Tried it, gave up when I first got my electro 6. Didn’t see it in the manual then saw your video months later and got it to work with my nord and midi board 🤩thank you 🙌🏾
@loicguillemain8305 Hello Loïc, So, the NE6 can only do half of what you are looking for: - Yes, the Nord Electro 6 can be split. And yes, you can assign a piano, organ or Synth from the Electro to play in one zone or the other. - No, the unused split cannot be dedicated to an external keyboard. In other words, any key you play from either zone of the Electro will trigger the external keyboard regardless if you split the keyboard or not. The kind of functionality I think you are describing here is available on the Nord Stage products via their "Extern" options, whereby you can split the keyboard and assign that split to an external keyboard (allowing you to play the other side of the split from the Nord itself). This provides complete separation. Pro Tip: You could incorporate a MIDI router/filter box that would artificially split your NE6 ahead of it reaching the external keyboard. This will let you drop all notes in that part of the split dedicated to the Nord sounds. However, I say this with some caution as you may consider this an introduction of "monkey business." But it can be done if you don't mind the extra effort and the extra box as part of your setup. Such a box that would work for this from Blokas: blokas.io/midihub/
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Finally a solution! I really DID give up on being able to use pitch bend on my Electro 6D. This helped so much!!!!! And yes, I am very pleasantly surprised!🤗
@iamgrabthelegacy Glad you found me and the video! Continue to enjoy your Nord Electro 6. Also, you can find free and paid courses on my main website if you want to dive deeper into the Electro 6 or Sampling: www.MyKeysToMusic.com
Hello @Harry Morgan Unfortunately, no. The pitch bend option enabling control from an external keyboard has to be pre-built into the Nord keyboard to accept this. On the Nord Electro 5 and 6, for example, there is an option called "External to Low" which allows an external keyboard to play the sound engines assigned to the low parts. At the same time, this configuration actually allows the external pitch bend to have control over the Electro. The Nord Grand, on the other hand, has no such "External to Low" capability so, therefore, no pitch bend capability either. Sorry! Great question!
Great job Mark. Yes I discovered this as well. You hit on all the key points and the manual is exceptionally lame in describing this very useful feature. Not only is the feature useful for pitch bend but it gives the player more keyboard real estate to work with. Once Ext keyboard to Lo is selected, the split point is virtually the second keyboard. You can no longer cut the E6 keyboard into two zones, it's simply one of the two zones. This is great if you have an 88 weighted key controller to trigger the piano engine while the E6 is left to sound the synth and organ engines but any combination is valid. And yes, you can use the pitch bend with the piano. Surprising to me that Nord is not selling this feature more on their website. Again, excellent video!
Thanks for your comment here Lou! Also, appreciate the added insight with how the Extern to Low feature expands the real estate and split options aspects. Perhaps this feature would make a good video on its own down the road. Thanks for your support and for watching! - Marc
@@MyKeysToMusic Also Mark, you can use this feature so that the organ model will work with a lower manual. The organ is the only engine that can be accessed from two keyboards simultaneously. You set it up by pressing the dual organ switch then select the Ext Keyboard to Lo. The Edit Manual button will determine what organ parameters will work with each manual - keyboard. It's the same as when you split the organ to have lower manual on the left and upper on the right. Now you can do it with two keyboards. Btw, on my older Electro 3, the only split allowed was within the organ and you could use an external keyboard as well, but only the organ. I think I'm seeing a new video in your future :)
Do I have to have both keyboards hooked up to a computer for this to work? Or does the external keyboard plugged into the Nord with midi quite literally just become an extension of the Nord itself? Which keyboard to you use for the audio out? I’m pretty new to all of this, I just jumped from a Nord electro 3 to a 6D.
Hello Alex! Congrats on your Electro 6! That's a big upgrade for sure. So, you don't need a computer to make the pitch bend work UNLESS you are using a keyboard controller that doesn't have a traditional MIDI capability. By traditional, I mean a "5-pin DIN" output like you have on the Electro 3 and 6. If you're using one of the newer (and, dare I say, less expensive) controllers, often they don't include a traditional 5 Pin MIDI out because not everyone needs that. Instead, they include just a typical USB out (with the assumption that the musician is going to be only using it to control a computer, not an external keyboard like a Nord Electro 6). So, if that's the case here, you have the following options: A. Purchase a keyboard controller (or another keyboard) with a traditional MIDI out and use that to control the pitch bend on your Electro 6. B. Use your existing controller and go from the USB out to a "USB" host box, then from the box to the Electro 6. Here is an example of a host box: - CAMOLA USB MIDI Host Box USB to MIDI Converter MIDI Interface: amzn.to/3hbkkwL (affiliate link) C. Use a computer and have the MIDI pass through to your Nord 6 and have it act as the USB host. This is the harder setup and involves more monkey business, and if you're not already a super techie, then I wouldn't go in this direction. ‼Now, with all that said, another thing to really pay attention to here is the fact that you actually have to be playing the external keyboard in order for this to work. In other words, you cannot play the Electro 6 keys and use the pitch bend from the controller. It doesn't work like that. You actually have to play the keys on the controller AND play with the pitch bend on the controller for this to work. The entire performance has to happen on the controller keyboard. Good luck with your new baby and check out my website for free and paid courses for your Electro 6. - 🎹
@@MyKeysToMusic Gotcha!! and thank you for the detailed response! Itried it out with my 6D hooked up to my little Roland JD-Xi! It Worked! Not quite sure how im gonna incorporate this into my live performances yet, but its a nifty thing to know!! Side note! do you happen to know the factory settings for that "Midi Chan Global" page in the settings? I adjusted the numbers exactly as yours are in the video, but forgot to jot down what it was prior to changing the settings...
@@alexkogut9335 Sorry for the long delay in this response here. I believe the Nord boards use channel 1 for global factory settings, and all the other advanced settings are generally set to "off." To know for sure, you'd have to reset to factory settings. 😪
Hi Marc! That changes everything. What's about rotary function via midi? I'm thinking about an external diy box like the half moon switch. A combination of rotary control, pitch and mod stick. I should look for a used electro 6. Btw has the electro 6D the same fantastic keybed like the wave 2 except after touch of course
Hello @Reiner Münch Yes you have basic control of the rotary speaker control via MIDI as an option baked into the keyboard's capabilities. In particular, rotary speed (fast/slow) is available. Then you should have MIDI control over the "drive" amount found in that same area of effects where the rotary effect is located on the Electro. Since the Electro 6 has the half-moon option, I'm quite sure you could go third-party on this but it would have to be configured/programmed. Be aware however that if you go in the direction of a homemade mod wheel, you are going to be disappointed with what this can do. Typically people want to use a mod wheel to adjust frequency cutoff and/or vibrato rate and/or depth. None of these options are available on the Electro 6 that work in the same way as a traditional synth. Just warning you now before you get too excited about the mod wheel. Yes, the keyboard/keybed on the Electro is very similar to the Wave 2 in the way that it feels (semi-weighted waterfall). I can't tell the difference. And you're right, the Wave 2 has aftertouch absent on the Electro 6. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, don't hesitate.
@@MyKeysToMusic thanks a lot. I'll keep it in mind. First I'm going to get a NE6 and check the possibilities. May I find some more controls I want direct access to. The mod control isn't the holy grail but pitch has a special effect to realistic instruments like piano and organ if it's not used to often. Currently in Germany is no affordable keyboard available and the price for a new one increased in the last months. I have to be patient
@@reinermunch5159 Yes. I noticed that prices went up. It must have to do with supply/demand and parts contraint too perhaps. In addition, I think all the baby boomers are wanting to plays keys in their retirement or something haha! Actually, music is a perfect thing to take up in the world we live in today.
Excellent. Thank you so much. Opens up a whole raft of useable synth downloads for me. Shame Nord just don't add a pitch controller. Nord, please put one on Electro 7!
Hi, I downloaded the pitch Bend Pro app, I am using the WIDI Master wireless MIDI receiver, but so far I cannot make the pitch bend function work. The Nord Electro 6 keyboard does see it because the Midi light (next to the List/Value knob) does light up when I use the pitch bend on the app, but again it does not pitch bend the note. I have the Widi master connected on the out and into the the Midi In. Then I have it set on Ch1 Global and Ch16 Ext Kb. Do I need something else to make this work? I'm stuck. Thanks in advance.
@threedifferentones4072 Hey ThreeDifferentOnes - sorry for the delay on this. So, you are in the right ballpark, but you're missing a vital ingredient. I assume you are playing the Electro and hoping that the phone will bend the notes. It doesn't work like that exactly. For the Electro to bend anything, the originating keys have to be triggered externally from another keyboard altogether. In other words, you can't play the Electro and bend the pitch at the same time (as I indicated in the video). You can, however, play an external keyboard and bend the pitch from the External keyboard. Now, you may already see this as a deal-breaker and that is understandable. If, however, you want to pursue this further (and I say this with a big amount of caution because this solution is borderline not feasible). But if you must, I made another video explaining how all this could work and event included the pitch bend app. Perhaps you've already seen this one and if you have, you'll need a MIDI filter box such as the one used (midihub) in this video: ruclips.net/video/cQD6X1kVDr8/видео.htmlfeature=shared
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I totally see your point. The only reason I’m pursuing the app option is only because I just got a gig where there’s literally only one 30 second solo, in only one song (out of the entire set) where I need to just bend a few notes. Is there another option for the MIDI hub? Or can I use any other midi interface? Also, in the video you mentioned something about using the pitch bend app “in conjunction” with Midi Wrench? More info on this would be very helpful. Thank you again.
@@threedifferentones4072 The MIDI Wrench software was needed back in the day when people were having issues connecting Bluetooth to their wireless MIDI devices. I think you probably don't need that piece of software anymore for most things at this point. There may be other options other than the MIDI hub, but none of them are any easier to configure and I don't have first-hand experience to lead you to the promosed land. But in theory, yes you could re-route MIDI via hardware or software and pull this off. Now, in putting more thought into this, you may be better off buying a low-cost MIDI controller with a basic pitch bend and attacking things from this angle. Since you have an Electro 6 already, you may benefit by getting a controller that can also arpeggiate for some added benefits (besides just pitch bend). Take for example, this solution: ruclips.net/video/Uct-VVwS2KY/видео.htmlfeature=shared
It would make my day if you were to recreate famous organ patches on the stage 3 like the organ on Yes's Roundabout and more specifically, Foreplay by Boston, i have been looking for the settings forever and you seem like the perfect channel for this! Thanks for reading.
Terrific Idea Fiddly Posh! I'll add it to the list. Good song choices too. The ideas are stacking up in the queue a bit (or maybe more than a bit) ahead of my actual schedule/capabilities haha. Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing in the big scheme of things. Thanks for your input on this. By the way, if you should stumble upon those settings ahead of any such video I do here, do report it here on this comment if you please. Thanks for watching!
@kerrycressman8625 You are going to need a USB MIDI Host box. Something like this will do the trick (affiliate link): - CAMOLA USB MIDI Host Box USB to MIDI Converter MIDI Interface: amzn.to/3hbkkwL
Hi marc, I tried this with a Alesis vortex wireless 2 (keytar) but it does not work. If I use the bender the midi light lights up, so it is receiving the signal, but there is no pitchbend happening. I set global midi to “Off” and ExtKb to “2”. What could be the problem? Could this have something to do with the software version (Mine uses v2.12)Thanks in advance.
@tim55960 Hey Tim! Well, as luck would have it, I, too, own an Alesis Wireless Vortex 2. I tried it just now, and everything seems to work! Let's triple-check the following steps: 1) Be sure you know which MIDI channel the Alesis is sending out on. Mine was set to channel 2 (likely from the last time I configured it). Also be aware that the Alesis can send pitch bend on a different channel than the notes - so you may have a simple issue whereby your MIDI for pitch bend isn't matching that of step 3 below. 2) In the Electro MIDI Settings, turn the Global to off or a channel that is NOT the same as the Alesis. 3) In the Electro MIDI settings, turn the ExtKb MIDI to the same channel as the Alesis. 4) Put the Electro into "Extern to Low" mode 5) Turn your Synth engine on and set it to the LOW zone only. Your pitch bend should work. Things to be aware of: a. Global MIDI doesn't support pitch bend in any capacity. External to Low is the only way this works. b. The only engine that supports pitch bend is the synth engine. This won't work for Piano or Organ (no matter how you set it up). My Nord Electro is running OS v2.64 and I believe my Alesis is running version 1.1.5 Good luck!
Holy @#$%^. THANK YOU! I've spent years trying to get pitch bend to work using my Roland Ax Edge Keytar - thought I would need to replace my Electro 6 with a Nord Stage 4. HOW 'BOUT recieving mod wheel from an excternal keyboard?
@polibop I'm Glad you got your pitch bend up and running! Unfortunately, there is no way (and I've tried numerous things) to activate a mod-wheel effect. The Electro doesn't have the ability to process those signals in the traditional way. Typically, one would want the mod wheel to adjust the frequency cutoff or vibrato, neither of which the Nord Electro can process as the engine doesn't have options for those adjustments. However, you could assign the Mod wheel from your external keyboard to adjust selected CC#s via MIDI. Yet, the items on that list to change would not act in the way that you're expecting (like a traditional mod wheel). For example, if you wanted to, you could have the mod wheel assigned to a single drawbar in the organ engine or perhaps adjust one of the effects (let's say tremolo). So you can do certain things, but likely not exactly what you're expecting. And this assumes that your external keyboard has the ability to override the CC# of the mod wheel itself. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if the CC# #s work on the "Extern to Low" setting in the first place; they may only be available via the Global channel. So, I'm afraid there are not many options out of the box for mod wheel and pitch bend at the same time. For a complete list of CC#s for your Electro, consult the manual in the "MIDI Controller List" section towards the end. The things on this list can be adjusted via the Global channel and assigned via your External board. However, you'd lose the ability to do pitch bend the moment you connect via the Global channel, and we're right back to square one. If you discover something along the way, be sure to share!
@shipy0915 Obviously, there is nothing built-in on the Nord Electro 6 to offer Glide/Glissando which is the pitch sliding between notes. You do see this feature on the Nord synth and the Nord Stage models. You even see this feature show up on the very latest Nord Piano 5 offering! However, the Electro family at this time doesn't offer this feature. The only thing I can think of is to use something like a MIDIHub and program it to slide between notes. However, this would be fairly complex/expensive (not feasible?) way to do this. In other words, you may find that it ends up being a lot of monkey business if you try to incorporate a MIDIHub and spoof the Electro into thinking it can actually play glide between notes. 😄 I do have a video here explaining what this special hub is and how it works. I have yet to try it to imitate glide however: ruclips.net/video/cQD6X1kVDr8/видео.htmlfeature=shared I've read that imitating glide via MIDI is theoretically possible. But again, you might find it easier just to go out and buy a Nord Lead A1 which is going to be 1000 times easier and better in the end. (Granted, this it not a cheap solution either!!) So, there doesn't seem to be easy answer to your question and I don't know of a magic wand for this I'm afraid.
Hi Marc, Good work around, 6d really needs a pitch wheel...any way we could hook up a mobile phone running a mod wheel app? iPhone adapter for the midi connection Went with the electro for its small footprint and Hammond keys. I have an sk2 Hammond but it's big and them piano sounds are awful, love the 6d and the SK 2 is on shaky ground!
Hello @Kaine Joyes sorry for the delay in this response. I LOVE this idea. However, there is no way to incorporate a pitch bend app with the Electro 6. The reason for this is that the notes you play also have to come from the external device. (In other words, you can't play the Nord keyboard and use an external pitch bend. It only works if you also play the external keyboard AND also use that same keyboard's pitch bend (as shown in the video above). I did find one app that can do pitch bend with the phone. However, you can't use it unless the app also had keys to play and send the accompanying MIDI notes. The idea is brilliant but unfortunately, a no go. 😢 By the way, the pitch bend app I experimented with can be found here: apps.apple.com/us/app/pitch-bend-smart-controller/id1539228332?platform=iphone
Hello Marc, very interesting video, just what i was looking for but unfortunately, i can't get the same effect to work on my Emu Proteus 2000. I'm using a Korg minilogue as my master keyboard and an Akai midi patchbay to connect four midi instruments. The pitchbend stick on the minilogue sends pitch messages to all of the instuments except the Proteus. I checked the manual and looked for cc numbers for pitchbend online but no joy, it seems there is no number as such, you need to use an undefined number, which i'm rather puzzled about. Anyway, i thought if anyone could help, you could. Take care Marc and a Happy new year to you.
Hello George! Happy New Year! Thanks for your comment here and your question. I appreciate that fact that you are trusting me to know the answer to this. Did you already try connecting the Korg directly to the Proteus yet? I would be very surprised if the Proteus didn't understand the basic pitch bend commands out of the box from one to the other. Does the Proteus readily accept MIDI note data from the Korg? Like you've observed, the pitch bend commands are somewhat universal being specified in the MIDI 1.0 specification (which is why it works fine for the 3 other boards). Next, check to see that the Proteus is set to accept CC commands. Often keyboards don't have this on by default accepting MIDI note data but not other things like pitch bend and mod wheel. Good luck and report back your findings if you can.
@@MyKeysToMusic thanks for your swift reply Marc. Might i just mention that the Proteus is a 19" rack module and yes, it responds to pretty much all midi commands, although the edit mode can be quite deep. Over the last 20 years, it's been part of the studio set-up towards the production of over 30 albums for various artists but i'll be honest, i've never really took much notice on whether pitch bend was used...or not. Prior to the Minilogue, a CS1x was used as the master but again, can't really remember if the pitch bend was used. I'll try bypassing the patchbay and going direct from the master to the Proteus in the next few days and let you know how it went. Thanks again Marc. 😉
Hi Marc! Thank you for your great work in this channel. Question: Can you use Korg Minilogue XD as a pitch stick/keyboard & ARPEGGIATOR of the synth sound from Nord Electro 6 in this scenario ? Is Nord Electro 6 receiving all the midi signal from an external device in this mode (eg. aftertouch/velocity/transposition etc) (except modulation) ? Would you say that Korg Minilogue XD & Nord Electro 6 combo makes up for all the Nord Stage 3 features combined ? Marek
Hi Marek! Thanks for your question and apologize for the delay on the response. Unfortunately, the arpeggiator of the Minilogue XD cannot be used to trigger notes on the Nord Electro 6. This has more to do with the way the arpeggiator works on the XD and less to do with any kind of limitation on the NE6 itself. The Nord Electro is receiving all MIDI signals/channels as defined in the manual of the Nord. Things like drawbars amounts and such can be controlled externally - although the XD itself is not specifically a controller in the traditional sense so it would not make a good example of that. Moving up and down on the XD controller doesn't influence the modulation in any way either. Would I say that the Korg Minilogue XD and Nord Electro 6 combo makes up for all the Nord Stage 3 features? No, I don't think it does at all. And this is sort of an apples/oranges type of comparison. Now from a total price standpoint, I think you are way ahead with the combo so perhaps that makes up for some of the deficiencies you'd lose by not having a single Stage 3. *Here is a starting list of things you'd be missing by going the combo route versus a single Stage 3:* 1) Aftertouch (only supplied by the NS3) 2) Ability to assign morphing features to many different features (via the Wheel, Pedal, and AfterTouch) 3) Polyphony. The Korg only has 4 voice - the NS3 has 34 4) Keyboard Size. The Korg has less keys and they are smaller keys as well (for some that's an advantage - but for most, it's not). 5) You would only need a single-tier keyboard stand 6) Song Mode: A very nice feature on the NS3 7) Multiple panels for 6 independent sound engines and a variety of split options 8) A nice "Extern" keyboard function to use the NS3 as a basic keyboard controller for future expansion. 9) Other (I'm sure I'm missing about a half dozen other features that don't come to mind at the moment). *What would you gain by having the combo?* 1) Less price - and perhaps this is the biggest consideration and possible deal maker. 2) Analog Synth. The Korg is a true analog synth and there is a certain charm/appeal to that. 3) The Korg has add'l features/options that the Stage does not such as a 16-step sequencer and oscillator options such as decimator as well as add'l LFO options. But again, this is sort of apples/oranges. Hope all this helps get you started. Or perhaps it just makes the decision even harder!
My Keys To Music Hi Marc! Thank you for very detailed answer. I appreciate that you focus on knowledge and sharing oppose to many millenial’s vlogs which focus on themselves. Back to Nord. I am actually in the market fighting between electro 6 and stage 3. On the one hand I can see all the additional features of NS3 which make it supperior over NE6. However I cannot still justify the price tag difference. I study thoroughly your videos. At the end I think that you can achieve the same thing either with combo (NE6& something with pitchband, arpegiator and maybe analog synthesis, even your ipad with ext keyboard) as with NS3. But then there is a hassle with different instruments, cables, setting up and learning curve. NS3 provides those morthing capabilities you mentioned and that’s probably the main reason I tend to go in NS3 direction over NE6 (but the price is a killer). And at the end of the day the question comes back: is it worth the hassle when you can get it in one perfect package of NS3 and be future proof with this instrument? I think the perfect live act combo would be NS3 with an ipad. Pity that NS3 does not have an audio interface inside (as yamaha cp for instance). However I would grately appreciate if you could do a thorough video about Electro 6 midi capabilities as a masterkeyboard and as a slave. That would be helpful for guys like me.
@@marekwinski8854 I've been thinking of doing a "MIDI" capabilities video at some point discussing some of these subjects you mention because the topic comes up fairly often. I'll put some more thought into that and add it to the list as a possibility. Thanks for the details on your decision-making process thus far. It's not easy to decide. You could also consider a used Stage 3 from www.reverb.com to lesson the costs too or embark on a finance/payment plan through a company like Sweetwater Sound and pay over time.
@@MyKeysToMusic Yes, Greetings from Mexico again. I have been enjoying my Electro 6D so much. I was able to download a full NL2X library on my Electro, so now I have all those crazy pads and synths; however, I really want to know those "midi slave capabilities", for example, you have prooved that it supports pitchbend, but what about other knobs that little synthesizers may have like "Cutoffs", even "Filters" hahaha, I know I'm trying to make a NS3 out of this, but I agree with having a combo since price is really a deal breaker. But man, some of these NL2X samples are really really good and are just missing a few knobs there to make something super awesome. Would really like to see if your Electro can respond to your Korg knobs. Have a nice day everyone!
Hi Marc, thnks for your really informative videos....just a quick question...if I use an external keyboard to control the nord electro 6D...(rd 700nx)...would the portamento controls on the rd 700nx enable portamento on the nord electro....JUST A LONG SHOT!!
Hello @Paul Anthony Shaw Your heart is in the right place but unfortunately, this long-shot didn't cross the finish line. 😞. There is no such thing as portamento on a Nord Electro even if it's triggered from another keyboard that has portamento. Sorry, this kind of functionality is typically reserved for the synth family when it comes to Nord (Stage, Wave, Lead). But gosh, I love the idea. I mean, we have pitch pend, why not portamento right? They gave us the inch, but we want the yard! Love the out of the box thinking here though... Thanks for your question and for watching... 👍🏼
Cheers Marc...knew it was a long shot!!!!...pretty sure I will get something out of my jupiter 50...or maybe even rd 700nx...just wanted to cut down on gear...👍👍
@@shawy62 "Cut down on the gear" - I understand exactly what you are saying. I used to bring two keyboards and a sound module to every gig. I'm now down to two keyboards as the Stage 3 took over for my sound module. I find that with the Electro 6 and the Stage 3, I'm covered for just about everything (at least for playing originals) - covers, on the other hand, might be a different story.
Question please Marc, If you have a split point say Piano on the left and synth on the right, can you assign the sustain foot pedal to only sustain the left hand part of the split ? so you can sustain the chords with your left hand and solo with your right ?
@Stacy Carras Yes Stacey this is no problem at all. The Nord Electro series (as well as the Stage series) offers the option to have independent sustain pedal assignment per engine. So, you could easily have the piano sustain on the left side of the split while you solo with the synth on the right side minus the sustain. Incidentally, this brings up the nifty option of being able to sustain the organ engine as well. Using sustain with a B3 is not a traditional use for it I don't believe, but with the Nord keyboards you can. Also, for those who are watching this comment with a close eye, you'll note that, unlike the Electro and Stage line, the Wave 2 does NOT have independent sustain capability per layer - it's either all sustained or all not sustained. However, with this said, the Wave 2 is designed more as a performance synthesizer with emphasis on sound creation/soundscape creativity. So, the Wave 2 has a different use-case altogether for the most part. However, I'd still love it if you could have independent sustain by layer for the Wave 2 - but that is a story for another day. Hope that helps clarify things! 🎼
Hey Ben! Yes, I was pretty excited myself after sitting down and finally getting to this one. In fact, a person left a comment calling this out yesterday on an older video I had done comparing the Electro 6 with the Nord Stage 3. On that older video (ruclips.net/video/av3GxXakeaM/видео.html), I made the claim that this was impossible. Well, last night, I was able to edit and erase that part of the older video directly on RUclips thereby removing that claim and the now outdated info. So, I'm happy to have this issue out in the open so we can all move on knowing that our Electro can imitate crazy electric guitars as needed and other pitch bend related performances. Thanks!
You saved my butt with this video!! I am traveling from the U.S. to Spain for some gigs, and all I could check on my flight was my Electro, but I had about 3 or 4 synth solos during the show! They sounded pretty lackluster with the electro's limited, sample-based synth engine, but after I saw this video, I rented a 49-key controller from a local rental place, and applied the tips from this video, and the pitch bend wheel really helped to liven them up and give them some life. Now here's my question: Is there a way to do this with JUST an external midi pitch bend device? In other words, can I accomplish pitch bend and still play the keys on the my Electro's key bed?
Hi Jason. Thanks so much for sharing your story and it's very cool that the video got you to rent a 49-key controller to pull of some pitch bend for the shows! About your question: I've been hunting high and low for a pitch bend only solution and I have yet to find one. The closest thing I found was this: amzn.to/2Nuil78 (affiliate link) but it would still require some form of USB host (like a computer or device) to transmit the MIDI into the Nord. So, that's not ideal. But if that device had a standard MIDI port, that would do the trick.
@@MyKeysToMusic Im also looking for the same thing (standalone pitch bend). After checking some forums, some guys mentioned the old Yamaha MCS2. But apart from the pitch bend feature, does the electro also receive modulation wheel? Another thing i saw was people talking about a Doepfer unit. But i guess you have to understand a thing or two more about the voltage to midi transformation to make it work properly. Link: www.doepfer.de/we.htm
@@mrflajs To my knowledge and from the last time I tested it, I don't believe the Electro 6 can receive mod wheel requests - just pitch bend and only with the above situation. However, in the MIDI specification for the Electro, in the Sample./Synth area, you CAN control the filter on CC #73. So maybe that would work after all if your controller can assign its wheel to #73. But it would just adjust the filter and not necessarily oscillate the pitch itself which is sometimes what these wheels do. After reviewing the Doepfer unit, it looks way too complicated for a typical setup. That's more of an electronics kit for a true electrical/hobbyist/sound/hardware engineer type (of which I am not). If anything comes up, I'll report back to this thread for sure!
Thanks, Mark. Just thinking this concept through for my own gigging set up. If I have some song patches that required this configuration (with the external keyboard set as Lo), but others that don't, will the midi configuration settings be assigned at program level and change as I move between songs?
Hi Mike. Thanks for your question. So, yes, you should have no problem storing the programs on your Nord Electro with either the "Extern to Low" being set to on or off. That way, as you move between songs, that preference comes with the program. In other words, the Extern to Low button is not a universal button, it's either on or off and saved with the program itself. (I assume that is the good news you are looking for). Now, the MIDI settings themselves ARE universal. That means that your Extern MIDI channel is set once and used by every program. Again, this is typically what a musician wants in the setup so this should work the way you are hoping. There have been several requests to deeply explore this feature more and talk about all the different aspects, features, and functions of the Extern to low and using MIDI in general etc. So, ideas are in the works for another video.
Hello @Arjan C I just referred to the MIDI implementation chart in the manual for the Nord Electro 3 and unfortunately, there is no support for Pitch Bend via MIDI. I checked the Electro 4 manual too and still no luck. They started supporting limited pitch bend with the Electro 5 on up. Hope that helps confirm things!
Thats super cool !, thanks for sharing, and for all the good work you're doing for all of us, have you ever tried using a Line6 HX stomp to control some of the Electro or Stage models via midi ? :), it would be really cool if it was possible to assign say, the depth and rate of a Rhodes patch to external knobs via an external device with midi.
@Stacey Carras - check out my answer in the other video about this. Hey, thanks for sending the info about the Line 5 Stomp. That looks like a really slick pedal and it has inputs for an expression pedal as well. It also has a small footprint but a bit pricer than some of the other programmable MIDI pedals. Then again, it looks like it includes a LOT of features in one compact design.
Bonjour Marc, Merci pour les conseils pour le pitch bend sur Nord 6d que je possède avec un Korg arrangeur Pa 1000. J'ai réussi à piloter les sons du N6D avec le pitch bend à partir du Korg. tout fonctionne parfaitement. Cependant quand je fais cette programmation, je ne peux plus avoir accès à l'ensemble de l'arrangeur Korg (sons, styles, rhytmes etc..) Je pense que c'est normal mais ayant un doute je préfère demander au cas ou une solution serait envisageable. Merci d'avance
Bonjour @Didier VEAU Hmm, c'est très étrange que votre Korg limite ses fonctionnalités simplement parce que vous utilisez le Pitch Bend. Peut-être que cela a à voir avec le comportement du Korg lorsqu'il envoie du MIDI ou contrôle d'autres claviers ? À ce stade, j'essaierais d'informer un expert Korg PA 1000 et de poser la même question pour voir s'il y a quelque chose d'évident ou non. J'ai aussi regardé les choses dans le manuel de Korg et il n'y a aucune mention de ce comportement étrange. Je vous souhaite bonne chance avec la solution. Vous pouvez également contacter directement Korg à ce stade.
@@MyKeysToMusic Merci de votre réponse Marc, je pense que je n'ai certainement pas bien configuré le Korg pa et je vais selon votre conseil voir avec Korg.
Hi Marc. This ws also a very nice help with my Nord Electro 6. But now I have another problem, where I cannot find any solution for it. I work with a Korg Pa4x and a Nord Electro 6. In my Korg I have in my songbook everything where I use The Nord with (very much indeed) programmed that The Nord direct goes to the program that I use with a song (style). That works perfect, but...... when I have programmed The Nord for a particular song where I use a split (I use different split point with different programs). The Nord always goes automatic to the most left split point. I have searched a lot to find any solution for this problem, but I can't find anything. You are my last hope!! Do you know a solution for this? Thanks very much and all the best for 2022, John
Hello @John Verschuren Hmm, I'm not able to duplicate this at all. When I have an external keyboard change programs on my Electro, the pre-defined split point (that I saved with the program on the Nord) maintains the split exactly where I saved it. Is it possible to make a video for this to show me or perhaps write down the exact steps here?
@@MyKeysToMusic Hi Marc, you don't believe it, but when I just put on the Korg and the Nord and I would make a film for you, everything worked well. I don't know why or how, but it works perfect. Sorry for your time in this but I am very happy now. All the best to you and your family, John
@@jovers70 Sorry or my delayed reponse here (the holidays got the best of my time). So happy to hear you got it to work! Continue to enjoy your keyboards 😉 🎹
Hey Marc, Love your videos! A quick question: will the pitch bend signal continue through the nord electro into your daw? I ask because I’d like to use my electro 6 as my master midi controller but no pitch bend! Thanks so much, Keelan
Hello Keelan! So glad you like the videos and thanks for your comment/question today. So, when you are using an external keyboard plugged into an Electro 6, NONE of the MIDI signals are passed through on to the DAW. Now, when it comes to audio, of course, anything you hear from the Electro 6 as a sound source will transfer to GarageBand as you'd expect. But, when it comes to MIDI, none of it gets transferred or "passed through" into the DAW. Hope that answers your question if I'm understanding it correctly and if not, ask again another way.
Marc, Sad to hear that. I might try adding a second small midi controller with pitch bend and combing the signal. You totally answered my question, thanks for your time.
I agree. They really clip the wings on these particular features (limited pitch bend options and no MIDI thru) for some reason. Perhaps MIDI implementation is not their primary focus and/or perhaps they need to reserve these features for the Stage 3. Good luck!
Hi - trank you very much - when I set the Organ on „up“ she also bends with the Wheel from my KX 88 the piano-section don‘t and the Synth-section also don‘t bend, if I set it on Upper Manual - why the Organ bends ? I cant‘r stop this ...you‘ve got an idea?
@Christian-O. Hille Thank you for your question. You may have missed a critical step in the setup. What you are experiencing may happen if you have your Global MIDI channel on the same channel as the External channel (within your Nord system settings). Make sure you set your Global MIDI channel to OFF or use a DIFFERENT MIDI channel than what you have set for your External keyboard channel. Hope that helps! Please report back if you can.
Hello @Minhoca Kurzweil Great question here and I had to explore it a bit more. So, I think the answer is "yes" you could use an iPad so long as the application you use would send MIDI note data and pitch bend data. Not all apps do this. For example, GarageBand won't send MIDI out from the iPad to an external instrument so that one is out. There may be others that do. Check out "Reason Compact" which says that it can send MIDI to external instruments. Perhaps you already have something that does this that you've been using? In theory however, it should work but to be honest, I haven't actually personally tested it on this end. Now, the key thing to remember is that in order for the pitch bend to work, you have to play the external keyboard (your iPad) along with the pitch bend. You can't play the Nord keyboard and use the iPad for the pitch bend. This is because once you put the Nord keyboard into "external to low", you can only trigger the sound engines on the Electro that are assigned to the low parts from an external source. Hope that helps clarify things.
Thanks mark, I finally got a electro 6d. What I can’t find a simple answer to is can I use the usb port for midi in to my mac? or do I have to get a real midi to usb interface
@TylerMarletteNY Hello Tyler! Congrats on your new Electro 6! You can use the cable that comes with your Nord board and plug that directly into the computer (no MIDI interface is required). You'll use this connection to send and receive MIDI, and you can also use this connection to work with the Nord Sound Manager and Nord Sample Editor. The only "interface" you will need is an Audio interface if you want to record the audio from the keyboard into the computer. To do that, you can check out my introductory starter video here: ruclips.net/video/UU6j5o3YfaA/видео.htmlfeature=shared Also note that if you are using a modern-day Mac or Windows computer, you might find that it doesn't have the traditional USB A-style ports to receive your cable. I recommend this cable (affiliate link), which will accommodate the USB C ports on a computer without needing an extra adapter: amzn.to/40ampyk (note the different lengths available). Finally, you may want to consider enrolling in my Master Class for the Electro 6 found on my website for in-depth, on-demand, (and ad-free) training for your Nord keyboard.
Hi Mark, thanks for the great video. Is there any way to upload monophonic programs to the Electro 6? I currently own a stage 3 hp76, but would love to have a smaller electro to carry to small gigs... if only it had the option of loading leads into it.
Hi Wydopol. So, there is no way that I know of to incorporate a monophonic program, setting, or effect for the Nord Electro 6. That "synth" feature is reserved for the Nord Stage 3 as well as the other pure Nord synths such as the Nord A1. So, although we can play samples to our heart's content via the Nord Electro 6 synth engine, we're unable to have any kind of polyphony setting giving us the effect of monophonic, let alone things like glide/portamento between the notes. Hope that helps clarify it and thanks for your great question. I hadn't really put much thought into that important aspect until now. Thanks for watching!
I contacted nord support about soft pedal and unfortunately the midi implementation on the nord electro 6 does not have cc 67 soft pedal nor responds to that cc message number. However pianists/organists who want all options, you can use an expression pedal to act like a volume softener. But its a fudge. Basically for double pedal and indeed triple pedal, buy a stage3. But i would save money and wait for even more features in a future stage4
Hello @WilkoPiano Great that you found this out! Thanks for sharing what you discovered here with us. And like you, I'm awaiting a Stage 4 someday too. 👍
Hi Mark, thank you for all this great info ! Would it also be possible to play on the nord electro (all range of the instrument) and use a pitch bend from another midi keyboard?
Yiannis - Yes, if I'm understanding your question correctly, you could play on the Nord Electro 6 and use the full range of the keyboard while controlling the pitch bend with another instrument. However, as mentioned in the video above, pitch bend support only works in certain circumstances. Thanks for watching!
I will really like to see a videos about the midi capabilities of the NE6D. I'm planning on sellling my NE4HP to buy a 6D61, that way i can carry a lightweight KB to rehearsals and i can have a weighted KB by midi (like a studiologic). Thanks
Hi! I've actually been doing it from my Arturia Keylab on my Electro 5d. It works perfectly. It would be nice if there was the possibility to tweak fx depth or synth cutoff via modwheel, but there is not. By the way, is 6d three parts multitimbral? 5d isn' t. Keep on doing vids. Always great . Cheers!
Hi Diego! Thanks for your background here on the 5D and for your cheerful feedback. So, the 6D is, in fact, three-part multitimbral which is sort of what sets it apart from the Electro 5. So, with the Nord Electro 6, you can play the piano, the organ and the sample/synth individually, or any two together, or have all 3 layered. Then you can split the keyboard once and decide which section plays on which split. Or an engine can play on both splits as well. You just can't have two pianos, two organs or two synths at the same time. You also can't assign a MIDI channel to selections independently (which may be what you are asking here as well).
@@MyKeysToMusic Thanks for the answer!! And...yes! That is actually what I was wondering. Whether one could use 3 different midi channels to have 3 keyboards, one of each assigned to each sound. Perhaps the Yamaha YC 61 could be an option. It has a really good Hammond engine, good Ac pianos and flexible synth sounds. Not sure about Rhodes and Wurly sounds.
@@Diego_Occhipinti Not sure about the Yamaha YC 61 either. Don't know much about it actually. You can hear the Rhodes and Wurly sounds starting at about the 2-minute mark on this video: ruclips.net/video/qd_a_Hpiz0E/видео.html
Can't wait to try this! This may be too off topic, but deals with assigning midi info? Is there a way to use an expression pedal for half damping and/or varied degrees of sustain on the Nord Electro 6D? (piano sounds) I have been having a blast playing drums with feet while playing keyboard. Right foot Roland KD9 triggering kick and left foot Roland KD9 triggering snare. A little sustain would be awesome. :)
Hi Keith! Thanks for your comment and question. I'm not aware of any support for half damping or varying degrees of sustain via an expression pedal for the Nord Electro 6. There is support for half damping on the Nord Stage 3 with the use of the Nord Triple pedal. But still, no varying degrees of sustain via an expression pedal. Hope that helps clarify things. Very neat about you playing kick and snare with your feet! If you have a video of that somewhere, let me know - would like to see that. A few people on the channel have asked about drum machines and the best way to have drum accompaniment. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for replying! Here's video but no close ups of feet. (I'm quite fat these days) This video is good because the song has lots of stops and my Nord is in the shot. ruclips.net/video/Xk5CTKfQWuk/видео.html If I could coin the phrase of drumming and keyboard playing, I would call it 'Krumming'. You do a great job.
Keith! I had a look at your video(s). Great work on vocals and jamming on the keys too. The drum sounds really add to it. No one would really ever guess you were driving drum sounds with your feet (until the ending of the video maybe). Thanks for sharing!
Hello @Christian Eck - Haha! Well, I wouldn't go so far as calling this the most important video on the internet, but I'm happy that it resonated with you! It was eye-opening for me too when I first discovered it. This works for the Electro 5 too but nothing prior.
Hi Marc, I have recently discovered your great videos around the Nord keyboard family ans subscribed to your channel. I have been owning a Nord Electro 6 for a little over a year now - best keyboard I ever had. Former keyboards were a Roland JX8p, a D-10 and a classic Hohner Clavinet - but that was in the 80ies. I do also own a Akai MPK Mini and use that for traveling on airplanes; more recently also to input notes in Musescore from my desktop ... which by the way I use together with the great transcription software Anthemscore, quite a discovery. I have a question: The APK Mini is passive, typically powered thru USB, either on a PC or in my case I also use it with my Ipad Pro and some Ipad software synths. I connected the APK Mini to the Nord. That required me to add an adapter (from standard USB 2.0-A Female to USB 2.0-B Male) so that both ends of the cable were then USB 2.0 B Male. I made the changes according to your instruction in the systems section. However, the APK Mini did not even get powered by way of the Nord's Midi connection ... and I guess that this is also in line with what is to be expected. But anyway: Would you have an idea, if either I made some mistake in the setup or that by adding some additional piece of equipment to the equation I could still make that setup work. The great advantage would of course be that a mini keyboard would serve the purpose to just have a pitch wheel on the Nord very well.
Hi Mehr - Thanks for watching the videos on this channel and for the comment and question. Sorry for the delay on this response. I don't think there is an immediate solution. A company that might know of a solution (or has the knowledge to create something would be here: www.midisolutions.com/products.htm). I have an iRig Keys controller which poses the exact same issue whereby it requires the USB to power it which doubles as the MIDI transfer port. I don't believe the Nord USB ports provide any kind of power source. Great question and let us know if you come up with a solution!
Hi, I've heard that this would be possible to control from a tablet (i don't own an Ipad, "just" a samsung tab A9) with a dedicated app, using an usbc to midi output. do you think that's true?
Hi! Is it able to use pitchbend on external keyboard but play on NE6? I want to make only arduino pitch bend and send midi massages to NE6 via midi in . Thanks a lot ;)
@A Vávra Hello and thanks for your question. Unfortunately, it's not possible to use an external pitch bend and play on the Electro 6. The only way to have any kind of pitch bend is to use the "External to Low" feature which automatically shuts off the Nord Electro sound engine in place of it being externally controlled. Sorry the news can't be better for this one! Thanks for watching and it's a good question too by the way.
Is it possible to have an external Synth for example m having a korg krome to have its pitch bend control the nord while also I can play korg krome's patches simultaneously?If so then you could please let me know how?Nord electro would do a job for me then..Thanks in advance for the help
Hi Kandarp! So, if you set this up like I demonstrate in the video, you'll still be able to play the Korg directly and hear those patches of course but you won't be able to use the Nord to play the Korg patches. So it would work like this: 1) Korg MIDI out to Nord electro (Korg MIDI set to channel 1) 2) Electro main MIDI channel to "off" 3) Electro external keyboard MIDI channel to channel 1 4) Set the Nord to use the option "Exernal Keyboard to Low" setting (as the video above demonstrates) 5) Play the Korg and hear both the Korg and the NORD along with pitch bend control to the Nord. The only sounds you hear on the Nord are the ones assigned to the "low" section. 6) If you play the Nord keyboard you only hear the sounds assigned to the "high" section. You don't hear the Korg. Hope that helps!
@Angele de Jong I assume you set your Nord Electro 5 in the same mode as I demonstrated above with the Electro 6? Here is an excerpt from the Nord Electro 5 manual about this. *Receiving MIDI on Part Upper in MIDI Upper Receive Mode* "In this scenario, the Nord Electro 5 is set up to receive MIdI on Part Upper, using an external keyboard to play its corresponding sound engine. Part lower is played with the keyboard of the Nord Electro 5, using one of the remaining sound engines. In this setup, Part lower will utilize the entire keyboard of the Nord Electro 5 and Part Upper can only be addressed through MIDI sent to the Upper split channel. Also, when playing Part Upper on the Upper split MIDI channel using an external keyboard, any received pitch bend messages will be applied to the sound engine of the Upper part. To see this with pictures, please go here and navigate to page 15 at the top: www.nordkeyboards.com/sites/default/files/files/downloads/manuals/nord-electro-5/Nord%20Electro%205%20English%20User%20Manual%20v1.x%20Edition%20E.pdf It "should work" based on my own experience with the Electro 5 and it's presented to work in the manual as well. Good luck!
I hear what you are saying here @Libla That is a common criticism. My assumption is that they don't include the pitch bend or the modulation wheel on any keyboard that doesn't include a full synth engine. Since the Electro is a sampler player they don't add these options. Now, with that said, they should've done it anyway! It could also be a way to entice more people to the Stage 3.
sorry but i'm having some problems with my nord electro 6 and my korg X5,the options 12 and 13 of the nord system settings must be setted to send and receive and transpose to MIDI out?thanks
Hi Jacopo. So, the transpose capability doesn't require page 12 - just page 13. Well, it also requires page 11 (the MIDI channel has to be set correctly). In other words, so long as you have the transpose out/in feature set correctly, adjusting the transpose on the controlling keyboard should transpose the slave keyboard. It has nothing to do with whether or not the program or CC settings are on or off. Keep in mind your Korg also has to understand transpose in order for this to work - but it should work like this out of the box. So to recap how to make this work with the following assumptions: *If you want the Nord to transpose the Korg and you are playing the Nord as the trigger* a. MIDI Out cable from the Nord to the MIDI in on the Korg b. Set the Electro to "transpose MIDI Out" in the system settings c. Make sure both keyboards are on the same MIDI channel. For the Nord, set the "Global" option NOT the External keyboard setting for this. *If you want the Korg to transpose the Nord and you are playing the Korg as the trigger* a. MIDI Out cable from the Korg to the MIDI in on the Nord b. Set the Electro to "transpose MIDI In" in the system settings c. Make sure both keyboards are on the same MIDI channel. For the Nord, set the "Global" option NOT the External keyboard setting for this. However, if you want to try out the External Keyboard settings/options, you can change the MIDI channel on the External setting and make sure you have the option on the Nord selected called "External to Low" (you find that under the keyboard split button) and then make sure any engines (Organ, Piano, Synth) you want to hear on the Nord are also set to the "low" zone. That's a little more complicated of a setup and one that is not good to explain in a comment like this. (Needs a video). I demonstrate this setup with the "Master Electro 6 Course" as well in great detail. Good luck and report back! Thanks.
Hi Axel. Sorry for the long delay on this response. So, a Nord Electro 6 can in fact drive MIDI into Logic Pro X triggering any of the built-in VST (Virtual Studio Technology) (i.e. virtual instruments). You would use the USB out from the Nord and directly and plug directly into the computer. Let me know if that answered the question or not. Thanks!
If you have a MIDI Router you can redirect the NE6s MIDI data (from the Global channel) to the ExternToLo channel and merge in the PB data. This way the NE6 thinks your playing an external keyboard but it's actually playing itself! Some guy posted on the Nord User Forum a DIY box with a PB joystick and programmed to do exactly that. I'm looking for an affordable MIDI Router that i can use with my mini joystick. Anybody know of any?
@@MyKeysToMusic I'd like to chat with you outside these comments about getting this solution working and perhaps you creating a RUclips video for everyone else to have this option. Can you share and email address, either here or perhaps as a PM in the Nord User Forum? The tiny joystick (url in another reply) isn't perfect but it's cheap, small, in a red box no less and has double sided 3m tape for mounting on your keyboard. You'll need a USB double female connector and one of the many USB to MIDI 5 pin din connector adapters into a MIDI Merge box. You'll also have to have the newer 3.5v version of their Merge box. Fingers crossed that the electro provides the required 3.5v at it's MIDI connectors. Regards, Stuart (WA5US)
@@WA5US Good idea, you can reach out to "MyKeysToMusic" on the Nord User Forum. www.norduserforum.com/member21628.html I'm quite backlogged at the moment, but let's start the conversation. I just purchased a set of these to see if we can merge wirelessly (Affiliate link): amzn.to/3wTcWOt
Hey Karan! Yes, this works with the Electro 5 as well. I've taken the liberty to copy the actual text directly from the Nord Electro 5 manual on this topic: *"RECEIVING MIDI ON PART UPPER IN MIDI UPPER RECEIVE MODE* In this scenario, the Nord Electro 5 is set up to receive MIDI on Part Upper, using an external keyboard to play its corresponding sound engine. Part lower is played with the keyboard of the Nord Electro 5, using one of the remaining sound engines. In this setup, Part lower will utilize the entire keyboard of the Nord Electro 5 and Part Upper can only be addressed through MIDI sent to the Upper split channel. Also, when playing Part Upper on the Upper split MIDI channel using an external keyboard, any received pitch bend messages will be applied to the sound engine of the Upper part." Hope that helps. So it works but only when the Electro is in this mode.
For $2,500.00 the Nord Electro 6D should come with a pitch bend and modulation wheel... My $70.00 iRig keyboard has pitch bend and modulation control... Every other keyboard I have has pitch bend and modulation control. What was Nord thinking??
Hi The Firmament. It's funny you mention iRig. I also have an iRig keyboard that has pitch bend and modulation wheel. And, I'm not entirely sure for the reasons to have these features absent on all the Electros. Perhaps it was done to further distinguish them from the Stage 3? But I tend to agree, of all the features to omit from an Electro, pitch bend and mod wheel would not be my first choice of something to omit.
@@MyKeysToMusic As an aging player I desire to use one light small do it all keyboard. I'm considering the 6D 61, but the lack of pitch bend/mod wheel might be a deal breaker. I don't want to carry a second keyboard to accomplish that task, it defeats the entire point of the purchase for me. Are you aware of anything that is only a pitchbend/mod wheel that might be velcro attached to the space on top of the 6D. I find it very petty of Nord, not to give the customer a critical component. I dislike rewarding such upsell tactics. Thank you for your wonderful tutorials. Nord, you're capable of better.
@@JosephSantangelo Thanks for your question. The lack of pitch bend has been a sore spot for a lot of people when it comes to the Nord Electro 6 and I agree, that if it had this one feature, it would be a more compelling buy for many - especially since just about every keyboard today comes with one. And to make matters worse, there seems to be a complete lack of any kind of "pitch bend stand-alone controller" anywhere that I can find. You could use a small iRig keys controller which does have a pitch bend wheel but it's not really ideal since all you really want is the pitch bend portion (not the keys). And then if you were to get a small keyboard controller, where would you put it exactly when you play? It's too small for a second-tier stand and too big to sit it on the left side of the Electro. So, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution to this issue. Even if you could get a pitch band controller lined up, then what Electric 6 only supports pitch bend under certain conditions (as outlined in the video above). Had you considered the Nord Stage 3 Compact? Maybe a used one?
Hi Marc, thanks for the great series. Wouldn't it be a great recurrent item to present ways of reproducing famous sounds from big songs on Nord keyboards? As a first challenge, I think of... the theremin in Good Vibrations :-). Cheers from Belgium.
@Joris De Winter Hello Joris! Thank you for your support and congratulations! Your idea made it to a video and I featured your comment/request as well. Check it out if you haven't already done so: ruclips.net/video/ngUiwvuMGMo/видео.html
Hola Dherlax! La función de subtítulos / traducción se activará más tarde hoy o mañana, la última. ¡Gracias por ver! English: Hi Dherlax! The captions/translation capability will be turned on later today or by tomorrow the latest. Thanks for watching!
Hola Dherlax! A partir de ayer, los subtítulos deberían funcionar ahora y debería poder seleccionar español. (English: Hi Dherlax! As of yesterday, the subtitles should work now and you should be able to select Spanish as one of the language choices.)
I just don’t understand how you make such an expensive synthesizer with NO pitch wheel😂it’s so weird. I think it’s because Nord wants to force everyone to drop 6 grand on a Stage 4
@jordanbrant6648 Hi Jordan! People have asked for years why Nord does the things it does, and there are a lot of good guesses as to why. I observe that the pitch stick, mod wheel, and morph capability all seem to be features they only put on a Nord keyboard if it has a "full synth" engine. For any keyboard that has a sample player only (like the Nord Piano, Electro, and Grand), you'll never see a pitch stick or a mod wheel. For better or for worse, they drew the line there. I agree with you that it's probably because they don't want to cannibalize the sales of their more expensive boards that feature a full synth. 🤷🏻♂
@Art Brauer Art, you are not the first person to have these feelings on the topic. I think there are a few things at play here (and I really don't know the actual reason - I'm just guessing). 1) By not including a pitch stick (or mod wheel), it provides a possible upgrade path to the Stage 3 and the like. (I think this is where you are coming from - that the decision to not include it was purely for marketing reasons). So, that could be one reason yes. 2) It could also be that Electro series doesn't have a full synth engine where including synth related controls like a pitch stick and especially a mod wheel, might seem a bit misplaced. In the case of the mod wheel, people will typically assign that to the filter cutoff. Well, the Electro doesn't have a knob for that or a way to adjust a filter cutoff at all really - at least not in the form of a knob. Staying with this line of thinking, Clavia puts pitch sticks and mod wheels on all their keyboards that also have a synth engine and that's where they appear to draw the line. That seems to be a hard and fast rule across the board with every keyboard they make. Now, in my opinion, the Electro series should have a pitch stick at the very least because the Electro line appears to be targeted to keyboard players looking to have a well-rounded board and who also may want the occasional lead sound where a pitch stick would be most handy. I can see why they don't also include a pitch stick for the Nord Piano 4 and the Nord Grand (both of which can play samples just like the Electro). With the Piano 4 and Grand, we clearly see these are aimed at a traditional pianist who might need the occasional pad or instrument layer but not necessarily will be going crazy with wild lead solos. But for the Electro, I think it's more of a gray area and a pitch stick should be included. SO many people have asked for this which is perhaps why this particular video had drawn a fair amount of attention. Perhaps Clavia had a tough time drawing the line where they did? In the end, I think what the public expects is that if they're going to pay good money for a board like this, it should at least come with a pitch stick regardless of the fact that it has a synth engine or not. Many samples in the Nord library would work perfectly fine with a pitch stick on the Electro. One such example is an electric guitar sample on my latest video using the Wave 2. There's no reason a sound like this wouldn't rock out on the Electro as well: ruclips.net/video/8OUD7RZoiEo/видео.html (Although this particular guitar sample is NOT available in the Nord Library, it is a good example where a pitch stick is essential).
You are not alone on your thoughts about this! I don't know all the details, but I would imagine it has something to do with "drawing the line" between an Electro and a Stage. And I believe that the line is further emphasized when you consider that everything they put a pitch bend stick and mod wheel on has a full synth engine. Mod wheels tend to adjust filter cut offs/vibrato and pitch sticks tend to adjust pitch bend. These features are all very "synthy". So, if a Nord keyboard doesn't have a full synth engine (like the Electros, the Pianos, and the Grand), it doesn't make the cut to have a stick or wheel. Now, perhaps that's still a feable excuse, but it's likely the logic behind the decision. And again, I don't have any proof of this one way or another. This is something people tend to be critical about - as you can imagine and this is my theory on the topic.
@@MyKeysToMusic well dear Sir your sincere thoughts on the subject are greatly appreciated by almost every musician here i assume, however these features shouldn't be that expensive, and they are also good help on adjusting the added effect (vibrato tremolo drive etc) or adjusting the pad layer beneath, or some EQ, modwheel can do practically anything, even clavinet wah amount. Majority of synth users are more than glad to have good fat synth presets, stage performers want them to sound good in the mix, synth engine tweak is not always the goal. Those musicians generally got other gear for this, analog stuff. Low Weight can be one good feature of electros, only this even can sell electros instead of other stage keyboards. They are refering to "seamless transitions" as an unbelievable new technology, I mean come on for gods sake. (crossfade on splits is a lovely idea btw.)
@@ceyhanyzc You make excellent pounts all around. Unfort;unately we may never find out exactly why these features (and yes, most would call them basic and bare minimum) are not included on the Electros. There is a mountain of people who wish this did include these features and are critical that they haven't included these features. When I got my first Electro 3, I was also disappointed (and slightly upset) that there was no pitch stick to be found since every single keyboard I ever owned had one from 1983 onwards from the most basic to the most advanced. Then again, at the same time every digital piano I ever owned never had a pitch stick or a mod wheel - nor did I ever expect it to. So perhaps they consider the Electros a form of a "portal digital piano" with the ability to play samples that sometimes play a synth role as a frienge benefit? In many ways I wish I had the inside knowledge of why they do what they do. But then again, I'm kind of happy to be an outsider because I can speak candidly about the features from an owner's stand point without fear of what that might do to a formal relationship with them. In any case, it's good to talk these things out and if and when we're asked how they can improve things, ideas like this will be at the top of the list!
Thank you very much ! Your video was the solution for my actual problem.
@wolfgangtebeek5754 Hello Wolfgang! Glad to hear that the video provided a solution!
Tried it, gave up when I first got my electro 6. Didn’t see it in the manual then saw your video months later and got it to work with my nord and midi board 🤩thank you 🙌🏾
@Ao_drizzy I love stories like this! Thanks for sharing it and happy you got it to work now.
Love it, so you can control an external synth with the NE6 on a split zone and play piano on the other ? No ?
@loicguillemain8305 Hello Loïc, So, the NE6 can only do half of what you are looking for:
- Yes, the Nord Electro 6 can be split. And yes, you can assign a piano, organ or Synth from the Electro to play in one zone or the other.
- No, the unused split cannot be dedicated to an external keyboard. In other words, any key you play from either zone of the Electro will trigger the external keyboard regardless if you split the keyboard or not.
The kind of functionality I think you are describing here is available on the Nord Stage products via their "Extern" options, whereby you can split the keyboard and assign that split to an external keyboard (allowing you to play the other side of the split from the Nord itself). This provides complete separation.
Pro Tip: You could incorporate a MIDI router/filter box that would artificially split your NE6 ahead of it reaching the external keyboard. This will let you drop all notes in that part of the split dedicated to the Nord sounds. However, I say this with some caution as you may consider this an introduction of "monkey business." But it can be done if you don't mind the extra effort and the extra box as part of your setup. Such a box that would work for this from Blokas: blokas.io/midihub/
Absolutely killer video! Nord should hire you for all demos
Thanks Akiba Davis!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Finally a solution! I really DID give up on being able to use pitch bend on my Electro 6D. This helped so much!!!!! And yes, I am very pleasantly surprised!🤗
@iamgrabthelegacy Glad you found me and the video! Continue to enjoy your Nord Electro 6. Also, you can find free and paid courses on my main website if you want to dive deeper into the Electro 6 or Sampling: www.MyKeysToMusic.com
Hi Marc! Would this work with the Nord Grand as well?
Hello @Harry Morgan Unfortunately, no. The pitch bend option enabling control from an external keyboard has to be pre-built into the Nord keyboard to accept this. On the Nord Electro 5 and 6, for example, there is an option called "External to Low" which allows an external keyboard to play the sound engines assigned to the low parts. At the same time, this configuration actually allows the external pitch bend to have control over the Electro. The Nord Grand, on the other hand, has no such "External to Low" capability so, therefore, no pitch bend capability either. Sorry! Great question!
Great job Mark. Yes I discovered this as well. You hit on all the key points and the manual is exceptionally lame in describing this very useful feature. Not only is the feature useful for pitch bend but it gives the player more keyboard real estate to work with. Once Ext keyboard to Lo is selected, the split point is virtually the second keyboard. You can no longer cut the E6 keyboard into two zones, it's simply one of the two zones. This is great if you have an 88 weighted key controller to trigger the piano engine while the E6 is left to sound the synth and organ engines but any combination is valid. And yes, you can use the pitch bend with the piano. Surprising to me that Nord is not selling this feature more on their website. Again, excellent video!
Thanks for your comment here Lou! Also, appreciate the added insight with how the Extern to Low feature expands the real estate and split options aspects. Perhaps this feature would make a good video on its own down the road. Thanks for your support and for watching! - Marc
@@MyKeysToMusic Also Mark, you can use this feature so that the organ model will work with a lower manual. The organ is the only engine that can be accessed from two keyboards simultaneously. You set it up by pressing the dual organ switch then select the Ext Keyboard to Lo. The Edit Manual button will determine what organ parameters will work with each manual - keyboard. It's the same as when you split the organ to have lower manual on the left and upper on the right. Now you can do it with two keyboards. Btw, on my older Electro 3, the only split allowed was within the organ and you could use an external keyboard as well, but only the organ. I think I'm seeing a new video in your future :)
Hi Lou. This would in fact make a great video. Taking notes...putting it on the list. Many thanks!
Do I have to have both keyboards hooked up to a computer for this to work? Or does the external keyboard plugged into the Nord with midi quite literally just become an extension of the Nord itself? Which keyboard to you use for the audio out? I’m pretty new to all of this, I just jumped from a Nord electro 3 to a 6D.
Hello Alex! Congrats on your Electro 6! That's a big upgrade for sure. So, you don't need a computer to make the pitch bend work UNLESS you are using a keyboard controller that doesn't have a traditional MIDI capability. By traditional, I mean a "5-pin DIN" output like you have on the Electro 3 and 6. If you're using one of the newer (and, dare I say, less expensive) controllers, often they don't include a traditional 5 Pin MIDI out because not everyone needs that. Instead, they include just a typical USB out (with the assumption that the musician is going to be only using it to control a computer, not an external keyboard like a Nord Electro 6). So, if that's the case here, you have the following options:
A. Purchase a keyboard controller (or another keyboard) with a traditional MIDI out and use that to control the pitch bend on your Electro 6.
B. Use your existing controller and go from the USB out to a "USB" host box, then from the box to the Electro 6. Here is an example of a host box: - CAMOLA USB MIDI Host Box USB to MIDI Converter MIDI Interface: amzn.to/3hbkkwL (affiliate link)
C. Use a computer and have the MIDI pass through to your Nord 6 and have it act as the USB host. This is the harder setup and involves more monkey business, and if you're not already a super techie, then I wouldn't go in this direction.
‼Now, with all that said, another thing to really pay attention to here is the fact that you actually have to be playing the external keyboard in order for this to work. In other words, you cannot play the Electro 6 keys and use the pitch bend from the controller. It doesn't work like that. You actually have to play the keys on the controller AND play with the pitch bend on the controller for this to work. The entire performance has to happen on the controller keyboard.
Good luck with your new baby and check out my website for free and paid courses for your Electro 6. - 🎹
@@MyKeysToMusic Gotcha!! and thank you for the detailed response! Itried it out with my 6D hooked up to my little Roland JD-Xi! It Worked! Not quite sure how im gonna incorporate this into my live performances yet, but its a nifty thing to know!! Side note! do you happen to know the factory settings for that "Midi Chan Global" page in the settings? I adjusted the numbers exactly as yours are in the video, but forgot to jot down what it was prior to changing the settings...
@@alexkogut9335 Sorry for the long delay in this response here. I believe the Nord boards use channel 1 for global factory settings, and all the other advanced settings are generally set to "off." To know for sure, you'd have to reset to factory settings. 😪
Hi Marc! That changes everything. What's about rotary function via midi? I'm thinking about an external diy box like the half moon switch. A combination of rotary control, pitch and mod stick. I should look for a used electro 6. Btw has the electro 6D the same fantastic keybed like the wave 2 except after touch of course
Hello @Reiner Münch Yes you have basic control of the rotary speaker control via MIDI as an option baked into the keyboard's capabilities.
In particular, rotary speed (fast/slow) is available. Then you should have MIDI control over the "drive" amount found in that same area of effects where the rotary effect is located on the Electro. Since the Electro 6 has the half-moon option, I'm quite sure you could go third-party on this but it would have to be configured/programmed. Be aware however that if you go in the direction of a homemade mod wheel, you are going to be disappointed with what this can do. Typically people want to use a mod wheel to adjust frequency cutoff and/or vibrato rate and/or depth. None of these options are available on the Electro 6 that work in the same way as a traditional synth. Just warning you now before you get too excited about the mod wheel.
Yes, the keyboard/keybed on the Electro is very similar to the Wave 2 in the way that it feels (semi-weighted waterfall). I can't tell the difference. And you're right, the Wave 2 has aftertouch absent on the Electro 6. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, don't hesitate.
@@MyKeysToMusic thanks a lot. I'll keep it in mind. First I'm going to get a NE6 and check the possibilities. May I find some more controls I want direct access to. The mod control isn't the holy grail but pitch has a special effect to realistic instruments like piano and organ if it's not used to often. Currently in Germany is no affordable keyboard available and the price for a new one increased in the last months. I have to be patient
@@reinermunch5159 Yes. I noticed that prices went up. It must have to do with supply/demand and parts contraint too perhaps. In addition, I think all the baby boomers are wanting to plays keys in their retirement or something haha! Actually, music is a perfect thing to take up in the world we live in today.
Awesome thank you!
Happy to do it!
Excellent. Thank you so much. Opens up a whole raft of useable synth downloads for me. Shame Nord just don't add a pitch controller. Nord, please put one on Electro 7!
Hi,
I downloaded the pitch Bend Pro app, I am using the WIDI Master wireless MIDI receiver, but so far I cannot make the pitch bend function work. The Nord Electro 6 keyboard does see it because the Midi light (next to the List/Value knob) does light up when I use the pitch bend on the app, but again it does not pitch bend the note. I have the Widi master connected on the out and into the the Midi In. Then I have it set on Ch1 Global and Ch16 Ext Kb. Do I need something else to make this work? I'm stuck. Thanks in advance.
@threedifferentones4072 Hey ThreeDifferentOnes - sorry for the delay on this. So, you are in the right ballpark, but you're missing a vital ingredient. I assume you are playing the Electro and hoping that the phone will bend the notes. It doesn't work like that exactly. For the Electro to bend anything, the originating keys have to be triggered externally from another keyboard altogether. In other words, you can't play the Electro and bend the pitch at the same time (as I indicated in the video). You can, however, play an external keyboard and bend the pitch from the External keyboard. Now, you may already see this as a deal-breaker and that is understandable.
If, however, you want to pursue this further (and I say this with a big amount of caution because this solution is borderline not feasible). But if you must, I made another video explaining how all this could work and event included the pitch bend app. Perhaps you've already seen this one and if you have, you'll need a MIDI filter box such as the one used (midihub) in this video: ruclips.net/video/cQD6X1kVDr8/видео.htmlfeature=shared
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I totally see your point. The only reason I’m pursuing the app option is only because I just got a gig where there’s literally only one 30 second solo, in only one song (out of the entire set) where I need to just bend a few notes.
Is there another option for the MIDI hub? Or can I use any other midi interface?
Also, in the video you mentioned something about using the pitch bend app “in conjunction” with Midi Wrench? More info on this would be very helpful. Thank you again.
@@threedifferentones4072 The MIDI Wrench software was needed back in the day when people were having issues connecting Bluetooth to their wireless MIDI devices. I think you probably don't need that piece of software anymore for most things at this point.
There may be other options other than the MIDI hub, but none of them are any easier to configure and I don't have first-hand experience to lead you to the promosed land. But in theory, yes you could re-route MIDI via hardware or software and pull this off.
Now, in putting more thought into this, you may be better off buying a low-cost MIDI controller with a basic pitch bend and attacking things from this angle. Since you have an Electro 6 already, you may benefit by getting a controller that can also arpeggiate for some added benefits (besides just pitch bend). Take for example, this solution: ruclips.net/video/Uct-VVwS2KY/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Awesome explanation.
@climbthatmountain Thank you and thanks for watching!
It would make my day if you were to recreate famous organ patches on the stage 3 like the organ on Yes's Roundabout and more specifically, Foreplay by Boston, i have been looking for the settings forever and you seem like the perfect channel for this! Thanks for reading.
Terrific Idea Fiddly Posh! I'll add it to the list. Good song choices too. The ideas are stacking up in the queue a bit (or maybe more than a bit) ahead of my actual schedule/capabilities haha. Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing in the big scheme of things. Thanks for your input on this. By the way, if you should stumble upon those settings ahead of any such video I do here, do report it here on this comment if you please. Thanks for watching!
@@MyKeysToMusic You got it, i'll see what i find. Thanks!
I have a n m audio oxygen
Has pitch bend but only usb out
How do I get into the nord 6?
@kerrycressman8625 You are going to need a USB MIDI Host box. Something like this will do the trick (affiliate link): - CAMOLA USB MIDI Host Box USB to MIDI Converter MIDI Interface: amzn.to/3hbkkwL
Hi marc, I tried this with a Alesis vortex wireless 2 (keytar) but it does not work. If I use the bender the midi light lights up, so it is receiving the signal, but there is no pitchbend happening. I set global midi to “Off” and ExtKb to “2”. What could be the problem? Could this have something to do with the software version (Mine uses v2.12)Thanks in advance.
@tim55960 Hey Tim! Well, as luck would have it, I, too, own an Alesis Wireless Vortex 2. I tried it just now, and everything seems to work! Let's triple-check the following steps:
1) Be sure you know which MIDI channel the Alesis is sending out on. Mine was set to channel 2 (likely from the last time I configured it). Also be aware that the Alesis can send pitch bend on a different channel than the notes - so you may have a simple issue whereby your MIDI for pitch bend isn't matching that of step 3 below.
2) In the Electro MIDI Settings, turn the Global to off or a channel that is NOT the same as the Alesis.
3) In the Electro MIDI settings, turn the ExtKb MIDI to the same channel as the Alesis.
4) Put the Electro into "Extern to Low" mode
5) Turn your Synth engine on and set it to the LOW zone only.
Your pitch bend should work.
Things to be aware of:
a. Global MIDI doesn't support pitch bend in any capacity. External to Low is the only way this works.
b. The only engine that supports pitch bend is the synth engine. This won't work for Piano or Organ (no matter how you set it up).
My Nord Electro is running OS v2.64 and I believe my Alesis is running version 1.1.5
Good luck!
@@MyKeysToMusic thankyou very much! The problem was indeed the channel on which the pitchbend was send. I changed it and it works. Again thankyou!
@@tim55960 Hey Tim! I am so happy to hear you got all this sorted out. Well done!
Holy @#$%^. THANK YOU! I've spent years trying to get pitch bend to work using my Roland Ax Edge Keytar - thought I would need to replace my Electro 6 with a Nord Stage 4. HOW 'BOUT recieving mod wheel from an excternal keyboard?
@polibop I'm Glad you got your pitch bend up and running! Unfortunately, there is no way (and I've tried numerous things) to activate a mod-wheel effect. The Electro doesn't have the ability to process those signals in the traditional way. Typically, one would want the mod wheel to adjust the frequency cutoff or vibrato, neither of which the Nord Electro can process as the engine doesn't have options for those adjustments. However, you could assign the Mod wheel from your external keyboard to adjust selected CC#s via MIDI. Yet, the items on that list to change would not act in the way that you're expecting (like a traditional mod wheel). For example, if you wanted to, you could have the mod wheel assigned to a single drawbar in the organ engine or perhaps adjust one of the effects (let's say tremolo). So you can do certain things, but likely not exactly what you're expecting. And this assumes that your external keyboard has the ability to override the CC# of the mod wheel itself. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if the CC# #s work on the "Extern to Low" setting in the first place; they may only be available via the Global channel. So, I'm afraid there are not many options out of the box for mod wheel and pitch bend at the same time.
For a complete list of CC#s for your Electro, consult the manual in the "MIDI Controller List" section towards the end. The things on this list can be adjusted via the Global channel and assigned via your External board. However, you'd lose the ability to do pitch bend the moment you connect via the Global channel, and we're right back to square one.
If you discover something along the way, be sure to share!
Thanks a lot! I'm even further wondering if the sound sliding function could possibly work on electrod 6
@shipy0915 Obviously, there is nothing built-in on the Nord Electro 6 to offer Glide/Glissando which is the pitch sliding between notes. You do see this feature on the Nord synth and the Nord Stage models. You even see this feature show up on the very latest Nord Piano 5 offering! However, the Electro family at this time doesn't offer this feature. The only thing I can think of is to use something like a MIDIHub and program it to slide between notes. However, this would be fairly complex/expensive (not feasible?) way to do this. In other words, you may find that it ends up being a lot of monkey business if you try to incorporate a MIDIHub and spoof the Electro into thinking it can actually play glide between notes. 😄
I do have a video here explaining what this special hub is and how it works. I have yet to try it to imitate glide however: ruclips.net/video/cQD6X1kVDr8/видео.htmlfeature=shared I've read that imitating glide via MIDI is theoretically possible. But again, you might find it easier just to go out and buy a Nord Lead A1 which is going to be 1000 times easier and better in the end. (Granted, this it not a cheap solution either!!) So, there doesn't seem to be easy answer to your question and I don't know of a magic wand for this I'm afraid.
Thank you so much!! Great explanation 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Glad you like it!
Hi Marc, Good work around, 6d really needs a pitch wheel...any way we could hook up a mobile phone running a mod wheel app? iPhone adapter for the midi connection
Went with the electro for its small footprint and Hammond keys.
I have an sk2 Hammond but it's big and them piano sounds are awful, love the 6d and the SK 2 is on shaky ground!
Hello @Kaine Joyes sorry for the delay in this response. I LOVE this idea. However, there is no way to incorporate a pitch bend app with the Electro 6. The reason for this is that the notes you play also have to come from the external device. (In other words, you can't play the Nord keyboard and use an external pitch bend. It only works if you also play the external keyboard AND also use that same keyboard's pitch bend (as shown in the video above). I did find one app that can do pitch bend with the phone. However, you can't use it unless the app also had keys to play and send the accompanying MIDI notes. The idea is brilliant but unfortunately, a no go. 😢 By the way, the pitch bend app I experimented with can be found here: apps.apple.com/us/app/pitch-bend-smart-controller/id1539228332?platform=iphone
Is it possible to use the modulation function or just the pitch bend?
Hello @AÉCIO LIMA Unfortunately, it only works with the pitch bend. The mod wheel doesn't respond.
Hello Marc, very interesting video, just what i was looking for but unfortunately, i can't get the same effect to work on my Emu Proteus 2000.
I'm using a Korg minilogue as my master keyboard and an Akai midi patchbay to connect four midi instruments.
The pitchbend stick on the minilogue sends pitch messages to all of the instuments except the Proteus.
I checked the manual and looked for cc numbers for pitchbend online but no joy, it seems there is no number as such, you need to use an undefined number, which i'm rather puzzled about.
Anyway, i thought if anyone could help, you could.
Take care Marc and a Happy new year to you.
Hello George! Happy New Year! Thanks for your comment here and your question. I appreciate that fact that you are trusting me to know the answer to this. Did you already try connecting the Korg directly to the Proteus yet? I would be very surprised if the Proteus didn't understand the basic pitch bend commands out of the box from one to the other. Does the Proteus readily accept MIDI note data from the Korg? Like you've observed, the pitch bend commands are somewhat universal being specified in the MIDI 1.0 specification (which is why it works fine for the 3 other boards). Next, check to see that the Proteus is set to accept CC commands. Often keyboards don't have this on by default accepting MIDI note data but not other things like pitch bend and mod wheel. Good luck and report back your findings if you can.
@@MyKeysToMusic thanks for your swift reply Marc.
Might i just mention that the Proteus is a 19" rack module and yes, it responds to pretty much all midi commands, although the edit mode can be quite deep.
Over the last 20 years, it's been part of the studio set-up towards the production of over 30 albums for various artists but i'll be honest, i've never really took much notice on whether pitch bend was used...or not.
Prior to the Minilogue, a CS1x was used as the master but again, can't really remember if the pitch bend was used.
I'll try bypassing the patchbay and going direct from the master to the Proteus in the next few days and let you know how it went.
Thanks again Marc. 😉
@@georgekempson670 Great let me know how it goes!
Hi Marc! Thank you for your great work in this channel. Question: Can you use Korg Minilogue XD as a pitch stick/keyboard & ARPEGGIATOR of the synth sound from Nord Electro 6 in this scenario ? Is Nord Electro 6 receiving all the midi signal from an external device in this mode (eg. aftertouch/velocity/transposition etc) (except modulation) ? Would you say that Korg Minilogue XD & Nord Electro 6 combo makes up for all the Nord Stage 3 features combined ? Marek
Hi Marek! Thanks for your question and apologize for the delay on the response. Unfortunately, the arpeggiator of the Minilogue XD cannot be used to trigger notes on the Nord Electro 6. This has more to do with the way the arpeggiator works on the XD and less to do with any kind of limitation on the NE6 itself. The Nord Electro is receiving all MIDI signals/channels as defined in the manual of the Nord. Things like drawbars amounts and such can be controlled externally - although the XD itself is not specifically a controller in the traditional sense so it would not make a good example of that. Moving up and down on the XD controller doesn't influence the modulation in any way either.
Would I say that the Korg Minilogue XD and Nord Electro 6 combo makes up for all the Nord Stage 3 features? No, I don't think it does at all. And this is sort of an apples/oranges type of comparison. Now from a total price standpoint, I think you are way ahead with the combo so perhaps that makes up for some of the deficiencies you'd lose by not having a single Stage 3.
*Here is a starting list of things you'd be missing by going the combo route versus a single Stage 3:*
1) Aftertouch (only supplied by the NS3)
2) Ability to assign morphing features to many different features (via the Wheel, Pedal, and AfterTouch)
3) Polyphony. The Korg only has 4 voice - the NS3 has 34
4) Keyboard Size. The Korg has less keys and they are smaller keys as well (for some that's an advantage - but for most, it's not).
5) You would only need a single-tier keyboard stand
6) Song Mode: A very nice feature on the NS3
7) Multiple panels for 6 independent sound engines and a variety of split options
8) A nice "Extern" keyboard function to use the NS3 as a basic keyboard controller for future expansion.
9) Other (I'm sure I'm missing about a half dozen other features that don't come to mind at the moment).
*What would you gain by having the combo?*
1) Less price - and perhaps this is the biggest consideration and possible deal maker.
2) Analog Synth. The Korg is a true analog synth and there is a certain charm/appeal to that.
3) The Korg has add'l features/options that the Stage does not such as a 16-step sequencer and oscillator options such as decimator as well as add'l LFO options. But again, this is sort of apples/oranges.
Hope all this helps get you started. Or perhaps it just makes the decision even harder!
My Keys To Music Hi Marc! Thank you for very detailed answer. I appreciate that you focus on knowledge and sharing oppose to many millenial’s vlogs which focus on themselves. Back to Nord. I am actually in the market fighting between electro 6 and stage 3. On the one hand I can see all the additional features of NS3 which make it supperior over NE6. However I cannot still justify the price tag difference. I study thoroughly your videos. At the end I think that you can achieve the same thing either with combo (NE6& something with pitchband, arpegiator and maybe analog synthesis, even your ipad with ext keyboard) as with NS3. But then there is a hassle with different instruments, cables, setting up and learning curve. NS3 provides those morthing capabilities you mentioned and that’s probably the main reason I tend to go in NS3 direction over NE6 (but the price is a killer). And at the end of the day the question comes back: is it worth the hassle when you can get it in one perfect package of NS3 and be future proof with this instrument? I think the perfect live act combo would be NS3 with an ipad. Pity that NS3 does not have an audio interface inside (as yamaha cp for instance). However I would grately appreciate if you could do a thorough video about Electro 6 midi capabilities as a masterkeyboard and as a slave. That would be helpful for guys like me.
@@marekwinski8854 I've been thinking of doing a "MIDI" capabilities video at some point discussing some of these subjects you mention because the topic comes up fairly often. I'll put some more thought into that and add it to the list as a possibility. Thanks for the details on your decision-making process thus far. It's not easy to decide. You could also consider a used Stage 3 from www.reverb.com to lesson the costs too or embark on a finance/payment plan through a company like Sweetwater Sound and pay over time.
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you Marc!
@@MyKeysToMusic Yes, Greetings from Mexico again. I have been enjoying my Electro 6D so much. I was able to download a full NL2X library on my Electro, so now I have all those crazy pads and synths; however, I really want to know those "midi slave capabilities", for example, you have prooved that it supports pitchbend, but what about other knobs that little synthesizers may have like "Cutoffs", even "Filters" hahaha, I know I'm trying to make a NS3 out of this, but I agree with having a combo since price is really a deal breaker. But man, some of these NL2X samples are really really good and are just missing a few knobs there to make something super awesome. Would really like to see if your Electro can respond to your Korg knobs. Have a nice day everyone!
Hi Marc, thnks for your really informative videos....just a quick question...if I use an external keyboard to control the nord electro 6D...(rd 700nx)...would the portamento controls on the rd 700nx enable portamento on the nord electro....JUST A LONG SHOT!!
Hello @Paul Anthony Shaw Your heart is in the right place but unfortunately, this long-shot didn't cross the finish line. 😞. There is no such thing as portamento on a Nord Electro even if it's triggered from another keyboard that has portamento. Sorry, this kind of functionality is typically reserved for the synth family when it comes to Nord (Stage, Wave, Lead). But gosh, I love the idea. I mean, we have pitch pend, why not portamento right? They gave us the inch, but we want the yard! Love the out of the box thinking here though... Thanks for your question and for watching... 👍🏼
Cheers Marc...knew it was a long shot!!!!...pretty sure I will get something out of my jupiter 50...or maybe even rd 700nx...just wanted to cut down on gear...👍👍
@@shawy62 "Cut down on the gear" - I understand exactly what you are saying. I used to bring two keyboards and a sound module to every gig. I'm now down to two keyboards as the Stage 3 took over for my sound module. I find that with the Electro 6 and the Stage 3, I'm covered for just about everything (at least for playing originals) - covers, on the other hand, might be a different story.
Question please Marc, If you have a split point say Piano on the left and synth on the right, can you assign the sustain foot pedal to only sustain the left hand part of the split ? so you can sustain the chords with your left hand and solo with your right ?
@Stacy Carras Yes Stacey this is no problem at all. The Nord Electro series (as well as the Stage series) offers the option to have independent sustain pedal assignment per engine. So, you could easily have the piano sustain on the left side of the split while you solo with the synth on the right side minus the sustain. Incidentally, this brings up the nifty option of being able to sustain the organ engine as well. Using sustain with a B3 is not a traditional use for it I don't believe, but with the Nord keyboards you can. Also, for those who are watching this comment with a close eye, you'll note that, unlike the Electro and Stage line, the Wave 2 does NOT have independent sustain capability per layer - it's either all sustained or all not sustained. However, with this said, the Wave 2 is designed more as a performance synthesizer with emphasis on sound creation/soundscape creativity. So, the Wave 2 has a different use-case altogether for the most part. However, I'd still love it if you could have independent sustain by layer for the Wave 2 - but that is a story for another day. Hope that helps clarify things! 🎼
Yess!! Thank you! I have been trying to do this so thank you!! 😊😊)
Hey Ben! Yes, I was pretty excited myself after sitting down and finally getting to this one. In fact, a person left a comment calling this out yesterday on an older video I had done comparing the Electro 6 with the Nord Stage 3. On that older video (ruclips.net/video/av3GxXakeaM/видео.html), I made the claim that this was impossible. Well, last night, I was able to edit and erase that part of the older video directly on RUclips thereby removing that claim and the now outdated info. So, I'm happy to have this issue out in the open so we can all move on knowing that our Electro can imitate crazy electric guitars as needed and other pitch bend related performances. Thanks!
You saved my butt with this video!! I am traveling from the U.S. to Spain for some gigs, and all I could check on my flight was my Electro, but I had about 3 or 4 synth solos during the show! They sounded pretty lackluster with the electro's limited, sample-based synth engine, but after I saw this video, I rented a 49-key controller from a local rental place, and applied the tips from this video, and the pitch bend wheel really helped to liven them up and give them some life.
Now here's my question: Is there a way to do this with JUST an external midi pitch bend device? In other words, can I accomplish pitch bend and still play the keys on the my Electro's key bed?
Hi Jason. Thanks so much for sharing your story and it's very cool that the video got you to rent a 49-key controller to pull of some pitch bend for the shows!
About your question: I've been hunting high and low for a pitch bend only solution and I have yet to find one. The closest thing I found was this: amzn.to/2Nuil78 (affiliate link) but it would still require some form of USB host (like a computer or device) to transmit the MIDI into the Nord. So, that's not ideal. But if that device had a standard MIDI port, that would do the trick.
@@MyKeysToMusic Im also looking for the same thing (standalone pitch bend). After checking some forums, some guys mentioned the old Yamaha MCS2. But apart from the pitch bend feature, does the electro also receive modulation wheel?
Another thing i saw was people talking about a Doepfer unit. But i guess you have to understand a thing or two more about the voltage to midi transformation to make it work properly. Link:
www.doepfer.de/we.htm
@@mrflajs To my knowledge and from the last time I tested it, I don't believe the Electro 6 can receive mod wheel requests - just pitch bend and only with the above situation. However, in the MIDI specification for the Electro, in the Sample./Synth area, you CAN control the filter on CC #73. So maybe that would work after all if your controller can assign its wheel to #73. But it would just adjust the filter and not necessarily oscillate the pitch itself which is sometimes what these wheels do. After reviewing the Doepfer unit, it looks way too complicated for a typical setup. That's more of an electronics kit for a true electrical/hobbyist/sound/hardware engineer type (of which I am not). If anything comes up, I'll report back to this thread for sure!
Thanks, Mark. Just thinking this concept through for my own gigging set up. If I have some song patches that required this configuration (with the external keyboard set as Lo), but others that don't, will the midi configuration settings be assigned at program level and change as I move between songs?
Hi Mike. Thanks for your question. So, yes, you should have no problem storing the programs on your Nord Electro with either the "Extern to Low" being set to on or off. That way, as you move between songs, that preference comes with the program. In other words, the Extern to Low button is not a universal button, it's either on or off and saved with the program itself. (I assume that is the good news you are looking for). Now, the MIDI settings themselves ARE universal. That means that your Extern MIDI channel is set once and used by every program. Again, this is typically what a musician wants in the setup so this should work the way you are hoping. There have been several requests to deeply explore this feature more and talk about all the different aspects, features, and functions of the Extern to low and using MIDI in general etc. So, ideas are in the works for another video.
Hi, does this also work with nord electro 3?
Hello @Arjan C I just referred to the MIDI implementation chart in the manual for the Nord Electro 3 and unfortunately, there is no support for Pitch Bend via MIDI. I checked the Electro 4 manual too and still no luck. They started supporting limited pitch bend with the Electro 5 on up. Hope that helps confirm things!
@@MyKeysToMusic thank you for the answer!
@@arjancornelissen7606 Happy to help. Good luck out there!
Very good, as always!!!
Thanks, Deadpaul! Appreciate you stopping by.
Thats super cool !, thanks for sharing, and for all the good work you're doing for all of us, have you ever tried using a Line6 HX stomp to control some of the Electro or Stage models via midi ? :), it would be really cool if it was possible to assign say, the depth and rate of a Rhodes patch to external knobs via an external device with midi.
@Stacey Carras - check out my answer in the other video about this. Hey, thanks for sending the info about the Line 5 Stomp. That looks like a really slick pedal and it has inputs for an expression pedal as well. It also has a small footprint but a bit pricer than some of the other programmable MIDI pedals. Then again, it looks like it includes a LOT of features in one compact design.
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you Marc :)
Bonjour Marc, Merci pour les conseils pour le pitch bend sur Nord 6d que je possède avec un Korg arrangeur Pa 1000. J'ai réussi à piloter les sons du N6D avec le pitch bend à partir du Korg. tout fonctionne parfaitement. Cependant quand je fais cette programmation, je ne peux plus avoir accès à l'ensemble de l'arrangeur Korg (sons, styles, rhytmes etc..) Je pense que c'est normal mais ayant un doute je préfère demander au cas ou une solution serait envisageable. Merci d'avance
Bonjour @Didier VEAU
Hmm, c'est très étrange que votre Korg limite ses fonctionnalités simplement parce que vous utilisez le Pitch Bend. Peut-être que cela a à voir avec le comportement du Korg lorsqu'il envoie du MIDI ou contrôle d'autres claviers ?
À ce stade, j'essaierais d'informer un expert Korg PA 1000 et de poser la même question pour voir s'il y a quelque chose d'évident ou non.
J'ai aussi regardé les choses dans le manuel de Korg et il n'y a aucune mention de ce comportement étrange.
Je vous souhaite bonne chance avec la solution. Vous pouvez également contacter directement Korg à ce stade.
@@MyKeysToMusic Merci de votre réponse Marc, je pense que je n'ai certainement pas bien configuré le Korg pa et je vais selon votre conseil voir avec Korg.
@@didierveau354 Excellent! Bonne chance!
Hi Marc. This ws also a very nice help with my Nord Electro 6. But now I have another problem, where I cannot find any solution for it. I work with a Korg Pa4x and a Nord Electro 6. In my Korg I have in my songbook everything where I use The Nord with (very much indeed) programmed that The Nord direct goes to the program that I use with a song (style). That works perfect, but...... when I have programmed The Nord for a particular song where I use a split (I use different split point with different programs). The Nord always goes automatic to the most left split point. I have searched a lot to find any solution for this problem, but I can't find anything. You are my last hope!! Do you know a solution for this?
Thanks very much and all the best for 2022, John
Hello @John Verschuren Hmm, I'm not able to duplicate this at all. When I have an external keyboard change programs on my Electro, the pre-defined split point (that I saved with the program on the Nord) maintains the split exactly where I saved it. Is it possible to make a video for this to show me or perhaps write down the exact steps here?
@@MyKeysToMusic Hi Marc, you don't believe it, but when I just put on the Korg and the Nord and I would make a film for you, everything worked well. I don't know why or how, but it works perfect. Sorry for your time in this but I am very happy now.
All the best to you and your family, John
@@jovers70 Sorry or my delayed reponse here (the holidays got the best of my time). So happy to hear you got it to work! Continue to enjoy your keyboards 😉 🎹
amazing video
Thank you Ronald!
Hey Marc,
Love your videos! A quick question: will the pitch bend signal continue through the nord electro into your daw? I ask because I’d like to use my electro 6 as my master midi controller but no pitch bend!
Thanks so much,
Keelan
Hello Keelan!
So glad you like the videos and thanks for your comment/question today.
So, when you are using an external keyboard plugged into an Electro 6, NONE of the MIDI signals are passed through on to the DAW. Now, when it comes to audio, of course, anything you hear from the Electro 6 as a sound source will transfer to GarageBand as you'd expect. But, when it comes to MIDI, none of it gets transferred or "passed through" into the DAW. Hope that answers your question if I'm understanding it correctly and if not, ask again another way.
Marc, Sad to hear that. I might try adding a second small midi controller with pitch bend and combing the signal. You totally answered my question, thanks for your time.
I agree. They really clip the wings on these particular features (limited pitch bend options and no MIDI thru) for some reason. Perhaps MIDI implementation is not their primary focus and/or perhaps they need to reserve these features for the Stage 3. Good luck!
Excelente explicação!👏👏👏
Thank you!
Hi - trank you very much - when I set the Organ on „up“ she also bends with the Wheel from my KX 88 the piano-section don‘t and the Synth-section also don‘t bend, if I set it on Upper Manual - why the Organ bends ? I cant‘r stop this ...you‘ve got an idea?
@Christian-O. Hille Thank you for your question. You may have missed a critical step in the setup. What you are experiencing may happen if you have your Global MIDI channel on the same channel as the External channel (within your Nord system settings). Make sure you set your Global MIDI channel to OFF or use a DIFFERENT MIDI channel than what you have set for your External keyboard channel. Hope that helps! Please report back if you can.
Wow, thanks for this!
A pleasure!
If I don’t have other keyboard, Can I use the iPad?? For Some app??
Hello @Minhoca Kurzweil Great question here and I had to explore it a bit more. So, I think the answer is "yes" you could use an iPad so long as the application you use would send MIDI note data and pitch bend data. Not all apps do this. For example, GarageBand won't send MIDI out from the iPad to an external instrument so that one is out. There may be others that do. Check out "Reason Compact" which says that it can send MIDI to external instruments. Perhaps you already have something that does this that you've been using? In theory however, it should work but to be honest, I haven't actually personally tested it on this end.
Now, the key thing to remember is that in order for the pitch bend to work, you have to play the external keyboard (your iPad) along with the pitch bend. You can't play the Nord keyboard and use the iPad for the pitch bend. This is because once you put the Nord keyboard into "external to low", you can only trigger the sound engines on the Electro that are assigned to the low parts from an external source. Hope that helps clarify things.
Thank you for this!!
You're welcome, David!
Thanks mark, I finally got a electro 6d. What I can’t find a simple answer to is can I use the usb port for midi in to my mac? or do I have to get a real midi to usb interface
@TylerMarletteNY Hello Tyler! Congrats on your new Electro 6! You can use the cable that comes with your Nord board and plug that directly into the computer (no MIDI interface is required). You'll use this connection to send and receive MIDI, and you can also use this connection to work with the Nord Sound Manager and Nord Sample Editor. The only "interface" you will need is an Audio interface if you want to record the audio from the keyboard into the computer. To do that, you can check out my introductory starter video here: ruclips.net/video/UU6j5o3YfaA/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Also note that if you are using a modern-day Mac or Windows computer, you might find that it doesn't have the traditional USB A-style ports to receive your cable. I recommend this cable (affiliate link), which will accommodate the USB C ports on a computer without needing an extra adapter: amzn.to/40ampyk (note the different lengths available).
Finally, you may want to consider enrolling in my Master Class for the Electro 6 found on my website for in-depth, on-demand, (and ad-free) training for your Nord keyboard.
Hi Mark, thanks for the great video.
Is there any way to upload monophonic programs to the Electro 6?
I currently own a stage 3 hp76, but would love to have a smaller electro to carry to small gigs... if only it had the option of loading leads into it.
Hi Wydopol. So, there is no way that I know of to incorporate a monophonic program, setting, or effect for the Nord Electro 6. That "synth" feature is reserved for the Nord Stage 3 as well as the other pure Nord synths such as the Nord A1. So, although we can play samples to our heart's content via the Nord Electro 6 synth engine, we're unable to have any kind of polyphony setting giving us the effect of monophonic, let alone things like glide/portamento between the notes. Hope that helps clarify it and thanks for your great question. I hadn't really put much thought into that important aspect until now. Thanks for watching!
I contacted nord support about soft pedal and unfortunately the midi implementation on the nord electro 6 does not have cc 67 soft pedal nor responds to that cc message number. However pianists/organists who want all options, you can use an expression pedal to act like a volume softener. But its a fudge. Basically for double pedal and indeed triple pedal, buy a stage3. But i would save money and wait for even more features in a future stage4
Hello @WilkoPiano Great that you found this out! Thanks for sharing what you discovered here with us. And like you, I'm awaiting a Stage 4 someday too. 👍
Hi Mark, thank you for all this great info ! Would it also be possible to play on the nord electro (all range of the instrument) and use a pitch bend from another midi keyboard?
Yiannis - Yes, if I'm understanding your question correctly, you could play on the Nord Electro 6 and use the full range of the keyboard while controlling the pitch bend with another instrument. However, as mentioned in the video above, pitch bend support only works in certain circumstances. Thanks for watching!
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you Mark!
@@YiannisKarygiannis Happy to help!
I will really like to see a videos about the midi capabilities of the NE6D. I'm planning on sellling my NE4HP to buy a 6D61, that way i can carry a lightweight KB to rehearsals and i can have a weighted KB by midi (like a studiologic). Thanks
Hi Esteban. Is there any particular thing about the MIDI capabilities you'd like to see? Something specific? - thanks
@@MyKeysToMusic Hi Marc! Mostly dual functions... Like Piano + Organ / Organ + Synth (sample). Thanks!
Successfully connected my microKORG XL Pitch bend, works great! Now if only we could activate the mod wheel...
Really well done here Stephen! Yes, the mod wheel isn't included in that control option. Thanks for sharing this setup news and for watching!
Hi! I've actually been doing it from my Arturia Keylab on my Electro 5d. It works perfectly. It would be nice if there was the possibility to tweak fx depth or synth cutoff via modwheel, but there is not.
By the way, is 6d three parts multitimbral? 5d isn' t.
Keep on doing vids. Always great .
Cheers!
Hi Diego! Thanks for your background here on the 5D and for your cheerful feedback. So, the 6D is, in fact, three-part multitimbral which is sort of what sets it apart from the Electro 5. So, with the Nord Electro 6, you can play the piano, the organ and the sample/synth individually, or any two together, or have all 3 layered. Then you can split the keyboard once and decide which section plays on which split. Or an engine can play on both splits as well. You just can't have two pianos, two organs or two synths at the same time. You also can't assign a MIDI channel to selections independently (which may be what you are asking here as well).
@@MyKeysToMusic Thanks for the answer!! And...yes! That is actually what I was wondering. Whether one could use 3 different midi channels to have 3 keyboards, one of each assigned to each sound.
Perhaps the Yamaha YC 61 could be an option. It has a really good Hammond engine, good Ac pianos and flexible synth sounds. Not sure about Rhodes and Wurly sounds.
@@Diego_Occhipinti Not sure about the Yamaha YC 61 either. Don't know much about it actually. You can hear the Rhodes and Wurly sounds starting at about the 2-minute mark on this video: ruclips.net/video/qd_a_Hpiz0E/видео.html
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you!
@diogo occhipinti.
How do you achieve this on ne5d
Wait till you find out you can do this on the E5D too! Only on upper in that case, but you can set the Kbd Split mode so that upper is external.
Good point @dbechard - in fact, there appears to be more reference to all this in the NE5 versus the NE6 manual from what I recall.
@@MyKeysToMusic yeah I found it in the NE5D manual (who reads those things?) and was surprised. Even more to my surprise, I tried it and it worked!
@@dbechard Well done!
Can't wait to try this! This may be too off topic, but deals with assigning midi info? Is there a way to use an expression pedal for half damping and/or varied degrees of sustain on the Nord Electro 6D? (piano sounds) I have been having a blast playing drums with feet while playing keyboard. Right foot Roland KD9 triggering kick and left foot Roland KD9 triggering snare. A little sustain would be awesome. :)
Hi Keith! Thanks for your comment and question. I'm not aware of any support for half damping or varying degrees of sustain via an expression pedal for the Nord Electro 6. There is support for half damping on the Nord Stage 3 with the use of the Nord Triple pedal. But still, no varying degrees of sustain via an expression pedal. Hope that helps clarify things. Very neat about you playing kick and snare with your feet! If you have a video of that somewhere, let me know - would like to see that. A few people on the channel have asked about drum machines and the best way to have drum accompaniment. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for replying! Here's video but no close ups of feet. (I'm quite fat these days) This video is good because the song has lots of stops and my Nord is in the shot. ruclips.net/video/Xk5CTKfQWuk/видео.html If I could coin the phrase of drumming and keyboard playing, I would call it 'Krumming'. You do a great job.
A better shot of feet doing kick and snare. ruclips.net/video/Uvm1hYkYlRA/видео.html
Keith! I had a look at your video(s). Great work on vocals and jamming on the keys too. The drum sounds really add to it. No one would really ever guess you were driving drum sounds with your feet (until the ending of the video maybe). Thanks for sharing!
Success This is the most important video on the internet!!!
Hello @Christian Eck - Haha! Well, I wouldn't go so far as calling this the most important video on the internet, but I'm happy that it resonated with you! It was eye-opening for me too when I first discovered it. This works for the Electro 5 too but nothing prior.
Hi Marc, I have recently discovered your great videos around the Nord keyboard family ans subscribed to your channel. I have been owning a Nord Electro 6 for a little over a year now - best keyboard I ever had. Former keyboards were a Roland JX8p, a D-10 and a classic Hohner Clavinet - but that was in the 80ies. I do also own a Akai MPK Mini and use that for traveling on airplanes; more recently also to input notes in Musescore from my desktop ... which by the way I use together with the great transcription software Anthemscore, quite a discovery. I have a question:
The APK Mini is passive, typically powered thru USB, either on a PC or in my case I also use it with my Ipad Pro and some Ipad software synths. I connected the APK Mini to the Nord. That required me to add an adapter (from standard USB 2.0-A Female to USB 2.0-B Male) so that both ends of the cable were then USB 2.0 B Male. I made the changes according to your instruction in the systems section. However, the APK Mini did not even get powered by way of the Nord's Midi connection ... and I guess that this is also in line with what is to be expected.
But anyway: Would you have an idea, if either I made some mistake in the setup or that by adding some additional piece of equipment to the equation I could still make that setup work.
The great advantage would of course be that a mini keyboard would serve the purpose to just have a pitch wheel on the Nord very well.
Hi Mehr - Thanks for watching the videos on this channel and for the comment and question. Sorry for the delay on this response. I don't think there is an immediate solution. A company that might know of a solution (or has the knowledge to create something would be here: www.midisolutions.com/products.htm). I have an iRig Keys controller which poses the exact same issue whereby it requires the USB to power it which doubles as the MIDI transfer port. I don't believe the Nord USB ports provide any kind of power source. Great question and let us know if you come up with a solution!
Hi, I've heard that this would be possible to control from a tablet (i don't own an Ipad, "just" a samsung tab A9) with a dedicated app, using an usbc to midi output. do you think that's true?
Hi! Is it able to use pitchbend on external keyboard but play on NE6? I want to make only arduino pitch bend and send midi massages to NE6 via midi in . Thanks a lot ;)
@A Vávra Hello and thanks for your question. Unfortunately, it's not possible to use an external pitch bend and play on the Electro 6. The only way to have any kind of pitch bend is to use the "External to Low" feature which automatically shuts off the Nord Electro sound engine in place of it being externally controlled. Sorry the news can't be better for this one! Thanks for watching and it's a good question too by the way.
Is it possible to have an external Synth for example m having a korg krome to have its pitch bend control the nord while also I can play korg krome's patches simultaneously?If so then you could please let me know how?Nord electro would do a job for me then..Thanks in advance for the help
Hi Kandarp! So, if you set this up like I demonstrate in the video, you'll still be able to play the Korg directly and hear those patches of course but you won't be able to use the Nord to play the Korg patches. So it would work like this:
1) Korg MIDI out to Nord electro (Korg MIDI set to channel 1)
2) Electro main MIDI channel to "off"
3) Electro external keyboard MIDI channel to channel 1
4) Set the Nord to use the option "Exernal Keyboard to Low" setting (as the video above demonstrates)
5) Play the Korg and hear both the Korg and the NORD along with pitch bend control to the Nord. The only sounds you hear on the Nord are the ones assigned to the "low" section.
6) If you play the Nord keyboard you only hear the sounds assigned to the "high" section. You don't hear the Korg.
Hope that helps!
@@MyKeysToMusic thank you so much for the help
@@MyKeysToMusic and does the mod wheel work along with the pitchstick?
@@kandarpkavishwar5605 the Mod wheel is not supported from external devices in this situation - only the pitch stick I'm afraid.
Thank you!
Happy to help Manuel!
I'm trying to connect my Roland AX 7 to my Nord 5 to use touch control from the keytar. Midi works, touch control/ pitch bend is not working.
@Angele de Jong I assume you set your Nord Electro 5 in the same mode as I demonstrated above with the Electro 6? Here is an excerpt from the Nord Electro 5 manual about this.
*Receiving MIDI on Part Upper in MIDI Upper Receive Mode*
"In this scenario, the Nord Electro 5 is set up to receive MIdI on Part Upper, using an external keyboard to play its corresponding sound engine. Part lower is played with the keyboard of the Nord Electro 5, using one of the remaining sound engines. In this setup, Part lower will utilize the entire keyboard of the Nord Electro 5 and Part Upper can only be addressed through MIDI sent to the Upper split channel. Also, when playing Part Upper on the Upper split MIDI channel using an external keyboard, any received pitch bend messages will be applied to the sound engine of the Upper part.
To see this with pictures, please go here and navigate to page 15 at the top: www.nordkeyboards.com/sites/default/files/files/downloads/manuals/nord-electro-5/Nord%20Electro%205%20English%20User%20Manual%20v1.x%20Edition%20E.pdf
It "should work" based on my own experience with the Electro 5 and it's presented to work in the manual as well. Good luck!
Hello. @Angele de Jong I made you a custom video for this setup here: vimeo.com/user8600128/ne5pitchbend
I wasn't surprised that it is possible. I'm more surprised that they just didn't add modulation wheels to the Nord Electro 6 it has samples anyway.
I hear what you are saying here @Libla That is a common criticism. My assumption is that they don't include the pitch bend or the modulation wheel on any keyboard that doesn't include a full synth engine. Since the Electro is a sampler player they don't add these options. Now, with that said, they should've done it anyway! It could also be a way to entice more people to the Stage 3.
sorry but i'm having some problems with my nord electro 6 and my korg X5,the options 12 and 13 of the nord system settings must be setted to send and receive and transpose to MIDI out?thanks
Hi Jacopo. So, the transpose capability doesn't require page 12 - just page 13. Well, it also requires page 11 (the MIDI channel has to be set correctly). In other words, so long as you have the transpose out/in feature set correctly, adjusting the transpose on the controlling keyboard should transpose the slave keyboard. It has nothing to do with whether or not the program or CC settings are on or off. Keep in mind your Korg also has to understand transpose in order for this to work - but it should work like this out of the box. So to recap how to make this work with the following assumptions:
*If you want the Nord to transpose the Korg and you are playing the Nord as the trigger*
a. MIDI Out cable from the Nord to the MIDI in on the Korg
b. Set the Electro to "transpose MIDI Out" in the system settings
c. Make sure both keyboards are on the same MIDI channel. For the Nord, set the "Global" option NOT the External keyboard setting for this.
*If you want the Korg to transpose the Nord and you are playing the Korg as the trigger*
a. MIDI Out cable from the Korg to the MIDI in on the Nord
b. Set the Electro to "transpose MIDI In" in the system settings
c. Make sure both keyboards are on the same MIDI channel. For the Nord, set the "Global" option NOT the External keyboard setting for this. However, if you want to try out the External Keyboard settings/options, you can change the MIDI channel on the External setting and make sure you have the option on the Nord selected called "External to Low" (you find that under the keyboard split button) and then make sure any engines (Organ, Piano, Synth) you want to hear on the Nord are also set to the "low" zone. That's a little more complicated of a setup and one that is not good to explain in a comment like this. (Needs a video). I demonstrate this setup with the "Master Electro 6 Course" as well in great detail.
Good luck and report back! Thanks.
@@MyKeysToMusic thanks man 🤟🏻🤟🏻
do you think nord piano also support this?
Any luck with the modulation wheel?
@ olaws2000 the Mod wheel is not supported from external devices in this situation - only the pitch stick I'm afraid.
Is it possible to play external Logic Pro X vst vi amidi with the Nord Electro 6?
Hi Axel. Sorry for the long delay on this response. So, a Nord Electro 6 can in fact drive MIDI into Logic Pro X triggering any of the built-in VST (Virtual Studio Technology) (i.e. virtual instruments). You would use the USB out from the Nord and directly and plug directly into the computer. Let me know if that answered the question or not. Thanks!
@@MyKeysToMusic Thanks a lot!
thanks!
You're welcome Martin!
If you have a MIDI Router you can redirect the NE6s MIDI data (from the Global channel) to the ExternToLo channel and merge in the PB data. This way the NE6 thinks your playing an external keyboard but it's actually playing itself! Some guy posted on the Nord User Forum a DIY box with a PB joystick and programmed to do exactly that. I'm looking for an affordable MIDI Router that i can use with my mini joystick. Anybody know of any?
@WA5US OMG this is genius. Gotta set this up and try it. I would strongly consider the router from MIDI Solutions. Which MIDI Joystick are you using?
@@MyKeysToMusic I'd like to chat with you outside these comments about getting this solution working and perhaps you creating a RUclips video for everyone else to have this option. Can you share and email address, either here or perhaps as a PM in the Nord User Forum?
The tiny joystick (url in another reply) isn't perfect but it's cheap, small, in a red box no less and has double sided 3m tape for mounting on your keyboard. You'll need a USB double female connector and one of the many USB to MIDI 5 pin din connector adapters into a MIDI Merge box. You'll also have to have the newer 3.5v version of their Merge box. Fingers crossed that the electro provides the required 3.5v at it's MIDI connectors.
Regards, Stuart (WA5US)
@@WA5US Good idea, you can reach out to "MyKeysToMusic" on the Nord User Forum. www.norduserforum.com/member21628.html I'm quite backlogged at the moment, but let's start the conversation. I just purchased a set of these to see if we can merge wirelessly (Affiliate link): amzn.to/3wTcWOt
Could have incorporated a physical mod/pitch wheel into the design.
Steve - I agree as do many others...
Hey Guys! Does it work on a Electro 5?
Hey Karan!
Yes, this works with the Electro 5 as well. I've taken the liberty to copy the actual text directly from the Nord Electro 5 manual on this topic:
*"RECEIVING MIDI ON PART UPPER IN MIDI UPPER RECEIVE MODE*
In this scenario, the Nord Electro 5 is set up to receive MIDI on Part Upper, using an external keyboard to play its corresponding sound engine. Part lower is played with the keyboard of the Nord Electro 5, using one of the remaining sound engines. In this setup, Part lower will utilize the entire keyboard of the Nord Electro 5 and Part Upper can only be addressed through MIDI sent to the Upper split channel. Also, when playing Part Upper on the Upper split MIDI channel using an external keyboard, any received pitch bend messages will be applied to the sound engine of the Upper part."
Hope that helps. So it works but only when the Electro is in this mode.
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you man! Helped me a lot!
@@karanklos9976 Glad to hear it Karan! Enjoy your Electro...
does Nord Electro5d Supports Pitch Bend?
Hi Shergo. Yes, the Nord 5D also supports Pitch Bend in a similar manor as the Nord Electro 6 under similar limited circumstances. Great question.
For $2,500.00 the Nord Electro 6D should come with a pitch bend and modulation wheel... My $70.00 iRig keyboard has pitch bend and modulation control... Every other keyboard I have has pitch bend and modulation control. What was Nord thinking??
Hi The Firmament. It's funny you mention iRig. I also have an iRig keyboard that has pitch bend and modulation wheel. And, I'm not entirely sure for the reasons to have these features absent on all the Electros. Perhaps it was done to further distinguish them from the Stage 3? But I tend to agree, of all the features to omit from an Electro, pitch bend and mod wheel would not be my first choice of something to omit.
@@MyKeysToMusic As an aging player I desire to use one light small do it all keyboard. I'm considering the 6D 61, but the lack of pitch bend/mod wheel might be a deal breaker. I don't want to carry a second keyboard to accomplish that task, it defeats the entire point of the purchase for me. Are you aware of anything that is only a pitchbend/mod wheel that might be velcro attached to the space on top of the 6D. I find it very petty of Nord, not to give the customer a critical component. I dislike rewarding such upsell tactics. Thank you for your wonderful tutorials. Nord, you're capable of better.
@@JosephSantangelo Thanks for your question. The lack of pitch bend has been a sore spot for a lot of people when it comes to the Nord Electro 6 and I agree, that if it had this one feature, it would be a more compelling buy for many - especially since just about every keyboard today comes with one. And to make matters worse, there seems to be a complete lack of any kind of "pitch bend stand-alone controller" anywhere that I can find. You could use a small iRig keys controller which does have a pitch bend wheel but it's not really ideal since all you really want is the pitch bend portion (not the keys). And then if you were to get a small keyboard controller, where would you put it exactly when you play? It's too small for a second-tier stand and too big to sit it on the left side of the Electro. So, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution to this issue. Even if you could get a pitch band controller lined up, then what Electric 6 only supports pitch bend under certain conditions (as outlined in the video above). Had you considered the Nord Stage 3 Compact? Maybe a used one?
Hi Marc, thanks for the great series. Wouldn't it be a great recurrent item to present ways of reproducing famous sounds from big songs on Nord keyboards? As a first challenge, I think of... the theremin in Good Vibrations :-). Cheers from Belgium.
@Joris De Winter Hello Joris! Thank you for your support and congratulations! Your idea made it to a video and I featured your comment/request as well. Check it out if you haven't already done so: ruclips.net/video/ngUiwvuMGMo/видео.html
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I just don’t understand how you make such an expensive synthesizer with NO pitch wheel😂it’s so weird. I think it’s because Nord wants to force everyone to drop 6 grand on a Stage 4
@jordanbrant6648 Hi Jordan! People have asked for years why Nord does the things it does, and there are a lot of good guesses as to why. I observe that the pitch stick, mod wheel, and morph capability all seem to be features they only put on a Nord keyboard if it has a "full synth" engine. For any keyboard that has a sample player only (like the Nord Piano, Electro, and Grand), you'll never see a pitch stick or a mod wheel. For better or for worse, they drew the line there. I agree with you that it's probably because they don't want to cannibalize the sales of their more expensive boards that feature a full synth. 🤷🏻♂
Nord should be ashamed: to produce a rather expensive keyboard but to forego pitch bend for marketing reasons in my opinion
@Art Brauer Art, you are not the first person to have these feelings on the topic. I think there are a few things at play here (and I really don't know the actual reason - I'm just guessing).
1) By not including a pitch stick (or mod wheel), it provides a possible upgrade path to the Stage 3 and the like. (I think this is where you are coming from - that the decision to not include it was purely for marketing reasons). So, that could be one reason yes.
2) It could also be that Electro series doesn't have a full synth engine where including synth related controls like a pitch stick and especially a mod wheel, might seem a bit misplaced. In the case of the mod wheel, people will typically assign that to the filter cutoff. Well, the Electro doesn't have a knob for that or a way to adjust a filter cutoff at all really - at least not in the form of a knob. Staying with this line of thinking, Clavia puts pitch sticks and mod wheels on all their keyboards that also have a synth engine and that's where they appear to draw the line. That seems to be a hard and fast rule across the board with every keyboard they make.
Now, in my opinion, the Electro series should have a pitch stick at the very least because the Electro line appears to be targeted to keyboard players looking to have a well-rounded board and who also may want the occasional lead sound where a pitch stick would be most handy. I can see why they don't also include a pitch stick for the Nord Piano 4 and the Nord Grand (both of which can play samples just like the Electro). With the Piano 4 and Grand, we clearly see these are aimed at a traditional pianist who might need the occasional pad or instrument layer but not necessarily will be going crazy with wild lead solos. But for the Electro, I think it's more of a gray area and a pitch stick should be included. SO many people have asked for this which is perhaps why this particular video had drawn a fair amount of attention. Perhaps Clavia had a tough time drawing the line where they did?
In the end, I think what the public expects is that if they're going to pay good money for a board like this, it should at least come with a pitch stick regardless of the fact that it has a synth engine or not. Many samples in the Nord library would work perfectly fine with a pitch stick on the Electro. One such example is an electric guitar sample on my latest video using the Wave 2. There's no reason a sound like this wouldn't rock out on the Electro as well: ruclips.net/video/8OUD7RZoiEo/видео.html (Although this particular guitar sample is NOT available in the Nord Library, it is a good example where a pitch stick is essential).
or they could just put a pitch bend and modwheel on it. it shouldn't be a great luxury for gods sake.
You are not alone on your thoughts about this! I don't know all the details, but I would imagine it has something to do with "drawing the line" between an Electro and a Stage. And I believe that the line is further emphasized when you consider that everything they put a pitch bend stick and mod wheel on has a full synth engine. Mod wheels tend to adjust filter cut offs/vibrato and pitch sticks tend to adjust pitch bend. These features are all very "synthy". So, if a Nord keyboard doesn't have a full synth engine (like the Electros, the Pianos, and the Grand), it doesn't make the cut to have a stick or wheel. Now, perhaps that's still a feable excuse, but it's likely the logic behind the decision. And again, I don't have any proof of this one way or another. This is something people tend to be critical about - as you can imagine and this is my theory on the topic.
@@MyKeysToMusic well dear Sir your sincere thoughts on the subject are greatly appreciated by almost every musician here i assume, however these features shouldn't be that expensive, and they are also good help on adjusting the added effect (vibrato tremolo drive etc) or adjusting the pad layer beneath, or some EQ, modwheel can do practically anything, even clavinet wah amount. Majority of synth users are more than glad to have good fat synth presets, stage performers want them to sound good in the mix, synth engine tweak is not always the goal. Those musicians generally got other gear for this, analog stuff. Low Weight can be one good feature of electros, only this even can sell electros instead of other stage keyboards. They are refering to "seamless transitions" as an unbelievable new technology, I mean come on for gods sake. (crossfade on splits is a lovely idea btw.)
@@ceyhanyzc You make excellent pounts all around. Unfort;unately we may never find out exactly why these features (and yes, most would call them basic and bare minimum) are not included on the Electros. There is a mountain of people who wish this did include these features and are critical that they haven't included these features. When I got my first Electro 3, I was also disappointed (and slightly upset) that there was no pitch stick to be found since every single keyboard I ever owned had one from 1983 onwards from the most basic to the most advanced. Then again, at the same time every digital piano I ever owned never had a pitch stick or a mod wheel - nor did I ever expect it to. So perhaps they consider the Electros a form of a "portal digital piano" with the ability to play samples that sometimes play a synth role as a frienge benefit? In many ways I wish I had the inside knowledge of why they do what they do. But then again, I'm kind of happy to be an outsider because I can speak candidly about the features from an owner's stand point without fear of what that might do to a formal relationship with them. In any case, it's good to talk these things out and if and when we're asked how they can improve things, ideas like this will be at the top of the list!