Nord Electro 3 61-Note Digital Modelling Keyboard

Description of the Nord Electro 3 61-Note Digital Modelling Keyboard

EXQUISITE NEW PIANOS

Right from the start, the Nord Electro 3 61 is loaded with a great selection of pianos. There are three acoustic grands (two Yamaha C7s and one Steinway D) and two electric grands. Electric piano aficionados will love the tine-based types; a Mk I, a Suitcase Mk I, a Mk II and a Mk V all with their unique and distinctive personalities. A great Wurlitzer A200 is of course present, as is the mighty Clavinet D6. The Clavinet type also includes the Harpsichords. There is a French harpsichord in the factory sound bank, and more to come in the Nord Piano Library download area. Each and every one of these pianos can be replaced if you wish. There are plenty more to choose from in the Library area, including some XL versions of our grand pianos, with even more details like added velocity layers and pedal-down samples. And all those sounds are available for free.

SAMPLES FROM THE NORD SAMPLE LIBRARY

Not only loaded with great piano sounds, the Nord Electro 3 digital modelling keyboard also sports some great samples to add flavor to your sonic arsenal. You'll find some of the classic Mellotron sounds, a selection of strings, a celeste, a vibraphone and many others. And just as with the piano partition, all of the samples can be replaced if the factory selection does not suit your immediate needs. You can add virtually any sound you want to the Nord Electro 3 sythesiser. Sounds that we offer for free are from the Mellotron Library or any other instrument from the expanding and extensive Nord Sample Library, which is the same format as the Nord Wave uses.

NORD SAMPLE EDITOR

By using the free Nord Sample Editor, you can add any sound you want to the Nord Electro 3 keyboard. The Sample Editor can use audio files in the .wav format and is equipped with some great tools to assist you in getting the results you want. Mapping several samples across the keyboard or creating perfect loops has never been easier. You can even start assembling your own samples today in the computer, without having the Nord Electro 3 present - just download the Editor, the Electro 3 manual and fire away. The Nord Sample Editor is compatible with Windows XP and Vista, and Mac OSX.

ORGAN SECTION

The growling sound, and the soul of a B3 is hard to replicate faithfully in a digital instrument. We've spent years perfecting our digital models and the Nord Electro 3 contains the best emulation so far.

The attention to minute details is stunning, the Nord Electro 3 keyboard is even equipped with four selectable tonewheel modes, that stretches from a clean sound to battered unit with the most dramatic setting; vintage 3. This setting even produces a sound in the background of its own, even if you don't touch any keys.

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

Every function in a B3 has been considered and examined in great detail, to make the Nord Electro 3 61-key keyboard as true to the original sound as possible. There are key clicks derived from the original busbar behavior and the energy robbing that produces the gentle compression when you do that massive palm smear across the keyboard. To get the response right, we have included the option to trigger the organ sounds at the very top of a key's range, making it react just as fast as the original. And sometimes we couldn't resist adding functions that went a bit further, like the option to either include or exclude the 9th drawbar when Percussion was activated.

VOX AND FARFISA

The Farfisa and Vox models are just as impressive as the B3. The massive savage sound created by their 12-top oscillator frequency-divider designs is of course also a nosample zone in the Nord Electro 3; you have the same behavior and unique response from our models as in the original instruments. The Farfisa Compact Deluxe, considered by many to be the mother of transistor organs, involves routing matrixes and complex filter combinations that offer a tailored sound with massive energy and high-end.

The Vox Continental's brute design brings you a more hollow tone, but with a very intense character. Both these transistor organs have their own unique, irreplaceable personalities. Combine them with any of the Nord Electro 3 61's speaker simulations, add some distortion, adjust the EQ and they will definitely get you through any organ gig with flying colors.

ORGAN SPLIT

Using the Organ Split mode, you can play two different organ registrations in a dual manual fashion, one sound on either side of a user definable keyboard split point. Connect a second MIDI keyboard to the Electro 3, to use the organ split functionality, but in a true, dual manual setup.

BRAND NEW EFFECT SECTION

The Nord Electro 3 61 is equipped with a great selection of high quality effects including a lush sounding reverb with five different algorithms. There is also a selection of tremolo, panning, wah-wah, phaser, flanger and chorus effects, and a ring modulator. User can further sculpt their final sound by choosing from a selection of three amplifier simulations that can add any amount of grit and distortion from gentle to manic levels. A three-band EQ with sweepable mid-range and a compressor can be added to the final stage of the audio path.

ENHANCED ROTARY SPEAKER EMULATOR

The rotary speaker emulator originates from the award winning Nord C1 Combo Organ, with its acclaimed sound quality. This rotary speaker emulator incorporates the acoustic variations that occur when a physical speaker spreads the sound in a room, providing the full experience of when the air is moved around. The Electro 3's rotary also features a brand new function in the addition of the Rotary Stop Mode. This allows users to switch between fast and stopped rotation and back again by using either the controls on the panel or with a foot pedal connected to the Rotor Pedal input. This is a crucial functionality that mimics the behavior of early one-speed original rotary speaker units. Those of you who are picky about the rotary behaviors will be pleased to find several user adjustable settings like speed and acceleration times for both treble and bass rotors. These options, as well as all the other System, MIDI and Sound Menu functions are written on the right side of the panel, a great help for all those moments when the manual decided to stay at home.

Features of the Nord Electro 3 61-Note Digital Modelling Keyboard

• MONITOR INPUT
• Just plug in your mp3 or CD player to the Electro 3 to be able to play along, rehearse or jam with previously recorded music without the need of an external mixer or sound system.
  The signal that is present at this input will be monitored through the Electro 3's headphone output.
• WATERFALL KEYBOARD
• The Nord Electro 3 comes in two different sizes. The 61 and the 73 have the same type of semi-weighted keyboard with the waterfall profile. This is a great set of keys to play organ and pianos with.
• EASY-TO-USE MANAGER
• The Electro 3 Manager is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to load the Electro 3 with new pianos and samples, and to arrange and make backups of the memories.
  These operations are done by simple drag and drop operations or from toolbar- or menu activated actions in the application.
  This application is available for free to Electro owners, and is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OSX.
• PORTABLE
• Having a bunch of great pianos, a tower of effects and three vintage organs in your studio is fun, but the Nord Electro 3 is also designed to allow you to easily bring all those great sounds to the gig.
  The Nord Electro 3 is extremely lightweight and portable, yet sturdy enough to cope with the rigors of the touring life. With the optional gig bag, you can carry the massive power that this puppy contains in one hand; weighing in at merely 7,6 or 9,1 kg (15.3/18.2 lb).
• NORD PIANO LIBRARY
• New instruments are being added on a regular basis to the Nord Piano Library.
  These additions can be downloaded for free by Electro 3 users. More details about the library and additional sounds to download can be found in the Libraries Area.
• XL MEMORY CAPACITY
• The Nord Electro 3 has a flash memory for pianos and samples with a total size of 256 MB. 68 MB of the memory is reserved for the sample partition.
  The program memory holds 128 programs.
• MELLOTRON LIBRARY
• A great addition to the electromechanical bliss in the Electro 3 is the ability to use the fabulous Mellotron Library. These samples will be available for free in the download area, and getting them into a 3 is achieved with a simple drag and drop operation using the Nord Electro 3 Manager.
• TAILORED EFFECTS
• It doesn't matter if you are in for a discreet pan or chorus, or want to get real nasty with the amp and speaker simulations or the ring modulator; you are going to love the smoking effects in the Electro 3. Ever had the idea to put a 9 foot Concert Grand in a very small room and process it with a wha-pedal, through a rotary speaker at full distortion? Now you can.

Specifications of the Nord Electro 3 61-Note Digital Modelling Keyboard

ORGAN SECTION

• Organ section from the acclaimed Nord C1 Combo Organ
• Three classic organ models: B3, Vox Continental, and Farfisa with full polyphony
• 9 digitally controlled drawbars
• Two complete organ registrations for every program
• The drawbars of Electro 3 are represented by up/down buttons and LED bar graphs instead of the ordinary mechanical drawbars. This gives you a big advantage: when you change programs, the correct drawbar settings are shown immediately by the LEDs
• 17 user configurable organ presets for each organ model
• Percussion with 2nd, 3rd, normal/soft, fast/slow for the B3 model
• User adjustable percussion levels, percussion decays and keyclick level
• Vibrato / Chorus Control with separate functionality for each model (the classic C1, C2, C3, V1, V2, V3 options for the B3, Vibrato for the Farfisa)
• 4 Tonewheel modes: select the level of "vintage" you wish to have in your B3 sound
• MIDI Split: The Nord Electro 3 is designed to support an extra MIDI keyboard when the Organ Split mode is activated. This makes it possible to use the Nord Electro 3 as a dual manual (Lower/Upper) organ with different drawbar settings for each manual

PIANO AND SAMP LIB SECTION

• 5 selectable types of pianos - Grand, Upright, EPiano, Wurl & Clav/Harpsichord. Each type can contain several different models
• 185 MB of the flash memory is allocated to the piano types
• Each and every piano in the Electro 3 is replacable by the user. New models can be uploaded to the Electro 3 using the Electro 3 Manager application
• Samp Lib type can contain up to 50 samples from the Nord Sample Library
• 68 MB of the flash memory is allocated to samples
• Stereo pianos and samples can be played back in mono
• 40-60 Voices polyphony

EFFECTS SECTION

• Effect 1 - pan, tremolo, auto-wah, pedal-wah and ringmodulator
• Three selectable depths for the pan and tremolo, rate controlled with the Effect 1 Rate knob
• Control pedal assigned to pedah-wah and ring modulator depth
• Effect 2 - phaser, flanger and chorus
• Three selectable depths, rate controlled with the Effect 2 Rate knob
• Comp/Amp - three amp/speaker simulations, compressor and rotary speaker
• Drive/Compression amount controlled with the Drive knob
• Rotary speed controls - Slow, Fast and Stopped
• User adjustable rotary treble and bass rotor speeds and acceleration rates
• Reverb with five algorithms - Room, Stage Soft, Stage, Hall, Hall Soft
• Dry/Wet control
• Three band EQ, with sweepable mid. +/- 15 dB gain/attenuation

GLOBAL FEATURES

• 128 program memories
• Keyboard: 61-key (5 octaves). Velocity sensitive semi-weighted ”waterfall” (square front) keyboard

CONNECTIONS

• 2 Audio outputs
• 1 Monitor input
• 1 Headphone output
• 1 Control pedal input
• 1 Sustain pedal input
• 1 Rotary Speaker speed switch pedal input
• MIDI In, MIDI Out
• USB interface for fast and easy download of new sounds and operating system updates

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES

• User Manual
• Power cord
• Nord DVD-ROM

DIMENSIONS

• 900 mm (35.4"), 100 mm (3.9"), 300 mm (11.8")

WEIGHT

• 7.65 kg (15.3 lbs)