WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Ahead of 2026 NAMM Show, Clavia has announced the release of Nord Electro 7. The Nord Electro 7 elevates the Electro series with a powerful fully-fledged new Synth Section, redesigned interface, and dedicated per-section effects processing to the next generation of this long-established stage keyboard, along with many more enhancements.

Nord Electro 7 is the successor to Electro 6, announced at NAMM 2018, building on the foundations of that instrument to create a keyboard Nord tells us is the most versatile model in the Electro line to date. On first glance you’ll notice that Electro 7 has been given a visual refresh, sporting a redesigned front panel with push encoders and a high-resolution colour display.

The most significant addition to Electro 7 is the new Synth Section, which augments Electro 6’s sample-based synthesis with a virtual analogue synth engine and basic FM capabilities. You get mono, legato and glide modes for expressive performance, dual ADR envelopes for amp, filter and FM amount, vibrato and a resonant low-pass filter.

This is joined by an improved Organ Section based on the Nord Organ 3, released at NAMM 2025, boasting authentic emulations of classic pipe, tonewheel and transistor organs along with a sophisticated rotary speaker effect with multiple mic placements. All Electro 7 models now feature physical drawbars with LED indicators for organ control.

Nord Electro 7’s Piano Section draws on an extensive library of grands, uprights, and electric pianos, and has been bolstered by a new compression effect for dynamic shaping, improved timbral editing capabilities and three-voice unison.

The keyboard’s Effect Section has been given a significant refresh, and each sound section now has its own effects chain with independent control. Effects onboard include a global reverb with spring, room, stage, hall and cathedral options and a delay with ping-pong, filtering and an analogue emulation mode. There’s also a compressor, EQ, amp sim and an array of modulation effects.

Nord Electro 7 comes in three editions: 61-key and 73-key versions with a semi-weighted waterfall keyboard and a 73-key edition with a triple-sensor Kawai Hammer Action Portable Keyboard, the Nord Electro 7 HP.

In the connectivity department, Electro 7 features stereo audio outputs, dedicated monitor and headphone jacks, comprehensive pedal support including expression, sustain and rotary control, plus MIDI In/Out and USB-B for MIDI, updates and sound management.

Nord Electro 7 will ship later this year. Electro 7 61 is priced at £2299/$3299, Electro 7 73 is priced at £2499/$3599, and Electro 7 HP is priced at £2799/$3999.

Here’s a performance demo by Joshua Domfeh:

Find out more on Nord website.

The acclaimed Nord Organ is back – reborn and reimagined as the all-new Nord Organ 3.

The 2025 NAMM Show is fast approaching, and manufacturers of all manner of musical instruments and studio gear are unveiling new products in advance of the show.

Hot on the reel of the news that Ashun Sound Machines (ASM), makers of the Hydrasynth parent company MEDELI Electronics has applied for a US patent for the name ‘Leviasynth’. Clavia has announced the release of Nord Organ 3, a rebranded sequel to its Nord C2D electronic organ – first released all the way back in 2012 – that promises “massive improvements” to sound, design and performance.

The Nord Organ 3 with improved organ engine, new modulation effects and rotary speaker emulation.

The dual-manual Nord Organ 3 boasts a dramatically redesigned front panel that now occupies the breadth of its 61-key triple-sensor keyboard, with an OLED display in the centre and four sets of physical drawbars, equipped with LEDs that helpfully indicate the drawbar settings of the current preset.

Organ 3’s organ engine has also received a considerable overhaul, with its enhanced Hammond B3 emulation now featuring an improved chorus and vibrato and both Farfisa and Vox organ models receiving an upgrade: Clavia says the engine now offers an “unsurpassed level of detail and realism”. Alongside these we have two unique pipe organ emulations, and new synth bass options based on classic pedal synths.

The instrument’s effects section has been bolstered with an all-new spring reverb, an expanded reverb section with six reverb types, an analogue delay mode and new modulation effects, including phaser, tremolo, ring mod, flanger and chorus. There’s also a brand new rotary speaker emulation onboard with multiple mic placement options and drive modes available.

Shipping in May, Nord Organ 3 is now available to order and priced at $3290/£3222/€3799. Find out more on Nord website.

A new Kawai keybed makes the Nord Grand 2 feel like a piano, but with advanced layering options, it can also sound like a synth – ‘A genuinely unique experience’

Ahead of the 2024 NAMM Show, being held January 25-28, 2024 in Anaheim, California, Clavia has announced the Nord Grand 2, with the latest generation premium Hammer Action keybed from Kawai.

Here’s what they say about it:

“We are happy to introduce a new generation of our acclaimed Grand series, the Nord Grand 2!

The Nord Grand 2 features the latest generation premium Hammer Action keyboard from Kawai. Combining the responsive feel of an acoustic grand piano with our world renowned Sound Libraries and a tactile user interface, the sleek and elegant Nord Grand 2 offers a genuinely unique experience”.

Clavia has so many great Nord keyboards, each of which is designed for a slightly different kind of player, that it would be hard to classify one as the definitive ‘flagship’. The Nord Grand is certainly in the mix, though, and it’s now been updated to version 2.

This is no mere software revision, either: the Nord Grand 2 has a new and improved Kawai responsive hammer keybed with triple sensors for accurate tracking of hammer movement. As such, you can expect the instrument to feel even more like an acoustic piano.

Advanced layering options have also been added: you can now stack two pianos and two sample synths (as opposed to one of each on the original Nord Grand), and you get dedicated LED faders for each layer. There are further easy-access knobs and buttons for configuring layers and splits, adding effects or transposing.

Each layer has its own dedicated effects section (there are new reverb, delay, amp sim and modulation processors), and you can set up to seven split points across the keyboard. These are indicated with LED lights, and Split Point Crossfades enable you to transition smoothly between them.

This being a Nord instrument, it almost goes without saying that the sounds will be top-notch. The grands, uprights and electric pianos come from the Nord Piano Library, also benefiting from new features such as Dynamic Compression and Unison.

The Sample Synth section has almost twice the memory of the one in the original Nord Grand, and includes a raft of new and updated sounds. You can control the attack, decay/release and dynamic velocity response, while the Soft and Bright settings give you another fast tone-shaping option.

You can expect greater realism from the wind, brass and string instruments, too, with a Tru-Vibrato feature promising to accurately model each one’s vibrato characteristics. Unison, meanwhile, can create ensemble-type sounds by blending multiple sample voices.

Given the continued absence of pitch and mod wheels, it’s clear that Clavia is still targeting the Nord Grand 2 at pianists rather than deep synthesists.

The Nord Grand 2 price around $3,699/£3,599. Find out more on the Nord Keyboards website.