NORD ELECTRO 2 V3.0x

Table of contents

1. Introduction.. 5

Welcome.... 5

About the Owners Manual.... 5 Reading the manual in Adobe Acrobat Reader... 5
Clavia on the Internet... 6

2. Overview... 7

The Nord Electro 2 front panel... 7
The left panel section..... 7 The Organ section.... 8 The Instrument Select button.... 8 The Piano section..... 8 The Effects section.... 8 The Keyboard.... 8
Nord Electro 2 rear panel.. 9

Connections.... 9

Nord Electro 2 block diagram.. 11

3. Getting started..12

Selecting Programs... 12 Octave Shift... 12 Transpose.... 13 Setting Velocity Sensitivity for the Pianos. 13 Using a sustain pedal.. 13
Setting up the sustain pedal polarity... 14 Setting up the sustain pedal configuration... 14
Using a Rotor Speed switch pedal... 14 Using a control (expression) pedal.. 15 Basic MIDI settings... 15

4. Editing Programs..16

Whats a Program?.. 16 Editing a Program... 16
The knobs..... 16 The buttons..... 16 Selecting instrument (Organ or Piano)... 17
Reverting to the original Program.. 17 Storing a Program.. 17 Copying Programs... 18
Deleting Programs...18 Downloading Programs via MIDI...18

5. Panel reference.. 19

The Organ section...19
The Drawbars....20 Drawbar presets....20 User Drawbar presets.... 21 Percussion..... 21 Vibrato.... 22 Manual.... 22 Swell control (from expression pedal).... 23 Rotary Speaker.... 23 Key click control..... 24 Output routing (hard pan)... 24

The Piano section...25

Type.....25 Presence.....26 Presence with the Mega Clavinet sound...26 Output routing (hard pan)... 27 Velocity Sensitivity for the Pianos.... 27

The Effects section...28

Modulations..... 29 Effects.... 31 Overdrive.... 31 Rotary Speaker.... 31 Output Level..... 32 Treble & Bass..... 32
The left panel section..32
Master Level....32 Navigator buttons.... 32 Display.... 32 Store.....33 Program buttons..... 33 Octave Shift..... 33 The Shift button..... 33

System functions... 33

MIDI Ch.... 34 Lower Ch.... 34 Local..... 34 Tune..... 35 Mem Lock.... 35 Transpose..... 36 Ped. Pol..... 36 Config..... 36 Key click control..... 37 Output routing (hard pan)... 37 Velocity Sensitivity for the Pianos.... 38 Leslie acceleration rate.... 38 Dump.... 39 Panic..... 39
6. Factory Presets and OS.40
Internal memory.. 40 Factory presets.. 40
Restoring the factory presets.... 40
Downloading Piano instruments via USB. 40 OS upgrades... 40

7. MIDI functions..41

About the MIDI implementation.. 41
Note On/Off.... 41 Pitch Bend.... 41 Controllers.... 41 Keyboard Velocity.... 41 Program Change..... 41 MIDI Sysex (System Exclusive)... 42
Using Nord Electro 2 with a sequencer. 42
Connections..... 42 Local On/Off..... 42 MIDI channel.... 42 Program Change..... 42 Controllers.... 42 Some notes about Controllers and Chasing... 42
Program and Controller dumps.. 43
Receive MIDI Sysex Dumps.... 44
8. MIDI implementation..45
MIDI Controller list... 45 MIDI Implementation Chart.. 48

9. History... 49

The story behind the Electro 2 instruments.49
What is an electromechanical instrument?.... 49 How does an electromechanical pick-up work?.. 49 The Electro 2 organ section....50 The Wurlitzer EP.... 55 The Hohner Clavinet.... 57 Book suggestions....59 Web suggestions..... 59 Music suggestions.... 59

Index... 61

1. Introduction: Welcome

1. INTRODUCTION

WELCOME
Wed first like to thank you for purchasing the Nord Electro 2 - Virtual Electromechanical stage keyboard. Clavias goal when developing the Nord Electro instrument was to create the best emulations of traditional electromechanical keyboard instruments on the market, and to make the instrument compact and lightweight. Nothing else. No brass banks, no orchestral sounds. No compromises. Just outstanding electromechanical keyboard sounds with true feel, from natural keyboard response to authentic sound. To make a great tool you have to put all the focus on a few things, and thats what we did with the Electro. Think about it, the best tool isnt a Swiss army knife. The organ section in the Electro is based on a digital simulation of the mechanical tone wheels of the B-3 organ. It offers innovative solutions to mimic the typical B-3 sound, for example: An extremely accurate digital model of the original chorus and vibrato scanner. Modeling of the individual random contact bounces for each partial. Modeling of the unique frequency characteristics of the built-in pre-amplifier which forms the body of the B-3 sound. Simulation of the energy stealth on the tone wheels that results in the typical compressed sound. The piano section in Nord Electro 2 OS V3.0 comprises five carefully multi-sampled electric piano instruments: Clavinet D6, Wurlitzer 200A, Electric Piano Mk I Stage Piano, a Electric Piano Mk I Suitcase Piano with a brighter sound and the custom modified Clavia Electric Grand Model G. The Electro features a unique multi-sample playback, catching every nuance from soft to hard key strokes. Nord Electro comes right out of the box with these five electric piano sounds stored in Flash memory. As an extra bonus we also included an acoustic grand piano (concert model) - in stereo! The big advantage with Flash memory is that you can replace instruments with new ones and that no backup battery is required. The Electro also sports a USB interface for quick and easy download of new piano sounds. On the CD-R that comes with the Electro 2 there are additional Piano sounds. Also available at http://www.clavia.se.

DELETING PROGRAMS

There is no command for deleting Programs from the internal memory. What you do to delete a Program is simply saving a new Program (and thus replacing the old Program) in a specific memory location.
DOWNLOADING PROGRAMS VIA MIDI
You can receive MIDI Sysex data for one Program at a time into a selected Program location. For example, if you use Nord Electro 2 together with a sequencer, it is often practical to record a Sysex Program data dump in the beginning of your song to download sounds. Its also possible to receive an entire Program Bank and even all Program Banks as a bulk (see Dump on page 39 and Receive MIDI Sysex Dumps on page 44).

Page 18

5. Panel reference: The Organ section

5. PANEL REFERENCE

THE ORGAN SECTION
The Organ in the Nord Electro 2 is based on a digital simulation of the mechanical tone wheels of the B3 organ. It offers innovative solutions to mimic the typical B-3 sound, for example: Full polyphony An extremely accurate digital model of the original chorus and vibrato scanner Modeling of the individual random contact bounces for each partial Modeling of the unique frequency characteristics of the built-in pre-amplifier which forms the body of the B-3 sound Simulation of the energy stealth on the tone wheels that results in the typical compressed sound Authentic tuning of the tone wheels according to the original B3 design Extremely fast keyboard response The Organ section comprises a number of sub groups which include all the functions found on the original B-3 organ, such as Percussion and Chorus/Vibrato.

Page 19

THE DRAWBARS
The drawbars of Nord Electro 2 are represented by buttons and LED chain graphs instead of ordinary mechanical drawbars. This gives you a big advantage: when you change presets or Programs, the correct drawbar settings are recalled immediately and shown by the LEDs. In other words, no need for the regular trial and error method. Its very easy to get the hang of changing the drawbar settings in a natural way with the buttons. The drawbars of Nord Electro 2 behave similar to their mechanical counterparts, i.e. you pull out the drawbars by pressing the LOWER DRAWBAR buttons and push them back in by pressing the UPPER DRAWBAR buttons. The DRAWBAR buttons are special in the way that they auto-increment/decrement the drawbar value when held. I.e. if you hold a DRAWBAR button the corresponding drawbar value will continue to increment or decrement (within its range) until you release the button. Each drawbar represents a partial. The numbers printed below each DRAWBAR LED CHAIN have a history. In the figure above we have chosen C3 as our reference note. The 8 Originally, the B-3 was created to drawbar is considered the basic partial in the organ sound. The arrows mimic a church organ. The num- point at the respective note that each drawbar represents when C3 is bers on the B-3s drawbars referred to pipe sizes on a church organ. Thats why it, for example, says 16, 5 1/3 etc. It corresponds to the church organs pipe length in foot. In the figure above you can see the pitch interval among the nine drawbars. Note that the second drawbar from the left actually lies a 5th above the basic partial. However, in most situations its perceived as sounding below the basic partial. When you play different notes on the keyboard, the whole partial package is being transposed up or down with the fixed intervals.

Page 21

VIBRATO
The original B-3 chorus and vibrato scanner consists of a tapped delay line in combination with a rotating scanner. For the Vibrato effect, phase shift is applied to the signal. For the Chorus effect, the phase modulated signal is added to the original signal. A lot of time and effort have been spent in accurately recreating the chorus and vibrato scanner effect. Like on the original, Nord Electro 2 offers three different types of choruses (C1-C3) and three different types of vibratos (V1-V3). Select one of these types by pressing the SELECTOR button. You activate and deactivate the Vibrato section by pressing the ON button.

MANUAL

In the Manual section you can choose to split the Nord Electro 2 keyboard into two sections, the Lower Manual and the Upper Manual. Each Manual can have its own drawbar, percussion and chorus/vibrato settings. If you dont use the Split function you will only have access to the Upper Manual settings from the internal keyboard. KEYBOARD SPLIT Press the SPLIT button to divide the Nord Electro 2 keyboard into two sections, the Lower Manual and Upper Manual sections. By default, the split point on the keyboard is between the keys E4 and F4 (Nord Electro 2 61) and between the keys B3 and C4 (Nord Electro 2 73). You can, however, also set the split point manually by holding SHIFT + pressing SPLIT, the split LED starts to flash, then press the desired key. A manually set split point can be saved with the program. UPPER AND LOWER Press the corresponding button to highlight the settings for the respective Manual. Each Manual can have its own drawbar, chorus/vibrato (on/off) and Octave Shift settings. If you dont use the Split function, or use an additional MIDI keyboard (see below), you will only be able to play the Upper Manual from the internal keyboard. Note that the Percussion effect can only be used for the Upper Manual in any situation. USING AN ADDITIONAL LOWER MANUAL MIDI

KEYBOARD

As a special feature of Nord Electro 2 you can connect a second keyboard via MIDI In to use as a Lower Manual keyboard. This way you can play the internal keyboard as the Upper Manual and the additional MIDI keyboard as the Lower Manual. Since the organ has full polyphony youll have this also when using an additional Lower Manual MIDI keyboard! Do like this to set up the Nord Electro 2 for use with a second keyboard: 1. Connect the additional MIDI keyboards MIDI Out to the Nord Electro 2s MIDI IN. 2. Select a MIDI channel on the external keyboard.

Page 22

3. Select the same MIDI channel on the Nord Electro 2 by first pressing SHIFT + PROGRAM 2 (LOWER CH) buttons and then scroll with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. Note: The MIDI channel set for reception of the additional MIDI keyboard should be different from the public MIDI Channel (see MIDI Ch on page 34). If the MIDI CH and LOWER CH are the same, playing the additional keyboard would produce a layered sound of the Upper Manual and Lower Manual sounds together. This is normally not what you want. 4. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.
CONTROL (FROM EXPRESSION PEDAL)
Swell is the characteristic B-3 volume function that you control from the B-3s pedal. Swell is not only a volume control - it also changes the character of the sound in a special way. To use Swell control on the Nord Electro 2, simply plug in a standard resistive expression pedal to the CONTROL PEDAL input on the rear panel (see Connecting pedals on page 9). Note that the expression pedal will only control Swell on Organ sounds - not the volume on Piano sounds. Also, if you use Wah-Wah as modulation effect (see Wah-Wah 1&2 on page 30), the expression pedal will instead control the Wah-Wah effect and not Swell.

ROTARY SPEAKER

The Rotary Speaker simulation in Nord Electro 2 can be found in the Effects section. The reason for this is that you can use it also for Piano sounds. The Rotary Speaker simulation is really something above the ordinary. Its not only simulating the rotating speaker and drum but also the built-in amplifier of the original Leslie 122 speaker. Activate or deactivate the Rotary Speaker simulation by pressing the ON button. Switch between fast and slow rotor speeds by pressing the FAST button. To stop the rotors (but not disabling the Rotary Speaker simulation), press the STOP button. When you press the STOP button again the rotors will accelerate to the speed they had when you first pressed STOP. ROTOR SPEED CONTROL FROM PEDAL By plugging in a sustain pedal in the ROTOR SPEED PEDAL input you can control the speed selection from a pedal. Its also possible to use a sustain pedal connected to the SUSTAIN PEDAL input to control the speed selection. Please refer to Config on page 36 for information on how to set up Nord Electro 2 for operation with sustain/switch pedals.

Press the TYPE button to select a piano instrument. On the Nord Electro 2 front panel are printed names of the piano instruments loaded from factory. Since all piano samples are stored in Flash memory you can easily add and/or replace the stored piano instruments with new ones (see Downloading Piano instruments via USB on page 40). You can download any piano sound to any of the six locations, i.e. you are not restricted to the configuration printed on the panel. For example, you could have six different Electric Piano sounds (when available) in your Electro 2 at the same time if you like.

Page 25

PRESENCE
The Presence section features a parametric EQ with frequency and amount controls. Use it if youd like to amplify or attenuate frequency bands of the piano instruments. Activate and deactivate the Presence function by pressing the ON button and set the frequency to be amplified or attenuated with the FREQ knob. With the AMOUNT knob you set the amplification/attenuation in dB. Note that the Clavinet D6 instrument that comes with OS V2.X makes use of the Presence effect in a different way (se below).

WITH THE

MEGA CLAVINET
The Mega Clavinet (Clav) sound in the V2.X factory library makes use of the Presence section in a different way than the other piano sounds. On an original Clavinet D6 you can select different pick-up and filter combinations by pressing a number of rocker switches. This functionality is very faithfully simulated in the Nord Electro 2 V2.X. It means that from the Mega Clavinet instrument in the Electro 2 you can get all the 60 different Clavinet D6 sounds plus an additional 4 by selecting different pick-up and filter combinations! This is how it works: The FREQ knob works as a filter selector with which you can select one of the 15 (sounding) combinations of the Brilliant, Treble, Medium and Soft filters of the original D6. The filter combinations are described in the figure below.
By turning the FREQ knob you select one of 15 Clavinet D6 filter combinations plus an additional Bypass variation. The filter combination number is briefly shown in the DISPLAY as you turn the FREQ knob.

Page 26

A Clavinet D6 has two separate pick-ups, one on the neck and one on the bridge. By selecting either one pick-up or both in different combinations you can alter the character of the sound quite drastically. On the Mega Clavinet sound, the AMOUNT knob works as the pick-up selector according to the figure below
By turning the AMOUNT knob you select one of the four Clavinet D6 pick-up configurations. The pick-up configuration number is briefly shown in the DISPLAY as you turn the AMOUNT knob. The configurations are these:
C.b: Only the "bridge" pick-up; a bright sound. C.A: Only the "neck" pick-up; a warm, less bright sound. d.A: Both pick-ups on but 180 degrees out of phase; the
fundamental is almost cancelled and the sound becomes pretty thin d.b: Both pick-ups on and in phase; a very full sound

VELOCITY SENSITIVITY

FOR THE

PIANOS

Some of the piano instruments sampled for the Nord Electro 2 have very wide dynamic ranges by nature and naturally we wanted to capture this as accurately as possible. Therefore, it could be perceived that it is a little hard to reach the most extreme levels when playing the Nord Electro 2 piano sounds with the default keyboard Velocity Sensitivity setting. This is because the dynamic response curves have been very carefully adjusted to match each original instrument's response characteristics. In other words, Clavia's in-

Page 27

5. Panel reference: The Effects section
tention was that when you play a Electric Piano sound, for example, it should almost feel like you are playing a Electric Piano. However, If you want the piano sounds to respond more easily to keyboard velocity, you can set this in the Config menu. The Velocity Sensitivity setting is global for all Pianos in the Electro 2. 1. Hold SHIFT and press the PROGRAM 8 (CONFIG) button four times. The DISPLAY reads U.0 (Velocity Sensitivity). 2. Change the Velocity Sensitivity between U.0 (least sensitive) and U.9 (most sensitive) with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. 3. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.

THE EFFECTS SECTION

The Effects section of Nord Electro 2 can be used for processing both Organ and Piano sounds. Its fully programmable and you can configure your effects separately for each Program. The Effects section consists of five sub groups: Modulations. Offers six different types of modulations: Ring Modulation, Auto-Panning, Tremolo Wah-Wah 1&2 and Auto-Wah. Effects. Offers three types of vintage style effects with two variations each: Phaser 1&2, Flanger 1&2 and Chorus 1&2. Overdrive. Simulates an overdriven tube amplifier.

PED. POL

Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 7 (PED.POL) buttons to set up the Sustain Pedal and Rotor Speed Pedal polarity. Change pedal polarity between OP (Open) (open when pressed) and CL (Closed) (closed when pressed) with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit. Nord Electro 2 sends and receives Sustain Pedal messages as MIDI CC# 64 and Rotor Speed Pedal messages as MIDI CC#82.

CONFIG

Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 8 (CONFIG) buttons once to enter the Pedal Configuration function. Here you select how you want to configure the SUSTAIN PEDAL input. There are two options: 1. If youre using a single sustain pedal in the SUSTAIN PEDAL input you may want to use it for sustain with Piano sounds and as a Rotor Speed switch with Organ sounds. In this case, select P.t (Pedal toggle) with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.

Page 36

2. If youre using two separate sustain pedals: one in the Sustain Pedal Input and one in the Rotor Speed Input you probably want to use the sustain pedal in the SUSTAIN PEDAL input for sustain also with Organ sounds. In this case, select P.S (Pedal Sustain) with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. Exit by pressing any button (except for the SHIFT button). Note: Its possible to use this configuration also if youre only using a single sustain pedal in the Sustain Pedal input. In that case youll have to control the Rotor Speed from the front panel. Nord Electro 2 sends and receives Sustain Pedal messages as MIDI (CC# 64). Note! If you have selected P.t, Rotor Speed selection is sent from the sustain pedal as MIDI CC#82 - not CC#64!
If you want to process your sound using external effects, it can be convenient to route Organ and Piano sounds to separate outputs of the Nord Electro 2. Note that the Output routing is not saved, so you will have to reconfigure after power off. 1. Hold down SHIFT and press the PROGRAM 8 button three times. The DISPLAY reads H.0 where H stands for Hard pan and 0 that both Organ and Piano sounds are routed to LEFT OUT and RIGHT OUT without separation. 2. Select separate outputs by pressing the UP NAVIGATOR button so the DISPLAY reads H.1. H.1 means that Organ sounds will be output only through the LEFT OUT and Piano sounds only through the RIGHT OUT. Note that any stereo effect you apply to a sound internally will be in mono in H.1 mode.

PROGRAM AND CONTROLLER DUMPS
To dump Program Sysex or MIDI Controllers via MIDI, to another Nord Electro 2 or for recording the data into another MIDI device, do like this: 1. Connect a cable from MIDI OUT on the Nord Electro 2 to MIDI In on the receiving device. 2. Set up the receiving device so that it accepts MIDI Sysex and MIDI Controller data. 3. Press the SHIFT + LEFT OCTAVE SHIFT buttons to enter the Dump menu. Select what to dump by pressing the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. Pr flashing in the DISPLAY means single Program Dump, Al means All Programs Dump and Ct means MIDI Controllers Dump. If youre about to dump a single Program or MIDI Controllers for a Program, select the Program by choosing Program Bank with the UP/ DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons and Program by pressing the corresponding PROGRAM button. 4. If needed, set the receiving MIDI device to recording mode. 5. Press the STORE button to send the dump to the MIDI OUT of Nord Electro 2. The Display will stop flashing once the dump has been sent. Note: For Sysex dumps of Organ sounds, the complete settings for the sound will be dumped as MIDI Sysex. For Piano sounds, all parameters will be sent but NOT the actual instrument samples. Therefore, when dumping back a Piano Sysex, make sure the actual instrument sound is already loaded in the Nord Electro 2. Otherwise the parameters in the Sysex message will be applied to another available Piano instrument. However, the Nord Electro 2 works in an intelligent way regarding substituting Piano sounds.Lets say you dumped a Program Sysex based on the E.Piano1 sound and then erased the E.Piano1 sound. When you load the Program Sysex back to the Electro 2, it will apply another available Electric Piano sound, the E.Piano2 or E.Piano3, for example. If no Electric Piano sound is available, another piano sound will be applied.

Page 43

RECEIVE MIDI SYSEX DUMPS
To receive a MIDI Sysex Dump, do like this: 1. Connect a cable from the MIDI Out on the transmitting device to MIDI IN on the Nord Electro 2. 2. Initiate the transmission on the transmitting device. If the dump contained all Programs (AL), it will replace all Programs currently stored in the Nord Electro 2. If the dump contained only a single Program (Pr), it will be temporarily placed in the currently selected Program memory location. You will then have to store the Program manually to a memory location using the Store function (see Storing a Program on page 17). Note: For Organ sounds, the complete settings for the sound will be received with the MIDI Sysex file. For Piano sounds, all parameters will be received but not the actual instrument samples. Therefore, when receiving a Piano MIDI Sysex file, make sure the instrument samples are already present in the Nord Electro 2. Otherwise the parameters of the Sysex file will be applied to another available Piano instrument.

* The parameters Piano Type and Piano Sub Type are used to define the exact type of Piano instrument used and not its position in the TYPE selector. In addition to the above, following MIDI Controllers are used: If an expression pedal is used in the CONTROL PEDAL INPUT, its transmitted as Controller 11. If a sustain pedal is used in the SUSTAIN PEDAL INPUT (and configured to be used for Sustain), its transmitted as Controller 64 (Damper Pedal) If a sustain pedal is used in the ROTOR SPEED INPUT, or in the SUSTAIN PEDAL INPUT (and configured to be used for Rotor Speed), its transmitted as Controller 82.

Page 47

8. MIDI implementation: MIDI Implementation Chart
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART
Model: Clavia Nord Electro 2 OS V2.0x
Function Basic Channel Mode Note Number Velocity Default Channel Default Messages Altered True Voice Note ON Note OFF Transmitted Mode 3 *********** *********** O v = O

Date: 2002-06-11

Recognized Mode 101 O v = O

Remarks

Incoming Velocity data ignored in Organ mode.
Aftertouch Key Channel Pitch Bend Control Change Program Change

O O 0 47

See MIDI Controller list on page 45.

True # O

System Exclusive System Common : Song Pos : Song Sel : Tune
See the MIDI Implementation section.
System : Clock Real Time : Commands Aux : Local ON/OFF Mes- : All Notes Off sages : Active Sense : Reset Notes Mode 1: OMNI ON, POLY Mode 3: OMNI OFF, POLY
Mode 2: OMNI ON, MONO Mode 4: OMNI OFF, MONO

O: Yes : No

Page 48
9. History: The story behind the Electro 2 instruments

9. HISTORY

THE STORY BEHIND THE ELECTRO 2 INSTRUMENTS
The Nord Electro 2 is a stage keyboard focused on vintage instrument sounds -- specifically, sounds from popular electromechanical keyboards produced from the '50s to the '70s. These instruments are no longer in production, but they continue to play a remarkably important role in music today. In this chapter, we will focus on these instruments. For those of you who aren't familiar with these instruments, we will give you a description of the principals of each instrument and its basic design theory, as well as short histories of the instruments. For all of you interested in digging even deeper into these instruments, we will recommend some nice literature to read further about them (see the end of this chapter).

This is the Hammond A-100 organ that is simulated by the Nord Electro 2. The A-100 is electrically similar to the B-3 and C-3 organs, but it features a different cabinet and has a built-in amplifier, speakers, and spring reverb. This particular unit left the factory on June 2, 1965. The A-100 was taken out of production four months

Page 50

Hammond filed a patent for the tone wheel organ in 1934, and one year later he introduced the first Hammond organ, the Model A. In the patent, Hammond catalogues the numerous objects that contribute to the complete design. He lists 29 different features. Among them you can find, for example, feature number 17, which states: "To provide an instrument of the type which is relatively light in weight and is portable." Wonder what roadies around the world have to say about that! This patent is the backbone of the whole organ line made by Hammond until 1974. The Model A was very expensive at the time, yet the sales were impressive. The company grew steadily and, over time, new models were released. Laurens Hammond was correct from the start to have focused his market for the instrument on churches. He saw a great potential there in sales, and many organ models had cabinets designed to fit the various religious services. Despite all-new models, they had more or less the same tone-wheel concept, but with different styles of The first page of the patent for cabinets, pedal board, speaker configuration, and amplification. Ham- the tone wheel organ filed by Laurens Hammond in 1934. mond and his team continued to experiment with different ways to deepen the sound, adding effects such as tremolo and chorus. In 1954, Hammond introduced the B-3 model to the market. It became the best seller of all Hammond organs. One of the secrets to the B-3's success was its sound, thanks to the integration of the newly developed chorus and tremolo features, as well as the introduction of the Percussion feature and reverberation. All this combined made musicians do a vast amount of new and exciting sounds to play with at the time. The B-3 is still a very popular instrument and still in use around the world.
Here you can see the knob for selecting the A-100 organ's Vibrato and Chorus effects. There are six different positions. All of these effects are simulated in the Nord Electro 2. The rocker tabs control the Vibrato/Chorus on/off status for the upper (Swell) and lower (Great) manuals. The tab far to the left is a overall volume switch for the whole organ. This particular function is not exactly implemented in the Nord Electro 2. Instead, there's a Master level

Page 54

THE WURLITZER EP
The next instrument to be sampled for the Nord Electro 2 is the Wurlitzer electric piano model 200. What became the Wurlitzer electric piano was originally designed by Benjamin Franklin Miessner, born in 1890. An American inventor who became involved with innovations in radio during his early years, Miessner designed an electro-acoustic instrument pick-up in 1921. A company called Amperage manufactured it for guitars in 1928. After selling his radio patents to RCA in 1930, Miessner set up a laboratory to develop his ideas on electrifying musical instruments with the goal of creating small, affordable electric pianos for educational use. He experimented with ways of amplifying the strings in an acoustic piano that lacked a sound board, and he filed a patent for this design in 1931. Miessner continued to develop his theories and give the piano a more powerful tone. He began incorporating metal reeds in place of strings because the reed timbre and the decay of their vibrations sounded superior to the muddy quality of the soundboardless strings.
A Wurlitzer 200A electric piano -- the most popular Wurlitzers model ever built. If you compare a Wurlitzer with other electric pianos, you find the Wurlitzer a little more compact. The Wurlitzer came with 64-note range A to C.
At this point Miessner's concept garnered lots of interest from piano manufactures around the country. His ideas reached the big jukebox and organ company, Wurlitzer, where someone realized the invention had great potential. Wurlitzer bought the patent and the rights to make this instrument and immediately started the development of an electric piano. They wanted to produce an electric piano, but with a more piano-like action and sound. The basic design incorporated felt-dressed hammers similar to those in an acoustic piano to stroke the metallic reeds. The vibrations from the stroke on the reeds produced a big, fat, rich tone, which was sensed by the electro-static pick ups, amplified and routed to the built-in speakers on the front of the piano. In the patent text from 1959, which Miessner had originally filed in 1950 with Wurlitzer as the assignee, you can understand his intentions and design goals. He wanted to built a compact, lightweight instrument with a real piano action. It was also important that the piano sound like an acoustic piano. Miessner declared that his invention would solve the tuning problems associated with acoustic pianos.

A Hohner Clavinet D6. The sound of this instrument was made famous thanks to the fabulous Stevie Wonder song "Superstition".
The front page of Ernst Zacharias patent for String Instruments Having a Keyboard filed in 1966.

Page 57

Hohner unleashed the Clavinet C in 1968. This version features a slimmer design and better served the live keyboard player on stage. Its sales shot rockethigh. In 1971, the Clavinet D6 was launched. It became the most popular model. The D6 sported 15 different filter settings, four different microphone settings, and a mute function to dampen the strings. An improved internal string-dampening feature also reduced the acoustic feedback problem. The last of the Clavinets -- the E7 -- appeared in 1977. It was especially designed to be taken on the road by rock bands. The E7's insides were the same as the D6, with the addition of a special filter to reduce interference from light dimmers and other electric equipment used on stage. Unfortunately, this filter proved detrimental to the Clavinet's higher frequencies, which was a serious drawback for the sound quality. At that point, polyphonic synthesizers began appearing on the market and the Clavinet was no longer popular. Its production ended in 1980.
Hohner's Clavinet D6 has a pre-amplifier featuring four different filters that can be fixed to 16 differen settings as well as four pick-up variations. In total, there are 64 different sound combinations -- which are all simulated in the Nord Electro 2. The four fixed filters are designated Brilliant (high-frequency), Treble (high-mid), Medium (mid low), and Soft (bass). The Pick-up settings are a combination of the two pick-ups in the Clavinet. With the B and C buttons activated, the Bridge pick up is chosen -- which provides a warmer sound. When the A and C buttons are activated, the signal is fed through the Neck pick-up, giving a brighter sound. The combination A and D activates both mi crophones, making the sound is more full-bodied. Finally, with the B and D buttons activated, the sig nal gets routed through the Bridge and Neck pickups set out of phase, resulting in a thinner sound with less fundamental. The knob is the volume con
Under the Clavinet's hood. In the front, you'll notice the damping mechanism after the Neck pick-up. Beneath the keys under the strings, you can see the Bridge pick-up. The strings are mounted on a metal body that's fastened into the wood cabinet.
This is the lowest key on a Clavinet D6. The green material is yarn, which serves to dampen and avoid feedback. The little round detail under the key is the tangent with the rubber tip that hits the string. Underneath the string is an anvil. The Clavinet strings are more plucked than struck.

factory presets 40 restoring 40 Fast (Rotary Speaker) 31 Flanger (effect) 31 front panel 7
hard pan of outputs 24, 27, 37
Instrument Select button 17 internal memory 40 Internet 6
key click control (organ) 24, 37 keyboard 8 split (organ) 22 Keyboard Velocity for Piano sounds 27, 38 MIDI 41 knobs using 16
delete Programs 18 Display 7, 32

Page 61

level master 7, 32 output (individual per Program) 32 Local (MIDI) 34 Lower Ch 22, 34 Lower Manual (organ) 22 using external MIDI keyboard 22
Octave Shift 12, 33 buttons 7 Organ section 19 OS upgrades 40 output level master 7 physical 9 routing 24, 27, 37 Output Level (individual per Program) 32 Overdrive distortion 31
Manual (Upper/Lower) 22 Master Level 7, 32 Master Tune adjusting 35 Mem Lock 35 memory (internal) 40 memory protect (Mem Lock) 35 MIDI about the implementation 41 basic settings 15 channel 34 Lower 34 channels using with sequencer 42 connections 42 controllers "chasing" when using a sequencer 42 list 45 recording in sequencer 42 implementation chart 48 Keyboard Velocity 41 local on/off 34, 42 Program Change 41 recording in sequencer 42 send all MIDI controllers 39, 43 Sysex dump of all Programs 43 Sysex dump of single Programs 43 Sysex reception of Program and Program Banks 44 using an external "lower manual" keyboard 22 MIDI Ch 34 Modulations 29
Pan (modulation) 29 Panic 39 partials (organ drawbar) 20 pdf file (reading the manual as.) 5 Ped. Cnfg 14 Ped. Pol 14, 36 pedals connecting 9 control/expression 15 Rotor Speed 14 sustain 13 swell 15 Percussion (organ) 21 Phaser (effect) 31 Piano downloading new instruments via USB 40 Type 25 Piano section 25 pitch bend MIDI messages 41 Presence 26 with the Mega Clavinet sound 26 Program buttons 7, 33 copying 18 deleting 18 downloading from MIDI 18 editing 16 reverting to stored 17 selecting 12 storing 17 What is it? 16 Program Change (MIDI) 41
Navigator buttons 7, 32 Note On/Off MIDI transmission and reception 41

Page 62

rear panel 9 E.Piano (Piano Type) 25 E.Piano2 (Piano Type) 25 RingMod (modulation) 29 Rotary Speaker 31 controlling speed from pedal 31 Rotor Speed pedal connecting 9
volume individual per Program 32 master 7, 32
Wah-Wah (modulation) 30 Wur (Piano Type) 25
save Programs 17 sequencing with Nord Electro 42 Shift button 7, 33 signal routing (internal) 11 Slow (Organ Percussion) 21 Soft (Organ Percussion) 21 Split (Lower & Upper Manuals) 22 Stop (Rotary Speaker) 31 Store button 7, 33 store Programs 17 sustain pedal connecting 9 settings 13 swell 23 pedal using 15
Transpose 13, 36 Treble (eq) 32 Tremolo (modulation) 30 Tune (Master) 35

Part No. 50147

User Manual

Software Version Software Version 2.1x
Additional language versions as PDF files on enclosed CD-R

CAUTION AVIS

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN
The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated voltage within the products enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
Le symbole clair avec le point de flche lintrieur dun triangle quilatral est utilis pour alerter lutilisateur de la presence lintrieur du coffret de voltage dangereux non isol dampleur suffisante pour constituer un risque d`lctrocution.
RISQUE DE SHOCK ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
ATTENTION:POUR EVITER LES RISQUES DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE, NE PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE. AUCUN ENTRETIEN DE PIECES INTERIEURES PAR LUSAGER. CONFIER LENTRETIEN AU PERSONNEL QUALIFE. AVIS: POUR EVITER LES RISQUES DINCIDENTE OU DELECTROCUTION, NEXPOSEZ PAS CET ARTICLE A LA PLUIE OU LHUMIDITET.
The exclamation mark within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.
Le point dexclamation lintrieur dun triangle quilatral est employ pour alerter lutilisateur de la prsence dinstructions importantes pour le fonctionnement et lentretien (service) dans le livret dinstructions accompagnant lappareil.
Instructions pertaining to a risk of fire, electric shock or injury to persons.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
Warning - When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following: 1. Read all the instructions and observe the graphic symbols above before using the product. 2. Do not use this product near water - for example near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, near or in a swimming pool, a swamp or the like. 3. This product should be used only with a cart or a stand that is recommended by the manufacturer. 4. This product, either alone or in combination with an amplifier and headphones or speakers may be perfectly capable of producing sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss. Do not operate for a long period of time at a high volume level or at a level that is uncomfortable. If you experience any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you should consult an audiologist. 5. The product should be located so that its location or position does not interfere with or obstruct its normal flow of ventilation. 6. The product should be located away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers or other products that produce heat. 7. The product should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in these operation instructions or as marked on the product. 8. The power supply cord of the product should be unplugged from the outlet when the product is left unused for a long period of time. 9. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall, or liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through openings. 10. The product should be serviced by qualified service personnel when: A. The power supply cord has been damaged; or B. Objects have fallen or liquids have been spilled onto the product; or C. The product has been exposed to rain; or D. The product does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change in performance; or E. The product has been dropped or the enclosure has been damaged. 11. Do not attempt to service the product beyond those means described in this operating manual. All other servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel.
Trademarks: The Nord Electro logo is trademark of Clavia DMI AB. All other trademarks mentioned in this publication are the properties of their respective holders. Specifications and appearances are subject to change without notice. V2.1x, 1:st Edition. Copyright by Clavia DMI AB, 2004

NORD ELECTRO 2 V2.1x

Table of contents

1. Introduction.. 5

Welcome.... 5
About the Owners Manual....5 Reading the manual in Adobe Acrobat Reader...5
Clavia on the Internet... 6

2. Overview... 7

The Nord Electro 2 front panel... 7
The left panel section....7 The Organ section....8 The Instrument Select button....8 The Piano section....8 The Effects section....8 The Keyboard.....8
Nord Electro 2 rear panel.. 9

Connections.....9

diagram.. Nord Electro 2 block diagram.. 11
..12 3. Getting started..12
Selecting Programs... 12 Octave Shift... 12 Transpose.... 13 Setting Velocity Sensitivity for the Pianos. 13 Pianos. Using a sustain pedal.. 13
Setting up the sustain pedal polarity....14 Setting up the sustain pedal configuration...14

Using a Rotor Speed switch pedal... 14 pedal.. Using a control (expression) pedal.. 15 Basic MIDI settings... 15
4. Editing Programs..16 Programs..16..
Whats a Program?.. 16 Editing a Program... 16
The knobs....16 The buttons....16 Selecting instrument (Organ or Piano)...17
Reverting to the original Program.. 17 Storing a Program.. 17 Programs... Copying Programs... 18
...18 Deleting Programs...18 MIDI...18 Downloading Programs via MIDI...18

5. Panel reference.. 19

...19 The Organ section...19 section...
The Drawbars.... 20 Drawbar presets.... 20 User Drawbar presets.... 21 Percussion.... 21 Vibrato..... 22 Manual..... 22 Swell control (from expression pedal)... 23 Rotary Speaker.... 23 Key click control.... 24 Output routing (hard pan).... 24
...25 The Piano section...25
Type.... 25 Presence.... 26 Presence with the Mega Clavinet sound... 26 Output routing (hard pan).... 27 Velocity Sensitivity for the Pianos... 27
...28 The Effects section...28
Modulations.... 29 Effects.... 31 Overdrive.... 31 Rotary Speaker.... 31 Output Level.... 32 Treble & Bass.... 32
..32 The left panel section..32
Master Level.... 32 Navigator buttons.... 32 Display..... 32 Store.... 33 Program buttons.... 33 Octave Shift..... 33 The Shift button.... 33

System functions... 33

MIDI Ch.....34 Lower Ch.....34 Local.....34 Tune.....35 Mem Lock....35 Transpose....36 Ped. Pol.....36 Config....36 Key click control....37 Output routing (hard pan)....37 Velocity Sensitivity for the Pianos...38 Dump.....38 Panic.....39
6. Factory Presets and OS.40 OS.40.
Internal memory.. 40 memory.. Factory presets.. 40
Restoring the factory presets....40
USB. Downloading Piano instruments via USB. 40 OS upgrades... 40
7. MIDI functions..41..41
About the MIDI implementation.. 41
Note On/Off....41 Pitch Bend....41 Controllers....41 Keyboard Velocity....41 Program Change....41 MIDI Sysex (System Exclusive)....42
Using Nord Electro 2 with a sequencer. 42
Connections.....42 Local On/Off....42 MIDI channel....42 Program Change....42 Controllers....42 Some notes about Controllers and Chasing...42

The manual is arranged mainly as a reference manual. In many cases youll get tips on how to practically use the functions, alone and also together with other functions. Every time the manual wants your attention to an object on the Electro, the name of that object will be printed LIKE THIS, e.g. press the STORE button. The LED display on Nord Electro is always referred to as the DISPLAY. Whenever there is a reference to the keyboard, that reference also applies to any incoming MIDI note messages.
READING THE MANUAL IN ADOBE ACROBAT READER
This manual is also available in the digital PDF-file format. It can be downloaded, free of charge, from Clavias web site at http://www.clavia.se. When reading the manual as PDF-file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or later. This program can be downloaded, free of charge, at http://www.adobe.com.

Page 5

1. Introduction: Clavia on the Internet
With Adobe Acrobat Reader it is possible to use special navigation features like hyperlinks. This means that you can click with the mouse on a word or sentence and automatically get to the location indicated by the word/sentence. To better show what words or sentences are hyperlinked in this manual, these words are written in magenta.

CLAVIA ON THE INTERNET

If you have access to the Internet, youre very welcome to visit http://www.clavia.se. There you will find the latest information about Nord Electro 2 and other Clavia products. In the future youll also be able to download new Nord Electro sounds and software upgrades, free of charge.

Page 6

2. Overview: The Nord Electro 2 front panel

2. OVERVIEW

THE NORD ELECTRO 2 FRONT PANEL

Left panel section

The Organ section

The Piano section

The Effects section

THE LEFT PANEL SECTION

MASTER LEVEL The MASTER LEVEL knob controls the output level from the two OUT jacks and the HEADPHONES output. The MASTER LEVEL knob does not send or receive any MIDI CC# but is used to control the entire instruments output level. (For info on how to control the level of an individual Program and via MIDI, please refer to Output Level on page 32). NAVIGATOR BUTTONS AND DISPLAY To the right of the MASTER LEVEL knob are two buttons, the NAVIGATOR buttons. These are used to select Program Banks (A-F) and various system functions. To the right of the NAVIGATOR buttons is the DISPLAY. Its used to display Program Banks and also various system parameters. THE STORE BUTTON To the right of the DISPLAY is the red STORE button. This is used when storing Programs (see Storing a Program on page 17) and also when executing various system commands. PROGRAM BUTTONS Below the DISPLAY are the eight PROGRAM buttons (1 - 8). Use them to select Programs and to select various system functions. THE SHIFT BUTTON Below the PROGRAM buttons is the SHIFT button. Its used to access various kinds of system functions etc. OCTAVE SHIFT BUTTONS These buttons are used to transpose the notes +/- 2 octaves (if the selected instrument supports this).

Page 15

4. Editing Programs: Whats a Program?

4. EDITING PROGRAMS

WHATS A PROGRAM?
A Program in Nord Electro 2 consists of a selected Instrument (an Organ sound or a specific Piano sound), the settings you have made for the instrument, e.g. Drawbar, Percussion and Chorus/Vibrato settings for Organ sounds or Presence settings for a Piano sound, Octave Shift settings plus all the settings of the Effects section. For Piano based sounds this means that a Program does not contain any samples only the parameter data that affects the selected Piano type. This is important to bear in mind when performing a MIDI Sysex dump of a Piano based Program (see Dump on page 38).

EDITING A PROGRAM

Actually, how to change a programmed sound can be described in one sentence: tweak the knobs and press the buttons. It is as simple as that! Dont be afraid to edit and overwrite the factory Programs. If you want to restore any of the original factory programs later, you can fetch them at http://www.clavia.se and download to your Nord Electro 2 as MIDI Sysex files. To indicate that a Program has been edited (changed from the stored version), a dot is shown to the right of the Program number in the DISPLAY:.

T HE KNO BS

All KNOBS on the Nord Electro 2 are of potentiometer type. This means that when you begin to edit a Program the values of the parameters can be totally different from the KNOBS physical positions. As soon as you begin turning a KNOB, the parameter value will snap to the KNOBS physical position. This could generate drastic changes to the sound but thats normal.

THE BUTTONS

There are three types of buttons for editing sounds on the Nord Electro 2: SELECTOR BUTTONS Press the SELECTOR button repeatedly to select between functions printed next to the corresponding triangular LED (see figure to the right). ON/OFF BUTTONS The ON/OFF buttons have a LED next to them to indicate the status. DRAWBAR BUTTONS The DRAWBAR buttons are special in the way that they auto-increment/decrement the corresponding parameter when held. I.e. if you hold a DRAWBAR button the corresponding drawbar parameter will continue to increment or decrement (within its range) until you release the button.

DRAWBAR PRESETS

Below the UPPER DRAWBAR buttons are printed 8 drawbar presets plus RND (Random). Press SHIFT + the corresponding UPPER DRAWBAR button to select one of these presets. There are 8 different drawbar presets plus the Random drawbar settings function. The Random function generates a new random preset every time you activate it.

Page 20

USER DRAWBAR PRESETS
There are 9 user configurable drawbar presets in addition to the 9 fixed ones described above. These are located on the LOWER DRAWBAR button row. Press SHIFT + the corresponding LOWER DRAWBAR button to select one of the nine user configurable presets. STORE YOUR OWN DRAWBAR PRESETS To store your own drawbar preset, do like this: 1. Press the UPPER DRAWBAR and LOWER DRAWBAR buttons to create the drawbar preset you want to store. 2. Press SHIFT + STORE (USER STORE) + one of the LOWER DRAWBAR buttons to select a location for your preset.

PERCUSSION

In the original B-3 the Percussion effect is generated by a single envelope generator that controls either the 2nd or 3rd partial. The envelope opens up for a short moment in the beginning of the sound when you press the key(s). The Percussion effect can be set to control either the 2nd or 3rd partial. The envelope decay time can be set to Fast or Slow and the volume characteristics to Normal or Soft. You activate and deactivate the Percussion effect by pressing the ON button.
(The horizontal dotted lines represent the current drawbar level without Percussion)
The figure above shows the Percussion envelope in SOFT mode
The figure above shows the Percussion envelope in NORMAL mode
Like on the original B-3, the Percussion is a single-triggered non-legato effect. By single-triggered we mean that the percussion is only present when you hit the keys when no other note is sounding. In other words, if you play a note or a chord and then add on more notes without releasing the previously pressed keys, there will be no percussion effect in the new notes. You have to release all keys to be able to play new notes with the percussion effect. Also, like on the original B-3, in Normal Percussion mode the sustain level is significantly lower than in Soft Percussion mode (or with the Percussion effect disabled).

PRESENCE WITH THE MEGA CLAVINET SOUND
The Mega Clavinet (Clav) sound in the V2.0 factory library makes use of the Presence section in a different way than the other piano sounds. On an original Clavinet D6 you can select different pick-up and filter combinations by pressing a number of rocker switches. This functionality is very faithfully simulated in the Nord Electro 2 V2.0. It means that from the Mega Clavinet instrument in the Electro 2 you can get all the 60 different Clavinet D6 sounds plus an additional 4 by selecting different pick-up and filter combinations! This is how it works: The FREQ knob works as a filter selector with which you can select one of the 15 (sounding) combinations of the Brilliant, Treble, Medium and Soft filters of the original D6. The filter combinations are described in the figure below.
By turning the FREQ knob you select one of 15 Clavinet D6 filter combinations plus an additional Bypass variation. The filter combination number is briefly shown in the DISPLAY as you turn the FREQ knob.

Page 26

A Clavinet D6 has two separate pick-ups, one on the neck and one on the bridge. By selecting either one pick-up or both in different combinations you can alter the character of the sound quite drastically. On the Mega Clavinet sound, the AMOUNT knob works as the pick-up selector according to the figure below
By turning the AMOUNT knob you select one of the four Clavinet D6 pick-up configurations. The pick-up configuration number is briefly shown in the DISPLAY as you turn the AMOUNT knob. The configurations are these:
C.b: Only the "bridge" pick-up; a bright sound. C.A: Only the "neck" pick-up; a warm, less bright sound. d.A: Both pick-ups on but 180 degrees out of phase; the fundamental is almost cancelled and the sound becomes pretty thin d.b: Both pick-ups on and in phase; a very full sound
VELOCITY SENSITIVITY FOR THE PIANOS
Some of the piano instruments sampled for the Nord Electro 2 have very wide dynamic ranges by nature and naturally we wanted to capture this as accurately as possible. Therefore, it could be perceived that it is a little hard to reach the most extreme levels when playing the Nord Electro 2 piano sounds with the default keyboard Velocity Sensitivity setting. This is because the dynamic response curves have been very

OVERDRIVE

The Overdrive effect is a simulation of an overdriven tube amplifier. Its very useful both on Organ and Piano sounds. Activate or deactivate the Overdrive effect with the ON button and set the overdrive amount with the AMOUNT knob.
The Rotary Speaker simulation in Nord Electro 2 is really something above the ordinary. Its not only simulating the rotating speaker and drum but also the built-in amplifier of the original Leslie speaker. Activate or deactivate the Rotary Speaker simulation by pressing the ON button. Switch between fast and slow rotor speeds by pressing the FAST button. To stop the rotors, press the STOP button (this does not deactivate the Rotary Speaker simulation - it only stops the rotors). When you press the STOP button again the rotors will accelerate to the speed they had when you first pressed STOP. ROTOR SPEED CONTROL FROM PEDAL By plugging in a sustain pedal in the ROTOR SPEED PEDAL input you can control the speed selection from a pedal. Its also possible to use a sustain pedal connected to the SUSTAIN PEDAL input to control the speed selection. Please refer to Config on page 36 for information on how to set up Nord Electro 2 for operation with sustain/switch pedals.

Page 31

5. Panel reference: The left panel section

OUTPUT LEVEL

The OUTPUT LEVEL knob controls the individual output volume for each Program. Its fully programmable for each Program and sends/receives MIDI CC# 7 (Main Volume). Note: The Output Level is always active even if no other sub groups of the Effects section are active.

TREBLE & BASS

The last group of the effects section is a 2-band equalizer which features controls for bass and treble. Activate or deactivate the equalizer by pressing the ON button. Adjust the treble and bass with the corresponding KNOBS. The bass and treble settings are fully programmable for each Program.
The left panel section features controls for Program handling, system functions, MIDI functions etc. There, youll also find the Octave Shift and Transpose functions.

MASTER LEVEL

The MASTER LEVEL knob controls the output level from the two OUT jacks and the HEADPHONES output. The MASTER LEVEL knob does not send or receive any MIDI CC# but is used to control the entire instruments output level. (For info on how to control the level(s) of the individual sounds and via MIDI, please refer to Output Level on page 32).

NAVIGATOR BUTTONS

The UP and DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons are used for selecting Program Banks (A-F) and also for selecting system related functions (see System functions on page 33).

P A NI C

If notes should hang or the Electro 2 should behave strange in a MIDI setup, for example, all you need to do is hold down the SHIFT button and press the RIGHT OCTAVE SHIFT (PANIC) buttons. This will execute an internal All Notes Off, and reset certain parameters to their default values.

Page 39

6. Factory Presets and OS: Internal memory
6. FACTORY PRESETS AND OS

INTERNAL MEMORY

The Operating System, Programs and Piano samples in Nord Electro 2 are stored in a so-called Flash memory. A Flash memory keeps the data also when the power is shut off. Another big advantage is that you can replace data in the Flash memory at any time. This means that you will be able to download OS upgrades and Programs to your Nord Electro 2 from a computer or sequencer without needing to replace or add any new hardware. Nord Electro 2 also features a USB port for quick and easy download of new Piano instrument samples. The internal sound memory of Nord Electro 2 consists of 6 Banks (A-F) holding 8 Programs each for a total of 48 Programs.

FACTORY PRESETS

All factory Programs of Nord Electro 2 can be replaced. To make sure you dont accidentally overwrite Programs you want to keep, its a good idea to back up your sounds regularly on a computer or on a hardware sequencer that can record and play back MIDI Sysex. data. For information on how to back up Programs please refer to Dump on page 38.
RESTORING THE FACTORY PRESETS
The factory Programs will be available as a MIDI Sysex file for download at the Clavia web site at http://www.clavia.se. Please refer to Receive MIDI Sysex Dumps on page 44 for information on how to restore the factory presets.
DOWNLOADING PIANO INSTRUMENTS VIA USB
This function is supported in the V2.0 Nord Electro 2 operating system when you use the special Electro Tool USB dump application. With the Electro Tool you will be able to download and add/replace/erase piano sounds in the Flash memory of the Nord Electro 2. Please visit http://www.clavia.se/nordelectro/ software.htm to download the Electro Tool USB dump application for Mac and PC (Windows) - free of charge!

OS UPGRADES

The latest OS version for Nord Electro 2 will be available for download at http://www.clavia.se.

Page 40

7. MIDI functions: About the MIDI implementation

7. MIDI FUNCTIONS

ABOUT THE MIDI IMPLEMENTATION
The following MIDI messages can be transmitted and received from Nord Electro 2:

NOTE ON/OFF

Note On and Note Off messages are of course transmitted when you play the keyboard. If you use the OCTAVE SHIFT function (see Octave Shift on page 33), you can transpose the Nord Electro 2 keyboard 2 octaves (if the selected instrument supports this). Notes can be received over the entire MIDI Note range. However, due to the actual note range of the controlled instrument type, there will be silent notes when exceeding their ranges.

PITCH BEND

Pitch Bend messages are neither transmitted nor recognized by the Nord Electro 2.

CONTROLLERS

If you have an Control/Expression pedal connected to the CONTROL PEDAL INPUT, this is transmitted and received as Controller 11 (Expression). If you have a sustain pedal connected to the SUSTAIN PEDAL INPUT, this is transmitted and received as Controller 64 (Sustain Pedal). If you have a sustain pedal connected to the ROTOR SPEED INPUT, this is transmitted and received as Controller 82. All other controls (knobs and buttons) on the front panel (except MASTER LEVEL), are also transmitted and received as Control Change messages. This can be used to record your actions on the front panel into a MIDI sequencer. For a full list of which parameters correspond to which Controller number, see the MIDI implementation chapter on page 45.

KEYBOARD VELOCITY

Nord Electro 2 can transmit and receive Keyboard Velocity messages. Note that incoming Keyboard Velocity data is ignored when in Organ mode. Organ sounds will always be played back at nominal level regardless of incoming MIDI Velocity data.

PROGRAM CHANGE

When you select a Program, a Program Change message is transmitted via MIDI on the selected MIDI Channel. If a Program Change message is received on the selected MIDI Channel, Nord Electro 2 will change Program accordingly. The 48 Program locations send and respond to Program Change values 047 where 0 is Program A1 and 47 is Program F8.

Page 41

7. MIDI functions: Using Nord Electro 2 with a sequencer
MIDI SYSEX (SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE)
Single Programs or all Programs can be transmitted and received as a System Exclusive dump (see Dump on page 38.).
USING NORD ELECTRO 2 WITH A SEQUENCER
1. Connect the MIDI Out on the Nord Electro 2 to the MIDI In on your sequencer. 2. Connect the MIDI Out from your sequencer to the MIDI In on the Nord Electro 2.

LOCAL ON/OFF

Page 43

RECEIVE MIDI SYSEX DUMPS
To receive a MIDI Sysex Dump, do like this: 1. Connect a cable from the MIDI Out on the transmitting device to MIDI IN on the Nord Electro 2. 2. Initiate the transmission on the transmitting device. If the dump contained all Programs (AL), it will replace all Programs currently stored in the Nord Electro 2. If the dump contained only a single Program (Pr), it will be temporarily placed in the currently selected Program memory location. You will then have to store the Program manually to a memory location using the Store function (see Storing a Program on page 17). Note: For Organ sounds, the complete settings for the sound will be received with the MIDI Sysex file. For Piano sounds, all parameters will be received but not the actual instrument samples. Therefore, when receiving a Piano MIDI Sysex file, make sure the instrument samples are already present in the Nord Electro 2. Otherwise the parameters of the Sysex file will be applied to another available Piano instrument.

Page 44

8. MIDI implementation: MIDI Controller list

8. MIDI IMPLEMENTATION

MIDI CONTROLLER LIST
The following is a list of the MIDI Controller numbers used for all KNOBS and BUTTONS on the front panel. All parameters use the entire control range 0-127. For BUTTONS and for some other parameters the range is divided into equally big sections depending on the number of states of the parameter. For example, the MODULATIONS selector can have 6 different positions and are therefore divided into 6 equally large sections between the values 0 and 127.
Nord Electro 2 Parameter MIDI Controller # MIDI Controller Name

Play Control parameters:

Octave Shift Upper Manual (Organ) Octave Shift Lower Manual (Organ) Octave Shift (Piano) 29
Organ section parameters:
16 Upper Drawbar 5 1/3 Upper Drawbar 8 Upper Drawbar 4 Upper Drawbar 2 2/3 Upper Drawbar 2 Upper Drawbar 1 3/5 Upper Drawbar 1 1/3 Upper Drawbar 1 Upper Drawbar 16 Lower Drawbar 5 1/3 Lower Drawbar 8 Lower Drawbar 4 Lower Drawbar 2 2/3 Lower Drawbar 2 Lower Drawbar 1 3/5 Lower Drawbar 1 1/3 Lower Drawbar 1 Lower Drawbar 77 78

Page 45

Nord Electro 2 Parameter Percussion Upper On/Off Percussion Upper Fast/Slow, Normal/Soft Percussion Upper 2nd/3rd Vibrato Upper On/Off Vibrato Lower On/Off Vibrato Type Manual Split On/Off Manual Lower/Upper

MIDI Controller # 13

MIDI Controller Name
Instrument Select Organ/Piano Piano section parameters:
Piano Type* Piano Sub Type* Presence On/Off Presence Frequency Presence Amount
Effects section parameters:
Modulations Type Modulations Rate Modulations Amount Modulations On/Off Effects Type Effects Rate Effects Amount Effects On/Off Overdrive On/Off Overdrive Amount Rotary Speaker On/Off Rotary Speaker Fast/Slow Rotary Speaker Run/Stop Output Level Treble & Bass EQ On/Off 115 Main Volume

This is the Hammond A-100 organ that is simulated by the Nord Electro 2. The A-100 is electrically similar to the B-3 and C-3 organs, but it features a different cabinet and has a built-in amplifier, speakers, and spring reverb. This particular unit left the factory on June 2, 1965. The A-100 was taken out of production four months later.

Page 50

Hammond filed a patent for the tone wheel organ in 1934, and one year later he introduced the first Hammond organ, the Model A. In the patent, Hammond catalogues the numerous objects that contribute to the complete design. He lists 29 different features. Among them you can find, for example, feature number 17, which states: "To provide an instrument of the type which is relatively light in weight and is portable." Wonder what roadies around the world have to say about that! This patent is the backbone of the whole organ line made by Hammond until 1974. The Model A was very expensive at the time, yet the sales were impressive. The company grew steadily and, over time, new models were released. Laurens Hammond was correct from the start to have focused his market for the instrument on churches. He saw a great potential there in sales, and many organ models had cabiThe first page of the patent for the nets designed to fit the various religious services. Despite all-new models, they had more or less the same tone-wheel concept, but with tone wheel organ filed by Laurens Hammond in 1934. different styles of cabinets, pedal board, speaker configuration, and amplification. Hammond and his team continued to experiment with different ways to deepen the sound, adding effects such as tremolo and chorus. In 1954, Hammond introduced the B-3 model to the market. It became the best seller of all Hammond organs. One of the secrets to the B-3's success was its sound, thanks to the integration of the newly developed chorus and tremolo features, as well as the introduction of the Percussion feature and reverberation. All this combined made musicians do a vast amount of new and exciting sounds to play with at the time. The B-3 is still a very popular instrument and still in use around the world.
Here you can see the knob for selecting the A-100 organ's Vibrato and Chorus effects. There are six different positions. All of these effects are simulated in the Nord Electro 2. The rocker tabs control the Vibrato/ Chorus on/off status for the upper (Swell) and lower (Great) manuals. The tab far to the left is a overall volume switch for the whole organ. This particular function is not exactly implemented in the Nord Electro 2. Instead, there's a Master level knob.

On the right-hand side of the A-100, there are the Percussion tabs. These are all simulated in the Nord Electro 2. The Percussion feature is a singletrigger/non-legato effect. Enabling the Percussion on/off switch disarms the 1' drawbar on the A-100. In the Electro 2, the 1' tone will still be available if desired. The idea with this effect was to add an attack transient to the tone of the organ. There was the choice to add an octave above the fundamental (8') -- named the "second" harmonic -- or the octave and a fifth above -- named the "third" harmonic. The Slow/Fast tab defines the release envelope of the percussion effect. This is a great feature that was released in 1954, letting the player give an extra little edge to the solo parts he or she is playing.

Page 51

On the left-hand side of both manuals, Hammond tone wheel organs have one octave of reverse-colored keys. These don't trigger notes; instead, they call up preset drawbar settings. All tone wheel Hammonds have double manuals.
What you see here isn't an original component on a Hammond organ; it's an add-on. It's the controller switch for the Leslie rotating speaker cabinet. Slow rotation speed is called Chorale, and fast speed is called Tremolo. In the Nord Electro 2, the Leslie speaker effect is simulated with this kind of controller. Its positions are called Fast and Slow.
The drawbars The main motor The vibrato/ chorus scanner The tone wheel assembly box The spring reverb

The matching transformer

This is the inside of the famous Vibrato and Chorus scanner. It was designed by John Hanert, Hammond's #1 engineer. Hanert was the designer of many patented components in Hammond tone wheel organs. The scanner was attached to the drive shaft that all of the tone wheels were fit upon, just behind the main motor.
The tube amplifier The speakers for the speakers
The tube amplifier for the organ

The start motor

A close-up view of the main 60Hz motor. The vibrato scanner is mounted on the left side.
This is the inside of the drawbars. Underneath, you can vaguely see some of the coils for the magnetic pick-ups.
A close-up picture of the speaker tube amplifiers.

Page 52

Here is a picture of the inside of the Hammond tone wheel box. It's the basic design that elevated Hammond to the top of the organ manufacturer mountain. Each note on the Hammond corresponds to a tone wheel. Every tone wheel has it own pickup comprising a magnet with a coil. The pitch of the sine wave generated by a tone wheel is determined by the number of notches on the edge of the wheel and the wheel's rotation speed. Every time a notch in the wheel passes the magnetic field, it induces a voltage in the coil. The more notches and the faster they pass, the higher the pitch.

Harold Rhodes patent from 1949 for the small acoustic piano called the Xylette.
After the war, Harold started his own business and pursued his idea of making a compact, lightweight piano. In 1946 he released the Pre-Piano, an inexpensive three-octave instrument with a tone somewhat like a toy piano. It was primarily aimed for home and educational market, but it failed in the marketplace because of poor manufacturing. Shortly thereafter, Harold invented the "tine," or asymmetric tuning fork, which he later used to make a 72-key instrument built inside a cabinet that looked like a baby grand piano.

Page 55

In 1959, Harold met a man named Leo Fender and they decided to do something together. Leo had developed the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and had a great knowledge of amplifying strings. Together these two gentlemen could develop a great electric piano. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn't cooperate in the way Harold wanted because Leo didn't like the sound of the treble tines. As a result, between 1959 and 1965, they released only one model, a 32-note bass version called Piano Bass. Nevertheless, during this period Harold continued to develop his ideas further and constructed an 88-note electronic piano.
A Rhodes Suitcase 73 Mark I. The Suitcase models
In January 1965, the large corporation CBS bought the feature built-in speakers facing the audience. Fender Company and, as a result, Harold Rhodes finally got the opportunity to put his newly designed instrument into serious production. The model is called the Fender Rhodes Suitcase 73, where the "73" stands for the number of keys on the piano. This model had a built-in pre-amp, amplifier, and speakers. Although Leo Fender was no longer a part of the company, CBS decided to use both of the gentlemen's names in conjunction with the product, supposedly for marketing reasons. Fender was a big name at the time - and still is. Interestingly enough, Fender actually joined the company later on again for a period of time, and it seems Harold and Leo together developed a new tone generator for the Fender Rhodes electric piano. As a result, they filed a joint patent on August 4, 1970. The Fender Rhodes Suitcase 73 was a hit on the market. Harold continued to refine his ideas, and every year he improved the piano mechanically. After five years, the time came for a new model. It was called the Fender Rhodes Mark 1 Stage piano. While it featured several hardware improvements, this instrument lacked the built-in amplifier and speakers of the Suitcase model. The target group was, of course, touring bands who demanded a more lightweight keyboard. While the Mark 1 Stage piano had only a line-level output and a Bass EQ knob, the Suitcase model sported a "Vibrato" knob for controlling the stereo effect that Harold had developed. In truth, "Vibrato" wasn't the correct word, as the effect was really tremolo -- an amplitude modulation effect. From 1970 to 1979, CBS released two electric pianos: the Mark I and the flat-topped Mark II. It was during this period that CBS decided to drop "Fender" from the logo and use only the Rhodes name. In 1980, the Rhodes 54 hit the market, yet another attempt to fill the needs of touring musicians in search of a more compact and lightweight keyboard. The last Rhodes developed during the CBS era was the Mark III, which contained a built-in two-voice synthesizer(!). It was not a success. In 1983, Rhodes was sold to William Schultz and Harold designed the Rhodes Mark V with the help of Steve Woodyard. Harold himself considered the Mark V the ultimate electric piano. It took Harold 25 years to get to this point. Something like 5,000 units of the Mark V had been built and, two years after its launch, A Rhodes Stage Piano Mark II. The top was cut