Nord Electro 3-73
Nord Electro 3 73-Key Synth
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If you have any experience playing a real piano or organ, and you’re looking for the keyboard that most accurately portrays the sound and feel of a real life instrument, then the Nord Electro 3-73 will be one electric piano that you don’t want to miss.
Brand New Piano and Organ Library – The Update to the Update
You’ll find that the new Nord Electro 3-73 key synth, an update to an already hugely successful line of products, is a very powerful instrument indeed. With an updated selection of piano and organ sounds, this is without a doubt an extremely versatile keyboard. The Electro 3′s specialty is extensive, realistic keyboarding, and it’s obvious from the sound selection.
You’ll be able to access 3 acoustic grand piano libraries, as well as 2 electric grand piano libraries. Of course there’s also all the standard electric piano sounds, such as the Mk I and the suitcase Mk I. There’s also an A200 and a powerful D6 system already setup for you, and there’s classic harpsichord sounds available to edit as well.
Re-Edited and Re-Mastered B3 Organ
As far as Organ effects go, Nord is always trying to improve their classic B3 formulation, and the Nord Electro 3-73 is by far the closest that any electric instrument has come to successfully replicating this famous sound. Of course, you’re given full customization…If you want a nice clean B3, as if you’d time travelled to 1940 and bought one yourself, then you can easily get nice crisp sound. If you want your B3 to sound like you’ve taken a tire iron to it several times, then you can do that, too! In fact, Nord even integrated a feature which allows split play…In other words you can setup 2 keyboards on top of each other, just like a real manual organ, and then play with both hands!
I thought that was really cool. Remember though, the Nord Electro 3-73 is designed to replace a stage piano, so that’s where it shines best.
Nord Electro 3-73 Has a Brand New Backup Library
You’ll also get access to a stunning array of new effects that will help you augment your piano playing. For example, there’s the classic Mellotron which you will be able to use freely, and there’s a standard selection of strings, celeste, vibraphone and other sounds to choose from as well.
Keyboard with 73 Realistic Semi-Weighted Waterfall Keys
One of the big qualms that most accomplished pianists have about moving away from the real thing and onto an electric instrument is the distinct lack of realism that’s often taken into consideration when designing a keyboard. However, with the Electro 3 every effort has been made to give you a truly realistic feel to the keyboard…It really is a joy to play on.
Between the astonishingly extensive library of sounds and effects available to you and the special care to detail that Nord has put into this instrument, there’s no wondering why it is so widely renowned and recognized amongst serious pianists. Not to mention that the awesome red color makes it one of the sweetest looking synths I have ever seen. You just can’t help but feel like a real professional when you’re sitting behind the Nord Electro 3-73 synth.
This is an amazing, albeit a tad expensive, keyboard. The nord sounds are far and away my favorite available right now and I absolutely love the appearance. While the interface may be quick and intuitive to use (no screens or menus), the Electro3 really lacks some basic functionality you’d expect for the price (split and layer features for the piano/sample section come to mind). Like other top gear, this board falls into that category of specialized products that truly get one thing right. In this case, that’s vintage electric piano and clonewheel emulation. If you want a better idea of what it sounds like, Nord has tons of great demos on the web and every keyboard sound currently on my site luno.bandcamp.com was recorded direct out from the Electro 3.
I often notice people criticizing the Nord acoustic piano sounds on various forums, but I really love ‘em. Both live and recorded…there’s more nuance and a sort of unique character; They somehow feel more genuine than my Roland or Yamaha. You just have to play around with the different pianos in the library to find your favorites. Big up for this board being expandable; I’m also impressed with the mellotron/chamberlin samples available, among others, on Nord’s site.
You’d do best to avoid this keyboard as a pure synth player though. Although there are some solid samples available (classic synths, vintage + analog, pads, etc.), there’s no real way to tweak the sound (besides the on-board effects) the way you would on a true synth.
Overall, this is a truly killin’, portable, and specialized stage piano with action and sounds perfectly suited for jazz players…a great compromise between tine piano and b3 action, but still capable of nuance required for acoustic piano. Probably why I see this board on stage with so many versatile and talented cats like Hiromi Uehara, and Greg Kurston.
This keyboard fits into my slightly larger backpack. Its portability allows me to carry it around and work out melodic and harmonic ideas for the songs I write when I’m away from home. The eight-note polyphony is really helpful for chording.