Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Numa 2 update


Recommended Posts

This topic has been a bit of a sleeper but I just checked Kraft Music for the availability of the Numa 2 and its price.

 

I was a bit shocked to see that the Numa 2 is selling at Kraft for $1299.00.

 

This looks like good news because according to a PM I got from the UK, the Numa is still using the Key B engine. But from what I being told there are at least 3 Key B sampled ( or modeled... not sure which)organs in the Numa 2.

 

There is also a supposedly improved leslie sim and some Vox and Farfisa samples.

 

As I said it looks like good news.I certainly like the price and the new all black look.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 123
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Hey all,

 

New here (I'm a regular over at the Muffwiggler forum) and actually came across this forum as I was looking for info on the current crop of Hammond clones. I've been after a Hammond clone to add to my live rig and have been checking out the Numa, XK-1C and a couple of others.

 

Anyway, long story short, I decided on the Numa Organ 2 and ordered one from Thomann late September which finally arrived last Friday (long wait in customs!). I had an hour or so to play with it before packing it up to be used at a Christian music convention in one of the demo bands over last weekend. It worked really well, sounded great, both in isolation and in the mix with the rest of the band.

 

I've also used it in rehearsal this week for my prog rock band as part of my main keyboard rig (Voyager EB, Numa Organ 2, Kurzweil PC361 controlling Mainstage 3 with Ravenscroft piano library and G-Force Mellotron Pro library). Again, really happy with how it sounded with the band. Couple more rehearsals and a gig coming up next week so will see how it goes in a proper live setting.

 

I'm not an organist by any stretch of the imagination (classical trained pianist and composer/uni lecturer/PhD student by profession) so I can't really vouch for the authenticity of the Numa, but as others have attested, it sounds really, really good. My only other encounters with Hammonds & clones has been a Nord Electro 2 several years ago (which I can't even remember if I liked the organ - mainly used the keyboard sounds) and a brief afternoon at a family friends house who collected organs and let my briefly play on his C3 and Leslie as a 16 year old! I did pick up VB3 while waiting for the Numa and that sounds great as well, possibly a little more polished sounding than the Numa.

 

All in all, I'm really happy with the Numa at the moment, and have been really inspired while playing which is always the sign of a good keyboard for me!

 

Happy to answer any questions people might have (if I can!).

 

 

Keys: Moog Voyager EB, Virus Indigo 2, Numa Organ 2, Kuzweil PC361, Korg M3-73, Korg SV1

Other Synths: SE Boomstar SEM, Ciat-Lonbarde Synths, Eurorack Modular

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow... I am shocked that there isn't more discussion on this.

 

Particularly if it is true that there are MULTIPLE Key B sampled organs in the Numa 2. And that the price is 700 dollars less than the original Numa.

 

Some people did not like the fact that the drawbars are raised away from the top, but that is not such a big deal to me. I do like the fact that it is all black though.

 

Personally I have always thought that the Italian clonewheel offerings were one of the significant developments of the 21st century. Though I am a huge tonewheel fan, I can't imagine carting one around at this phase of my life.

 

Most of the interest in the Numa 2 seems to be coming out of the UK and Europe. But Kraft Music does have them in the states.

 

If I make it to NAMM this year I look forward to hearing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's because Numa is not in the States. I've never seen a Numa anything live, ever.

 

Sure they are:

http://www.kraftmusic.com/studiologic-numa-organ-2.html

 

..Joe

 

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's because Numa is not in the States. I've never seen a Numa anything live, ever.

 

Sure they are:

http://www.kraftmusic.com/studiologic-numa-organ-2.html

 

..Joe

 

" Out of stock, but more will arrive soon!"

 

It's easy to put a picture up on your webpage and advertise. I mean I have never seen one to put my hands on it - not just the Numa organ, but Numa anything.

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a side note, I did look at the MIDI spec and noticed that drawbars 1-9 respond to MIDI CC's 12-20 respectively, so the Voce MIDI drawbar unit (or a V5/V5+) could be used as a 2nd set of drawbars. Only issue is that there is no open real estate on the Numa 2 to put the drawbar unit on because of current layout of knobs and switches across the top of the unit.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

" Out of stock, but more will arrive soon!"

It's easy to put a picture up on your webpage and advertise. I mean I have never seen one to put my hands on it - not just the Numa organ, but Numa anything.

Guess we'll have to go to Strumenti Musicali Palma in Milano to check it out in person. Looks and sounds tasty :2thu:

[video:youtube]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's because Numa is not in the States. I've never seen a Numa anything live, ever.

I've had a couple of Numa pianos and the Numa Organ (v1) - and I live in the States. Studiologic doesn't command a large portion of the keyboard market, but they do have a presence and distribution (AMS, I believe). The main problem with wider acceptance seems to have been the lack of response from the Italian parent when it comes to questions about issues, particularly relating to software.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've seen the Numa 1 organ and 2 as well as the piano here in Toronto and picked up a Numa 1 used on CL a few months ago. I dig it immensely, and it sees more action than my Mojo simply as a result of it being a single keyboard upon which I can stack a workstation.

 

Personally I think the layout of the Numa 2 is a step backward as there is little real estate on top to stack, but that is just me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's because Numa is not in the States. I've never seen a Numa anything live, ever.

I've had a couple of Numa pianos and the Numa Organ (v1) - and I live in the States. Studiologic doesn't command a large portion of the keyboard market, but they do have a presence and distribution (AMS, I believe). The main problem with wider acceptance seems to have been the lack of response from the Italian parent when it comes to questions about issues, particularly relating to software.

 

That was my main concern and why I eventually went with what I have now. No regrets. Hammond has fixed all the issues I ever had with the XK3-c in regards to upper tones and the V/C. The mix feature on the V/C comes in especially handy and is my favorite part of the setup.

Hammond XK1-c, Hammond XPK-100, Yamaha FC-7, Spacestation V3

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I think the layout of the Numa 2 is a step backward as there is little real estate on top to stack, but that is just me.

I really like the Numa 2 black design & slim profile. The white flat top area on the original Numa Organ does look kinda slim to me...what do you stack on top there?

Also for those interested, the original Numa Organ can be updated with the Numa 2 software/features. That's pretty cool :thu:

See video at 5:32:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The price is amazing.

 

But I don't hear much improvement over the original, and it's not as cool looking, making it smaller was a bad idea, the Numa was the perfect size, small enough to be portable, yet big enough to have a presence, and have an organ vibe, this trend of making boards as little as possible sucks IMO, lightweight yes.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The white flat top area on the original Numa Organ does look kinda slim to me...what do you stack on top there?

There are some things that can fit up there, like an iPad Mini or a waldorf blofeld module. With a little velcro, a Korg Microstation would work, maybe even something a little bigger. But also, the surface can be used to hold the front of whatever keyboard you want to put on it, if you add something like an x-stand or whatever to support the rear.

 

The price is amazing.

 

But I don't hear much improvement over the original

I don't think there has been any claim of better sound than the original. The advantages of the new version are lower price, the ability to (more easily) load alternate organ models into it and switch between them, and the addition of transistor organ and church organ models. (Though as mentioned above, supposedly you'll be able to add the new features to the older model as well.)

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...it's not as cool looking, making it smaller was a bad idea, the Numa was the perfect size, small enough to be portable, yet big enough to have a presence, and have an organ vibe, this trend of making boards as little as possible sucks IMO, lightweight yes.

If we want the size & weight cut from these clones...then the result is often a loss of that B3 heft. I'm totally OK with that and I think the Numa 2 design is focused well to cover most organ sound & performance needs along with a cool retro vibe (...our keyboard look & beer opinions can be very subjective) :cheers:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"There are some things that can fit up there, like an iPad Mini or a waldorf blofeld module. With a little velcro, a Korg Microstation would work, maybe even something a little bigger. But also, the surface can be used to hold the front of whatever keyboard you want to put on it, if you add something like an x-stand or whatever to support the rear."

I do get the value of using the Numa Organ 1 slim flat top space for utility stuff and for small gigs/spaces this could be a life saver. My comment was about how Dglavko mentioned he stacked a "Workstation" on top of the Numa Organ 1 slim flat surface area. I do this with my EPS sampler on top of the flat area of a large Roland RD250s digital piano and the EPS sits fully on top. However, stacking a full-sized workstation (like a Kronos, Motif, etc.) on that Numa 1 Organ flat space doesn't seem feasible or safe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At least it has an 11-pin socket. That is how I drive either the Vent or leslie cabs.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never stacked anything on the Numa 1, so the new drawbars wouldn't be much of an issue for me.

 

What I want to know is if it has multiple Key B samples. If it does, for the price this is quite compelling.

 

I am a huge Key B fan after just having a Numa 1 for 3 and a half years now. A great, great single manual clone. Just add some sensible amplification.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"There are some things that can fit up there, like an iPad Mini or a waldorf blofeld module. With a little velcro, a Korg Microstation would work, maybe even something a little bigger. But also, the surface can be used to hold the front of whatever keyboard you want to put on it, if you add something like an x-stand or whatever to support the rear."

I do get the value of using the Numa Organ 1 slim flat top space for utility stuff and for small gigs/spaces this could be a life saver. My comment was about how Dglavko mentioned he stacked a "Workstation" on top of the Numa Organ 1 slim flat surface area. I do this with my EPS sampler on top of the flat area of a large Roland RD250s digital piano and the EPS sits fully on top. However, stacking a full-sized workstation (like a Kronos, Motif, etc.) on that Numa 1 Organ flat space doesn't seem feasible or safe.

Stacking on top of the Numa is plenty safe for me as long as there is support to the rear of the top keyboard as well. A Kronos 61 or Nord Stage 2-76 fits quite nicely although you do have to add a DIY support for the rear. I made one from about $12 of ABS plastic from Home Depot which weighs less than a pound and inserts into the slots of a K&M lightweight stand. Quick, easy and very light set up if that's a priority.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stacking on top of the Numa is plenty safe for me as long as there is support to the rear of the top keyboard as well. A Kronos 61 or Nord Stage 2-76 fits quite nicely although you do have to add a DIY support for the rear. I made one from about $12 of ABS plastic from Home Depot which weighs less than a pound and inserts into the slots of a K&M lightweight stand. Quick, easy and very light set up if that's a priority.

Can you post pics including some front, back and side shots? We love to see creative DIY projects :hitt:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

New video from Chris Martirano/Kraft that walks through the Numa 2 Organ features/essentials ...Chris does a great job to cover a variety of organ sounds & they sound very good to me. The Numa 2 looks straight forward and easy. One thing to note...Chris mentions but doesn't demo/compare the three different Hammond organ models. So what do you Organ gurus think?

Demo vid:

[video:youtube]

Performance with different presets/styles:

[video:youtube]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would be interested in hearing A/B vs. the Hammond XK-1c, which appears to be the direct competitor.

 

Hammond is 2 lbs. heavier, $200 more in price (street), right? Those seem to be essentially negligible differences to me. After sales service and repair would be greater concerns, but most curious about hearing a side by side comparison.

..
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate to get into a dreaded Chorus Vibrato/ Leslie sim discussion about the difference between Hammond Suzuki and any of the Key B related products, but a big reason I jumped on the Numa 1 a few years ago was that I was hearing a huge difference in this respect.

 

A direct quote from Dr. Lonnie Smith at the Studiologic booth at this time was - "They got the chorus right".

 

I did not hear a huge difference between the Numa and the Key B when I A/B ed them at NAMM 2 years ago . According to Elvio Previati and Joey De Francesco, it's the same sound engine depending on what sample you load in.

 

The word I got was that the Numa 2 utilizes 3 important Key B models. In still haven't seen one though and I don't know how to access these if I were to just walk up to one.

 

Plus , with the $1299.00 price I would think that the 2 would really start to appeal to discriminating players ( unless you are an endorsee somewhere else).

 

Still absolutely love my Numa 1, it has fewer quirks than some of the Hammonds I've owned.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...