The key touch kind of sucks, I'd rather play it on a piano touch set of keys.. You can get very tired from playing because it lacks the momentum of a piano touch. It probably suited organ playing better. (I don't do organs)

Effects aren't what I'd call SUPERB.. Just the normal bunch, stuff that I'd apply to a raw rhodes sound anyway. I'd have the say the WAH sucks. I think I can even build a better wah with a modular system. The sweep range in unadjustable. Clavia better fix this one in their next OS.

Also, I'll have to note that this machine has major problems with polyphony. If you don't like using pedals, like funk and stuff, you won't feel a problem. If you play something mellow and slow, you'll probably start finding stolen notes very soon. Clavia says with OS ver2, you'll get more polyphony.

I've only had it for about a month, and used it in one of my commercial recordings. That's a good sign of kick ass gear.

Anyway who gives a schmuck about color, consumers don't see it anyway.. But it does go well with my red T-shirt.. hehe.

This keyboard is wonderful for what it was made to do: emulate those classic electric organs you love so much.

The keys are not standard light-keys like the other Clavia Nord synths; they are weighted, thick keys with a slight yellowish tint. I love how they feel. You can get really expressive playing with the weighted keys.

Another interesting feature is the rotating speaker emulation. The unique thing is the "Stop" function, where you can hear the rotating speaker actually slow down and come to a stop, just like the real thing (instead of just cutting off)! Very interesting! And, When you switch from slow to fast, you can hear it accelerate to the speed! Nice!

Also: the digital drawbar is really great! To "pull" the drawbar out, simply hit the corresponding down button. Up button to "push" it back in.

There is also an adjustable overdrive that sounds nice and smooth. Combine it with a few drawbar octaves and a fast speaker rotation, you can get those great spooky Portishead-ish organ sounds.

This machine doesn't have many features found on other Nords, but Clavia seemed to have done this completely on purpose. And, I can see why: this machine cries out to be played live, not MIDI sequenced (although, they do have a rack version of it).

This keyboard is NOT for techno/trance heads (unless you're feeling adventurous, it will let you down in those departments). But, if you're into pouring some retro soul into your synth collection, the Nord Electro is a winner.

(Bonus: The side paneling is made out of REAL wood, dyed to that distinctive shade of Nord Red that we all dye for!)