 and upgrade. That display alone is reason enough. Ok, the 1 GB piano memory is awesome too. I am all in.
P.S. There is a nifty comparison chart on the Nord site. And on the Electro 4 page, they’ve got a chart to compare with the previous generation. That should be clear enough for everyone.
This is exactly the iteration I was waiting for. I let the Electro 4 pass by, because the improvement in specs was just too homeopathic for my taste. Now, I’ve got a perfect set of reasons to part with my trusty Electro 3 and upgrade. That display alone is reason enough. Ok, the 1 GB piano memory is awesome too. I am all in.
P.S. There is a nifty comparison chart on the Nord site. And on the Electro 4 page, they’ve got a chart to compare with the previous generation. That should be clear enough for everyone.
I still do not understand why 73 note keyboards are still putting an E on the bottom like an old fender rhodes, instead of going C to C like every other keyboard in history. As a pianist, I use the low C 10 times more often than the entire top octave. If I transpose to get a low C, I waste a half-octave in the bass, and lose a valuable half octave in the treble.
Hmmm, actually… that’s a really good question, and now I’m curious if there’s an answer to the “why” there. (I would tend to agree with you.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard#Size_and_historical_variation
“…There have been variations in the design of the keyboard to address technical and musical issues. The earliest designs of keyboards were based heavily on the notes used in Gregorian chant (the seven diatonic notes plus B-flat) and as such would often include B♭ and B♮ both as diatonic “white notes,” with the B♮ at the leftmost side of the keyboard and the B♭ at the rightmost. Thus, an octave would have eight”white keys” and only four “black keys.” The emphasis on these eight notes would continue for a few centuries after the “seven and five” system was adopted, in the form of the short octave: the eight aforementioned notes were arranged at the leftmost side of the keyboard, compressed in the keys between E and C (at the time, accidentals that low were very uncommon and thus not needed)…”
It might be that because they are used mostly in rock bands with guitars, that a lot of the music played ends up in E. Gotta have the open power chord. Other than that, I can’t think of a reason not go C-C.
I think it’s because E is the bottom of a string bass or electric bass guitar. So who could want to go lower? Well a Hammond organist of course! Oh, and pianists who want to do rolling rock boogie left hands. I’m with you woody!
I use it since Nord Electro 2 more than 10 yrs ago.
I have ALWAYS used the top F! Now there´s only E… 🙁
I still do not understand why 73 note keyboards are still putting an E on the bottom like an old fender rhodes, instead of going C to C like every other keyboard in history. As a pianist, I use the low C 10 times more often than the entire top octave. If I transpose to get a low C, I waste a half-octave in the bass, and lose a valuable half octave in the treble.
Hmmm, actually… that’s a really good question, and now I’m curious if there’s an answer to the “why” there. (I would tend to agree with you.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard#Size_and_historical_variation
“…There have been variations in the design of the keyboard to address technical and musical issues. The earliest designs of keyboards were based heavily on the notes used in Gregorian chant (the seven diatonic notes plus B-flat) and as such would often include B♭ and B♮ both as diatonic “white notes,” with the B♮ at the leftmost side of the keyboard and the B♭ at the rightmost. Thus, an octave would have eight”white keys” and only four “black keys.” The emphasis on these eight notes would continue for a few centuries after the “seven and five” system was adopted, in the form of the short octave: the eight aforementioned notes were arranged at the leftmost side of the keyboard, compressed in the keys between E and C (at the time, accidentals that low were very uncommon and thus not needed)…”
It might be that because they are used mostly in rock bands with guitars, that a lot of the music played ends up in E. Gotta have the open power chord. Other than that, I can’t think of a reason not go C-C.
I think it’s because E is the bottom of a string bass or electric bass guitar. So who could want to go lower? Well a Hammond organist of course! Oh, and pianists who want to do rolling rock boogie left hands. I’m with you woody!
I use it since Nord Electro 2 more than 10 yrs ago.
I have ALWAYS used the top F! Now there´s only E… 🙁
I still do not understand why 73 note keyboards are still putting an E on the bottom like an old fender rhodes, instead of going C to C like every other keyboard in history. As a pianist, I use the low C 10 times more often than the entire top octave. If I transpose to get a low C, I waste a half-octave in the bass, and lose a valuable half octave in the treble.
Hmmm, actually… that’s a really good question, and now I’m curious if there’s an answer to the “why” there. (I would tend to agree with you.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard#Size_and_historical_variation
“…There have been variations in the design of the keyboard to address technical and musical issues. The earliest designs of keyboards were based heavily on the notes used in Gregorian chant (the seven diatonic notes plus B-flat) and as such would often include B♭ and B♮ both as diatonic “white notes,” with the B♮ at the leftmost side of the keyboard and the B♭ at the rightmost. Thus, an octave would have eight”white keys” and only four “black keys.” The emphasis on these eight notes would continue for a few centuries after the “seven and five” system was adopted, in the form of the short octave: the eight aforementioned notes were arranged at the leftmost side of the keyboard, compressed in the keys between E and C (at the time, accidentals that low were very uncommon and thus not needed)…”
It might be that because they are used mostly in rock bands with guitars, that a lot of the music played ends up in E. Gotta have the open power chord. Other than that, I can’t think of a reason not go C-C.
I think it’s because E is the bottom of a string bass or electric bass guitar. So who could want to go lower? Well a Hammond organist of course! Oh, and pianists who want to do rolling rock boogie left hands. I’m with you woody!
I use it since Nord Electro 2 more than 10 yrs ago.
I have ALWAYS used the top F! Now there´s only E… 🙁
I’ve always loved the feel and functionality of these keyboards, but the red is too much for me in a live setting. I’ve seen some users that have taken theirs apart and then painted/stained to a more subdued color, which is perfectly doable I suppose.
I always liked (and still do like) that distinctive look, but I get what you mean. Here is a nice example of turning a bright red Nord keyboard into a dull, black thing: http://youtu.be/UWBaCw2h7RU 😉
I’ve always loved the feel and functionality of these keyboards, but the red is too much for me in a live setting. I’ve seen some users that have taken theirs apart and then painted/stained to a more subdued color, which is perfectly doable I suppose.
I always liked (and still do like) that distinctive look, but I get what you mean. Here is a nice example of turning a bright red Nord keyboard into a dull, black thing: http://youtu.be/UWBaCw2h7RU 😉
I’ve always loved the feel and functionality of these keyboards, but the red is too much for me in a live setting. I’ve seen some users that have taken theirs apart and then painted/stained to a more subdued color, which is perfectly doable I suppose.
I always liked (and still do like) that distinctive look, but I get what you mean. Here is a nice example of turning a bright red Nord keyboard into a dull, black thing: http://youtu.be/UWBaCw2h7RU 😉
The split/layer is long overdue, now it can be considered a practical, if expensive, gigging machine. And by the way, Piano keyboards DO need 88 keys, in the same way that Hammond keyboards need 61 keys. It’s an orientation, muscle memory sort of thing. Playing Hammond on a larger keyboard and having to think about where C4 is throws me right off
I can definitely understand that – it is a bit like typing on a computer keyboard or typewriter, when you’re trained to type with ten fingers “properly”.
But I guess, that’s where Nord separates their product line: The Stage or Piano do have the number of keys and layout and keybed you’d require as a “proper” piano player, while the Electro is a compromise for those, who would not want (or cannot) to purchase both the Stage/Piano and the C2 organ, but rather have everything in one – somewhat – portable and affordable package.
The split/layer is long overdue, now it can be considered a practical, if expensive, gigging machine. And by the way, Piano keyboards DO need 88 keys, in the same way that Hammond keyboards need 61 keys. It’s an orientation, muscle memory sort of thing. Playing Hammond on a larger keyboard and having to think about where C4 is throws me right off
I can definitely understand that – it is a bit like typing on a computer keyboard or typewriter, when you’re trained to type with ten fingers “properly”.
But I guess, that’s where Nord separates their product line: The Stage or Piano do have the number of keys and layout and keybed you’d require as a “proper” piano player, while the Electro is a compromise for those, who would not want (or cannot) to purchase both the Stage/Piano and the C2 organ, but rather have everything in one – somewhat – portable and affordable package.
The split/layer is long overdue, now it can be considered a practical, if expensive, gigging machine. And by the way, Piano keyboards DO need 88 keys, in the same way that Hammond keyboards need 61 keys. It’s an orientation, muscle memory sort of thing. Playing Hammond on a larger keyboard and having to think about where C4 is throws me right off
I can definitely understand that – it is a bit like typing on a computer keyboard or typewriter, when you’re trained to type with ten fingers “properly”.
But I guess, that’s where Nord separates their product line: The Stage or Piano do have the number of keys and layout and keybed you’d require as a “proper” piano player, while the Electro is a compromise for those, who would not want (or cannot) to purchase both the Stage/Piano and the C2 organ, but rather have everything in one – somewhat – portable and affordable package.
Am currently in the market for a new stage piano/keyboard. The Electro 5 HP is about as close as I can get to what I want.
Killer piano tones
Weighted keybed
Hammond clone
Capable synth
Split
Layer
Small portable
Light weight
Connectivity
The only CON I see is the goofy pushbutton “drawbars” that Nord uses on this Electro version for organ control.
Organ players use drawbars NOT pushbuttons, and the Electro 5D 73 with real drawbars does NOT came with a weighted keybed.
I suspect this is simply a “stocking” issue and Nord has many, many thousands of pushbuttons in stock that they have to get rid of.
I would purchase the Nord Electro 5 HP today if they offered this option.
Sadly, no one from Nord “knows anything” about this eventuality.
The drawbuttons really aren’t that bad. Less to break, good visual feedback and you can train yourself to use them. I love my Hammond B3 and its real drawbars, but between ability to store presets, live mode (where you can store various versions of drawbar settings on the same overall organ model if you want) and the decent usability of the drawbuttons — this is not a showstopper…
Todd,
Probably right, still playing around with them.
I got a 1952 Hammond w/Leslie and they are in great condition never broke anything