customer reviews
96 People rated this product :
8 out of 10
5 People wrote reviews
9 out of 10
"Great controller with a good 16-part, 64-voice synth engine thrown in"
Feature:
It's worth the price for the feel of the keyboard alone. I use it as my main controller and for piano and orchestral sounds (and sometimes that Bladerunner program). As a 16-part multitimbral synth it works great. It's not really programmable, though. You can make setups which are combinations of individual programs, layered and split over the keyboard, and using the arpeggiator you can get some interesting sounds, but programming is limited to tweaking the parameters each program lets you tweak, which is sometimes filter cutoff, sometimes with a resonance control, and the two effect send levels. I don't like that it has an external power supply but if it was to fail at least I could just order a new power supply instead of packing up and shipping a 60lb keyboard. It also means the keyboard doesn't get hot, which should prolong its life.
Quality:
It is metal and feels like it will last forever, but the four little knobs near the display feel a bit cheap. Having said that, they've lasted three years and are still working fine.
Value:
This is worth the money if you're just going to use it as a controller. As a bonus, it has hundreds of good sounds. The Classic Keys expansion is worth the extra but you have to like keyboard sounds from the 60's & 70's because a quite a few of those presets have only subtle differences between them.
Sound:
I don't think there's a bad preset among the 640 or so it has (mine has the Classic Keys card). The pianos are amazing and all the programs in the orchestral bank are very convincing. The Classic Keys card has a great Bladerunner program and plenty of others that you'll instantly recognize. It has a couple of good synth sounds but it is a bit light in that area. Don't be put off by the 32MB ROM size (48MB with the CK card) - it sounds much better than you'd expect, and I prefer the pianos to those of a soft synth I own that has a 7GB per piano library.
Ease of Use:
It doesn't have a sequencer, you can't sample, and you can't create your own sounds from scratch, so that just leaves making setups, setting up keyboard zones, and using it as a multitimbral playback engine, which they've made very easy.
Support:
Had to call them once. Left a message and thought "Yep, I'll never hear from them", but someone sent me an email the next day with the solution. That's great service for a small company like Kurzweil.
Overall:
I gave it 9/10 because you can't do much programming. For me that would usually mean it should get 5/10, but the feel of the keyboard and the quality of the orchestral presets is so good that I decided to overlook that and buy it anyway, and I'm glad I did.
Submitted: 2/12/2008
10 out of 10
"Play all your favorite Jim Meck songs"
Feature:
Four independent zones is the main reason I wanted this! I have a Roland A-80 controller and was afraid it might die one day and this keyboard was one of the few that filled the bill. It's nice having on-board sounds so I can easily change setups. I'm not crazy about the power adapter; I'm used to the big AC cord on the A-80, not a little low voltage plug from an in-line adapter. The road can be rough.
Quality:
So far, so good. I'm concerned about the action; I don't know how durable it is. I could really beat the A-80 (twenty years worth) and never had a problem. I've played a few gigs and it seems fine.
Value:
This keyboard is not worth the price; it's worth double! Quick, grab one before any dealer realizes this.
Desirability:
Keyboards don't have "sex appeal" as the category suggests, but keyboard players do. It is a great looking keyboard, thanks for not making the case pink or using light up keys.
Sound:
The organ and orchestral sounds are terrific as are most of the sounds. There are many choices of piano sounds which is always a nice thing.
Ease of Use:
It's incredibly easy to use and edit setups. I only had one issue so far with the rotor control (leslie) for the B-3 sound. It apparently only functions in zone 1 so I had to adapt my setups. There are always some trade-offs and compromises. It's a small issue.
Support:
I heard horror stories about Kurzweil and tech support. I haven't had to have anything physically repaired, but the rotor issue (above) was worked out through emails. They even had me send a sysex file to find out what might be wrong. They responded quickly every time.
Overall:
I hope this lasts for 20 years like my other keyboard. I really hate spending money. This thing does so many things well, I would not hesitate to get another one. I can play all my favorite Jim Meck songs on it as well as Billy Joel, Elton John, etc. My least favorite thing is the active zone switching method, but I'll get used to it.
Submitted: 2/16/2007
Style of Music: rock, Bach, jazz, and more, solo gigs or with a drummerf
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