Keyboard recommendations in general

[JSett]

So I've always dabbled with keys over the years and know a little piano etc but never found the time to properly practice it, but I kinda do now so it's probably time.

I already have a few keyboards but they either don't work properly (old and dysfunctional) or just don't sound that great. Also, they're organs really so no velocity sensitivity. Old wooden Casiotones weren't that advanced

It's about time I bought something a bit fancier so I can enjoy it and learn - and can use it for recordings. My favourite sounds are Rhodes, Hammond, Vox Continental, etc along with standard piano sounds so I'm leaning towards one of the Nord Electro 6D 61 key units. I have a little voucher with an online seller waiting to be used to go towards it. 61 keys would be more than enough for me, and keeps things relatively compact.

Can anyone here chime in with experience with the Nord or other alternatives? I don't really want to just go with the midi+laptop thing as I like to be able to work without a screen as much as possible.

The dream would be to have a perfectly maintained Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Vox Continental, poly synth and baby grand all in one room ready to play...but that's never going to happen I toyed with getting a couple of the Yamaha Reface units but I'd rather not learn on mini keys.

[DaddyDom]

The Nord Electro is the be all and end all of 'tribute' keyboards, IMO.

I began on an Electro2 and now use a 6D but about 10% of its capabilities because it has so many more functions than the 2. I come from the AC30 school of 'two knobs good'.

The Nord sounds are all really, deeply, authentic. For example, if you press down very gently on the keys while set to a Rhodes, you can hear the open key-bed 'breathing' and stuff like that. When using a tiny bit of distortion on the Wurly sounds, the break-up reacts so well to how hard you're playing, even affecting how the vibrato sounds.

The Hammonds? I toured for years with an L122 and Leslie and there will absolutely never be a substitute for the moving air a Leslie creates but the Nord Hammond into a stereo DIs or two amps may be as good as anybody will get.

I still have the Hammond and Rhodes but nowadays I use my Nord with a small amp, though obviously a bigger one will sound bigger. The Soldano Astroverb 16 I use handles all the Rhodes and Hammond I can throw at it so something like a Fender DeVille 4x10 would just beg for more.

Any Hammond drawbar setting you choose from an online suggestion will sound authentic and there are many hacks out there to "authenticate' the real sounds of a more battered instrument. (While I don't use it much, the Vox Continental is as exact, too. My first organ was a Jennings J70.)

The acoustic pianos are not good through amps but that's no surprise. Useful but not authentic - great through a PA, though.

When I got my first one, I hated that nobody else in our band played a facsimile of their instrument but then the Nord's qualities shone through and I realised it's its own instrument, not purely an emulator of others. It has soul.

I know there is an online community and ways to upgrade via USB etc but I'm not really that guy. My only (unfounded) reservation is that I'm still playing a 1965 Hammond and I doubt the Nord will still be going, or repairable, in 50+ years.

Hope that helps!

[JSett]

Thank's for taking the time to write that out and share your experiences, that's certainly a good recommendation and nice that you've had the chance to compare the real things from experience.

The Nord Electro's are mighty expensive but I know they're highly regarded. I'm not sure how I feel about the red, but at least it isn't Candy Apple Red I guess (oh imagine the irony if it was!). I wish there was anywhere nearby I could test one that isn't those morons over at And*rtons

[UlricvonCatalyst]

My tuppence-worth is that I hate velocity sensitivity on a keyboard, and it's a real downside to the Reface CP I own, but seems to be less of an issue with the organ version, which does good emulations of all yer classic organs with a nice Leslie but not-so-special vibrato.

The drawbars make voicing quite versatile, but as a Farfisa Compact owner the emulation sounds like all the voices at once (an okay sound, but sometimes you might want just the oboe (ahem, Scarecrow), flute, or strings. I'm not familiar enough with the Vox (Continental?), Hammond, or whatever the A stands for to know if those are afflicted by the same issue, but I can well imagine they are.

Talking of velocity sensitivity, it was mentioned on a Youtube review of one of the other Refaces that the keybed wasn't sensitive enough, but this was easily solved by use of a controller keyboard. My experience of the CP is that I have to hit the keys hard to hear the bloody thing at all, and have actually experienced no note sounding when striking them softly. This isn't a question of technique, as I don't have one, but I sincerely wish all VS keyboards had a fixed velocity option for ham-fisted amateurs like me.

Even so, I'm a fan of the Reface line - all of which offer good hands-on tweaking and well-chosen effects - and can imagine getting the synth one in due course too. It goes without saying that you could net both the CP and YC AND a controller, OR another keyboard with useful sounds and full-size keys, and still have a chunk of change left over from the price of a Nord, but if you're planning on gigging with all that gear you'll probably need a roadie. Could work just fine as a music room set-up, though....

[JSett]

With organ sounds I'm definitely in agreement that velocity sensitivity is moot but I assume the Nord emulations just omits that side of things. For Rhodes, Piano, etc then it's a must for me. I'm a terrible player (like, entry-level basics) but when I'm playing a piano I love the dynamics of digging in.

If I had space then a couple of Refaces and a big controller would certainly work and probably be cheaper but I definitely do not have the room and having it all in one easy package is definitely best for me.

[JSett]

I've ordered the Nord. The returns policy is good so nothing to lose really.

[DaddyDom]

I've ordered the Nord. The returns policy is good so nothing to lose really.

Great, I'd be very surprised if you regret it.

How to embrace the red? Buy a red curly Vox lead to match.

[Embenny]

My old bandmate had a Nord electro, and the thing always sounded flippin' fantastic, no matter what sound he was using.

I'd be shocked if you don't love it.

[Zork]

Yes, Nord Electro is pretty much the best. It's too late but another cool all purpose keyboard is the King Korg. Besides good PCM samples of pianos, corgans, mellotron etc it also offers quite a great VA synth. Definitely worth to have a look at.

[TagoMago]

Another recommendation for the Nord 61D here.

I started out as a teen in the 80s with a couple of Casios and over the years moved on through a Hammond C3 with a couple of different Leslie speakers, a Hammond M102, a Hammond XB-1, both stage and suitcase Fender Rhodes, a Wurlitzer 200, 3 different Philicorda organs, an old harmonium and an upright piano. Plus several old synths too. I was a proper insufferable vintage gear fiend. I'd originally bought a Nord Electro 2 to use for gigs when they came out but didn't keep it for too long 'cause it wasn't vintage and I wasn't convinced by the sounds in it. It was alright for live, it made load ins and outs easier, but I wasn't really keen on it and sold it after a couple of years.

But then I did a tour as a session player in 2015 where I doubled on keys and guitar, and all the band's backline was hired in, including a Nord Electro 5D 61 for me, and that was a big step up from the early Nord Electros. So much so that I bought a Nord Electro 5D 61 when I got home which I still have today. I moved to a different country a few years ago and had to do a big downsize with my gear, and life possessions in general. That thread about having just three guitars? I did it with vintage keys. I sold everything except the Nord and a Casio MT-65. For organs, electric and acoustic pianos, the 5D 61 works fine for me. I just run it into a guitar amp and mic it. The only thing I miss is the Philicorda but there is a Philicorda sample pack available for the Nord, and there's always plenty of OG Philicordas knocking around in Europe anyway if I ever wanted another one.

About the only niggles for me is that the harpsichord samples in the Nord are awful. Although there's a couple of studios near me that have real harpsichords if I ever need to use them, so that's no big deal. And if I'm playing in isolation I can tell I'm playing a sampled Wurlitzer (the Nord samples have a little too much note sustain for instance), but in a track or with a band it's close enough. And it's bright red which I like on old Mustangs and Musicmasters but not so much on stage keyboards. But apart from that, it's solid and reliable and you'll probably get on fine with yours.

[JSett]

Sounds like I've made the right choice.

The red is a sticking point but there's always the option to vinyl wrap it with a nice teak or other less vibrant colour, looks like it's be an easy job to do.

Hopefully it gets delivered on Wednesday so we'll see then if it satisfies my fussy ears but unfussy fingers.

[OffYourFace]

i'm too late but was going to recommend the new yamaha CP73 for weighted keys or the CK88

Both are new and much cheaper than the Nords. I think Nords are way overpriced, especially if you're not really a keyboardist and not a touring pro.

[JSett]

It's here and it sounds delightful

[Embenny]

That's hot.

[sal paradise]

*insert joke about Paul Oakenfold & fiddling with knobs here*