How I almost made a terrible $1600 impulse buy...

[cp-the-nerd]

I have been lusting over the Mojo 61 black edition for the past year. Besides the fact that I desperately need a good organ, it's not a practical purchase for me at all. After watching it stay perpetually on back order, a few days ago I found one left in stock on Kraft Music! I initially fought off the impulse and it literally haunted my sleep that night. The following morning I checked back and it was STILL in stock!! I couldn't shake the feeling and bought it.

 

Let me back up for a second. My wife and I just moved and we are currently selling our old house. Thanks to the covid economy, our house value exploded upward and we stand to make significant money. Please don't take that as making light of the pandemic, it's just a lucky reality for us after struggling against restrictions to move for the past year. Anyway, the bottom line is that even after allotting a bunch of money back into savings, I currently have a massive budget for new equipment after many years of living frugally to save.

 

In my money-drunk haze finding the Mojo 61 black in stock, I came up with a preposterous idea to buy that now and follow it with the Nord Grand (for everything the mojo lacks) after our closing deal clears. Over $5,000 combined and pretty much my whole free cash reserve. The idea was insane and wasteful based on pure emotion. I mean just look at those two keyboards and tell me you don't want them before listening to a single note.

 

Well thank god a day later Kraft sent me an email stating that someone bought the Mojo out from under me and I snapped back into reality. After further consideration, I'm going to get a Nord Electro 6D 73 key that fits my needs 10 times better for practically half the cost.

 

TL;DR: I bought a Mojo 61 black off Kraft Music on an insane cash fever and someone saved my ass by buying it first.

 

Any Nord Electro owners want to chime in with their pros and cons (besides a lack of pitch/mod controls)?

[KuruPrionz]

I just want to say, well done and possibly saved by a combination of circumstance and thought.

 

You hesitated for a day, that's what got you out of it.

I keep gravitating to smaller, lighter, less expensive gig gear.

First and foremost it needs to be reliable, then it needs to be possible to make it sound great. Reliable, great tones, small and light wins the gig rig prize for me

 

So I think you are being wise. We can get a LOT out of a little. Tonight I saw a duo, husband and wife. Both sang well and harmonized nicely. She played standup bass very well, used a bow to good effect. He played mandolin, a fierce and steady mando-beat strummer and a solid soloist. They chose great material and presented it very well. They really rocked it hard, everybody loved them. A huge sound for such a small combo.

 

You'll find a world of expression with your Nord, have fun!!!!

[cp-the-nerd]

Thank you for that charitable take on my actions, haha. After my more sane research, I really think the Electro will knock my socks off, even if it doesn't have the visual impact of the other two keyboards I lusted after.

 

I didn't mention it in my first post (I was trying not to write a whole novel), but the mojo was supposed to fit the idea of a portable and versatile jam keyboard while overlooking that I NEED to replace my old yamaha YPG for its miscellaneous instruments, too. I considered a YC-61 for a long time, but I couldn't get past a few hang-ups I have with it.

[KuruPrionz]

I hear ya.

 

As a guitarist, I have the gear I want and love largely because I am also a guitar tech, I'd hate to have to pay somebody to modify guitars to suit my needs but it's affordable if I do it myself.

It's an edge I have on many, I can get exactly what I want from my guitars for parts and labor. Parts are the less expensive part, generally. Enough super jumbo fretwore to refret a neck isn't much money.

Having them installed and dressed properly is.

 

Synths are different, you need something that feels great and sounds great. Somebody else did the work and the materials are more expensive. But you can play a good one for many years, that is similar to a guitar rig.

[AnotherScott]

Any Nord Electro owners want to chime in with their pros and cons (besides a lack of pitch/mod controls)?

...and of course you wouldn't have had the pitch/mod controls on your Mojo 61 + Nord Grand combo either! Probably the biggest caveat is that not everyone likes the Electro action, but as long as you allow for the possibility of return, that covers you with minimal exposure.

[Adan]

Not obvious why that would have been an insane purchase. All depends on your needs. Mojo on top of a Nord Grand could be a perfect rig for some.

 

Certainly believable that it might have been the wrong purchase for you. The starkest differences between Mojo and Nord is split ability and decent APs, which makes the Nord far superior as a one board rig for when you need that.

 

The best thing to do when you get a financial windfall is NOTHING. Give yourself a cooling off period.

[BbAltered]

I have a Nord Electro 4D 73 I have used in rehearsals and shows for 2+ years now. The good and the bad all run together.

 

Lightweight, easy to carry and set-up

Inspirational Hammond sounds - mine has the physical drawbars and that is a plus a well

Rotten Clavinet sounds

AP and EP are acceptable; not inspirational

Capacity to switch out sample sets to get better APs and EPs (tho' I'm told the Clavinets all sound weak) (I haven't actually tried this functionality so I can't comment further)

Only 4 "live" memory locations; getting other sounds requires some scrolling and button presses

Keyboard feel is stiff enough to allow reasonable piano playing, yet light enough to facilitate Hammond playing

Waterfall keys

Red color - it looks like a toy

73 keys is an improvement if you are coming from a 60 note keyboard.

Sound and synth editing functionality is minimal

 

I need a keyboard that covers the basics: AP, EP, Hammond, Clavs, Wurlis. The Nord Electro is a reasonable contender for one-board solution in a light-weight package. But you give up soaring synth leads and long evolving pads. I might like the AP and EP sounds more if I spent some time trying some of the different sample sets - these days my time goes to working on my keyboard skills.

[ElmerJFudd]

Hammond SK Pro 73, $2795. Worth a look as a single board since it has 4 sound sections that can be split and layered as needed (one of which is a mono synth engine). Also has pitch and mod wheels, color display. Same price range as the Electro SW 73.

 

Organ centric boards with an action that"s piano friendly is a rarity. I"d say the Yamaha YC-61, would be nice if they released a 73 or 76k version of this model.

[AnotherScott]

Capacity to switch out sample sets to get better APs and EPs (tho' I'm told the Clavinets all sound weak) (I haven't actually tried this functionality so I can't comment further)

Nord actually doesn't offer any additional clav samples other than what they ship it with.

 

Only 4 "live" memory locations; getting other sounds requires some scrolling and button presses

If you're the type of user who likes to use the "live" locations, you can at least instantly get to 4 other "permanent" sounds just by pushing the Live button, which with a single tap gives you quick access to 4 other sounds (and there's a pretty big difference between having 8 sounds quickly available compared to 4). The Electro 6 adds a nice alternate "number pad" mode where you can use the 4 buttons to instantly access 16 sounds, albeit with 2 button presses to access each sound, instead of 1.

 

AP and EP are acceptable; not inspirational...I might like the AP and EP sounds more if I spent some time trying some of the different sample sets

They also may play more inspirationally if played from a hammer action. At least the OP could MIDI up his SV1 if/when desired.

[drawback]

A coincidence: last night I dreamt I bought a super Nord of some kind for well over $6k, played part of a gig with it and then had this massive three-manual red keyboard in my home with no gigs forthcoming and no inclination to keep the instrument anyway, thinking I should have bought something else. Part way through the dream it occurred to me I could just return it, but for some reason I hadn"t a clue how to do that, so was on the verge of panic with my 'red elephant.'

 

What a relief to wake up. Now I feel rich.

[cphollis]

The Nords that can layer two more more engines (e.g. Electro 6, Stage 3 ..) do give you the ability to "fix" weak sounds, and create new. Many times where I thought a basic sound might not be the best (e.g. clavinet), layering it with another plucky sample helps a bunch.

[Docbop]

Well thank god a day later Kraft sent me an email stating that someone bought the Mojo out from under me and I snapped back into reality. After further consideration, I'm going to get a Nord Electro 6D 73 key that fits my needs 10 times better for practically half the cost.

 

I discovered the value of waiting a extra day (or more) before buying and letting the Universe do its thing and someone else buy the item. Saved me a number of purchases and in long run only I think once I regretted not buying something the day before. Enjoy your Red Keyboard when you get it.

[stoken6]

Docbop+1. I can count the times I paused-an-impulse-buy-and-regretted on the fingers of... one finger.

 

I don't see the Mojo as a "portable and versatile jam keyboard". Roland VR09 is worth a consider for that role, for light weight and low current cost, if you want an organ model. You can ride that train up through Vox Continental, Roland VR730, Yamaha YC61, Electro, Hammond SK-Pro, Nord Stage - all great multipurpose keyboards at increasing price points.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[MAJUSCULE]

I got great value out of my Electro 3 for a decade. Sold it last year to move up to a NS3. The Electro was my one board solution (even if it lacked in some areas) and most gigged and recorded board through that time. I can definitely say that, paired with a Yamaha FC7 and some basic drawbar knowledge, that keyboard got me several gigs where folks wanted more than block chords on an RD700 organ preset. I know, that's not saying much, but it also is a big difference.

 

Haven't spent a whole lot of time with the NE6, but from what I understand, it's kind of a Stage-lite, more powerful than previous Electros. I think you'll get a lot of use and pleasure out of it. It'll have some shortcomings, as even the Stage has some obvious flaws, but overall, I imagine you'll enjoy the playability and immediacy of the instrument. It's the Nord calling card, and though their sounds don't please everyone here, I think they do a pretty good job at the jack of all trades, fun to play instrument.

[David Emm]

There is a difference between compromising and being compromised. If you were a serious pitch/mod player, you would have kept looking. The drawbars mattered more. Melding with a new instrument is incredibly subjective. One major point for Nord is their library, which has largely been focused on meat-&-potatoes for live work. Getting a superior, personalized sound set together seems pretty easy. The Nord Wave 2 is a different proposition, but the piano/organ line-up is about good workhorses.

 

I've had your same problem with tempting software. Sleeping on anything is wise. I pondered an Oberheim 8-Voice for a while, until I faced the fact that its still eight modules' worth of Have To. There are paths to Pad Heaven that require a lot less OCD-scented energy.

 

There's also your Minilogue XD to consider, as well as another possible synth from your remaining budget. You made a smart move.

[cp-the-nerd]

Thanks for all the input, folks. Good to know I'm not the only mental patient at the musician asylum!

 

The reason I'm leaning Nord is because along with their strong organ sim, I really like their auxiliary sounds. Their bread and butter piano section is solid, IMO, (especially the APs) and besides I still have my SV-1. Which means I have a great weighted keybed to play via midi if I want like a few have mentioned.

 

I think the YC series is very strong competition for $2,000, but I like the Nord's 73 key waterfall setup while the YC only offers a mediocre weighted keybed when you step up to that size. I also think the Nord wins the organ sim comparison handily. The YC might have the edge in the auxiliary sound quality, but the Nord library seems more flexible. The Electro's lack of pitch/mod controls is silly, but not a deal breaker for me.

 

I have checked out the Vox Continental and Hammond SK-Pro and they both fell flat for me when I looked beyond the organ section.

 

David Emm was the first to notice this leaves my budget wide open, and that's a huge benefit of the current plan. I may be looking at some of my favorite offerings from Moog, Sequential, and Arturia in the next 6 months.

[AnotherScott]

I have checked out the Vox Continental and Hammond SK-Pro and they both fell flat for me when I looked beyond the organ section.

"beyond the organ" comparisons, I'd say major difference include these...

 

Vox beats Electro in action, synth functionality, and the quality of EP/strings/brass. Nord wins in split/layer functions, total # of sounds, and ability to load samples.

 

Hammond beats Electro in synth functionality, split/layer functions, MIDI functionality. Nord wins in real-time fx controls and ability to load samples.

[ElmerJFudd]

Hammond"s action is more similar to Nord than to Vox? I"m guessing since it"s same part number.

[AnotherScott]

Yes, Hammond and Nord use Fatar TP/8O though Nord's keys are more heavily sprung (I prefer Hammond's). Vox action is entirely different, and one of my favorite actions.

[Adan]

Let's not overlook the real moral of this story, which is to own real estate in a place that's about to become extremely desirable due to the next major shift in middle class living patterns. Get that part right and the world of portable gigging keyboards is your oyster.

[ElmerJFudd]

muzykujkropkcacom has done a bunch of timbre comparisonsâ¦

 

Hammond SK Pro vs Nord Electro

 

Korg Vox Continental vs Nord Electro

[Marzzz]

Let's not overlook the real moral of this story, which is to own real estate in a place that's about to become extremely desirable due to the next major shift in middle class living patterns. Get that part right and the world of portable gigging keyboards is your oyster.

I live in a highly desirable area, and the value of my home has skyrocketed. But in cases like this, if you sell where are you going to go? Unless you own more than one property, in which case a $1600 purchase might not necessarily be a hardship.

 

And even if you bought a $1600 keyboard on impulse and subsequently had buyer"s remorse, don"t most of the major retailers have a 30-day return policy?

[Kurt W]

muzykujkropkcacom has done a bunch of timbre comparisonsâ¦

 

Hammond SK Pro vs Nord Electro

 

Korg Vox Continental vs Nord Electro

The comparision between the Electro and SK Pro is not relevant. The SK Pro has C3 chorus enabled, the Electro not.

[cp-the-nerd]

Let's not overlook the real moral of this story, which is to own real estate in a place that's about to become extremely desirable due to the next major shift in middle class living patterns. Get that part right and the world of portable gigging keyboards is your oyster.

I live in a highly desirable area, and the value of my home has skyrocketed. But in cases like this, if you sell where are you going to go? Unless you own more than one property, in which case a $1600 purchase might not necessarily be a hardship.

 

And even if you bought a $1600 keyboard on impulse and subsequently had buyer"s remorse, don"t most of the major retailers have a 30-day return policy?

 

My wife and I built our dream house in a different state where things cost what they're actually worth. Very happy to leave Maryland behind and are thrilled that the market took a turn in our favor after covid restrictions threw a wrench in our plans a year prior.

 

Had I received the keyboard, I would have been inclined to rationalize the decision and push forward. If I unboxed it and played it, I would've kept it unless I somehow hated the sounds it made. The mojo 61 black is one of the best looking keyboards out there (IMO) and I still want one. It's like there's a 10/10 knockout with a questionable personality asking if you want "coffee" after a party. Even if there's a sensible and compatible 8/10 out there texting your phone, you're going to make that mistake almost every time. It just so happens I got snapped out of it.

[Marzzz]

Had I received the keyboard, I would have been inclined to rationalize the decision and push forward. If I unboxed it and played it, I would've kept it unless I somehow hated the sounds it made. The mojo 61 black is one of the best looking keyboards out there (IMO) and I still want one. It's like there's a 10/10 knockout with a questionable personality asking if you want "coffee" after a party. Even if there's a sensible and compatible 8/10 out there texting your phone, you're going to make that mistake almost every time. It just so happens I got snapped out of it.

You. Only. Live. Once.

 

And for the record, a 10/10 knockout with a questionable personality is not a 10/10; just ask Brad Pitt...

[sagetunes]

I recently purchased the Nord Electro 6. I really love it, and don't even take out the Vent anymore.

[MAJUSCULE]

FWIW, I'm about to make a $1000 impulse buy...

[TommyRude]

How I almost made a terrible $1600 impulse buy...

I don't know, doesn't seem like it would've been so terrible. After all - for about the same $$ you could have bought one of these.

 

[EricBarker]

The Mojo61 stands in a very curious place. As an organ, it's absolutely top-tier. But then they started adding to it. Very nice EPs and transistor. It starts to become a fairly solid "All in one vintage piano/organ board"... then it's completely nerfed by an absolutely AWFUL AP. This was an afterthought and practically a hidden easter egg, but if they spent any more time on it making the piano passable, it would quickly move itself up the chain to be a very serious contender. Unfortunately I've seen almost no development on it for about a year and a half, and they have NEVER touched the piano.

[AnotherScott]

then it's completely nerfed by an absolutely AWFUL AP. This was an afterthought and practically a hidden easter egg, but if they spent any more time on it making the piano passable, it would quickly move itself up the chain to be a very serious contender. Unfortunately I've seen almost no development on it for about a year and a half, and they have NEVER touched the piano.

I think their sound design is basically a one-man operation, and it's kind of amazing he's done as much as he has. I wouldn't knock him for not having cracked the nut on how to model a high quality acoustic piano, which very few people have managed. (Roland, Pianoteq, maybe Viscount?) Going to straight sampling could be a possibility--and in fact, there was a recent facebook post where he showed a new piano-playing mechanism that was developed for the purpose of better capturing samples so maybe that's a direction he's going--but I wouldn't assume there's enough memory in the existing Mojo61 design to hold a deeply sampled piano, either.