Nord Electro 3 Review

Jul 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Nick Peck

           
 

TONS OF CLASSIC KEYBOARDS IN A LIGHTWEIGHT PACKAGE

The Electro 3 supplies a reverb effect, which was missing in prior generations. The five simple but effective reverb programs sound good and are well suited for gigging purposes. Each of the effects has a user-adjustable single parameter; you can change the modulation effects' rate, the speaker emulator's drive and the reverb's wet/dry mix. I would have liked a bit more control over the effects — reverb decay time, for example. The effects amount knobs that were present in the Electro 2 are missing from this model.

Department of Gripes

FIG. 3 In addition to MIDI In/Out and USB ports, the rear panel has two audio outputs, three control-pedal jacks and an input for routing an MP3 or CD player to the stereo headphone jack. The power connection uses an ungrounded two-prong cord.

As an organist, I don't think I'll ever get used to using buttons instead of drawbars for the all-important function of changing organ timbre on the fly. Having a 3-digit numeric LED rather than a larger LCD means that you must memorize your patch locations. And though you can rapidly switch between organ patches by holding Shift while pressing the drawbar buttons, it would be great to generalize similar functionality to all patches so that your 18 favorite sounds are available at the touch of two buttons.

Gigs are inevitably chaotic, so I rely on standardization whenever possible to minimize risk. The Electro 3 uses the ungrounded IEC C7 power cord instead of the more familiar 3-prong IEC Type-C13 cord, so if the power cable goes missing, it might be more difficult to locate a replacement (see Fig. 3). Because the Electro 3 targets pro organists, a Leslie output would be a welcome addition.

Personally, I'm a firm believer in the instrument disappearing into the background so that the audience focuses on the performer. I know that Nord's red color is a trademark, but I would prefer a more subdued-looking instrument onstage.

Sum and Difference

For the vintage keyboardist who relies on a bevy of electromechanical sounds, the Electro 3 is a slam dunk. The sound quality is superb, and the comprehensive variety of instruments and ease of programming allow performers to tailor to their taste. The Electro's portability is second to none, making transport to the gig in a compact car a trivial matter. The reverb, piano and Mellotron libraries; improved organ model; and user-configurable sample playback are all terrific improvements.

Small quibbles aside, unless I were playing a straight jazz organ gig that required a two-manual instrument or a piano gig mandating an 88-note weighted keyboard, the Electro 3 would be the instrument I'd take to the job. Though no digital keyboard can ever be a perfect replacement for the originals, the Electro 3 has such an overwhelming number of advantages over carting my beloved warhorses around that there is no longer any contest. My vintage keyboards are staying in the recording studio from here on out.

Nick Peck is a composer/vintage keyboardist/recording engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can check out his music at underthebigtree.com.

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