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.

OWNERS MANUAL

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.

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3. Getting started: Transpose

TRANSPOSE

Its also possible to transpose a sound up or down in semitone steps. Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 6 (TRANSPOSE) buttons. The DISPLAY reads 0. Press the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons to transpose the sound up or down in semitone steps. The range is +/- 6 semitones in steps of 1 semitone. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/ DOWN buttons) to exit. Note: Due to the actual key range of the original Piano instruments, the lowest keys may not produce any sound when transposed down. The same goes for the highest keys when the instrument is transposed up. For organ sounds, the Transpose function will only generate notes that are within the 73-key note range of Nord Electro 2 73. This means that using the Transpose function for Organ sounds in Nord Electro will cause the lowest or highest notes of the keyboard to be silent.
SETTING 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 intention 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.

USING A SUSTAIN PEDAL

A foot switch connected to the SUSTAIN PEDAL input can be set to act in two different ways: As a sustain pedal for both the Piano and Organ sounds (see Sustain Pedal Configuration below)

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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 39).

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:.
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.

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.

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4. Editing Programs: Reverting to the original Program

SELECTING

INSTRUMENT

(ORGAN

PIANO)
No matter what Program youre editing, you could always select a different instrument type at any time. There are two main instrument sections in Nord Electro 2: the Organ section and the Piano section. You switch between these sections by pressing the INSTRUMENT SELECT button located between the Organ and Piano sections. When you have selected an instrument section the other section, with its sub groups, is automatically disabled (all its LEDs go blank). However, all settings of the respective groups are memorized so when you switch back, all parameter values of the instrument group are automatically recalled. The parameters of the Effects section will always remain unaffected when you switch instrument group.

REVERTING TO THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM
If you have edited a Program and want to revert to the stored original, just press the corresponding PROGRAM button again.

STORING A PROGRAM

Storing a Program will permanently overwrite the existing Program in the selected memory location. Be careful so that you dont accidentally erase a Program youd like to keep! Note! When Nord Electro 2 is shipped from factory, Memory Lock is set to On. To be able to store Programs, first disable the Memory Lock function. See Mem Lock on page 35. To store a Program do like this: 1. Press the STORE button once. The Bank and Program number starts flashing in the DISPLAY 2. Select Bank (A-F) by pressing the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons (if you want to change Bank) and then Program location by pressing the corresponding PROGRAM button (1-8). As you scroll through the memory locations, you can play and hear the Program currently shown in the DISPLAY. This prevents you from overwriting a sound that you want to keep. (To cancel the operation, press any button, except for the SHIFT, PROGRAM, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons.) 3. Press STORE again to store your Program. The DISPLAY shows the selected memory location and stops flashing.

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4. Editing Programs: Copying Programs

COPYING PROGRAMS

Copying a Program from one memory location to another is just a variation of storing: 1. Select the Program you want to copy. Press the STORE button once. The Bank and Program number starts flashing in the DISPLAY
1. Select Bank (A-F) by pressing the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons (if you want to change Bank) and then Program location by pressing the corresponding PROGRAM button (1-8). As you scroll through the memory locations, you can play and hear the Program currently shown in the DISPLAY. This prevents you from overwriting a sound that you want to keep. (To cancel the operation, press any button, except for the SHIFT, PROGRAM, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons.) 2. Press STORE again to store your Program. The DISPLAY shows the selected memory location and stops flashing.

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).

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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.

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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.

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CLICK CONTROL
On an original B-3 organ, the key click produced by the random contact bounces is actually an artifact. This artifact later became quite desirable an effect amongst musicians. In the Nord Electro 2 you can select the amount of key click that should be present in the organ sounds. The key click level is global for all organ sounds in the Nord Electro 2. 1. Hold down SHIFT and press the PROGRAM 8 button twice. The DISPLAY reads C.8 where C stands for Click and 8 for the current click level. 2. Select key click level by scrolling with the UP/ DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. C.0 means minimum key click level and C.9 maximum level. 3. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.

OUTPUT

ROUTING (HARD PAN)
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. 3. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.

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5. Panel reference: The Piano section

THE PIANO SECTION

The Piano section of Nord Electro 2 comprises a selection of electromechanical pianos. Nord Electro 2 features a unique multi-sample playback, catching every nuance from soft to hard key strokes. Each piano instrument was carefully multisampled in a vast amount of velocity levels. Thats one of the reasons they all sound and feel so authentic. As an extra bonus we also included an acoustic grand piano (concert model) - in stereo! Nord Electro 2 comes from factory with the following piano instruments: Mega Clavinet D6 (Clav) including all the possible filter and pick-up combinations of the original Clavinet D6. 60 + 4 different Clavinet sounds out of a single instrument! Wurlitzer 200A (Wur) Electric Piano Mk I Stage Piano SeventyThree (E.Piano1). It was built in May 1978 and was adjusted to deep timbre adjustment. The so called volume adjustment is set to Low. These settings gives the piano a warm sound with a rich fundamental Clavia Electric Grand Model G (El.Grand). The Model G is a custom modified 1934 Grbstedt acoustic grand piano fitted with CP-80 pick-ups. The Model G produces a very rich and punchy rock piano sound that sounds great across the entire note range A Malmsj acoustic grand piano, sampled and played back in stereo (Ac.Grand) Electric Piano Mk I SeventyThree Suitcase (E.Piano2). It was built in January 1975. We have fine tuned the mechanics and adjusted the tines according to the ideal timbre adjustment. The so called volume adjustment is set to Close. These settings gives the piano a sound with a lot of bite

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Rotary Speaker. Simulates a Leslie rotary speaker including its built-in amplifier Treble & Bass EQ. Offers treble and bass amplification/attenuation In addition to the five sub groups there is also the OUTPUT LEVEL control for adjusting the output level of each of the Programs separately.

MODULATIONS

The Modulations section offers six different types of modulation. You activate and deactivate the Modulations section by pressing the ON button. RINGMOD Stands for Ring Modulation and is a type of modulation where two signals are multiplied with each other. The result is an inharmonic bell like sound. Herbie Hancock used this effect a lot in the 70s. In the Nord Electro 2 the Piano or Organ signal is multiplied with an additional sinewave.
With the RATE knob you set the basic pitch of the additional sinewave. With the AMOUNT knob you control the level of ring modulation.
Set the sinewave pitch with the RATE knob and the amount of ring modulation with the AMOUNT knob. PAN The Pan is an auto panning modulation that smoothly pans the signal between the Left and Right outputs.
The filled curve indicates maximum AMOUNT value and the dashed curves indicate lower AMOUNT values. The signal smoothly pans between the Left and Right outputs as indicat-
You can control the rate and amount of panning with the RATE and AMOUNT knobs.

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TREMOLO Tremolo modulation is basically an automatic volume control that continuously varies the output signal volume. Tremolo is a commonly used modulation, especially on the Wurlitzer electric pianos.
The filled curve indicates maximum AMOUNT value and the dashed curves indicate lower AMOUNT values. At zero AMOUNT value the output level is constantly at maximum level
Use the RATE and AMOUNT knobs to control the Tremolo rate and depth. Note that the output volume is at maximum level at zero AMOUNT setting. WAH-WAH 1&2 The Wah-Wah modulation is often used for electric guitars to get that characteristic talking guitar sound. Wah-Wah can also be extremely useful on electric piano sounds. Try out the Clavinet sound with Wah-Wah modulation and youll understand. Basically, the Wah-Wah modulation is a lowpass type of filter that can be swept across the frequency range. During the sweep, the filters characteristics also changes. For the Wah-Wah1 modulation you control the pedal position with the RATE knob and the total frequency sweep range with the AMOUNT knob. For the Wah-Wah2 modulation you control the LFO rate with the RATE knob and the total frequency sweep range with the AMOUNT knob. Note: If you use an expression pedal connected to the CONTROL PEDAL INPUT you can control the filter sweep and thus the Wah-Wah1 effect from the pedal. Also note that if youre already using an expression pedal for Organ Swell control (see Swell control (from expression pedal) on page 23), the Wah-Wah function takes precedence and automatically disables the Swell control. AUTO-WAH Auto-Wah is a variation of the Wah-Wah modulation described above. The difference is that here you control the filter sweep range, and thus the Wah-Wah effect, from the signals amplitude envelope. For the Auto-Wah modulation you control the attack time with the RATE knob and the sensitivity with the AMOUNT knob.

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EFFECTS
Nord Electro 2 offers six types of vintage style effects to add that extra flavour to your sounds. Activate or deactivate the Effects section by pressing the ON button. PHASER 1&2 The phaser effect is a very characteristic sweep effect and is frequently used in all sorts of music. You control the rate of the phase shift with the RATE knob and the phase shift amount with the AMOUNT knob. FLANGER 1&2 The flanger effect is another type of very characteristic sweep effect. Its quite similar to the phaser effect but has a little different characteristics. You set the flanging rate with the RATE knob and the amount with the AMOUNT knob. CHORUS 1&2 The Chorus effect simulates the appearance of several slightly detuned signals. You set the rate for the chorus effect with the RATE knob and the amount with the AMOUNT knob. Note that the Chorus2 effect is in stereo.

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.

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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.

Inside a Leslie 122. Each rotor has its own motor. A 40-watt tube amplifier drives the speaker components.
The treble horns in a Leslie 122. One horn is a dummy to give the right a balance during rotation. Only the horn rotates; the horn driver remains stationary. At the mouth of the horn is diffuser cone which widens the dispersion to give a "more musically pleasing tone". The bass drum. The deflector inside the drum isn't visible. A thin cloth covers the round drum. The Leslie 122's 15" speaker doesn't rotate. It remains stationary while the drum spins.

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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.

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

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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
Upper Manual (organ) 22 USB (for downloading Piano instruments) 40 User Store 21
V1-V3 (Organ Vibrato) 22 Velocity Sensitivity (piano sounds) 27, 38 Vibrato (organ) 22

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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

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THE ORGAN SECTION
The Organ section comprises four sub sections: the Percussion section, the Vibrato/Chorus section, the Manual section and the Drawbar section. The nine drawbars of Nord Electro are represented by up/down buttons and LED chain graphs instead of ordinary mechanical drawbars. This gives you a big advantage: when you change presets, the correct drawbar settings are shown immediately by the LEDs. In other words, no need for the regular trial and error method.
THE INSTRUMENT SELECT BUTTON
Inbetween the Organ and Piano sections is the INSTRUMENT SELECT button. Press this button to select the Organ section or Piano section.

THE PIANO SECTION

The Piano sections consists of two sub sections: the instrument Type section and the Presence section. With the TYPE button you select the Piano instrument to use and with the Presence parameters you can add parametric equalization to your piano sound. With the V2.0 Mega Clavinet D6 sound the Presence parameters act as filter and pick-up selectors (see Presence with the Mega Clavinet sound on page 26)

THE EFFECTS SECTION

Here youll find the numerous effects and modulations you could use to add that extra flavour to your sounds. The Effects section also features a tube type Overdrive distortion, Rotary Speaker simulation and a Treble & Bass EQ. Here youll also find the OUTPUT LEVEL control which is the volume control for each individual Program.

THE KEYBOARD

The keyboard of Nord Electro is either 5 octaves (Nord Electro SixtyOne) or 6 octaves (Nord Electro SeventyThree). Both versions feature the specially designed, semiweighted, velocity sensitive waterfall (square front) keyboard for optimal feel and response. The semiweighted action is ideal for use with both Organ and Piano sounds. The keyboard also sends Keyboard Velocity over MIDI.

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2. Overview: Nord Electro 2 rear panel
NORD ELECTRO 2 REAR PANEL

CONNECTIONS

Make all connections before turning on your power amplifier! If you are using a Nord Electro 2 together with a MIDI keyboard, connect a MIDI cable from MIDI Out on the keyboard to MIDI IN on the Nord Electro 2. All signal cables used with the Nord Electro must be shielded. The two audio outputs (LEFT OUT and RIGHT OUT) are line level and unbalanced. If you want the sum of the signals on one separate output only, use RIGHT OUT. If you connect the Nord Electro 2 in stereo to your audio equipment, you should use LEFT OUT in pair with RIGHT OUT. If you choose the option to route Organ sounds and Piano sounds to a separate output each (see Output routing (hard pan) on page 37), the RIGHT OUT is for the Piano sound and the LEFT OUT for the Organ sound. CONNECTING PEDALS The Nord Electro 2 has three pedal inputs, one CONTROL PEDAL input (for controlling Organ Swell or Wah-Wah), one SUSTAIN PEDAL input (sustain) and one ROTOR SPEED input (for rotary speaker fast/ slow selection). Connect the pedals as shown in the figure below: When connecting an expression-type pedal to the CONTROL PEDAL input, you should use a stereo cable (Tip-Ring-Sleeve). Please note that the pedal must have a stereo output jack. The resistance range of the Control Pedal should be 0 to between 10 kOhm and 50 kOhm. Pedals like the Roland EV-5 and control/ expression pedals from Proel works well with the Electro 2. Control/Expression pedals from Yamaha have different characteristics and are not suitable for use with the Electro 2.

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Its also possible to use only one single Sustain pedal connected to the SUSTAIN PEDAL input to control sustain for Piano sounds and Rotary Speaker speed selection for organ sounds (see page 14 for details on how to configure this).
(For more detailed information on how to set up Nord Electro 2 for use with sustain and expression pedals, see page 13).

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2. Overview: Nord Electro 2 block diagram
NORD ELECTRO 2 BLOCK DIAGRAM
Below is a schematic overview of the sound and modulation building blocks and the signal flows in Nord Electro 2. The filled lines indicate audio signal routings and the dashed black lines control signal routings. The /2 sign printed next to some filled lines indicates that the signal is/can be in stereo. The circles with a + sign inside indicates that any input stereo signals will be summarized into a mono signal before routed to the specific effect. For example, the V2.0 stereo Acoustic Grand will be in mono if you apply any effect except for the Pan, Tremolo or EQ.
As you can see, the internal configuration of Nord Electro 2 is pretty straight-forward, yet very powerful and flexible. Each of the building blocks also offers possibilities for internal configurations. This is described in detail in Chapter "5. Panel reference on page 19.

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3. Getting started: Selecting Programs

3. GETTING STARTED

SELECTING PROGRAMS
Programs are single sounds that are stored in the internal memory of Nord Electro 2. The Program memory in Nord Electro 2 consists of 6 Banks each holding 8 Programs for a total of 48 Programs. All Programs can be edited and replaced at any time. To select a Program for playing/editing, do like this: 1. Select Bank (A-F) by pressing the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons if you want to change Bank. 2. Select Program by pressing one of the eight PROGRAM buttons 1 to 8.
Press the UP or DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons to select Program Bank A-F
Press one of the eight PROGRAM buttons to select a Program to play. The corresponding LED will light up.

OCTAVE SHIFT

The two OCTAVE SHIFT buttons to the bottom left on the front panel can be used to transpose the notes two octaves up or down (if the selected instrument supports this). A flashing OCTAVE SHIFT LED indicates +/- 2 octaves note shift. Note: Due to the actual key range of the original Piano instruments, some sounds cannot be octave shifted up and/or down. For organ sounds, the Octave Shift will only generate notes that are within the 73-key note range of Nord Electro 2 73. This means that using Octave Shift for Organ sounds in Nord Electro wont produce any sound in the lowest or highest octave.

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3. Getting started: Transpose

TRANSPOSE

Its also possible to transpose a sound up or down in semitone steps. Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 6 (TRANSPOSE) buttons. The DISPLAY reads 0. Press the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons to transpose the sound up or down in semitone steps. The range is +/- 6 semitones in steps of 1 semitone. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/ DOWN buttons) to exit. Note: Due to the actual key range of the original Piano instruments, the lowest keys may not produce any sound when transposed down. The same goes for the highest keys when the instrument is transposed up. For organ sounds, the Transpose function will only generate notes that are within the 73-key note range of Nord Electro 2 73. This means that using the Transpose function for Organ sounds in Nord Electro will cause the lowest or highest notes of the keyboard to be silent.
SETTING 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 intention was that when you play a Rhodes sound, for example, it should almost feel like you are playing a Rhodes 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.

USING A SUSTAIN PEDAL

A foot switch connected to the SUSTAIN PEDAL input can be set to act in two different ways: As a sustain pedal for both the Piano and Organ sounds (see Sustain Pedal Configuration below)

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3. Getting started: Using a Rotor Speed switch pedal
As a sustain pedal for Piano sounds and as a Rotor Speed switch for the Organ sounds (see Sustain Pedal Configuration below)
SETTING UP THE SUSTAIN PEDAL POLARITY
Set up the pedal polarity as follows: 1. Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 7 (PED.POL) buttons. The DISPLAY reads CL or OP. 2. Change sustain pedal polarity between OP (Open) (open when pressed) and CL (Closed) (closed when pressed) with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. 3. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.
SETTING UP THE SUSTAIN PEDAL CONFIGURATION
1. Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 8 (CONFIG) buttons. The DISPLAY reads P.S (Pedal Sustain) or P.t (Pedal toggle). 1. Change sustain pedal functionality between P.S (Sustain for both Piano and Organ sounds) and P.t (sustain for Piano sounds and Rotor Speed switch for Organ sounds) with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. 2. 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). Note! If you have selected P.t, Rotor Speed selection is sent from the sustain pedal as MIDI CC#82 - not CC#64!
USING A ROTOR SPEED SWITCH PEDAL
A foot switch connected to the ROTOR SPEED input can be used to switch between Slow and Fast rotor speed for the Rotary Speaker effect (see page 31). Nord Electro 2 will also send and receive Rotor Speed switch messages via MIDI (CC# 82). Note: The Pedal Polarity setting that you made for the SUSTAIN PEDAL input (see above) also affects the ROTOR SPEED input.

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3. Getting started: Using a control (expression) pedal
USING A CONTROL (EXPRESSION) PEDAL
As indicated in the illustration on page 9, a regular resistive (range 10 kOhm to 50 kOhm) expression pedal can be connected to the CONTROL PEDAL input, using a stereo (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) cable. The connected pedal can be used to control either Organ Swell (the characteristic B3 volume control) or WahWah modulation. Pedals like the Roland EV-5 and control/expression pedals from Proel works well with the Electro 2. Control pedals from Yamaha have different characteristics and are not suitable for use with the Electro 2. Nord Electro 2 will also send and receive Expression pedal messages via MIDI (CC# 11).

BASIC MIDI SETTINGS

If you are controlling the Nord Electro 2 from an external MIDI keyboard, the Nord Electro 2 must be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the external keyboard transmits on. Nord Electro 2 is monotimbral (or bitimbral when using the Organ section.SeeUsing an additional Lower Manual MIDI keyboard on page 22) which means it can only transmit and receive on one MIDI channel at a time. 1. Set the MIDI keyboard to transmit and receive on MIDI Channel 1. (This is the default setting when Nord Electro 2 is shipped from factory). 2. Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 1 (MIDI CH) buttons. The DISPLAY shows the currently selected MIDI channel. 3. Scroll with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons to select MIDI Channel 1 (if it isnt already selected). 4. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit. For information on how to set up Nord Electro 2 for use with an external sequencer, see Using Nord Electro 2 with a sequencer on page 42.

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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.

OUTPUT ROUTING (HARD PAN)
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. 3. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit.

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5. Panel reference: The Piano section
The Piano section of Nord Electro 2 comprises a selection of electromechanical pianos. Nord Electro 2 features a unique multi-sample playback, catching every nuance from soft to hard key strokes. Each piano instrument was carefully multisampled in a vast amount of velocity levels. Thats one of the reasons they all sound and feel so authentic. As an extra bonus we also included an acoustic grand piano (concert model) - in stereo! Nord Electro 2 comes from factory with the following piano instruments: Mega Clavinet D6 (Clav) including all the possible filter and pick-up combinations of the original Clavinet D6. 60 + 4 different Clavinet sounds out of a single instrument! Wurlitzer 200A (Wur) Rhodes Mk I Stage Piano SeventyThree (Rhod1). It was built in May 1978 and was adjusted to deep timbre adjustment. The so called volume adjustment is set to Low. These settings gives the piano a warm sound with a rich fundamental Clavia Electric Grand Model G (El.Grand). The Model G is a custom modified 1934 Grbstedt acoustic grand piano fitted with CP-80 pick-ups. The Model G produces a very rich and punchy rock piano sound that sounds great across the entire note range A Malmsj acoustic grand piano, sampled and played back in stereo (Ac.Grand) Rhodes Mk I SeventyThree Suitcase (Rhod2). It was built in January 1975. We have fine tuned the mechanics and adjusted the tines according to the ideal timbre adjustment. The so called volume adjustment is set to Close. These settings gives the piano a sound with a lot of bite

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 Rhodes sounds (when available) in your Electro 2 at the same time if you like.

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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 V2.0 makes use of the Presence effect in a different way (se below).
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.

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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:

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).

DISPLAY

The DISPLAY is mainly used for displaying Program Banks and Program numbers. It also displays system related functions described in the System functions paragraph below.

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5. Panel reference: System functions
The red STORE button is used for storing Programs and Drawbar presets and also for executing various system related operations.

PROGRAM BUTTONS

The PROGRAM buttons 1-8 are used for selecting Programs from the internal memory and also for accessing the different system functions described below.
The two OCTAVE SHIFT buttons to the bottom left on the front panel can be used to transpose the notes two octaves up or down (if the selected instrument supports this). A flashing OCTAVE SHIFT LED indicates +/2 octaves note shift. Note: Due to the actual key range of the original Piano instruments, some sounds cannot be octave shifted up and/or down. For organ sounds, the Octave Shift will only generate notes that are within the 73-key note range of Nord Electro 2 73. This means that using Octave Shift for Organ sounds in Nord Electro wont produce any sound in the lowest or highest octave.

T U NE

The Master Tune function is global for all sounds in Nord Electro 2, i.e. changing it will affect all Programs. Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 4 (TUNE) buttons to enter the Master Tune function. 1. Change the master tune, in cents, with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. 0 is normal 440Hz tuning. The range is +/- 1 semitone in steps of 1 cent (hundreds of a semitone). 2. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/ DOWN buttons) to exit.

MEM LOCK

Press the SHIFT + PROGRAM 5 (MEM LOCK) buttons to enter the Memory Lock function. Here you can choose to memory protect all Programs of the internal memory. Select Memory Protect On or OF with the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit. Note! When Nord Electro 2 is shipped from factory, Memory Lock is set to On. To be able to store Programs (and receive MIDI Sysex dumps), set Memory Lock to OF.

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The Transpose function is global for all sounds in Nord Electro 2, i.e. changing it will affect all Programs. Press SHIFT + PROGRAM 6 (TRANSPOSE) buttons. The DISPLAY reads 0. Press the UP/DOWN NAVIGATOR buttons to transpose the sounds up or down in semitone steps. The range is +/- 6 semitones in steps of 1 semitone. Notes sent to MIDI OUT are also transposed. Press any button (except for the SHIFT, STORE or UP/DOWN buttons) to exit. Note that the Transpose setting is not saved, so you will have to reconfigure after power off. Note: Due to the actual key range of the original Piano instruments, the lowest keys may not produce any sound when the instrument is transposed down. The same goes for the highest keys when the instrument is transposed up. For organ sounds, the Transpose function will only generate notes that are within the 73-key note range of Nord Electro 2 73, i.e. F1-F7. This means that using the Transpose function for Organ sounds in Nord Electro will cause the lowest or highest notes of the keyboard to be silent.

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.

The bass drum. The deflector inside the drum isn't visible. A thin cloth covers the round drum. The Leslie 122's 15" speaker doesn't rotate. It remains stationary while the drum spins.

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THE ELECTRO 2 PIANO SECTION
The first electromechanical piano we took a close look at for sampling for the Nord Electro 2 was the Rhodes. Since the first Rhodes piano saw the light of day during World War II, numerous different models have been launched, most of them with basically the same characteristic sound but with improved mechanical design. But -- and this is important -- a Rhodes electric piano can be adjusted to create different timbres. In acknowledgment of that fact, we simply had to choose several typical Rhodes sounds to be sampled for the Nord Electro 2. THE GENIUS OF HAROLD RHODES The designer of the Rhodes Electric piano was Harold Rhodes. Harold had a background as piano teacher during the 1930s, when he ran a successful piano school. He also was an architectural engineering student and earned a scholarship to the University of Southern Californias School of Architecture. Harold planned on minoring in music at USC, but he was drafted for the War and joined the Army Air Corps. He had enrolled in a flight instructors' course, but the Army closed the school one day before he was to begin his training. Harold started teaching his Army friends piano lessons and was spotted by a surgeon who enjoyed his talent for piano instructions. The doctor asked Harold to help rehabilitate wounded soldiers with a piano method he had developed (see note). As no pianos were available that were small and light enough to fit on the lap of someone in the bed, he designed and built instruments out of recycled aeroplane parts and selfmade keyboards. His therapeutic project was a success and the War department started to manufacture the piano, which was called the "Xylette." Note: The basic idea with Harold Rhodes Piano school was to learn to build your own piano, understand the principles and then learn to play it. In later days he went back into teaching and led a teaching program for inner-city kids in LA. He was later honoured with a special commendation by the Los Angeles county for his works.
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.

down to make a flat top, perfectly amenable to supporting another keyboard.

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the factory closed down. After this there were no more electromechanical Rhodes developed for the market. Harold Rhodes died on December 17, 2000. THE RHODES SOUNDS IN THE NORD ELECTRO 2 It's no easy task to capture the whole character of the Rhodes electric piano. There are numerous ways to adjust the instrument to get different sounds that were typical for the Rhodes. In an interview with Dominic Milano in a 1977 issue of Keyboard magazine, Harold himself pointed out, "The quality of the sound is what you make it. A lot of musicians don't know that. They just play their piano and say, 'Gee, it doesn't sound like Joe's.' They don't know that they can alter their piano so it will sound like Joe's." This is what we did with the different Rhodes models we have chosen. We adjusted these pianos to create the different famous Rhodes timbres that have been popular during the electric-piano era. It's important to know the basic adjustments you can make to a Rhodes piano. The major and most important adjustments are to the instrument's timbre and volume. The timbre adjustment requires positioning the tines vertically in relation to their associated pick-ups. The timbre of each note changes between pure fundamental (deep) and pure overtones (shallow). Another adjustment of the tines concerns their distance from the pick-ups. This adjustment, described in the Rhodes manual as a volume adjustment, doesn't only change the volume; it also changes the harmonics of the tone. Pulling the tine away from the pick-up a bit and playing at a low volume makes the sound a bit softer. Pushing the tine in close creates richer harmonics and a better "bite" in the tone (see the picture below).
pick-up Timbre adjustment: DEEP (PURE FUNDAMENTAL) IDEAL (MORE OVERTONE) SHALLOW (PURE OVERTONE) tine
Volume adjustment: LOW (SOFTER SOUND) IDEAL CLOSE (RICH HARMONICS

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Here are the Rhodes electric pianos Clavia has sampled for the Nord Electro 2: 1. Rhodes 1 (V2.0 Factory Sound): Rhodes Stage Piano 73 Mark 1, built in May 1978 and adjusted to deep timbre. The so-called volume adjustment was set to low.
2. Rhodes 2 (V2.0 Factory Sound): Rhodes Suitcase 73 Mark I, built in January 1975. We fine-tuned the mechanics and adjusted the tines according to the ideal timbre adjustment. The volume adjustment was set to close.
3. Rhodes 3 (additional sound): Rhodes Stage Piano 73 Mark II, built in April 1981 and adjusted to shallow timbre. Remember this sound? It became famous thanks to the great Chick Corea. The volume adjustment is set to close.
Given our research, we couldn't help but wonder whatever happen with the Mark IV. As far as we can tell, the Mark IV was on the design table, but for some reason it never went into production. Instead, the Mark V came out.

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