Thinking about getting a Nord Electro 3. Wait for NAMM?

[bloodsample]

I haven't been keeping up with nord's keyboard trends (seems like there are lots of different models coming out here and there).

 

I'm thinking of getting an electro 3 but am wondering whether I should wait for winter NAMM which is just around the corner.

 

Does anyone think nord might be releasing an electro 4 or something similar? Or do you think they're too busy with the 'stage' line?

 

I know nobody has any hard facts but was wondering if someone's been keeping up with clavia's trends and maybe has some predictions.

 

I just don't want to buy something that will be replaced by something better in 2 months, you know?

 

Cheers.

[JeffLearman]

The NE3 isn't very old. I'd be delighted, but very surprised to see an NE4 already. Delighted because (a) maybe they improved the botch job they did on patch and preset selection for the NE3, and (b) it would help bring used NE3 prices down.

[mate stubb]

NE3 HP is their latest release. It also slightly improves the preset patch selection compared to the previous Electro 3 models.

[sakari lindhen]

would be nice to see a new wave or lead...or even a Piano II with a Gig of memory, now that the samples are getting larger and larger...

 

but given that NAMM is only 6 weeks away, and Nord has leaked a bit before then if I recall last year correctly, I would wait

[Santa]

I predict that Nord's next release will be a re-vamped Nord Wave, with advaned arpeggios, step sequencer, a split point, tempo sync everything and especially with modulalations galore. Somthing to kick the a$$ out of software synths like Massive...

 

Or maybe I'm just dreaming...

 

 

[b3keys]

I would buy that in a heartbeat!

 

[JeffLearman]

Did the Wave sell enough to warrant a new release? I see plenty of Electros & Stages, and even a few pianos, but I rarely see a Wave anywhere. Maybe I'm just missing it or assuming it's something else.

[Sven Golly]

Even if they do announce something at NAMM, everyone knows NAMM means "Not Available 'til March.... or May" so you're looking at least 4-6 months before anything new. What's the point of waiting based on speculation?

[Aidan]

I think the recent release of the Electro 3 HP rules out any imminent possibility of an Electro 4. They'd want to get some mileage out of the range as it stands before they move on, I'm guessing.

[sakari lindhen]

Even if they do announce something at NAMM, everyone knows NAMM means "Not Available 'til March.... or May" so you're looking at least 4-6 months before anything new. What's the point of waiting based on speculation?

 

Yes, but if you wait until the NAMM announcement, at least you can decide if it is worth the wait or not...

[dazzjazz]

I'm hoping for a revamped C2, guess they won't call it a C3 though.

Hopefully it will have even better Leslie Sim and an Electro 3 on either manual. Or perhaps it should just be a dual manual E3. It would be nice to be able to store things that are global, such as tonewheel model on a per-patch basis - I've never understood that.

 

I guessing they will go down that road with more competition from the "hammond" SK2.

[mjinva]

I was hoping that some company, most likely Nord, would introduce a true game-changer this year, in the spirit of the Prophet 5 or even the DX-7. This looks like more of the same, taking ths same chassis and adding only different headlights and tires. Where's the next Bob Moog?

Marty Ahlijanian

[ewall08530]

As stated earlier the Electro 3 hasn't been around that long so I doubt that you'll see an E4 next year. And the way Nord is good about software updates/fixes and new samples helps keep an N3 from being obsolete in 2 months.

 

Also it's been discussed here a few times the pros and cons of buying a brand new product before the masses have started using it and they truly have all the "bugs" fixed. (see Hammond SK1 and Kronos keyboard glitch) I wouldn't jump on an E4 or anything else right out of the gate.

 

If you really like the Electro 3 and can afford it, buy the darn thing and start making music already. :-)

 

ewall.biz

[AnotherScott]

I think the recent release of the Electro 3 HP rules out any imminent possibility of an Electro 4. They'd want to get some mileage out of the range as it stands before they move on, I'm guessing.

OTOH, I think it is pretty likely that the E3 will be upgraded before long so that the non-HP models will have the features that were added to the HP (long release, more patch selection buttons, etc.).

[Aidan]

OTOH, I think it is pretty likely that the E3 will be upgraded before long so that the non-HP models will have the features that were added to the HP (long release, more patch selection buttons, etc.).

 

The problem there is those two points represent a very subtle upgrade schedule, and it's difficult to see what else they might add in (maybe reinstate the delay on the non-HP models?) without getting too out of kilter with the recently-launched HP. I guess we might see an Electro 3 EX introduced which might also add more memory.

 

However, my best guess is that Nord will wait an appreciable amount of time on this to be able to launch wholesale a complete Electro 4 range - 61, 73, HP and a new double manual version that will effectively replace the C combo organ range. I'd expect all the range to get the pipe organ model from the C2 to compete with Hammond's SK line.

[Dana.]

However, my best guess is that Nord will wait an appreciable amount of time on this to be able to launch wholesale a complete Electro 4 range - 61, 73, HP and a new double manual version that will effectively replace the C combo organ range.

+1

[AnotherScott]

OTOH, I think it is pretty likely that the E3 will be upgraded before long so that the non-HP models will have the features that were added to the HP (long release, more patch selection buttons, etc.).

 

The problem there is those two points represent a very subtle upgrade schedule, and it's difficult to see what else they might add in (maybe reinstate the delay on the non-HP models?) without getting too out of kilter with the recently-launched HP.

As I see it, it is the current line-up that is a little out of kilter and unnecessarily complicated, in that the NE3 is available with three actions (61 unweighted, 73 unweighted, 73 weighted), but the features are just slightly different on the weighted. I also suspect that the manufacturing costs for the electronics are nearly identical between the HP and non-HP models, so they would be increasing costs overall by continuing to manufacture two different-but-nearly-identical main boards. My guess is that the NE3HP was introduced while they still had plenty of non-HP units and manufactured components in stock, but when that is whittled down the non-HP NE3 models will be transitioned to be identical to the HP except for action, just as the Stage 2 is electronically and feature identical regardless of whether you buy it with a weighted (76/88) or a non-weighted (73) action.

 

I guess we might see an Electro 3 EX introduced which might also add more memory.

I think that would be unlikely, for two reasons.

 

First, unless they also upgraded the memory in the 3HP, that would again create an electronics discrepancy between the different E3 models, and it would actually be an even worse discrepancy than the current one, because someone upgrading from a standard to a more expensive HP model would actually be losing a feature (reminiscent of how, before the Stage 2, there was the frustration that, if someone wanted to consider Stage EX instead of an E3 for all its better features, they also had to accept losing many features that the E3 had, making giving Nord more of your money a much more difficult thing to decide to do). This could be solved by putting more memory on the HP as well, but as has been pointed out, the HP is probably too new for a hardware upgrade.

 

Second, memory is one of the most expensive things to add, and I doubt they want to raise the retail price of the board, that would probably cost more sales than the additional memory would generate. Of course, they could put in more memory without increasing the price of the board, but I think that's unlikely until the price of the expensive kind of memory they use comes down quite a bit more, as they would be cutting into their profit margins, and probably unnecessarily, since increased memory (presumably still noticeably under that of the Stage 2) would probably not generate much in the way of additional units sold. That is, of all the reasons people choose to buy a non-Nord keyboard (or nothing at all) rather than an E3, I doubt many of them simply come down to the E3 not having enough flash memory (especially when most competitive units have no flash memory at all).

[Dana.]

All this speculation and debate is silly. Just wait until NAMM.

[sakari lindhen]

It might be silly, but it's fun!

[Adan]

All this speculation and debate is silly. Just wait until NAMM.

 

Maybe you should put this in your sig. That would save you from having to do about 150 more posts between now and NAMM (assuming you want to avoid posting).

[Adan]

I predict that Nord's next release will be a re-vamped Nord Wave, with advaned arpeggios, step sequencer, a split point, tempo sync everything and especially with modulalations galore. Somthing to kick the a$$ out of software synths like Massive...

 

Or maybe I'm just dreaming...

 

 

This would be killer. The wave is great, but being monotimbral with such a high price point I think hurt it's competiteveness big time. Even the Nord lead could be split. I would be happy to see any kind of new synth-dedicated keyboard from Nord.

 

Someone else commented about not jumping on a new product before the bugs are worked out. I have never worried about that with Nords.

[AnotherScott]

The wave is great, but being monotimbral with such a high price point I think hurt it's competiteveness big time. Even the Nord lead could be split.

Just as a point of clarification, the Wave is bitimbral. True, you can't split the keyboard, but you can (a) layer two sounds, and also (b) drive one sound from its internal keyboard while driving another sound from another source, which effectively gives you a split, if you have a second keyboard. I found the biggest limitation in that respect, though, was the inability to pan one sound to the left output and the other sound to the right.

 

Someone else commented about not jumping on a new product before the bugs are worked out. I have never worried about that with Nords.

Well, it's not that new Nords don't have bugs... but at least they are good about fixing them!

[Adan]

The wave is great, but being monotimbral with such a high price point I think hurt it's competiteveness big time. Even the Nord lead could be split.

Just as a point of clarification, the Wave is bitimbral. True, you can't split the keyboard, but you can (a) layer two sounds, and also (b) drive one sound from its internal keyboard while driving another sound from another source, which effectively gives you a split, if you have a second keyboard. I found the biggest limitation in that respect, though, was the inability to pan one sound to the left output and the other sound to the right.

 

Someone else commented about not jumping on a new product before the bugs are worked out. I have never worried about that with Nords.

Well, it's not that new Nords don't have bugs... but at least they are good about fixing them!

 

I stand corrected. I just wouldn't want to use two keyboards just to have the ability to "split."

 

Another shortcoming of the Wave is that it is (in Nord's words) "true stereo." If you are forced to run mono, you have a much smaller volume output and an appreciable difference in sound. But I often have to run mono.

 

Yes, there are occasional bugs in new Nord keyboards, but they are always fixed quickly.

[AnotherScott]

I just wouldn't want to use two keyboards just to have the ability to "split."

I would have preferred a split option as well... though, realistically, when you're talking about a board that only has 49 keys, you're probably traveling with a second board anyway. Particularly if your second board itself has the ability to be split/zoned, as many do, it's very workable. But yeah, especially since the Wave is also a sample player, it could be very convenient to have just a few keys at the bottom set aside for triggering samples while leaving the bulk of the board available for standard synth use. I'm guessing they felt split wasn't so crucial on a board that only had 49 keys to begin with, but I could see where it could really come in handy in a case like that.

 

Another shortcoming of the Wave is that it is (in Nord's words) "true stereo." If you are forced to run mono, you have a much smaller volume output and an appreciable difference in sound. But I often have to run mono.

Yes, that's related to my complaint that you can't pan a sound to one side or the other. The funny thing is, there's a pan function which can continuously move the sound from one side to the other, but you can't just stop it at the end and say "Stay there!" Even if you're willing to live with the sonic changes you're talking about. You can do this on the Nord Stage, though.

[JeffLearman]

All this speculation and debate is silly. Just wait until NAMM.

Better yet, DON'T wait for NAMM, just buy the damn NE3 and enjoy it!

[ewall08530]

All this speculation and debate is silly. Just wait until NAMM.

Better yet, DON'T wait for NAMM, just buy the damn NE3 and enjoy it!

 

Yep, that's what I said back on page 2.

[Sven Golly]

It might be silly, but it's fun!

 

No.... no, it's not. It's tired, and pedantic, and it's the same old shit every year.

 

In case you were keeping score.

[MAJUSCULE]

It might be silly, but it's fun!

 

No.... no, it's not. It's tired, and pedantic, and it's the same old shit every year.

 

In case you were keeping score.

 

:laugh:

[sakari lindhen]

It might be silly, but it's fun!

 

No.... no, it's not. It's tired, and pedantic, and it's the same old shit every year.

 

In case you were keeping score.

 

Ah but see, that is where I have an advantage: I respect the other people on the board, and find their comments interesting, not just as predictions of what Nord might do, but also as to what they look for in a keyboard.

[Adan]

It might be silly, but it's fun!

 

No.... no, it's not. It's tired, and pedantic, and it's the same old shit every year.

 

In case you were keeping score.

 

I don't know what you're talking about. How could it be the same every year, since the baseline of existing products is always changing.

 

Pedantic? I don't think you're even using that word correctly. Speculating about the future is not pedantry, pendantisim, whatever . . .

 

Speculating about what might come out at NAMM is just another way of talking about what we'd like to see in a product. If that sort of discussion doesn't thrill you, you can just not read those threads. But I thought that's a big part of why we're here. That's the gig, man.