Nord Electro 3 Sixtyone Stage Piano/Organ  

The Nord Electro 3 Sixtyone stage piano/organ delivers some of the best stuff Nord has to offer in affordable and easy-to-use instruments. It is compatible with the Nord Piano library and takes full advantage of the Library's multitude of velocity layers, pedal-down samples, and extremely high quality samples providing you with unprecedented expressiveness. The keybed itself features a 61-key (5 octaves) velocity-sensitive, semi-weighted "waterfall" (square front) keyboard to help make this possible. Any current or future piano that is available for the Stage family will also automatically be available to the Nord Electro 3 piano.

Exquisite New Pianos
Right from the start, the Electro 3 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 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 Nord's 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 Library
Not only loaded with great piano sounds, the Electro 3 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, celeste, 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 also add virtually any sound you want to the Nord Electro 3. Sounds that Nord offers for free come from the Mellotron Library or any other instrument from the expanding and extensive Nord Sample Library, which is the same format as what the Nord Wave uses.

Nord Sample Editor
By using the free Nord Sample Editor, you can add any sound you want to the Electro 3. 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. Nord spent years perfecting their digital models and the Electro 3 contains the best emulation so far. The attention to minute details is stunning—the Electro 3 is even equipped with 4 selectable tonewheel modes that stretch from a clean sound to a battered unit. The most dramatic setting is vintage 3 which 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 Electro 3's version 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, Nord has 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. They also couldn't resist adding functions that went a bit further, like the option to either include or exclude the 9th drawbar when Percussion is activated.

Vox and Farfisa
The Farfisa and Vox models on the Electro 3 series are just as impressive as the B3. The massive, savage sound created by their 12-top oscillator frequency-divider designs is also a no-sample zone in the Electro 3; you have the same behavior and unique response from these 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 Electro 3'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 2 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.

Effect Section
The Nord Electro 3 piano 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. You can further sculpt your 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 3-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 on the Elecro 3 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 Nord Electro 3's rotary also features 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 (not included) 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.