Best of the best, until the K2600XS came along. :)
Written: Feb 16 '03 (Updated Mar 07 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Dozens, maybe hundreds. Deep, deep instrument. Best main synth you can buy.
Cons: Because of its depth, you must read its excellent manuals, many times.
The Bottom Line: For professional musicians who know what they want to do, this is the machine (or actually, the improved Kurzweil K2600XS).
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| toddster's Full Review: Kurzweil K2500x |
The other 2 reviewers did a fine job explaining the excellencies of this instrument. I will try to write some different things. I'll start with my gripes, then proceed to great stuff.
I bought mine 4 years ago, loaded to the gills with every option available. The only thing it lacked was KDFX (effects unit) which came out about 1½ years later. I then bought it and had my friend help me with installation. Perfect.
KDFX (multi-effects) will take you a LONG time to get your mind around. It's SO powerful (flexibility is incredible) that you may easily get discouraged trying to use it. They try to say that things are easy to do, and in once sense "yes", but you really do need to be more than a musician to understand the depths of this instrument. I am a very bright guy, and tell people (all kidding aside) that you almost need a bachelor's degree in this instrument to tap its potential. I'm telling you, read the manuals, many times.
My main gripe with this fantastic instrument, and it truly is awesome, is the way the engineers did the software access for configuring SETUPS. SETUPS are the use of many programs at once. SETUPS are pretty straight forward to understand, EXCEPT for a few things. Because of its depth of ability, Kurzweil chose to map certain parameters and synthesis capabilities in the SETUP mode, as opposed to keeping them within a PROGRAM. This is actually a real drag. For example, the arpegiator has to be configured in a default SETUP, from which PROGRAMS gather "that" information to use in the PROGRAM mode. Kinda wiley, because you want to program the arpegiator while you are directly in a PROGRAM, but you cannot. You have to exit PROGRAM by going into SETUP mode, and then program the arpegiator parameters in the default SETUP from which then, all PROGRAMS will use those parameters.
More... There are other parameters, also, that you would want to adjust directly from a PROGRAM, but cannot, i.e. various sliders, buttons, and foot switches. IF you want different settings for the arpegiator for one PROGRAM different from another PROGRAM, Kurzweil tells you to create additional SETUPS with the configurations you want, save them, and then you will need to change the DEFAULT SETUP # (from MASTER mode) to the appropriate numbered SETUP you saved so that the PROGRAM you then wish to play will have the correct SETUP parameters ready and available for the Arpegiator settings you desire (or footswitch controls, or button controls, etc.). Did you follow all that?
Keep in mind, I could write a novel of excellent things, like the other 2 guys wrote. There is SO MUCH greatness to this instrument. I'm only really touching on the couple of gripes I have found, which I believe is what you would want to read about.
Trying to get all your PROGRAMS to utilize their own Effect (Flanger, Delay, Reverb, Chorus), is going to require you to use KDFX. KDFX is not easy to understand. It's so deep that you are going to wish you had a Kurzweil engineer in your studio while you are playing around, experimenting.
I have gone out and played other competitors' keyboards, but they do not compare.
GREAT STUFF:
[3rd party] I have bought the Sweetwater Grand Piano CD Sample for $325 and it is just excellent. I only wish they had done the triple strike recording with a 9' Steinway, instead of the Young Chang. There's no end to 3rd party Sample sounds you can buy for this instrument.
The KB3 mode (Hammond B3 organ perfection) will blow you away. This is a stock feature on this instrument. I have played my Kurzweil live while listening to Hammond B3 video instruction tapes of all types (Rock, blues, jazz), and you won't believe how perfect the KB3 Mode of the Kurzweil is to the real thing. No b.s.
LIVE mode, which I have not used much of yet, allows the input of live signals (guitars, microphone singing, etc.) to be routed into the V.A.S.T. architecture of the machine. It means no limitations.
The add-on modules are all worth having (piano, contemporary, orchestral.) The samples and programs are really good, and you can easily modify them to your taste if you need to.
Controllers??? Wow. Tons of them. Again, you want to play and be able to change sounds in real time. You might want to do it with your feet while you are playing. You can because there are like 4 foot pedal outs, and 2 additional control voltage pedal outs. Talk about abilities! Then there are 8 sliders and buttons, etc. Route them and program them to your heart's content.
Once in a while I run into a program limitation, i think, when trying to sum various routings, etc. But if you dig into this instrument with FUNs (functions), there is, more than likely, a way to do what you want.
If you are buying an instrument for the first time, be prepared to read, learn, and have TONS of fun exploring its depth for many years. It is heavy so you will more than likely need help transporting it. If you are used to analog programming, you need to work at getting fat, warm sounds from a DSP flow chart.
It's easy to take out of the box, plug in and start playing. But you do not buy an instrument like this for just that reason.
I have upgraded the operating system (OS) a few times in the past 4 years and it's not too hard. I'm now using OS 5.0 which has an undocumented VOCODER ability. Actually, I think it was added back in OS v. 4.0.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
toddster
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Reviews written: 5
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