the business! I could rave on all day about the sounds it produces but more important to me is the way it plays, its so quick and smooth almost like playing rock guitar again (super slinky's) Ive had it 3 years no problems probably update in new year to 73 model

This is a good all rounder package for organ and piano, and the sounds are particularly good.

One of the best things about it is Clavia's long sightedness for the instrument; despite the introduction of the Nord Stage, and then the C1 combo organ, they're still bringing out new OS updates and samples for the Electro on a semi regular basis. I'd highly recommend staying up to date with these - it's like getting a new keyboard for free every time you do! Some things that have bugged me in the past have been fixed with OS updates.

The organ sounds are as good as a real Hammond if you're playing in a rock / funk / soul band. Trust me - gig with this and people will complement you on the sound. You might notice the difference if you're in a jazz organ trio - in which case you could try the Nord C1 and / or a real rotary speaker instead.

Don't let the "virtual drawbars" system put you off. Try it and see - it's surprisingly effective. About the only thing you can't do is swap two drawbars really quickly to get a wah effect - however I've found drawbars on other clonewheels are quite stiff compared to a real Hammond, so they can't manage this well either.

The Leslie simulation is phenominally good. I compared recording the Electro in stereo with a Hammond A100 through a Marshall amp head and Sharma rotary speaker cab - and the Electro sounded better on tape. If you listen to the Electro with headphones, you can imagine the horns whoosing around your head. The latest OS update allows you to change the ramp up / slow down speed of the Leslie so you can mimic the nuances of a 122 or a 147 a lot more closely.

There's a socket to hook up a volume / expression pedal - but this isn't just plain volume, it also controls the overdrive just like the expression pedal on a real Hammond. Great for when you want to beef things up a bit for solos.

The percussion section use to be problematic - hitting the "soft" button gave a lot more overdriven sound than having it turned off. However, this seems to have been fixed in the latest OS.

There key click when you played the organ without the rotary speaker used to be far too loud. However, most people don't play Hammond without a Leslie, putting the Leslie amp on "brake" gives you more or less the same effect, and the latest OS update has made the key click volume configurable.

The keys have the same "waterfall" style and weight as a real Hammond, so you can gliss up and down the keys without cutting your hands. However, the downside to this is that the pianos don't "feel" right. To really get the best out of them, I'd really recommend hooking up a proper weighted keyboard. I've used both a Fatar Studiologic and an M-Audio Prokeys 88 for Rhodes and Wurlitzer sounds and they have a much better response. You can play lightly or really whack the keys for that overdriven growl. Plus the sounds on the Electro cover more notes than the 61 key version physically has - so using an external weighted keyboard helps there too.

The biggest negative point about the Electro is that it's mono-timbral. If you want to play piano with one hand and Hammond with the other, then you're out of luck. You'll either have to get another stage piano or go for the Nord Stage instead. Or buy an Electro rack for the second set of sounds.

Some might see the absence of any string or synth sounds as a problem. Personally I don't as I don't use them with my band - but it's a shame the Electro doesn't do the Mellotron or the ARP string ensemble, which are of comparable vintage to the Hammond, Rhodes and Wurly. That would turn it into a killer "all in one" vintage keys package.

The other drawback I can think of it that you really need to hear the Electro in stereo to get the most of out of it. It'll work in mono but once you've heard the grand piano and the Leslie in stereo, you'll never want to go back.

Nevertheless, I'd recommend this as a good first keyboard for somebody making the move to a semi-pro or regularly gigging band. You won't regret it.

this is a superb product!

as a gigging musician (singer/guitarist), i wanted to bring some piano songs into our set list.

problem was i wanted something small but with weighted keys (cos i am used to 'real' pianos and use a kawai digital piano indoors), and there's nothing around that has both.

however, tried out the electro 2 and decided the waterfall keys and action were ok after all.

more importantly, i loved the organ/clav sounds, and the size. so compact, so light. i already carry enough stuff around and i did not want a big old heavy keyboard to drag around!

this keyboard fitted the bill perfectly apart from one thing...i was never quite happy with the acoustic piano sounds.

don't get me wrong, they're ok, but i originally bought it for piano (even though i then fell in love with the clav and organ sounds!), and it was nagging at the back of mind.

hence the 9/10 mark.

to summarise, i can honestly say that i love this keyboard for what it is, and would recommend it to ANY piano/keyboard player.

the size/sounds and all round general feel make it very desirable.

pure class!