I have owned my P2K for about a year and a half. I use it every weekend in clubs all over Ontario, and on sessions. It resides in a 2u rack next to me and I simply pull the necessary cables out the empty space, plug in and play. I have the B3, ZR-76, and Orch 1 (group strings) Roms installed. I was a bit disappointed with the ZR piano, as my 1996 Roland A90 still sounds richer. The B3 and Orch 1 roms are great.
The features and construction quality are excellent overall. The only problem I experience is that sometimes the knobs will jump to their present location, causing an unpleasant change in the sound. Now I let the unit warm up and do the recalibrating function in the master menu. This usually works.
The sound quality is a bit bland compared to the hyped sound of other modules, but I think this is because of the more conservative use of effects, and that the quality of the waveforms in the P2K rom as well as the Ensoniq rom are not as high as on the other expansions.
Still, I appreciate the programming power, polyphony, filters, knobs, and the price. It can sound really good if you get into the programming side of it. When I was looking for an auxilliary synth I also checked out the Roland xp-30, and the Triton rack. The triton sounded great but even the rack was more than I wanted to spend at the time. When I disabled the FX on the Roland, it was clear the the Proteus was a much fatter and up-front sounding synth.
After having bought the other roms, I've gone back and listened to the triton, and still think it sounds great, but for having spent the same amount of money, I have a better piano sound, far superior organs, and the strings are outstanding.
I feel I should also mention that in live settings, the zr piano dosen't do it for me, but in the studio, when I can run in stereo, it's a totally different instrument. The A 90 can appear over hyped, while the zr seems to be able to just fit into the mix well. Also it has a more detailed upper register. I guess things that work live and in the studio are two different things.
Overall I am happy with my purchase, and would recommend it to others. The dual MIDI ins (which are lacking on the new 2500) allow me to do some pretty slick stuff live. It's easy to use, the manual is well written, and has served me well as my workhorse synth in a variety of situations.
1 of 1 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!