From organize@colba.net Tue Sep 25 19:45:37 2001
Subject:CX3 vs Electro personal shootout long post

Hey Clonewheelers,

I tried the Nord Electro the other day at a music store and went
back today for my own mini shoot out(inspired by previous posts, sorry
guys I couldn't wait.) with the CX3 and Nord Electro.
My initial impression was that I thought the Electro might sound
better than the CX3(which really bothered me)

Listening test 1-Speakers 2- Sony MDRV-7506 headphones

JBL ...... small 6" 2 way powered monitors, Mackie 1402VLZ
board.

Firstly The ELectro has very little Tone shaping(Eq/Overdrive)so the sound is
what it is (as on a B3)The basic choice is very decent but having
owned a CX3 for a while and having tweaked the sounds a lot
I prefer having more than less control.

CX3-setup

A1 Organize preset
Edited to a kind of default mode:
Wheel type-Vintage
Overtone-0
Leakage-0
Type 1-Amp gain 0
Eq T-0/M-0/B-0
Horn/Rotor balance 50/50
Horn/Rotor Distance /Spread 50/50
Speeds Matched to the Electro
Perc. Levels matched to Electro

Electro Setup

Basic organ tone
No eq
Rotary on
Perc. on/off
V/C on/off

Impressions:
1-Lower drawbar sounds The CX3 breathed more and was more focused more than
the Electro.
2-The Electro's overall sound seems more compressed than the CX3 and a
bit darker.
3-Upper drawbars the CX3's last 5 drawbars compared to the Electro were 2-3
times louder.
if I pushed in the CX3 drawbars to a value of 3-4 it was roughly
equivalent to the Electro.
I could match the Electro tone color by
A-Eq(treble(-10)
B-or Reduce the Horn/Distance or alter the Horn/Rotor bal.
Result:At at its "default" the CX3 is much brighter than the Electro
and a Hammond is probably somewhere between the two.

Setting 16/8/5 1/3'-
Perc.Slow decay /soft volume/3rd harm.

I preferred the CX3 -to the Electro in the 1st 3 1/2 octaves
I like the Electro better in the last 1 1/2 octaves, however I
was able to tweak the CX3 to within a hair of the Electro's balance.

Leslie effect-I like the Electro slow speed a bit better than the CX3
and after adjusting the CX3 horn/Distance I was able to match it.
as for the Rotor setting(Low rotor)I preferred the
Electro, Once again I adjusted the Korg, got close but couldn't quite match
the Electro exactly.(the Electro low rotor effect is closer(imo) to a real
Leslie)
Fast speed-Horn-Without a question the CX3 was superior to the Electro.
the problem with the Electro is the HF/horn rotary effect. Hard to describe
what it does but it sounds like too much pitch change. However to it's
credit the low rotor leslie effect is very good
more authentic in slow speed/fast speed than the CX3. So iagive the slow
speed to the Electro
and the Fast speed to the CX3.
With V/C C3 on the Elctro improves but the CX3 definitley wins the Fast
speed w V/C C3 on.

Percsusion-I prefer the Electro's perc. tone/slope but mixed with drawbars
there is barely a difference . and the lack of any
parameters give the CX3 the head's up.

Anyways I've been going on too long.

Overall impressions strictly as an organ:

When I first beard the Electro I had some pangs of regret
like I should have waited and bought the Electro and thats why I went
back for a more in depth listen.
So in the end I prefer the CX3 because it has more bite than the Electro.
The Electro gave me a great first impression but because the basic sound is
not
tweakable(although very good) I prefer to be able to make my own sounds
as the CX3 as an organ is infinitely more controllable and
edges the Electro for my personal shootout.
Sorry for the long post guys. I could go on a lot more but I'll stop here.
GK