The Best Just
Got Better!

Clavia Nord Electro 2.0 Operating System and
Piano Sound Upgrades

In Issue 2 we featured a review of the Clavia Nord Electro virtual electromechanical keyboard. Clavia have now launched the Electro 2.0, but if you have an original model, you needn't feel left out. All the Electro 2.0's improvements are available as free software upgrades, downloadable from the Web. And there are new sounds available too, including the only digital Clavinet D6 sound set to be endorsed by www.clavinet.com.

Review by Barry Carson

Having played keyboard instruments for over 35 years, I have developed both a love for and a collection of vintage organs and electric pianos. If you are reading this, you probably know all about the advantages of playing vintage instruments: the powerful, rich sounds, the cool feel of each individual keyboard, the excellent visual appeal, and even that great smell of warm analog circuits! But, you are also probably aware of the drawbacks of these same instruments; they are heavy and bulky, and most of them are in need of repair. That's where I was with my Wurlitzer 200 and Clavinet D6 - both of which I got in the early '80's when no one wanted such things. They both worked pretty well, but the Wurlitzer needed tuning and the Clavinet needed new hammers. Both were also heavy enough to have earned permanent resting-places from which I rarely moved them.

So, when I heard about the Nord Electro, I made a trip up to Ottawa, Ontario and came back with an Electro 73. And, it was a pretty good substitute for that Clavinet and Wurlitzer. Plus it had a Fender Rhodes, a Yamaha electric grand, and a Hammond organ built in. Not bad at all. But, when I would sit down for some pleasant playing time on it, I would almost always end up playing the organ sound for most of that time. As soon as the second version of the operating system and the new sounds hit the web, I downloaded them. I guess the biggest thing I can say about them is that now when I sit to play the Electro, I spend most of my time playing the various pianos and the Clavinet (although I still play that excellent organ quite a bit too). Let's see what made that difference.

I guess the first thing to say about the new electric pianos is that they really don't seem to sound much different than they did (of course, I haven't had a chance to directly A/B them) as much as they seem to feel very much better. I'm sure they feel just like they did, but some of the clever innovations in the sound (the modeled release sounds, the increased polyphony, the samples themselves, and who knows what else) really make it feel like you are playing a Wurlitzer or Fender Rhodes. It is a pretty impressive experience playing these sounds. Digging into the keys just feels right, as does laying back and playing gently. I played out recently and did a lot of sixties songs on the Wurlitzer, and it was just magic. As a Wurlitzer player for years, I would say the Electro recreates this instrument as close to perfectly as I could imagine. Surprising, the only flaw in the whole package shows up in the Wurlitzer. A few notes are added at the top extending the range beyond that of a real Wurlitzer. These notes don't sound like the rest of the keyboard and have an obvious split point. I'm not sure why they bothered with these extra notes, although I suppose they could come in handy. In spite of this, I would give the Wurlitzer the big-time gold medal as the best electric piano in the digital domain ever! The new Rhodes sounds are equally excellent. Rhodes 1 is a wonderful, classic Fender Rhodes, Rhodes 2 is that famous Stevie Wonder sound, and when you use it with the stereo panning effect, it sounds exactly like all those tunes we used to hear on the radio. Rhodes 3 is also impressive although I haven't used it as much as the others, and I replaced it with one of the electric grand sounds. It is a sharper sound with a harder edge.

Speaking of electric grands, the new one is very cool. The old one sounds pretty much like a Yamaha, but since I've haven't played one of those in years, I can't say how accurate it really is. The new one isn't necessarily 'better', but it is quite different. It sounds more like a regular piano, but a regular piano that sounds great played in a very loud rock band. Most digital pianos that sound beautiful played at acoustic piano volumes sound (IMHO) pretty dreadful when cranked up through an amp. This one really kicks! It is a great rock piano that sounds like what I imagine Paul Revere sounded like in his piano pounding, pre-Vox Organ days!

Speaking of acoustic pianos, the new one is very nice, stereo and all. It isn't a rock piano like the new electric grand, but it is one of the nicer acoustic pianos I have in my MIDI arsenal. It is a rich, full piano that has a very pleasing sound for those quiet meditative moments (and we know we all have them). The original acoustic piano was certainly first on my list to be replaced by one of the new electric pianos when they came out, but this new one is staying on board.

The Clavinet is something else altogether. It sounds very different from the original Electro sound. I have to say it really seems to sound identical to the sound of my D6 (except that my D6 made noise when the keys were released. And the lads at Clavia are so good and so obsessive about this, that I can foresee that an option for the future might be a Clavinet with slightly worn hammers). As you probably know by now, every combination of the D6 rocker switches is available. How they did this, I'm not sure. They may have multi-sampled the Clavinet with each setting, but that seems unlikely. No one seems to know exactly how much sample memory the Electro has, but such extensive multi-sampling seems extravagant. I wonder if they sampled the straight pick-up sounds and set up some kind of modeled filters to act like the rocker switches. Who knows? The bottom line is that this Clavinet is more realistic than I dreamed a digital instrument could ever be.

The sampling in these new sounds is almost flawless. I haven't listened hypercritically but loops and split points seem to be completely unnoticeable (except for the Wurlitzer's extra high notes). All the velocities in all the ranges seem to be represented, and the deep growl of punched Rhodes or Wurlitzer bass note makes it hard to believe you are playing a digital instrument.

But that ain't all. Two subtle changes have been made to the organ section. But they are extremely useful. First, the volume of the key click effect is controllable, and second, the organ can be given its own output (with the piano using the other). While the original key click was perfect through the built-in Leslie effect, it was way too loud played straight or through a different Leslie device. Using these two improvements, I was able to lower the key click, bypass the internal Leslie, and use the direct organ out to a Motion Sound Pro3 (with a keyboard amp for the Leslie bass). The piano voices went directly to a Fender amp. Thus, a change of a preset gave me completely different sounds through different amps, and the organ sounded as sweet as could be through the Pro3 (even though I like the internal Leslie effect very much)!

What else can I say? Downloading the new OS, the Electro Tool [the software interface between your PC and the Electro], and the new piano instruments to your computer and into the Electro is just about foolproof. And to top it all off, the new manual is chock full of vintage keyboard information and pictures. Since the new OS came out, a couple of the piano sounds have been further improved and made available, and there are serious rumors about new piano instruments on the way (including another one of my favorites, the Hohner Pianet N). It really seems like the good people at Clavia are dedicated to continue improving this awesome instrument.

That leads us to speculate what else they might be cooking up in Sweden. I wouldn't be surprised to see a hardware version of the Electro Tool and/or a memory expansion (there are just too many excellent piano voices to fit in all the memory slots). I would like to see a way to turn the organ chorus/vibrato on and off for both keyboard halves with one switch. And, there are so many cool vintage electric pianos that could show up (an early silver topped Fender Rhodes, a Hohner Cembalet, a Wurlitzer 100 series, an RMI Electa Piano), it just makes me greedy thinking about it.

The bottom line is that the original Nord Electro was one of the coolest digital keyboard instruments on the planet. The new operating system and sounds make it simply awe-inspiring!