Introducing the Nord Organ 3!

[Gambold]

Most organists would love to own a B3 and accompanying Leslie, but let's face it...even if you can afford them and have a place in your home to set them all up, touring with that rig is a huge chore. Like a 750-pound chore, when you add the boxes and a bench. Few of us here are likely in bands successful enough to afford their own crew of roadies and trucks...if you're like most of us, whatever you are playing that night is coming in the back of your car, and being carried/rolled/dragged in by you.

There's another notion to face: emulation tech (including squeaks, wheezes, gasps, and rattling beer bottles) has improved to the point that dragging in the real B3 isn't going to make much difference for your audience or your fellow band members. You will look cool, but you won't sound any better to all but the most discerning ear.

The Nord Organ 3 is about 38 pounds, meaning you can actually lift it out of whatever rolling case you bought for it. If I just played organ in a band (hah, don't I wish), I can see this being a dream machine. Sure, Hammond and Crumar have nice boards but this is a Nord, and even without reading a review yet, I'm betting the guys and gals in Stockholm went all in on making this the "Hammond" everyone is going to want.

I STILL think Nord is being a wee bit stubborn with the color business. Yes, the red is classic and should always be an option, but why not offer black and/or a brown wood-grain finish for those side panels as an option? Not everyone likes blood red.

[analogika]

Yes, the red is classic and should always be an option, but why not offer black and/or a brown wood-grain finish for those side panels as an option? Not everyone likes blood red.

This will probably never happen, the red color was one of their best marketing decisions ever. It has a similar effect as the iconic shape of the Coke bottle or the silhouette of a Porsche 911.

[MrLeoMadrid]

Do you think it’s possible for Nord to implement the B3 engine improvements and the Leslie in a firmware update for Stage 4 users?

[analogika]

I guess yes - technically. Will they do it? Who knows …. I would also love to get it as a final update for the Stage 3, but that’s just a dream for sure

[analogika]

Do you think it’s possible for Nord to implement the B3 engine improvements and the Leslie in a firmware update for Stage 4 users?

It's very unlikely. Nord's hardware architecture does not allow modular component replacement/installation like a Kronos or a computer (with the Kronos basically just being a Linux machine running VSTs), where you can just replace one virtual instrument with a completely rewritten update, or a completely different instrument.

However, I will eat my words as gladly as I've been wrong about Clavia releasing an updated Nord Organ.

[maxpiano]

I guess yes - technically. Will they do it? Who knows …. I would also love to get it as a final update for the Stage 3, but that’s just a dream for sure

Technically it depends on the availability of DSP computing power and firmware memory space in other keyboards like NS4 or NS3 (or NE6...), but usually they are pretty "stuffed" so I also think it is unlikely (You would remember when C2 was updated with C2D engine, right? But in that case the DSP hardware was more or less the same)

Product wise I doubt that Nord, even having DSP/memory capacity, would port that engine on other models, maybe they will do with future NE7/NS5 (but as Schorsch I'd be happy to be proven wrong by Nord )

[Schorsch]

Technically it depends on the availability of DSP computing power and firmware memory space in other keyboards like NS4 or NS3 (or NE6...), but usually they are pretty "stuffed" so I also think it is unlikely (You would remember when C2 was updated with C2D engine, right? But in that case the DSP hardware was more or less the same)

I believe that Nord has a kind of platform strategy for a period of time that spans over the generations of instruments released within that period. I would not be surprised to see both the NS4 and the NO3 being at the same platform and therefore porting the organ engine of the NO3 to the NS4 should not be impossible in general. But that’s just my humble opinion and without any evidence

[Theosan]

Do you think it’s possible for Nord to implement the B3 engine improvements and the Leslie in a firmware update for Stage 4 users?

If Nord has something with their customers and take them serious then they would implement at least something of the Nord Organ into the NS4.
Preferable the whole engine like they did with the Nord C2D.
But I think this is not possible with a complete other engine.
For us the wrong order to bring first a new stage and after that a new organ

[Gambold]

Actually I think if you are really serious about organ, or it's your primary sound as a keyboardist in a band, then you should definitely have something more dedicated to that purpose than a Nord Stage. You're gonna want the organ waterfall keybed, and no-one wants that on a Stage.

And indeed...I'm wondering just how much use the organ even gets for committed or professional Stage users. One could make the argument that future Stage models should dispense with it entirely, and focus on increasing the synth features and interactivity with tablets. Leave the jack-of-all-trades to the Electro. If you are playing a Stage in a touring band and have a regular need for organ, you probably are already using a dedicated board for it.

[cphollis]

I wouldn't diss the NS4 organ engine too much, I get some nice tones and colors out of it that work very well in my band contexts, including some tasty organ solos. I also use B3 sounds as a pad behind horns, synth, piano, etc. Most of my programs have both engines on.

The part of the announcement that spiked my interest was the improved Vox and Farf emulations. I find the current ones problematic to work with in a band context, e.g. "Love Her Madly" by the Doors took forever to get a decent sound, and I'm still not happy with it.

But organ isn't my main instrument. With a Nord Organ 3, maybe it could be.