Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've just come back from my local music store after trying the PC3X and the SP2, and being assured by the earnest young sales clerk that the Kurzweil reps had told him their primary audience was not the workstation programmer but, as the name suggests, the "performer," who simply requires the best piano possible for his Saturday night gigging.
But no one could answer my questions about the instrument, nor could anyone draw up one of the many acoustic pianos for a head to head face-off between the PC3 and the SP2. This is a heavy board with everything on it and a steep learning curve--along with over a thousand voices and set-ups. Do I wish to spend a week learning how to call up a few of the most practical voices? Do I want to haul around 60 pounds worth of artillery (excluding power adapters, amplifiers, etc)? Do I really want an RMI piano sound (one of my first pianos, made by Rocky Mountain Industries, aka Allen Organ) and the Take 6 samples? (What! No Frank Sinatra sample?) Lastly, could I resist a price just under 2 grand?
The answer is yes. I decided on the SP2 (I've gone through three SP76s, and the SP2 has 76 notes plus semi-weighted rather than fully weighted keys. Significance: a keyboard you can actually carry). I have doubts about Kurzweil's concern for the performer even with respect to the SP line. While in the store, I couldn't figure out how to access the basses or layer on a ride cymbal. And the thing comes with a gratuitous drum machine. But it's at least 25 pounds lighter than the PC3. Nuff said.
(if you want a more practical piano, but only slightly less heavy instrument, with fully-weighted action, look at the recently discontinued PC1se, which the same Amazon vendor, 8th Street Music, is advertising at a great price (same as the SP2). I would have ordered it--but a roadie apparently doesn't come with it.)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Kurzweil PC3X 88 Note Performance Controller and V.A.S.T. Workstation Keyboard, Hammer Action Keys, Black
The PC3 series from Kurzweil is built on our Kurzweil custom chip technology. The PC3 chip allows for more polyphony, more effects power, seamless effects switching, superb sound quality and a long list of exciting new features.With a sleek new look on the outside, and an arsenal of Kurzweil's latest cutting edge chip technology under its hood, the 88 note PC3X delivers 128 voices of incredible sound quality along with a host of powerful, easy to use features. The PC3X is Kurzweil's ultimate performance controller keyboard, with an enormous collection of stunning sounds combined with comprehensive real-time controller functions. In addition to our renowned Triple Strike Grand Piano, the PC3X features hundreds of new sounds; basses, drums, guitars, and synthesizers suited for every style and taste, along with a collection of flawless vintage keyboard emulations, KB3 Mode and over 250 orchestral and string section programs. The PC3X's new Dynamic V.A.S.T. architecture is a huge step forward in synthesis, the fruit of several major strides we've made in improving processing power, flexibility and user-friendliness. Good news for synthesizer enthusiasts - the VA-1 Virtual Analog Synthesizer has been seamlessly integrated into the new system! For good measure, it includes an unlimited-track sequencer with 960 PPQ resolution and more effects processing power than our acclaimed KSP8 processor, making the PC3X a full blown music production workstation. Add in USB, flash xD card port, a newly designed keyboard action, and a new intuitive user interface, and you've got the next generation of Kurzweil instruments. It's a performance controller. It's a synthesizer. It's a workstation.
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