73-key boards

[arX]

I'm looking to buy a portable, gigging 73 (or 76) keyboard that has all the major electric piano sounds and functionality.  Right now I'm torn between the Nord Electro and the Korg SV1.  What are your thoughts on these?  And are there any other alternatives you can recommend on a similar level (or above)?

Thanks.

[pianotuner steveo]

I own the SV1 and like it a lot, but I have no experience with a Nord so I can't compare.

The Korg has a tube preamp that you can turn on or off, and it can make the wurl samples sound like a 120 or a 200. Very cool. It has mellotron strings, and a preset Supertramp 200A sound. It only has 36 sounds built in, but I guess you can download more sounds although I have never done it.

[leon-]

I'd agree with this. I've owned both - each for about a year.
To follow up on Steveo's points
1) You can download more sounds for the Korg - but they're not really bringing them out at that fast a rate. They're also not that different in my experience. Having said that the sounds are very good.
2) Rhodes is better on the Nord. Wurlitzer is better on the SV-1 (again this is personal choice).
3) Keyboard is better on the SV1 if you are looking for an acoustic piano sort of keyboard. While the whole 'waterfall keys' on the Nord sounded a bit gimmicky to me at first it is surprisingly playable. Especially when it comes to clav and organ.
4) If you are going to take this keyboard all over the place - then I'd say the Nord isn't far off half the weight of the SV-1. (The new 'hammer action' ones are a bit more but not much).
It sounds like portability is important. In which case I'd go with the Nord - which has excellent Rhodes, clavinet and organ sounds. Acoustic Piano is ok but nothing more.
If you want something that is more for staying at home (and has a much better acoustic piano sound - then I'd give the SV-1 a try).
Both tend to keep their resell value pretty well.
Good luck.

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes, I mainly bought the SV1 for the acoustic pianos, mellotron, and Wurli. I have real wurlis, but they don't leave the house anymore. I have a digital Hammond and a Rhodes right next to it so those samples were not as important, but are decent enough.

I am not into clavs,believe it or not. I have never played a real one, and the sound seems limited to me. I like the sound on recordings, but I have never been interested in them.

[chava]

I can't speak to the Nord, but I have the SV-1, and I love it. My biggest beef with it is the sustain. If you let it ring too long, the sustain sounds kind of artificial. On the attack I think all the instruments are dead on. I agree that the acoustic piano sounds are excellent, but I also think the Rhodes sounds are really good. I've downloaded the second sound pack, and saved one of the clav patches to my favorites, but otherwise didn't find much I was interested in. I really love having all the outboard effects built in. I'm not into all the '80's synth sounds, and wanted just what the SV-1 offers: all the classic sounds of the last 50 years.

[pianotuner steveo]

The Rhodes sound is good, but I thought it was light years better on the Yamaha P85, but that keyboard has only a few sounds.

The SV1 only has 36 sounds built in, how many does the Nord have?

My local stores don't have Nords so I have never even seen one except on TV.

[jean-papa]

i have a nord electro 3 73 and really like the sounds (rhodes,clavinet,wurlitzer)
there's a sample section in which you can load many sounds from the nord sample library.(mellotron,strings and much more)
the B3 is  excellent, and there are farfisa and vox sections.
i bought it to rehearse and gig (9 kg...)
the only thing i don't like is the waterfall keys but i got used to it now( though it's ok with the organ sounds of course)
and also there is no delay.

these two "problems" have been solved in the last edition : nord electro 3 hp : heavier touch and a delay section with tap tempo, and apparently it's always lightweight!

i have played the korg twice and liked it, but not as much as the nord!
last thing: in real life i really like  my mk1, but the mk5 sound on the nord is the one i prefer because it's clear in every range of the keyboard.

[martin]

ive had a nord stage for 5 years, and i love it. i tried a SV-1, which was really good, but i still think the nord is better. the new nord stage 2 is one of the most amazing boards ive ever tried. that on top of a rhodes would be my dream rig. (maybe a prophet as well.

[hammondking]

I have both the NE3-73 and an SV1-73.

I love the Nord for:
- Great organ sim with drawbar control, overdrive, very good leslie sim
- Nice adjustable effects
- Great clav and EP sounds
- Waterfall keys (I'm an organ guy, not a piano guy, but to be honest I prefer these keys for the clav and Rhodes vs. the weighted SV-1 keys)
- Weight (I love the backpack gig bag)
- Cool wooden end-plates
- Reasonable price, at least compared to the Stage
- Lots of sound updates, especially in the sample library (lots of classic synths and the entire Mellotron library)
but dislike it for:
- Acoustic Piano sounds (maybe it's just my amp, but I just don't like them)
- Awkward preset selection and only 1 "live" button (I believe the NE3 HP has improved this)
- no splits or layers other than organ (I knew this when I bought it, of course)
- limited memory for sounds (vs. the Stage or the Rolands I used to use)
- drawbuttons and presets hard to see/use in bright sunlight (probably the same on most keyboards)

I also enjoy the sample memory, but haven't really found any sounds I truly need (but would be happy with the Mellotrons if I played that kind of music).  Also, the sound updates (sample bank, or pianos) are truly new samples, some quite different from what's come before.


I love the SV-1 for:
- Acoustic pianos and EPs
- Weighted action for pianos
- Great presets and easy adjustment of effects
- A few layered sounds (piano/strings, EP/strings) that are useful once in a while
- Great price
but dislike:
- crazy overdrive on organ amp model
- no drawbars or really any adjustment for organs (I knew this when I bought it, of course)
- no flat area on the top for music or anything else (in a pinch I like to be able to put a sheet of music on top)
- any sound updates that come are merely tweaks to the sample/waveforms already in memory, no brand-new sounds (and not many updates in general)
- a few splits in the new sounds but not at all adjustable

It's a reasonable size and weight, but compared to my Nord it feels like a pig... :-)   I'm glad they included the music stand and damper, Nord would have charged $150 for those.

I like having both boards, because I love an organ on top and a piano below, but also in a pinch I could either one of them alone for a gig.

I don't think you can go wrong with either one, but if you're an organ guy the Nord is a no-brainer.  If you really use acoustic pianos a lot, you'd want weighted keys - the SV-1 is great, the NE3 HP would probably be good too but I prefer the acoustic sounds in the Korg