Nord Electro 6 User Manual
USER MANUAL
Nord Electro 6
English
OS version: 1.0x
Edition: B
Part number: 50482 Copyright Clavia DMI AB
Edition: B
CAUTION - ATTENTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
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 L´USAGER.
CONFIER L´ENTRETIEN AU PERSONNEL QUALIFE.
AVIS: POUR EVITER LES RISQUES D´INCIDENTE OU D´ELECTROCUTION,
N´EXPOSEZ PAS CET ARTICLE A LA PLUIE OU L´HUMIDITET.
1) Read these instructions.
2) Keep these instructions.
3) Heed all warnings.
4) Follow all instructions.
5) Do not use this apparatus near water.
6) Clean only with dry cloth.
7) Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance
with the manufacturer’s instructions.
8) Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat
registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including ampliers) that
produce heat.
9) Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or
grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one
wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades
and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong
are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not t
into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the
obsolete outlet.
10) Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched
particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point
where they exit from the apparatus.
11) Only use attachments/accessories specied by the manu-
facturer.
12) Use only with the cart, stand,
tripod, bracket, or table specied by the
manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus.
When a cart is used, use caution when
moving the cart/apparatus combination to
avoid injury from tip-over.
13) Unplug this apparatus during lightning
storms or when unused for long periods of time.
14) Refer all servicing to qualied service personnel. Servicing
is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way,
such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been
spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus
has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate nor-
mally, or has been dropped.
The lightning ash with the arrowhead symbol within
an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of uninsulated voltage within the products en-
closure that may be of sufcient magnitude to constitute
a risk of electric shock to persons.
Le symbole éclair avec le point de èche à l´intérieur d´un triangle
équilatéral est utilisé pour alerter l´utilisateur de la presence à
l´intérieur du coffret de ”voltage dangereux” non isolé d´ampleur
sufsante pour constituer un risque d`éléctrocution.
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 d´exclamation à l´intérieur d´un triangle équilatéral est
employé pour alerter l´utilisateur de la présence d´instructions
importantes pour le fonctionnement et l´entretien (service) dans le
livret d´instructions accompagnant l´appareil.
Instructions pertaining to a risk of re, electric shock or injury to persons.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
Trademarks: The Nord logo is a trademark of Clavia DMI AB. All other trademarks
mentioned in this publication are the properties of their respective holders.
Specications and appearances are subject to change without notice.
Copyright © Clavia DMI AB
No naked ame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on
the apparatus;
Do not use the apparatus in tropical climates.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of re or electric shock, do not expose
this apparatus to rain or moisture.
The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing and that
no objects lled with liquids, such as vases, shall be placed on the
apparatus.
The maims plug is used as the disconnect device and shall remain
readily operable.
Il convient de ne pas placer sur l´appareil de sources de ammes nues,
telles que des bougies allumées;
L´appareil n’est pas destiné á étre utilisé sous un climat tropical.
L´appareil ne doit pas étre exposé á des égouttements d´eau ou des
éclaboussures et de plus qu´aucun objet rempli de liquide tel que des
vases ne doit étre placé sur l´appareil.
Lorsque la prise du résau d’alimentation est utilisée comme dispositif
de déconnexion, ce dispositif doit demeuré aisément accessible.
Warning - When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following:
Additional Safety Information
1. INTRODUCTION | 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 5
Thank you! ........................................................................................................5
Features .............................................................................................................5
Nord Online ......................................................................................................5
About the User Manual ..............................................................................5
Reading the manual in PDF Format ...................................................................5
Restoring the factory presets .............................................................................5
OS upgrades .....................................................................................................5
Free sounds ......................................................................................................5
Disclaimer..........................................................................................................5
2 OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 6
The Electro 6 panel ......................................................................................6
Organ section – page 10 ...................................................................................6
Piano section – page 14 ....................................................................................6
Program section – page 16 ...............................................................................6
Sample Synth section – page 19 .......................................................................6
Effects section – page 20 ..................................................................................6
3 GETTING STARTED ................................................................. 7
Hooking it up ...................................................................................................7
Panel controls .................................................................................................7
Dials and knobs ................................................................................................7
Buttons .............................................................................................................7
The Shift button ................................................................................................7
Soft buttons ......................................................................................................7
Programs ...........................................................................................................7
Select a program ...............................................................................................7
List view .............................................................................................................8
Edit a program ................................................................................................8
Select a new piano sound .................................................................................8
Turn off Memory Protection ....................................................................8
Store a program .............................................................................................8
Live Mode .........................................................................................................8
Activate effects ..............................................................................................9
Activating the Rotary Speaker............................................................................9
Create a split ..................................................................................................9
Assign the Piano to the upper zone ..................................................................9
Set the Sample Synth to the lower zone ............................................................9
Load a Sample ...............................................................................................9
Set up a Split cross-fade (Split Width) ...........................................................9
Create a two manual B3 ............................................................................9
4 ORGAN .................................................................................................10
On/Off, Level and Zone Select .........................................................................10
Octave Up/Down .............................................................................................10
Sustped And Ctrlped .......................................................................................10
Drawbars and buttons ..............................................................................10
Selecting an Organ model ..............................................................................11
The B3 model ..............................................................................................11
B3 drawbars ...................................................................................................11
Percussion ......................................................................................................11
Key click control ..............................................................................................11
The Vox model ..............................................................................................12
Vox drawbars ..................................................................................................12
Vibrato ............................................................................................................12
The Farf model..............................................................................................12
Farf registers ...................................................................................................12
Vibrato ............................................................................................................13
Pipe Organs ...................................................................................................13
Pipe 1 ..............................................................................................................13
Pipe 2 ..............................................................................................................13
Pipe 1&2 Chorus .............................................................................................13
Pipe 1&2 registers ...........................................................................................13
Preset ................................................................................................................13
Manual Organ ...............................................................................................13
Dual Organ .....................................................................................................13
Edit Lower Manual ...........................................................................................13
Rotary Speaker ............................................................................................13
5 PIANO ................................................................................................... 14
On/Off, Level and Zone Select .........................................................................14
Octave Up/Down .............................................................................................14
Sustped and CtrlPed .......................................................................................14
About the Piano sounds ..........................................................................14
About Piano size .............................................................................................14
Piano Select ...................................................................................................14
Category and model ........................................................................................14
List view ..........................................................................................................15
KBD Touch .....................................................................................................15
Piano Info ...................................................................................................15
Mono...............................................................................................................15
String Res and Soft Release ................................................................15
String Resonance ............................................................................................15
Soft Release ....................................................................................................15
Equalizer .........................................................................................................15
Piano EQ Settings ...........................................................................................15
6 PROGRAM ........................................................................................16
Store ..................................................................................................................16
Storing a program ...........................................................................................16
Naming a program (Store As...) .......................................................................16
KBD split ..........................................................................................................16
Keyboard Split settings ..................................................................................16
Choosing a split position .............................................................................17
Split Width settings .....................................................................................17
External KBD to Lo ..........................................................................................17
Shift / Exit button .........................................................................................17
Live programs ...............................................................................................17
Transpose On/Set .......................................................................................17
Program Buttons .........................................................................................17
What is a program? .........................................................................................17
Prog Init ...........................................................................................................17
Program dial .................................................................................................17
Program List, Abc and Cat ..............................................................................18
Numeric Pad Navigation mode ........................................................................18
MIDI LED indicator ......................................................................................18
Page buttons .................................................................................................18
Organize ...........................................................................................................18
Select a program or page ................................................................................18
Swap, Copy and Insert operations ..................................................................18
7 SAMPLE SYNTH.........................................................................19
On/Off, Level and Zone Select .........................................................................19
Octave Up/Down .............................................................................................19
Sustped and Ctrlped .......................................................................................19
About the Sample Synth .........................................................................19
Selecting a Sample ..........................................................................................19
List view .....................................................................................................19
4 | NORD ELECTRO 6 USER MANUAL OS V1.0X
Shaping the sound .....................................................................................19
Dynamics ........................................................................................................19
Filter ................................................................................................................19
Attack, Sustain and Decay/Release .................................................................19
8 EFFECTS .............................................................................................20
Activating effects ........................................................................................20
Effect 1 ............................................................................................................20
Trem (Tremolo) .................................................................................................20
Pan (Auto Pan) ................................................................................................20
RM (Ring Modulation) ......................................................................................20
Ctrlped ............................................................................................................20
Effect 2 ............................................................................................................21
Phaser 1 & 2 ...................................................................................................21
Flanger ............................................................................................................21
Chorus 1 & 2 ...................................................................................................21
Vibe .................................................................................................................21
Deep ...............................................................................................................21
Delay .................................................................................................................21
Tempo Tap ......................................................................................................21
Spkr/Comp ...................................................................................................21
Drive/Comp .....................................................................................................21
Amp model......................................................................................................21
Rotary ............................................................................................................21
Rotary menu settings.......................................................................................22
Comp ..............................................................................................................22
Equalizer ..........................................................................................................22
Reverb ..............................................................................................................22
Panic ...............................................................................................................22
9 MIDI ...........................................................................................................23
MIDI functions ...............................................................................................23
Global MIDI ....................................................................................................23
Recording an Electro 6 performance to a MIDI sequencer or DAW ..................23
External keyboard to Lo ...................................................................................23
MIDI Messages .............................................................................................23
Note On/Off ................................................................................................23
Controllers ..................................................................................................23
Keyboard Velocity .......................................................................................24
Program Change .........................................................................................24
Local Control On/Off ..................................................................................24
Panic ..................................................................................................................24
11 - Channel ...................................................................................................27
Global ........................................................................................................27
External KBD ..............................................................................................27
12 - Control/Program Change Mode ...............................................................27
CC (Control Change) ..................................................................................27
PC (Program Change) .................................................................................27
13 - Transpose MIDI At ....................................................................................27
Sound Menu ..................................................................................................27
1 - Piano String Res Level ...............................................................................27
2 - B3 Organ Tonewheel Mode ........................................................................27
3 - B3 Organ Click Level ..................................................................................27
4 - B3 Organ Keyboard Trigger Point ...............................................................27
5 - Rotary Speaker ..........................................................................................27
6 - Rotary balance ...........................................................................................27
7 - Rotary Rotor ..............................................................................................27
Spd (Speed) ...............................................................................................27
Acc (Acceleration) .......................................................................................27
8 - Rotary Horn ...............................................................................................27
Spd (Speed) ..............................................................................................27
Acc (Acceleration) .......................................................................................27
12 CONNECTIONS ........................................................................28
Audio connections ......................................................................................28
Headphones ...................................................................................................28
Left & Right Out ...............................................................................................28
Monitor In ........................................................................................................28
MIDI connections ........................................................................................28
MIDI In ............................................................................................................28
MIDI Out .........................................................................................................28
USB connection ...........................................................................................28
Pedal connections ......................................................................................28
Sustain Pedal ..................................................................................................28
Control Pedal ..................................................................................................28
Rotor Pedal .....................................................................................................28
II APPENDIX: MIDI CONTROLLER LIST .................29
III INDEX ................................................................................................... 30
10 NORD SOUND MANAGER ..........................................25
About Nord Sound Manager .................................................................25
System requirements ................................................................................25
11 MENUS ..............................................................................................26
System Menu ................................................................................................26
1 - Memory Protect .........................................................................................26
2 - Program Selection Mode ............................................................................26
3 - Global Transpose .......................................................................................26
4 - Fine Tune ...................................................................................................26
5 - Seamless Prog Change ..............................................................................26
6 - Output Routing mode ................................................................................26
7 - Sustain Pedal ............................................................................................26
Type............................................................................................................26
Func (Function) ...........................................................................................26
8 - Rotor Pedal ................................................................................................26
Type............................................................................................................26
Func (Function) ...........................................................................................26
9 - Control Pedal .............................................................................................26
Type............................................................................................................26
Gain ............................................................................................................27
10 - Local Control ...........................................................................................27
1. INTRODUCTION | 5
INTRODUCTION
1
THANK YOU!
Thank you for choosing the Nord Electro 6!
The Nord Electro 6 combines our award-winning emulations of vintage
electro mechanical and acoustic instruments in one ultra-portable
package. With three independent sound sections, a new streamlined
user inter face and the addition of seamless transitions, we’re proud to
present the most powerful and flexible Electro ever.
FEATURES
The Nord Electro 6 has the following main features:
Organ section with faithful reproductions of three classic organ mod-
els, B3, Vox and Farf, as found in our acclaimed C2D combo organ.
There are also two Pipe organ models, each with its own distinct
character.
Physical drawbars on the 61 and 73 key D models. Digital LED draw-
bars on the 73 key HP model.
Piano section with acoustic Grand and Upright pianos, tine and
reed based Electric pianos, Digital piano sounds, Clavinet and
Harpsichord sounds and a Layer category with rich sounding piano
combinations. The memory capacity for the Piano section in the
Electro 6 is 1 GB.
Sample Synth section with 512 MB of sample memory and intuitive
envelope and dynamics controls.
Comprehensive Effects section.
Seamless Transitions: Sustaining notes will not be cut off when
changing programs.
Keyboard split functionality with dual manual organ mode and
optional split widths, allowing sounds to smoothly cross-fade over
split point.
Three models: Nord Electro 6D 73 and 6D 61 with semi weighted
“waterfall” keybeds and physical drawbars, and Nord Electro 6 HP
73 witha lightweighthammer actionkeybed and digital LED draw-
bars.
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Feel free to tag your content with our official hashtag #iseenord.
ABOUT THE USER MANUAL
The manual is arranged mainly as a reference manual. In many cases
you’ll also get tips on how to practically use the various features in a
musical context.
READING THE MANUAL IN PDF FORMAT
This manual is available as a digital PDF file. It can be downloaded, free
of charge, from the Nord Electro 6 section on our website.
RESTORING THE FACTORY PRESETS
The factory programs, samples and pianos are available as individual
Nord Sound Manager backup files for download from our website.
There is also a complete backup of the entire instrument and its factory
content, in case it needs to be restored to its original state at some
point.
OS UPGRADES
The latest OS (Operating System) version for the Nord Electro 6 is always available for download from our website. Please visit our website
from time to time, to make sure you have the latest version in your unit.
FREE SOUNDS
Since the Nord Electro 6 is designed as an open system, each and
every piano and sample in the Nord Electro 6 can be replaced. This is
done using the Nord Sound Manager application which is available as
a free download from our website.
NORD ONLINE
On the website nordkeyboards.com you will find:
» Information about the Nord Electro 6 and other Nord instruments
» Latest Operating Systems for download
» Free software: Nord Sound Manager, Nord Sample Editor and
drivers
» Nord Piano Librar y sounds for free download
» Nord Sample Library sounds for free download
The Nord Electro 6 is compatible with the continuously expanding
Nord Piano Library and the Nord Sample Library. When new sounds
become available, these can be download for free from the Sound
Libraries section of our website.
DISCLAIMER
Any trademarks and brand names mentioned in this manual are the
property of their respective owners and are not affiliated or associated
with Clavia. These trademarks and brand names are only mentioned to
describe certain sound qualities reproduced by the Nord Electro 6.
6 | NORD ELECTRO 6 USER MANUAL OS V1.0X
260
Synth Bass 5
A:14
OVERVIEW
2
EightyNine
B3
Ballad EP1 Sml
ORGAN PIANO PROGRAM SAMPLE SYNTH EFFECTS
THE ELECTRO 6 PANEL
The Nord Electro 6 is designed to be a musically inspiring yet easy-touse instrument. Let’s have a quick look at all its panel sections:
ORGAN SECTION – PAGE 10
The dedicated Organ section, with its nine drawbars for real-time adjustments to the Organ sound, uses our latest B3 tonewheel Organ
model, as found in the acclaimed Nord C2D Combo Organ.
The B3 model is based on the analysis of the signals generated by
each of the 91 spinning discs inside several original instruments, and
its virtual circuitry reacts not only to the panel settings but also to the
real time performance, simulating important foldback, compression
and energy robbing characteristics. The Rotary Speaker simulation is
derived from the Nord C2D which brings the Electro 6’s organs to life
with remarkable realism.
Two carefully modelled emulations of famous transistor organs from
the 1960’s – the Vox Continental and the Far f (Farfisa) Compact – are
also included. Finally, there are two distinct Pipe Organ models including a “Principal” Pipe model with two variations that deliver a wide
range of versatile pipe/church organ sounds.
Any Organ model can be used in a single or dual manual configuration,
each manual having an additional preset for quick switching between
two distinct sounds.
PIANO SECTION – PAGE 14
The Nord Electro 6 benefits from the ever-growing Nord Piano Library
and includes a wide range of piano and keyboard sounds including
Grand, Upright and Electric pianos as well as Digital piano and Layer
sounds right out of the box. New sounds are regularly made available
free of charge on the www.nordkeyboards.com website.
Among the Piano section’s panel controls are buttons for activating the
Advanced String Resonance feature (for acoustic pianos), adjusting
the keyboard velocity response or quickly altering the sound character
using the Piano and Clavinet Equalizer settings.
PROGRAM SECTION – PAGE 16
A program on the Nord Electro 6 contains settings for all sound engines and effects. The center area of the instrument – the Program
section – is where programs are navigated and stored, and various
performance features and settings menus are accessed. All this is
aided by the large OLED display, which also shows Organ drawbar
settings and the name of any selected Piano and/or Sample sound.
SAMPLE SYNTH SECTION – PAGE 19
The Nord Sample Library gives Electro 6 owners access to a huge free
library of world-class sounds, including the famous vintage Mellotron
and Chamberlin sounds. A large selection of samples are included from the start and the Sample Synth section is where these are
browsed and loaded. A number of functions for adjusting the character
and response of the sample are accessed directly via the panel.
EFFECTS SECTION – PAGE 20
The Effects section puts a wide selection of classic effects at your
fingertips:
The Effects 1 and 2 units provide essential modulation effects such as
Tremolo, Chorus and Phaser – modelled after legendary stomp boxes
and effects units. The Delay effect can be used for anything from subtle ambience or slap-back effects to almost endless soundscapes.
Classic amplifier simulations, the Rotary Speaker and a punchy Compressor effect are found in the Amp/Spkr section. A versatile EQ with
sweepable Mid range frequency can be applied to any of the Electro 6
sound engines.
Finally, the lush Reverb – with an optional Bright mode – provides an
array of small and large room simulations for instant atmosphere.
3
PROGRAM INIT
Select section to initialize
Org Dual Org Piano Synth
3. GETTING STARTED | 7
GETTING STARTED
Let’s spend a few minutes getting acquainted with the most fundamental features of the Nord Electro 6. In this chapter some of the most
common tasks and scenarios will be described in a stepwise fashion.
HOOKING IT UP
1 Connect the Nord Electro 6 power cord to the unit and a mains
power supply, connect the sustain pedal and a set of headphones
or a sound system.
2 Make sure to turn on the Nord Electro 6 first, before the sound
system. Please be careful with the output volume!
For more information on all the connections of the Electro 6, see the
Connections section on page 28.
PANEL CONTROLS
DIALS AND KNOBS
The dials on the Nord Electro 6 are knobs without fixed
start and stop positions, used for navigating parameters
and settings. The PROGRAM dial is one such example.
In this manual, dials are sometimes also referred to as
encoders.
THE SHIFT BUTTON
Many panel controls on the Nord Electro 6 have a second-
ary function, which is printed immediately below it. These
additional functions are accessed by pressing and holding
SHIFT while operating the control.
The Shift button is also used to EXIT a menu or to cancel an ongoing
Store operation.
SOFT BUTTONS
One menu or settings page, or the Program Init window (shown below)
may contain several related options in which case “soft buttons” are
used for focusing a setting or performing a task. Soft buttons are placed
at the bottom of the display and are controlled with the PROGRAM 1-4
buttons. As an example; in the scenario below, pressing the Program 3
button will initialize the panel to a Piano program.
BUTTONS
Potentiometer-type knobs are used for many parameters
on the Nord Electro 6. When a program is loaded the
physical positions of these knobs will in most cases not
correspond to the actual parameter values. As soon as a
knob is turned however, its associated parameter value
will “snap” to the knob’s position.
Hold the SHIFT button and turn a knob to view the stored setting of
a parameter without changing it.
Selector buttons are used to select one setting in an
array. They have a set of round or triangular LEDs to
indicate its current setting. Press the button several
times to cycle through the possible options.
ON/OFF buttons are used for activating a function
or a group of functions such as effects and have a
LED close to them to indicate the on/off status and
sometimes also the source or zone.
M The On/Off buttons of the Effects shown here also have a selector
functionality. Press once to turn the Effect on, and press immediately again to select the “next” source.
PROGRAMS
The Program area is located at the center of the panel with an OLED
display in the middle. One program contains complete settings of every
parameter on the panel and is stored in the program memory of the
Electro 6, with enough room for 416 programs.
Programs are organized into 26 banks, labeled A-Z. All programs can be
edited and replaced as you wish.
M A complete set of the factory programs is available on the www.
nordkeyboards.com website. This means that the program memory
can always be restored to its original state.
SELECT A PROGRAM
1 Programs are selected by pressing any of the four PROGRAM but-
tons, located below the display. The PAGE 3/4 buttons are used
to navigate program pages – a page being a group of 4 programs.
A Program bank on the Nord Electro 6 can contain 16 programs
divided into 4 program pages.
2 Programs can also be navigated by turning the PROGRAM dial.
8 | NORD ELECTRO 6 USER MANUAL OS V1.0X
STORE PROGRAM TO
A:11
Royal Grand 3D
Program EPiano1
G:31 Lullaby Upright
G:32 Ballad Reeds
G:33 B3 Silk
G:34 Graceful Duo
Num Abc Cat
LIST VIEW
Any dial that has LIST written below it - such as the Program dial - can
be used to access a useful list view.
1 Press SHIFT and turn the PROGRAM dial to enter a list view of all the
Programs.
2 Browse to any program, using the PROGRAM dial. All 26 program
banks can be accessed when in List mode.
3 Try out the Abc and Cat soft buttons respectively. Note that in Abc
mode, all programs are shown in a list sorted by name and in Cat
mode as a list sorted by Category.
4 Press SHIFT again to EXIT the List view.
2 Memory Protect is the first setting of the System menu. If the dis-
play shows a different setting, use the Page3button to navigate to
the Memory Protect setting.
3 Change this setting to Off by turning the PROGRAM dial.
4 Press EXIT (Shift button) to exit the System menu.
M This setting, like most other System settings, will be permanently
stored until it is changed again.
Read more about menu settings on page 26.
STORE A PROGRAM
1 Press the STORE button to the left of the display once, to begin the
process of storing the current program.
2 The STORE LED will begin to flash and the display will ask you for
the location to where you want to store the program.
List views for the Piano and Sample dials work in a similar way.
EDIT A PROGRAM
Editing a program is as easy as turning a knob or pressing a button to
change an existing setting. Let’s give it a quick try:
1 Dial up the first program (A:11, a piano based program) for this
exercise.
The controls for the Piano instrument are located immediately to
the left of the Program area on the panel. Notice that the Piano
section of the Program area display shows the name of the selected piano sound.
SELECT A NEW PIANO SOUND
2 Turn the PIANO SELECT dial to browse the piano sounds. Sounds
are organized according to their type (for instance Grand and
Upright).
3 Try selecting a piano sound from the LIST view, accessed by
pressing SHIFT and turning the PIANO SELECT dial. Use Shift again
to EXIT the list view.
Note that changing any parameter on the panel causes an “E” to
appear next to the program number in the display. This is to show that
the program has been edited but not yet saved. If another program is
loaded before a Store operation is performed, any edits are lost and the
program will have its original settings the next time it is loaded.
TURN OFF MEMORY PROTECTION
When the Nord Electro 6 is shipped from factory its memory is protected
to prevent accidental overwriting of original programs. Memory protection can be turned off by toggling a setting located in the System menu.
1 Hold SHIFT and press the SYSTEM (Program 1) button below the
display.
3 If you want to store the edited version to the current location,
replacing the original, simply press STORE again. If not, use the dial,
PROGRAM and/or PAGE 3/4 buttons to select a different location.
The program in the selected location becomes active on the
keyboard, allowing it to be auditioned before it is replaced by the
program being stored.
4 When you have found a suitable location for your program, press
STORE again to confirm the store operation.
M Press Shift/Exit once to abort an ongoing Store process if you
change your mind.
Read more about Store and how to name a program in the Program
chapter, on page 16.
LIVE MODE
The eight LIVE programs, divided into two pages – A:1-4 and B:1-4 –
differ from other programs in that all edits made to them are instantly
stored, without the need for a manual Store operation.
1 Press LIVE MODE and use the PROGRAM and PAGE buttons to
navigate the eight Live programs.
2 Make an edit, such as activating one of the effects sections, to one
of the programs.
3 Select a different Live program and then return to the one that was
edited. Note that the edit was automatically stored.
Press the Live Mode button again to exit Live Mode and return to the
Program banks.
If Live Mode is active and you wish to store the settings permanently
as a program in one of the Program banks, you can do so using the
standard Store methods (see above). Conversely, programs can also
be stored into any of the eight Live Mode memory locations by pressing
LIVE MODE and selecting one of the Live program locations.
ACTIVATE EFFECTS
KEYBOARD SPLIT
Split Position
C4 Off
WidthPos
1 Activate the reverb by pressing the Reverb ON button.
2 Adjust the DRY/WET balance with the knob above the reverb
selector.
3 Activate the delay effect by pressing the Delay ON/OFF button once.
4 The LEDs above the button indicate which sound engine is routed
to the effect (O = Organ, P = Piano and S = Sample Synth). Press
SHIFT and the Delay SOURCE button until the P LED is lit, if it is not
already.
Double-clicking the On Off / Source button is a shortcut for quickly
changing the source for any effects unit.
5 Try the RATE, FEEDBACK and DRY/WET controls, to alter the charac-
ter and intensity of the Delay effect.
3. GETTING STARTED | 9
SET THE SAMPLE SYNTH TO THE LOWER ZONE
6 Turn ON the Sample Synth section. Hold SHIFT and press Sample
Synth ZONE SELECT so that the LO LED is lit. This will assign the
Sample Synth to the lower half of the keyboard.
LOAD A SAMPLE
1 Turn the SAMPLE SELECT dial and select a sample from the Sample
bank, perhaps a bass sound. The location and name of the sample
are shown at the bottom of the display.
When a sample is selected, preset settings for the Sample Synth
envelope, Dynamics and Filter settings are also loaded. These parameters can subsequently be adjusted manually as desired. Descriptions of
these controls are found in the Sample Synth reference chapter, starting
on page 19.
ACTIVATING THE ROTARY SPEAKER
The Rotary Speaker – being most commonly used with the Organ – has
its speed controls located next to that section. The effect itself is located
in the SPKR/COMP unit however, and is activated and assigned just as
the Delay effect described above.
Pressing the Rotary Speed control when the effect is Off will auto-
matically turn on the Rotary Speaker and assign it to the left-most
of the currently active sound engines.
CREATE A SPLIT
1 Make sure that the Piano section is turned on.
2 To activate Split mode, press the KBD SPLIT button, located in the
top row above the Program area display.
3 To adjust the position of the Split point, press and hold the KBD
SPLIT button.
M The “6“ symbol indicates that this button has functions which are
accessed by keeping the button pressed down.
4 There are two settings for the split point; position and width. Make
sure that the Position setting is focused (by pressing the Pos soft
button) and set the split point to C4 using the dial.
The keyboard is now divided into two zones, the split point being indicated with a green LED above the keyboard.
ASSIGN THE PIANO TO THE UPPER ZONE
5 Hold SHIFT and press the Piano ZONE SELECT button so that only
the UP LED is lit.
This assigns the Piano to the upper zone of the keyboard. Feel free
to use the OCTAVE SHIFT buttons in the Piano section for accessing a
different range of the piano sound.
SET UP A SPLIT CROSS-FADE (SPLIT WIDTH)
As a final step, let’s adjust the split point so that the split Sample Synth
and Piano sounds will transition gradually between one another:
2 Again, press and hold the KBD SPLIT button, located in the top row
above the Program area display.
3 Press the Width soft button. The Split width for each split point can
now be adjusted.
4 Set the width value to “Lrg” (large) by turning the dial. Let go of the
KBD SPLIT button.
Playing across the Split point will now “cross-fade” between the lower
and the upper sound. Note that the split LED above the keyboard is lit
with a red light, indicating that a large split width is being used. With a
small width the LED will be yellow, and with width set to “off” the LED
will be green.
CREATE A TWO MANUAL B3
Setting up an Organ split, with two independent manuals, can be done
very quickly. Let’s try out the Program Init feature which will configure the
Organ section correctly, and turn off other active sound engines:
1 Press PROG INIT (Shift + Program 3 button). The display now pres-
ents four initialize options to choose from.
2 Press the Dual Org soft button (Program 2 button).
3 Make sure the ORGAN MODEL selector is set to B3 and press the
ROTARY Slow/Fast control to automatically turn on the Rotary
Speaker effect.
A keyboard split has now been created, providing one Organ manual to
the left of the split point – referred to as the Lower manual – and another
to the right which is referred to as Upper. Both Organ KB Zone LEDs are
now lit with a yellow color, meaning that the Organ is active across the
whole keyboard, in a Dual Organ split configuration.
4 Set the drawbars, Percussion, and other Organ settings for the
Upper manual as desired.
5 Press the EDIT LOWER button to focus the Lower manual for editing
and adjust the drawbars. Note that the display shows drawbar settings for both manuals, but that the non-focused ones are “grayed
out”.
M A two manual B3 using an external keyboard for one of the man-
uals can also be easily set up, by using the External KBD to Lo
function. Read more about this on page 17.
10 | NORD ELECTRO 6 USER MANUAL OS V1.0X
ORGAN
4
The Nord Electro 6 features five organ models, all digitally modeled: A
B3 tonewheel organ with a dedicated B3 Bass mode, two transistor
organs and two Pipe organ models, including a “principal pipe” section.
ON/OFF, LEVEL AND ZONE SELECT
The Organ section is turned On or Off by pressing its ON/OFF button.
The LEVEL knob controls the output volume of the Organ.
Press ZONE SELECT (Shift + On/Off) to assign the Organ to either or both
of the two keyboard zones. The KBD ZONE LEDs show which zones the
Organ section is assigned to.
OCTAVE UP/DOWN
Use OCTAVE UP/DOWN to transpose the Organ section up or down by
octaves (+/- 12 semitones). When assigned to the entire keyboard it
can be transposed one octave up or down. When assigned to a smaller
zone the available transpose values will vary, but always give access to
the entire range of the Organ.
M To use Octave Up/Dn for the lower manual, in Dual Organ mode,
Edit Lower mode needs to be active.
SUSTPED AND CTRLPED
SUSTPED (Shift + Octave Shift Up) activates an attached sustain pedal
for the Organ section.
CTRLPED (Shift + Octave Shift Up) assigns an attached control pedal as
volume control for the Organ section. With the B3/B3 Bass models it
functions as a traditional Swell pedal which also changes the character
of the sound when the Rotary Speaker Drive is used.
Read more about how to configure pedals on page 26.
DRAWBARS AND BUTTONS
The drawbars on the Nord Electro 6HP model are represented by buttons and LED chain graphs. The Nord Electro 6D models use “real”
mechanical drawbars.
When a program is loaded, the physical drawbars will in most cases
not correspond to their stored settings. As soon as a drawbar is moved
however, its setting will be the same as that of the physical position.
M There is one exception to the behaviour described above: Any
program stored with Manual Organ activated will use the actual
drawbar positions when it is loaded.
The digital drawbars behave similarly to their mechanical counterparts.
On the B3, B3 Bass, Vox and Pipe models you “pull out” and “push in”
the drawbars using the drawbar buttons. With the Farf model, drawbar
buttons act as rocker switches, toggling each register on or off.
The buttons are special in the way that they auto-increment/decrement
the drawbar value when they are held down. If you hold a drawbar
button the corresponding drawbar setting will continue to increment or
decrement (within its range) until you release the button.
M The Program section display always shows the current drawbar
settings for the Organ section.
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