Nord USA ELECTRO-III-61
Keyboard, 61 key (NE361)

ELECTRO-III-61

With the introduction of the Nord Electro 3, the legacy of the original Electro and the knowhow that have shaped some of the other Nord models have been combined. The Electro 3 features a new organ section, a new piano section, new effects and a new exciting feature that allows the Electro 3 to use any samples from the Nord Sample library. This is the performance keyboard that sets a new standard based on its impressive sound quality.

EXQUISITE NEW PIANOS

Right from the start, the Electro 3 is loaded with a great selection of pianos. There are three acoustic grands (two Yamaha* C7s and one Steinway* D) and two electric grands. Electric piano aficionados will love the tine-based types; a Mk I, a Suitcase Mk I, a Mk II and a Mk V all with their unique and distinctive personalities. A great Wurlitzer* A200 is of course present, as is the mighty Clavinet* D6. The Clavinet type also includes the Harpsichords. There is a French harpsichord in the factory sound bank, and more to come in the Nord Piano Library download area. Each and every one of these pianos can be replaced if you wish. There are plenty more to choose from in the Library area, including some XL versions of grand pianos, with even more details like added velocity layers and pedal-down samples. And all those sounds are available for free.

SAMPLES FROM THE NORD SAMPLE LIBRARY

Not only loaded with great piano sounds, the Electro 3 also sports some great samples to add flavor to your sonic arsenal. You'll find some of the classic Mellotron sounds, a selection of strings, a celeste, a vibraphone and many others. And just as with the piano partition, all of the samples can be replaced if the factory selection does not suit your immediate needs. You can add virtually any sound you want to the Nord Electro 3. Sounds that Nord offers for free are from the Mellotron Library or any other instrument from the expanding and extensive Nord Sample Library, which is the same format as the Nord Wave uses.

NORD SAMPLE EDITOR

By using the free Nord Sample Editor, you can add any sound you want to the Electro 3. The Sample Editor can use audio files in the .wav format and is equipped with some great tools to assist you in getting the results you want. Mapping several samples across the keyboard or creating perfect loops has never been easier. You can even start assembling your own samples today in the computer, without having the Nord Electro 3 present - just download the Editor, the manual and fire away. The Nord Sample Editor is compatible with Windows XP and Vista, and Mac OSX.  The sample memory in the Electro 3 is 68 MB with high efficient lossless compression algorithm making it possible to use samples of up to three times the size compared to a standard linear sample player. The samples are automatically encoded within the Nord Sample Editor and decoded back in realtime when played on the keyboard.  Sound quality is not compromise.

ORGAN SECTION

The growling sound, and the soul of a B3 is hard to replicate faithfully in a digital instrument. Nord has spent years perfecting their digital models and the Electro 3 contains the best emulation so far.

The attention to minute details is stunning, the Electro 3 is even equipped with four selectable tonewheel modes, that stretches from a clean sound to battered unit with the most dramatic setting; vintage 3. This setting even produces a sound in the background of its own, even if you don't touch any keys.

Every function in a B3 has been considered and examined in great detail, to make the Electro 3 as true to the original sound as possible. There are key clicks derived from the original busbar behavior and the energy robbing that produces the gentle compression when you do that massive palm smear across the keyboard. To get the response right, the added option to trigger the organ sounds at the very top of a key's range, makes it react just as fast as the original. Added functions like the option to either include or exclude the 9th drawbar when Percussion is activated is another interesting feature.

VOX AND FARFISA

The Farfisa and Vox models are just as impressive as the B3. The massive savage sound created by their 12-top oscillator frequency-divider designs is of course also a nosample zone in the Electro 3; you have the same behavior and unique response from Nord models as in the original instruments. The Farfisa Compact Deluxe, considered by many to be the mother of transistor organs, involves routing matrixes and complex filter combinations that offer a tailored sound with massive energy and high-end.

The Vox Continental's brute design brings you a more hollow tone, but with a very intense character. Both these transistor organs have their own unique, irreplaceable personalities. Combine them with any of the Electro 3's speaker simulations, add some distortion, adjust the EQ and they will definitely get you through any organ gig with flying colors.

ORGAN SPLIT

Using the Organ Split mode, you can play two different organ registrations in a dual manual fashion, one sound on either side of a user definable keyboard split point. Connect a second MIDI keyboard to the Electro 3, to use the organ split functionality, but in a true, dual manual setup.

BRAND NEW EFFECT SECTION

The Nord Electro 3 is equipped with a great selection of high quality effects including a lush sounding reverb with five different algorithms. There is also a selection of tremolo, panning, wah-wah, phaser, flanger and chorus effects, and a ring modulator.  User can further sculpt their final sound by choosing from a selection of three amplifier simulations that can add any amount of grit and distortion from gentle to manic levels. A three-band EQ with sweepable mid-range and a compressor can be added to the final stage of the audio path.

ENHANCED ROTARY SPEAKER EMULATOR

The rotary speaker emulator originates from the award winning Nord C1 Combo Organ, with its acclaimed sound quality. This rotary speaker emulator incorporates the acoustic variations that occur when a physical speaker spreads the sound in a room, providing the full experience of when the air is moved around.

The Electro 3's rotary also features a brand new function in the addition of the Rotary Stop Mode. This allows users to switch between fast and stopped rotation and back again by using either the controls on the panel or with a foot pedal connected to the Rotor Pedal input. This is a crucial functionality that mimics the behavior of early one-speed original rotary speaker units. Those of you who are picky about the rotary behaviors will be pleased to find several user adjustable settings like speed and acceleration times for both treble and bass rotors. These options, as well as all the other System, MIDI and Sound Menu functions are written on the right side of the panel, a great help for all those moments when the manual decided to stay at home.

Specifications:

ORGAN SECTION

• Organ section from the acclaimed Nord C1 Combo Organ
• Three classic organ models: B3, Vox Continental, and Farfisa with full polyphony
• 9 digitally controlled drawbars
• Two complete organ registrations for every program
• The drawbars of Electro 3 are represented by up/down buttons and LED bar graphs instead of the ordinary mechanical drawbars. This gives you a big advantage: when you change programs, the correct drawbar settings are shown immediately by the LEDs
• 17 user configurable organ presets for each organ model
• Percussion with 2nd, 3rd, normal/soft, fast/slow for the B3 model
• User adjustable percussion levels, percussion decays and keyclick level
• Vibrato / Chorus Control with separate functionality for each model (the classic C1, C2, C3, V1, V2, V3 options for the B3, Vibrato for the Farfisa)
• 4 Tonewheel modes: select the level of "vintage" you wish to have in your B3 sound
• MIDI Split: The Nord Electro 3 is designed to support an extra MIDI keyboard when the Organ Split mode is activated. This makes it possible to use the Nord Electro 3 as a dual manual (Lower/Upper) organ with different drawbar settings for each manual

PIANO AND SAMP LIB SECTION

• 5 selectable types of pianos - Grand, Upright, EPiano, Wurl & Clav/Harpsichord. Each type can contain several different models
• 185 MB of the flash memory is allocated to the piano types
• Each and every piano in the Electro 3 is replacable by the user. New models can be uploaded to the Electro 3 using the Electro 3 Manager application
• Samp Lib type can contain up to 50 samples from the Nord Sample Library
• 68 MB of the flash memory is allocated to samples
• Stereo pianos and samples can be played back in mono
• 40-60 Voices polyphony

EFFECTS SECTION

• Effect 1 - pan, tremolo, auto-wah, pedal-wah and ringmodulator
• Three selectable depths for the pan and tremolo, rate controlled with the Effect 1 Rate knob
• Control pedal assigned to pedah-wah and ring modulator depth
• Effect 2 - phaser, flanger and chorus
• Three selectable depths, rate controlled with the Effect 2 Rate knob
• Comp/Amp - three amp/speaker simulations, compressor and rotary speaker
• Drive/Compression amount controlled with the Drive knob
• Rotary speed controls - Slow, Fast and Stopped
• User adjustable rotary treble and bass rotor speeds and acceleration rates
• Reverb with five algorithms - Room, Stage Soft, Stage, Hall, Hall Soft
• Dry/Wet control
• Three band EQ, with sweepable mid. +/- 15 dB gain/attenuation

GLOBAL FEATURES

• 128 program memories
• Keyboard: 61-key (5 octaves) or 73-key (6 octaves). Velocity sensitive semi-weighted ”waterfall” (square front) keyboard

CONNECTIONS

• 2 Audio outputs L & R - ¼", 6,35 mm jacks, unbalanced
• 1 Monitor input - 1/8", 3,5 mm stereo jack
• 1 Headphone output - ¼", 6,35 mm stereo jack
• 1 Control pedal input - ¼", 6,35 mm TRS stereo jack. Use a Control/Expression pedal like e.g. Yamaha FC-7, Roland EV-5 etc.
• 1 Sustain pedal input - ¼", 6,35 mm jack. Use a momentary pedal, like e.g, Roland DP-2, DP-6, Yamaha FC-4, FC-5, Fatar VFP1-25 etc.
• 1 Rotary Speaker speed switch pedal input - ¼", 6,35 mm jack. Use a momentary pedal or a switch type pedal
• MIDI In, MIDI Out - 5 pin DIN connectors
• USB - type B connector
• IEC320 C7 power connector

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES

• User Manual
• Power cord
• Nord DVD-ROM

DIMENSIONS

• Nord Electro 3 Sixtyone: 900 mm (35.4"), 100 mm (3.9"), 300 mm (11.8")
• Nord Electro 3 Seventythree: 1120 mm (44.1"), 100 mm (3.9"), 300 mm (11.8")

WEIGHT

• Nord Electro 3 Sixtyone: 7.65 kg (15.3 lbs)
• Nord Electro 3 Seventythree: 9.1 kg (18.2 lbs)
  

Our Part #  ELECTRO-III-61