Woody's epic hand-built NORD ELECTRO ORGAN

DIY Hammond Organ Clonewheel I made in 2006 using an old Nord Electro and some dubious carpentry skills.
MORE WOODY PIANO SHACK
► WEBSITE woodypianoshac...
► PIANO INSPIRATION SERIES bit.ly/inspirat...
► SUPPORT bit.ly/wps_support
► CHAT bit.ly/discord_...
► TWITTER / woodypianoshack
► INSTAGRAM / woodypianoshack
► FACEBOOK / woodypianoshack
► TWITCH / woodypianoshack
► MUSIC woodypianoshac...

[@ldifalco2010]

Woody, you should market that lower keyboard rig to Nord. I've always wondered why Nord didn't offer a lower manual for the Electro the way Hammond does for the XK model.

[@synthfluencer]

What else than a decent carpentry job would we have expected from a guy called Woody 👌

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i'd never thought of it like that, but then again that half finished fence in the background is still not done! :)

[@jackpisso1761]

Looking really good. Loved it! Cheers!

[@Aniki82]

well done with that wood color ! It turned out really nice I like this dark redish tone

[@JoseVGavila]

Next step for you is to get into custom MIDI devices building... I have just started on it and it gives you a wealth of possibilities!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

wow, you need to share the results with us!

[@organfairy]

Isn't this a handmade organ case with a factory build organ inside? The woodwork is nice but I had hoped to see some homemade circuitboards too.

[@DojoOfCool]

You know I'm old because I kept looking at that wood cabinet and thinking that has to weight a lot, then add the keyboards and ouch too heavy. I'd be making an aluminum framework then attach plastic sheets. Then get wrap like they wrap cars in, must be one with a wood grain look and wrap it. It should be a lot lighter that way.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

probably about 20kg i would estimate, which is a good thing as I wasn't taking it out, and it made it very stable and solid on the stand!

[@arcanics1971]

Some things I note: 1) Modern day Woody has much improved in his video making/editing skills; 2) Woody should never shave the beard off again; 3) see number 2.

[@snakehips81]

Great we combo you put together there. All you need is a Ventilator (Leslie effect) pedal then that thing will scream organ grindyness !!!

[@roberthurless4615]

Woody, is there no end to your many talents. lol

[@WoodyPianoShack]

there are no limits to my bodging and bluffing!

[@musicbycandlelightmbc3225]

Woody you are so hilarious...lol. I just love your attitude and pleasing manner on all the things you enjoy and love doing. I am glad you have your organ functioning again and didn't need to have it "harvested" by some insane keyboard doctor hahaha.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

You're the best!

[@Aniki82]

Always nice to get some video in the week end :D ! Thanks :) :)

[@j0rdan18]

Aah, this with a weighted lower manual would be my dream setup. Wonder if you can just buy the FATAR keybed outright and set it up from there...

[@WoodyPianoShack]

you can buy the keybeds and control boards direct from Doepfer, but works out very expensive to do it that way.

[@Jack-fs2im]

the things we do just for that sweet sound we chase and desire.oh dear a lifes work.No wonder we are all single.

[@nachom1971]

Woody, how about you build a Moog Taurus with upcycled bass pedals from an old organ to control a synth app through midi? In simple terms, bass pedal midi controller disguised as a moog taurus of the sorts.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

that would be cool, easier to just buy a set of midi pedals methinks

[@BaltiSean]

Any chance you can share the plans for this? I’ve been wanting to build this for quite some time.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

you can grab screenshot from the video, i included them, but will depend on sizes of your keyboards.

[@MickBenjamins]

Woody‘s Organ Garden ♥️

[@In-SoulProMusic]

I didnt see this mate, Hope you're well my newport bud! :)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

all good matey!

[@revoxjazz8317]

Nice job, man!

[@craigbrowning9448]

From what I understand Nord actually uses Fatar Keyboards.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

indeed, as do viscount and crumar.

[@mfurman]

Woody, looking at your recent videos and seeing your talents, I am wondering why you would even consider buying a digital piano. If I were you, I would build it myself using a good MIDI controller (Kawai VPC1 or even Roland A-88 mkII), put it in a nice cabinet with a computer running Pianoteq or Ivory II piano sound emulation (you can always add many more sounds) and have a very flexible, expandable system. I personally do not like the idea of getting a digital piano and being loaded with feature I do not need or like. I will only update my MIDI controller (A88 mkII) based setup.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

you know me well, i like the sound of that idea! probably won't happen, but it's nice to think about.

[@mfurman]

@@WoodyPianoShack 😊

[@summerlaverdure]

yo this is badass

[@jazzplayer59]

Nice job!

[@AndrewAHayes]

The one thing it needs is a "Woody" decal on the back

[@Thedaanvo]

Wow, that is VERY well made! Do you still have it?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

sadly no, i sold it shortly after making this video together with the electro, it went to a young prog rocker music student lady!

[@Aniki82]

@@WoodyPianoShack Well it does sound like a happy place :) :)

[@truthmanifestingtruth]

You got midi bass pedals?😁

[@WoodyPianoShack]

actually, i used to play this with a set of roland midi pedals, never got the hang of it !

[@howardthegasman]

What a cool project! Of course any two keyboards on a stand could be midi linked to do the same, but this brings the keyboards comfortably close. I'm going to try this with my old Nord 2 and Korg M1. Thanks for the video!

[@RetroPlus]

That's really cool, the craftsmanship is indeed pretty great

[@Justin-hn1oj]

Very creative! Also first time in human history electronics work on the first time

[@PearlPaisley]

You are a funny guy! Anyway really impressive work you did there. I couldn't glue two pieces of wood together if I tried 😀

[@georgeray3492]

Well done! It is nice cabinet construction. Dual manual can't be beat. Play on!

[@ilovekeyboards7830]

Woody I like to play that one organ song that you play on your roland d 50 keyboard

[@anthonysilva5312]

No homemade leslie?...

[@yvescolin6169]

Not yet 😇😉

[@jaggass]

You're living up to your name.

[@madeinengland4910]

Wow!! Awesome mate..im gonna mod all my Kit..thanks man..

[@saeltielmolina8394]

What you can do with some ingenuity... and your experiment worked. Great work Woody!

[@dykodesigns]

That’s a nice bit of DIY craftsmanship! A lot of these midi keyboards have a very small circuitboard in them. My dad once opened up my Emu X-board 49 and it’s pcb was quite small. It contains some basic Arm based microcontroller / embedded cpu.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

true, it's hard to find those simple controllers that can be used as donors for projects like this, usually the quality is very poor, or they don't have din midi out, or lots of sliders and controls, that you don't want.

[@michaelgallacher8248]

This is the sort of thing I did, but well done Woody, mine look more like a sideboard when I finished.

[@billgrabbe9992]

I lack your tools, skill and confidence. I bought a gutted Lowrey organ, inserted a shelf and achieved a similar result using my xk1c and a DX7 that was collecting dust. Then I added MIDI to a set of 25 pedals, because there's thing called COVID and I can't watch KZbin all my waking hours (although I came close yesterday). Between shopping for deals on the parts, learning some woodworking skills, and now learning to kick bass, this has been a great way to make pandemic house arrest productive and rewarding.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

that sounds like an even more epic project, nice!

[@Spektralfarben-Music]

Great work, looks awesome! I love it! In my eyes, there is only one detail that prevents the construction from being "perfect": I would have made the lower manual also as a waterfall keyboard, so the uneven optics and playability would always bother me a bit.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

you're right, but good luck finding a cheap donor keyboard with waterfall. in practise it didn't bother me thst they were different. the layout and spacing between them is more important, i feel.

[@noamgonen6243]

nice work ! cool project. Carpentry work amazing.

[@stevec.1802]

Very resourceful and well thought out. Thanks for sharing your project with us. I’ve often wondered why Nord hasn’t implemented an adaptation where you could have an organ and piano keyboards in the same cabinet.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

nobody has, maybe it's because playing organ needs two organ style keyboards.

[@xp50player]

Quite an ambitious project there👍. What kind of joinery did you use for the top? And how did you get that heavy looking case for it up to the attic?😳

[@WoodyPianoShack]

it weighs 20kg maybe, no problem there! i used dowels and a lot of glue to construct this thing, worked out good!

[@adrimathlener8008]

Nice to see the young Woody :-)

[@ilovekeyboards7830]

Woody can you please show me what key you play on your song

[@WoodyPianoShack]

most of them!

[@acheron4444]

Nice cabinet!

[@pmaronna]

nice to have the video back

[@stever3788]

nice job on the stain, i wouldn't have guessed it was made with regular looking lumber before you stained it. Will there be a side by side with the Viscount? Is there any issue when playing with the lower manual having bottom sensors and the top manual using more organ like top sensors?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

this cabinet is long gone steve, as it wasn't getting much use, I gave it away with the NE2... :/ no issues with different keybeds, sensors, you get used to it :)

[@stever3788]

@@WoodyPianoShack hope you got a good sale on the NE2. I like that you took the SL161 out of its case, that really was a crap plastic enclosure they used in that generation.

[@Barry101er]

Nice one Woody

[@PeterWalkerHP16c]

I like it!

[@lordbachus]

I can feel your pain, seems you lost access to the Viscount?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

no jules, this was something I made almost 20 years ago! viscount sitting right next to me...

[@ilovekeyboards7830]

Woody do you still have the roland d 05

[@WoodyPianoShack]

no

[@cindygroves5804]

Ingenious!

[@obwanz1921]

Lovely!

[@craigbrowning9448]

I built an "Emergency Organ" out of a Voce V-5 and 2 M-Audio Keyboards, 1 49 Note unit with no Top Control Panel as a Lower Manual and a 37 Note With Top Control Panel (does Lower Manual and Pedal Drawbar Equivalent) and the V-5 sits to the Left of the Upper Manual.

[@craigbrowning9448]

I also built a 25 note MIDI pedalboard from a unit salvaged out of a Wurlitzer Home Organ that had Magnetic Reed Switches and used them to run the guts of a non-velocity MIDI keyboard I found at a thrift store.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

great stuff!