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SP6


Coker

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Just bought the GKB-88 SLIM, and it is a very snug fit. I'm going to leave the keyboard in it for a few days to allow the material to stretch and take form - as much as it can. Still topples over, but I think the wedges may help. I don't think there'll be a better off-the-shelf solution.

 

Quick comment to Frank. I've owned an MP5, MP6 and MP7. Those are all great boards, and the MP7 gives the SP6 a run for its money. But in terms of weight, analogue synth sounds and overall flexibility, the SP6 wins for me. Add in the Forte SE pack, the old PC3 sounds and DW's additional tweaks, and you have a killer board for the money, IMO.

 

Still needs a few bug fixes, but they're minor.

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I've just packed mine up to go to practice and it stands up fine, with a slight lean.

 

It seems to depend on whether you have anything in the front pockets. I took pedal and power supply out, and the board stayed upright (with that slight lean), but the extra couple of pounds is enough to tip the balance.

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I don't know what in the world Kurzweil was thinking in designing the SP6. While it hits most boxes on my list, I can't get past the awful fugly look of this thing. It just seems to be much larger than need be and those ping-pong paddles on the backside, what the -- Just my humble opinion, but ugh.
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I don't know what in the world Kurzweil was thinking in designing the SP6. While it hits most boxes on my list, I can't get past the awful fugly look of this thing. It just seems to be much larger than need be and those ping-pong paddles on the backside, what the -- Just my humble opinion, but ugh.

 

I thought the same thing until I picked it up in the middle (unit horizontal). Then I got it. Handles like a dream whilst being hand-carried, better than any 88 note board I've ever owned.

 

Otherwise the enclosure is shaped to support and fit the action. They actually made it as small as they possibly could. Design meetings for products like this used to be painful - pound of flesh type stuff. It's one of the things I miss the least about working for a keyboard company!

 

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To my hands the SP-6 action is slightly heavier than the NS2 and a bit more sluggish.

IMHO not as good of a compromise between piano and organ as the Nord but more like a piano. That being said I am getting used to it after playing it for a week.

 

The Nord Stage action (TP40m) is very similar to the Forte action (TP40L). What I tell people who ask me about the actions in the SP6 vs the Forte:

The Forte/Forte7 feels amazing for a $3K-ish board that weighs 48/41 lbs.

The SP6 feels amazing for a $1300 board that weighs 27 lbs.

 

Action is by far the most expensive and heaviest component in a keyboard. If you want to shave off cost and weight, compromises have to be made. No way around it without magic. The trick is to minimize the hit to feel.

 

In my opinion the Fatar TP100 (another cost/weight reduced action) tried but missed the mark (used in Kurz Artis, Forte SE and Nord HP models). Doesn't shave off enough price/weight and doesn't feel great (to me). And is noisy as hell.

 

In my opinion the Medeli action in the SP6 nailed it. Shaved off a ton of price and weight and feels better (to me) than the TP100.

 

Expecting the $1300 SP6 action to feel like the TP40 models will result in suffering, anger and the dark side. You know the rest...

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

 

 

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I am pleasantly surprised by how much I like the action on the SP6. I've owned a Casio PX5s for years and while I agree with many how good that keyboard feels to play, so far I have really connected with the Kurzweil in a way I never quite did with the Casio. The fingers to sound connection feels great and I've settled on the "Piano Touch" setting for velocity.

I've not gigged with it yet but 2 rehearsals and lots of time spent playing it lead me to believe that this is a keeper.

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On the look/design of the SP6, I don't know why they didn't go for the same casing as the Forte SE, which just looks slimmer and doesn't have so much extraneous plastic at the ends (or the increasingly notorious 'paddles'!).

 

I'm sure Dave's right when he talks about the action being the most cost-critical equation in the whole thing, but they could surely have saved a few bucks more by shaving some of the plastic off the SP6?!

 

Having said that I've only seen pictures and wondered how people are finding it when it comes to lugging it about - obviously it's lighter so that's a bonus but is it unwieldy to carry? (I have narrow staircases to navigate to my basement rehearsal room!)

 

 

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...I've only seen pictures and wondered how people are finding it when it comes to lugging it about - obviously it's lighter so that's a bonus but is it unwieldy to carry? (I have narrow staircases to navigate to my basement rehearsal room!)

It's an 88 and so you need to be aware of length when negotiating tight spaces - it would be easy to bang it into door frames etc., but I'm finding the width (15") no problem. It feels very light, and is easy to move, pack and unpack.

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Thanks for info voxpop, getting closer to pulling trigger on SP6. I love my 5D but just find the sample synth section too limiting (and don't have the money for a Stage 3).

 

Might refashion my rig from Nord 5D bottom/ Yamaha MX-49 top to an SP-6 bottom + Mojo 61/Viscount Solo/HX-3 on top (I own an old Studiologic SL-161 I could midi that up to).

 

There isn't much cost difference between both rigs...

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I did have a VR-09 but didn't get on with the organ tone, and as synth I think the SP6 would actually be better with its VAST engine. So I'd probably look to have a dedicated organ on top of the SP6, since I'm guessing the KB3 wouldn't quite match the Electro (I play a fair bit of classic rock/Deep Purple etc!)

 

One other facet of the Electro I'm finding recently is that the idea of 'hands-on' control is a bit of a misnomer, for me at least. In live performance there's only so much twisting of knobs and pressing of FX on/off I can do without detracting from the music.

 

Often, on a darkened stage, I'll reach for a button and it's the wrong one or I double-press or go past the effect I want. The Stage 3 actually looks even more bewildering from this point of view.

 

So I'm leaning now toward preferring to have most of my patches setup beforehand, with just a few knobs to deal with like cut off/resonance/reverb etc.

 

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On the look/design of the SP6, I don't know why they didn't go for the same casing as the Forte SE, which just looks slimmer and doesn't have so much extraneous plastic at the ends (or the increasingly notorious 'paddles'!).

 

I think the Forte SE is metal, so presumably would have made the board noticeably heavier.

 

From the pics, it looks to me like, at least to some extent, the paddles serve to protect the back panel connectors, essentially "recessing" them.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Hi Toey,

 

Could you tell me more about the SP6 compared to the MP11.

I personally own a Kawai MP6 and I want to replace that with an SP6.

Main reasons are weight and the lower quality sounds beside the AP en EP of the MP6.

What I need are quality AP, EP, Organ, Strings and analog sounds.

 

I bought the SP6 to replace the MP7 weight, but to my ear the MP 7 has much nicer AP voices. And I can easily EQ them to cut through all that guitar stuff. Reluctantly I returned the Kurzweil but in my bands the AP is used 90% of the time. I occasionally layer strings and use brass, flute,accordion, EP and sax voicings which are adequate on the Kawai. So unfortunately I keep coming back to my Kawai and will continue breaking my back.

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I bought the SP6 to replace the MP7 weight, but to my ear the MP 7 has much nicer AP voices. And I can easily EQ them to cut through all that guitar stuff. Reluctantly I returned the Kurzweil but in my bands the AP is used 90% of the time. I occasionally layer strings and use brass, flute,accordion, EP and sax voicings which are adequate on the Kawai. So unfortunately I keep coming back to my Kawai and will continue breaking my back.

The MP7 is nice. If you want to look at some other lighter boards that might do what you want, the Nord Electro 5HP would be a super light contender, albeit a pricey one. The Yamaha CP40 seems to get overlooked in favor of the CP4, but it weighs and costs less, has most of the same sounds, and still a decent action. Not super light, but still knocks over 10 lbs off the Kawai. Yamaha also has the lighter MOXF8... if you're okay with the action, even if you're not so thrilled with the stock piano, it has some pretty nice additional piano sounds you can load in if you add the flash card.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Hi Toey,

 

Could you tell me more about the SP6 compared to the MP11.

I personally own a Kawai MP6 and I want to replace that with an SP6.

Main reasons are weight and the lower quality sounds beside the AP en EP of the MP6.

What I need are quality AP, EP, Organ, Strings and analog sounds.

 

I bought the SP6 to replace the MP7 weight, but to my ear the MP 7 has much nicer AP voices. And I can easily EQ them to cut through all that guitar stuff. Reluctantly I returned the Kurzweil but in my bands the AP is used 90% of the time. I occasionally layer strings and use brass, flute,accordion, EP and sax voicings which are adequate on the Kawai. So unfortunately I keep coming back to my Kawai and will continue breaking my back.

 

Did you try Dave Weisers piano sounds or the Forte SE piano expansion set with your SP6? These cut through in a band setting pretty nicely.

LIFE IS SHORT, GO GET THE GEAR YOU WANT ;-)

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
I understand what Dirshort is saying. I think Kurzweil should take another look at the "optimization" of the APs in the SP6.

Sometimes wishes are granted!

 

New firmware: Version 1.10. Substantial improvements to the APs, and many of the other bugs addressed. Thanks Kurzweil!

 

:like:

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Version 1.10 Release Notes

(For OS 3.84.30314 / Object 1.01.6)

 

MULTI MODE:

 

Fixes/Improvements:

 

When local keyboard channel is enabled and you are changing multis via MIDI, the screen was not being updated with the current multi. this is now fixed.

FX stability improvements.

Favorite changes were sending duplicated program changes making it not smooth.

EDIT / CC Pedal - The CCPedal now offers an entry value parameter.

 

PROGRAM MODE:

 

Fixes/Improvements:

 

Japanese and German piano keymaps improved for smoother velocity changes, linear and vertical key to key transitions, and general volume balances.

Five intermediate layers have been introduced to the following German piano programs to smooth out sample cross-switching from lower dynamics through higher dynamics:

 

-1 Dyn 9ft Grand

-3 Bright Jazz 9ft

-5 Punchy Edge

-7 Smooth Grand 9ft

 

Three intermediate layers have been introduced to the following Japanese piano programs to help smooth out sample cross-switching from lower dynamics through higher dynamics.

 

-2 Rich Grand 7ft

-4 Intimate Pno 7ft

-6 Studio Grand 7ft

-8 Solo Grand 7ft

 

(The resultant programs were made to sound as close as possible to the originally released programs.)

 

FX stability improvements.

EDIT / Assignable Params - Plus and Minus will now scroll through the whole list.

KB3 - Drawbar display (0-8) is now properly reversed.

KB3 / EDIT / Master - Mono parameter is no longer displayed.

Favorite changes were sending duplicated program changes making it not smooth.

 

GLOBAL MODE:

 

Fixes/Improvements:

 

FILE / Store - When there are no user objects are in the system, all of the Store menus are no longer presented.

FILE / Store - Proper error messaging is displayed after loading no/invalid objects.

 

GENERAL:

 

Features:

 

Added support for external software editor.

 

 

 CP-50, YC 73,  FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122

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had my SP6 a couple weeks and starting to really like - getting ready for practice and then gigs .. I have the Dave W sounds, but any idea where I can get additional (from Kurz, etc) - like the SP6, but not as many patches as my PC1x it is replacing that I had used for gig setups ...

PC1x, Hammond XK1c, Deep Mind 6, MS500 (gig rig)

Kurz PC4, Mini Moog Model D, Little Phatty, Hammond M3, Leslie 145, viscount op-3, Behringer model D, Roland GAIA.. (home studio)

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You can upload lots and lots of sounds from ksetlist... including all the 512 Forte SE programs...

 

Fran

thank you !! assume that is on the Kurzweil website, so will go there and look - thanks

PC1x, Hammond XK1c, Deep Mind 6, MS500 (gig rig)

Kurz PC4, Mini Moog Model D, Little Phatty, Hammond M3, Leslie 145, viscount op-3, Behringer model D, Roland GAIA.. (home studio)

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  • 2 weeks later...

It has arrived. Immediate first impressions after a couple of hours of banging -- nice. The touch was my biggest concern, and it's one of the better stage pianos that I've played. Not quite as good as the CP4, but damn close. Just my opinion, better than the PX-5S.

 

AP sounds I'm going to need to work on a bit. The one I like the best so far is Punchy Edge -- it's bright and crisp without being painfully bright, and more 'alive' than the others. It's the one that moves me right now.

 

Navigating around is also going to take some work. It's not too horrible, but basic functions like split and layer are not easily found without the manual. Would also be nice if you could program the Variation button (maybe you can -- I haven't found that yet).

 

Looks like it has 4 zones available real time, which is already more than the CP4 offered.

 

Now I just need to get my chops back, because I've been playing on a semi-weighted SP4-7 for the last 4 months, and I'm already feeling it after just a couple of hours.

 

Long story short, nice sounds, and very nice action for such a lightweight package. If I ever get out gigging again, this is gonna be a dream to lug around.

 

D-10; M50; SP4-7; SP6

I'm a fairly accomplished hack.

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