Nord has announced the next generation Electro – the Nord Electro 3.

Key new features of the Electro 3 include a new organ section, a new piano section, new effects and a cool new feature that allows the Electro 3 to use any samples from the Nord Wave library.

Features:

• Load any sample from the Nord Sample library. Users can add virtually any sound they want to the Nord Electro 3. Sounds can be loaded from the Mellotron Library or any other instrument or sound from the extensive Nord Sample Library, the same format as the Nord Wave uses. Users are even able to create their own Sample Instruments using the Nord Wave Manager and then use these in the Nord Electro 3.
• Exquisite new pianos – the Electro 3 uses the same sample format as the acknowledged Nord Stage, to take full advantage of the Nord Piano Library’s multitude of velocity layers, pedal-down samples and extremely high quality samples with unprecedented expressiveness. Any current or future piano that is available for the Stage family will also automatically be available to the Nord Electro 3.
• Increased memory capacity – 8 times the size of the original Electro. The Nord Electro 3 has a memory for pianos and samples of 256 MB and can it can store 126 programs.
• Second generation organ emulation – the organ section is a direct descendent of the award winning Nord C1 Combo Organ with its fabulous vintage sounds from the B3, Farfisa and Vox-type models. Each and every individual sound creating component and even the artifacts of the original instruments have been faithfully reproduced in the Electro 3.
• Brand new effect section - The Nord Electro 3 is equipped with a great selection of high quality effects including a lush sounding reverb with five different algorithms. There is also a selection of tremolo, panning, wah-wah, phaser, flanger and chorus effects.
• New amps, compressor and EQ - Users can sculpt their final sound by choosing from a selection of three amplifier simulations that can add any amount of grit and distortion from gentle to manic levels. A three-band EQ with sweepable mid-range and a compressor can be added to the final stage of the audio path.
• Enhanced Rotary speaker emulator - The rotary speaker emulator also originates from the Nord C1 Combo Organ, with its acclaimed sound quality. This rotary speaker emulator incorporates the acoustic variations that occur when a physical speaker spreads the sound in a room, providing the full experience of when the air is moved around.
• The Electro 3’s rotary also features a brand new function in the addition of the Rotary Stop Mode. This allows users to switch between fast and stopped rotation and back again by using either the controls on the panel or with a foot pedal connected to the Rotor Pedal input. This is a crucial functionality that mimics the behavior of early one-speed original rotary speaker units.
• Play along to music with the Monitor Input jack - Just plug in your mp3 or CD player to the Electro 3 to be able to play along, rehearse or jam with previously recorded music without the need of an external mixer or sound system. The signal that is present at this input will be monitored through the Electro 3’s headphone output.
• Free Electro Manager application to manage the memory areas - The content of the pianos, the samples and the program memories in the Nord Electro 3 will be managed by the Nord Electro Manager. This application will be available for free to Electro owners, and compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OSX.
• Increased portability - The Electro 3 is slimmer and lighter than the original Electro.

The Electro 3 comes in two sizes, a 61 and a 73 key version with semi-weighted waterfall keys.

Nord Electro 3 will ship in the UK in December 2008 priced at £1399 and £1599 RRP inc VAT for the Electro 3 61 and Electro 3 73 respectively. No US pricing has been announced.

via SoundTech