The Nord factory
The Nord factory is located in the creative area of Stockholm called SoFo, in the district of Södermalm. It occupies three stories of an old industrial brick building close to the major music shop district and is brimming with creativity.
Our R&D team can spawn a completely new instrument from an informal discussion; members of the production crew then add their talent and improvements that have made many successful products even better.
As there's only a short walk between production and development, we can communicate very fast and easy. This helps us correct production problems early on, even as early as during the prototype process.
The production crew collaborates with a few, carefully chosen contractors that deliver high quality components to the Nord factory. Whenever possible, we use Swedish suppliers. This gives us a better control over the end result of every individual manufactured instrument.
The logistics of the production line is like a carefully crafted piece of art. Months ahead the crew knows exactly what products will be assembled and shipped on e.g. a particular Tuesday. Furthermore they also could tell you what was delivered 18 months ago!
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Genius at work. CEO Hans Nordelius and Nord Hardware Engineer José Esparza La Torre in a hands on construction session. |
Our Quality Control starts at the very first production station. As soon as two parts are assembled together, they are given an identity, which will follow this particular instrument for all of its life. Everything we need to know about a certain unit is entered automatically into a database. This ensures that we can track down any issue that presents itself during the lifespan of any given product.
Each and every unit is thoroughly tested before it is shipped out to our worldwide distribution network. The heat test that we run for 48 hours will invariably reveal if there's any internal component not performing as expected. Every key, knob and button is then operated several times in our custom made Quality Control testing rigs before a unit is considered ready to ship.
The Nord keyboards are assembled by hand by a very dedicated and skilful crew. There are many smiles and happy faces at the factory in a relaxed but focused atmosphere. Most of our staff are active musicians. We definitely do have a stellar material for a great company band.
A BRIEF COMPANY HISTORY
The 80's
1983
Clavia was founded in 1983 by Hans Nordelius together with Mikael Carlsson in Stockholm, Sweden. In a basement in a suburb of Stockholm he created the Digital Percussion Plate 1, which was released later the same year. For the first time ever drummers could play sampled sounds with great feel and dynamics. The sounds were stored on removable EPROM cartridges in 8-bit format. Needless to say, the product was an instant success.
1984
In 1984 the brand name ddrum was introduced. Hans and Mikael teamed up with Bengt Lilja to create the worlds first digital pad construction featuring real drum heads and hoops. Most other pads on the market had a plastic or rubber surface, so these improvements were considered very innovative. The ddrum versions 1 to 4 all became very successful and many people still regard them as being the best triggering digital drum system around.
The 90's
1995
The Nord Lead synthesizer was released in 1995. It was Clavias first synthesizer and the first on the market to emulate analog synthesis. Thanks to its warm analog-like sound and straight forward user interface, the Nord Lead quickly became a huge success. With the Nord Lead Clavia introduced the term virtual analog, which since then has become widely accepted and synonymous with this form of synthesis.
1996
Magnus Kjellander joined Clavia in -96 and brought with him a new approach to the company in terms of software design. Magnus is the head of Clavia's software engineering department and the first unit that he was involved in completing was the Nord Modular. Introduced in -97, this was the first digital modular synthesizer. By dragging modules on the computer screen and connecting them with ''virtual patch cords'', you can design the synthesizer of your dreams. The Nord Modular is quite possibly the most flexible and innovative synthesizer that has ever been on the market.
The New millennium
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Magnus Kjellander - Partner and Head of Software Development and Hans Nordelius - Founder, Innovator and CEO. |
2001
The goal when developing the Nord Electro, introduced in 2001, was to create the best emulations of classical electro-mechanical keyboards on the market. The Nord Electro doesn't offer any brass sounds or orchestral banks, just outstanding electro-mechanical sounds with a lot of passion. Unlike the instruments it emulates it is also extremely portable.
The Nord Lead 3 was also released in 2001 and has been described as the ultimate performance synthesizer. The design of the panel with the LED Rotary Dials, the intuitive layout and the great sound made the Nord Lead 3 a classic stage and studio favorite instrument.
2005
In 2005 Clavia released the company's first stage keyboard with the Nord Stage. It's a true flagship instrument featuring many of Clavia's areas of expertise. In addition to great acoustic and electric piano sounds you get organ emulations, loads of effects, master keyboard functionality and even a synthesizer! Regardless of your musical style, the Nord Stage has a lot to offer. This year Clavia stopped manufacturing digital drums and the ddrum brand name was sold.
2007
In 2007 the 2nd generation of Clavia's famous tonewheel model was released in the dual manual Nord C1 Combo Organ. Weighing in at merely 15 kg or 34 lbs. you have 3 vintage organs in one package. Not just the sound, but the feel and response too. And a roaring overdrive. And a bunch of out-board effects. And several amps and a rotating speaker.
2007 also took the Nord Lead synthesizer concept to the next level with the introduction of the groundbreaking Nord Wave; a virtual analog synthesizer capable of using any standard audio file as an oscillator source - making it a digital sample player in a virtual analog environment. The best of two worlds integrated in a single unit that is small in size, big in sound, and extremely intuitive and easy to use.
2008
The Nord Stage EX series was introduced in November 2008, with a 256 MB capacity for the piano memory and a new color scheme on the panel. Just a month later, the first feature rich Nord Electro 3 left the assembly line.
The year 2008 is also a history milestone since Clavia celebrates its 25th anniversary, with the incredible cool looking Nord Lead Anniversary model as a result.
2009
The Nord C2 Combo Organ contains not only every award winning detail from its predecessor, it also features an updated tonewheel model for even more realism and a brand new addition - a wonderful baroque pipe organ.
The Future
Nord is dedicated to continue to develop amazing and exquisite instruments according to our principles and philosophy; aimed at the performing musician.