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Kurzweil PC4


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Looking at more pics, I'm pretty sure that not only is it using the SP6 action, but actually the SP6 enclosure as well, so that provides likely dimensions if needed. Someone at gearslutz said it's 12.3 kg (27.12lb), I don't know where that came from... that would be great, but if the SP6 specs at the Kurz site are correct, that model is 12.6 kg, so I think it's likely the PC4 will be a little heavier than that, with it's additional controls/electronics.

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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I just re-visited the organs on my Integra. I never before noticed the articulations... if you play legato, the percussive element doesn't trigger, until you play staccato.

Yup, that's what a real B3 did, and that's what all the "organ engine" emulations do, including KB3 on the Kurz.

 

My old K2661's KB3 engine do this, too..

Kurzweil K2661 + full options,iMac 27",Mac book white,Apogee Element 24 + Duet,Genelec 8030A,Strymon Lex + Flint,Hohner Pianet T,Radial Key-Largo,Kawai K5000W,Moog Minitaur,Yamaha Reface YC + CP, iPad 9th Gen, Arturia Beatstep + V Collection 9

 

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The PC4 does use the SP6 action. It does not use the SP6 enclosure though it is similarly lightweight. I picked one up at R&D and it felt as light as the SP6 but I don't have an exact weight.

 

I do not know of nor have heard of any plans for a 76 note version. (But I would welcome one of course!) If there were ever to be a 76, I'm not sure which action they would use. I'd guess and hope that it would be the same hammer weighted action as the 88, similar to the Forte and Forte7 both using the same action. Using the same action reduces hassles and streamlines the processes of mechanical design, board layout and manufacturing. The Forte7, with it's 76 note fully weighted action has been a huge seller - they're constantly sold out.

 

I personally think it's highly unlikely that they would use the SP4-7 semi-weighted Medeli action again. When I worked at Kurz, I received a good amount of negative feedback on that one. (Not quality-related, people just didn't care for the feel.)

 

The SP6's Medeli action on the other hand has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

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But, Dave, they must give us and a 61 synth version, they have not give something like this for a very long time, almost a decade...

Kurzweil K2661 + full options,iMac 27",Mac book white,Apogee Element 24 + Duet,Genelec 8030A,Strymon Lex + Flint,Hohner Pianet T,Radial Key-Largo,Kawai K5000W,Moog Minitaur,Yamaha Reface YC + CP, iPad 9th Gen, Arturia Beatstep + V Collection 9

 

https://antonisadelfidis.bandcamp.com

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The Forte7, with it's 76 note fully weighted action has been a huge seller - they're constantly sold out.

 

Interesting. And after this lesson Kurzweil launches the PC4 with 88 keys only? Just wondering why so many manufacturers still refuse to supply the demand for smaller 61/76 boards.

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

 

 

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Well, between 1998 or so, and until the announcement of the PC3x in 2010, it actually was very hard to buy a Kurzweil in Sweden - I know, cause I asked/researched about it quite many times, during that period - and here in Sweden, it still seem very hard to sell any other keyboard than a Roland, Yamaha or Korg - Nord is the only company that seems to have successfully challenged "the big three" in our country (not too surprising though... :D )...

 

Doesn't Kurzweil have a fairly strong presence in England? What about Germany? Hopefully Anderton's or Thomann's will get PC4s so you can audition them.

Well, Thomann is nice, and I order a lot of my gear from them, but I still haven't visited the store, since it's really far away - it would take me 16 hours to drive there from home, including a few hours on a ferry... so, that's 843 miles, one way... and the price of gas in Europe is usually about 6 Euros per gallon.

There are quite cheap flights to both the UK and Germany, but the last time I visited the UK was in 1998 (back than there was also cruise ships and ferries from Gothenburg to Harwich, not too far from London, and Newcastle)... For me it's also about three hours by bus to get to the big airports, from where one can fly to both UK and Germany.

 

As a comparison - my two local music stores, where I can try many of the current Korg, Yamaha, Roland or Nord keyboards (and a few DSI and maybe some Novations), is within 10 min bike ride from my home... and it takes me about 2½ by train and subway to get to just about any music store in Stockholm, where I can have access to 5 to 10 times as many current and older, used models of keyboards, than in my home city.

There was one store in Stockholm who carried Kurzweil for about half a year, but they proved hard to sell, for unknown reasons (He had an SP-6 and a KP-110 on display), so AFAIK now there's not a single music store in Stockholm who carries Kurzweil, which is a damn shame. For Kawai pianos, there's only one store (out of 10-15 stores) in Stockholm who carries Kawai. Viscount pianos, very hard to find, but at least the store who carried Kurzweil has Viscount "pipe" and Legend organs in his small "boutique" store.

 

There is actually one store in Falkenberg, half an hour south of Gothenburg (or a 4½ hour drive for me), who actually still sells Kurzweil, and I think there's also one store in Malmö (about 6 hr drive for me) who carries Kurzweil.

 

So, now maybe it's a bit clearer for everyone, why there are so few Kurzweil keyboards in Scandinavia...! :)

 

:wave:

 

Too much stuff, too little time, too few gigs, should spend more time practicing...!  🙄

main instruments: Nord Stage 3 compact, Yamaha CP88, Kurzweil PC4, Viscount KeyB Legend Live

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Well, between 1998 or so, and until the announcement of the PC3x in 2010, it actually was very hard to buy a Kurzweil in Sweden - I know, cause I asked/researched about it quite many times, during that period - and here in Sweden, it still seem very hard to sell any other keyboard than a Roland, Yamaha or Korg - Nord is the only company that seems to have successfully challenged "the big three" in our country (not too surprising though... :D )...

 

Doesn't Kurzweil have a fairly strong presence in England? What about Germany? Hopefully Anderton's or Thomann's will get PC4s so you can audition them.

Well, Thomann is nice, and I order a lot of my gear from them, but I still haven't visited the store, since it's really far away - it would take me 16 hours to drive there from home, including a few hours on a ferry... so, that's 843 miles, one way... and the price of gas in Europe is usually about 6 Euros per gallon.

There are quite cheap flights to both the UK and Germany, but the last time I visited the UK was in 1998 (back than there was also cruise ships and ferries from Gothenburg to Harwich, not too far from London, and Newcastle)... For me it's also about three hours by bus to get to the big airports, from where one can fly to both UK and Germany.

 

As a comparison - my two local music stores, where I can try many of the current Korg, Yamaha, Roland or Nord keyboards (and a few DSI and maybe some Novations), is within 10 min bike ride from my home... and it takes me about 2½ by train and subway to get to just about any music store in Stockholm, where I can have access to 5 to 10 times as many current and older, used models of keyboards, than in my home city.

There was one store in Stockholm who carried Kurzweil for about half a year, but they proved hard to sell, for unknown reasons (He had an SP-6 and a KP-110 on display), so AFAIK now there's not a single music store in Stockholm who carries Kurzweil, which is a damn shame. For Kawai pianos, there's only one store (out of 10-15 stores) in Stockholm who carries Kawai. Viscount pianos, very hard to find, but at least the store who carried Kurzweil has Viscount "pipe" and Legend organs in his small "boutique" store.

 

There is actually one store in Falkenberg, half an hour south of Gothenburg (or a 4½ hour drive for me), who actually still sells Kurzweil, and I think there's also one store in Malmö (about 6 hr drive for me) who carries Kurzweil.

 

So, now maybe it's a bit clearer for everyone, why there are so few Kurzweil keyboards in Scandinavia...! :)

 

:wave:

 

I stayed in south Germany an hour from Stuttgart for almost a year while I was in training for a company I used to work for. I do understand that even at top Autobahn speeds it takes hours to get between the major cities. I drove to Frankfurt twice for business, Munich a couple times for fun, and Berlin once to visit Checkpoint Charlie and attend the Love Parade.

 

The longest drive I made was almost 2 weeks, including overnight stays. Stuttgart to Paris overnight, Amsterdam for a day, another day at Tivoli and Hard Rock Cafe in Copenhagen. The ferry from Denmark to Sweden was interesting at first, but the scenic drive through Sweden was much better. The many proud homes flying a Swedish flag reminded me of rural Southern US.

 

The 2 days and one night in Gothenburg was too short. It was very serene and beautiful, the rivers and countryside, the buildings and people and history (took the mandatory guided boat tours). Loved the many kinds of herring for breakfast, saw a couple buskers in the street, but not as many as in Copenhagen and Amsterdam or Oslo.

 

Hopefully by the time the PC4 comes out and there are multiple reviews here on the forum, you may be convinced to just order one from Anderton's or Thomann directly without trying it out, if that's what you need. Although looking at your signature, you are pretty well set.

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https://www.musiker-board.de/threads/der-grosse-kurzweil-pc4-thread.691814/

 

13 kg

at 1:45, thanks. And I was going to be impressed with your language skills! I did pick up one thing I understood, at 1:25: "aftertouchen, bravo!"

 

The PC4 does use the SP6 action. It does not use the SP6 enclosure

Ah. And yes, in looking again, the side panels are different, and the angle of the control panel seems like it's steeper. And while I think the back still looks somewhat "winged" (i.e. with recessed connectors along the top and a cutout along the bottom), it's also a little different in the actual contours, including an out-and-in bend where the SP6 was flat. My powers of visual observation are not so acute. ;-)

 

 

I do not know of nor have heard of any plans for a 76 note version. (But I would welcome one of course!) If there were ever to be a 76, I'm not sure which action they would use. I'd guess and hope that it would be the same hammer weighted action as the 88, similar to the Forte and Forte7 both using the same action.

Someone posted that a Kurz rep at musikmesse said that a 76 semi-weighted would be forthcoming... but as with the game of telephone (even without possible differences in language), I'd say it would be premature to take that as gospel. If the Artis series is going to be entirely phased out, I would hope for a semi-weighted PC4 to take the place of the Artis 7, but I guess time will tell. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll do what Nord does in the Electro and Stage, make 7x key versions available in both hammer and semi-weighted variants. I don't think any other company has done that, though... in any given line, companies tend to pick one or the other.

 

I personally think it's highly unlikely that they would use the SP4-7 semi-weighted Medeli action again. When I worked at Kurz, I received a good amount of negative feedback on that one. (Not quality-related, people just didn't care for the feel.)

I was much happier with the later SP4-7 I played than the first one, because my first one had very sharp edges to the keys, which made organ playing painful. The later one was much better, and I actually was pretty happy with that action. Though I bought that one used, so maybe the previous owner had filed it down. ;-) I actually liked the SP4-7 better than the Artis 7 as shipped, because the SP4 didn't spring back as hard... but once I put different springs in the Artis 7, I liked that better, for its longer key length and more even front to back response (though even the SP4-7 was better in that respect than boards like the Roland DS/FA and Korg Kross/Krome).

 

 

 

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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I do not know of nor have heard of any plans for a 76 note version. (But I would welcome one of course!) If there were ever to be a 76, I'm not sure which action they would use. I'd guess and hope that it would be the same hammer weighted action as the 88, similar to the Forte and Forte7 both using the same action. Using the same action reduces hassles and streamlines the processes of mechanical design, board layout and manufacturing. The Forte7, with it's 76 note fully weighted action has been a huge seller - they're constantly sold out.

 

The SP6's Medeli action on the other hand has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

 

It's good to hear that the Forte 7 is doing well, that bodes well for a possible PC4 76. A fully-weighted 76 key in a lightweight board is perfect for my gigging needs. I hope fall of 2019 will be a great harvest.

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personally think it's highly unlikely that they would use the SP4-7 semi-weighted Medeli action again. When I worked at Kurz, I received a good amount of negative feedback on that one. (Not quality-related, people just didn't care for the feel.)

 

To each his own I guess, I rather liked it for a semi-weighted. It is way better than the Roland VR-09 action.

Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12

Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell

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I stayed in south Germany an hour from Stuttgart for almost a year while I was in training for a company I used to work for. I do understand that even at top Autobahn speeds it takes hours to get between the major cities. I drove to Frankfurt twice for business, Munich a couple times for fun, and Berlin once to visit Checkpoint Charlie and attend the Love Parade.

 

The longest drive I made was almost 2 weeks, including overnight stays. Stuttgart to Paris overnight, Amsterdam for a day, another day at Tivoli and Hard Rock Cafe in Copenhagen. The ferry from Denmark to Sweden was interesting at first, but the scenic drive through Sweden was much better. The many proud homes flying a Swedish flag reminded me of rural Southern US.

 

The 2 days and one night in Gothenburg was too short. It was very serene and beautiful, the rivers and countryside, the buildings and people and history (took the mandatory guided boat tours). Loved the many kinds of herring for breakfast, saw a couple buskers in the street, but not as many as in Copenhagen and Amsterdam or Oslo.

 

Seems like you have seen almost as much of Europe as I have..! :) South Germany is such a beautiful place, with nice people, and very good food! :) I hope to go there more (including visiting Thomann) in the not too distant future.

 

Hopefully by the time the PC4 comes out and there are multiple reviews here on the forum, you may be convinced to just order one from Anderton's or Thomann directly without trying it out, if that's what you need. Although looking at your signature, you are pretty well set.

Yup, I've got more gear than I need, that's for sure... but if there will be a 76 note version of the PC4, whether it's a semi-weighted, or a fully weighted hammer action, I'll most probably replace my PC3K7. :)

A good thing about Thomann is they have a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can always return what you don't like, for a full refund. :thu:

Too much stuff, too little time, too few gigs, should spend more time practicing...!  🙄

main instruments: Nord Stage 3 compact, Yamaha CP88, Kurzweil PC4, Viscount KeyB Legend Live

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The Forte7, with it's 76 note fully weighted action has been a huge seller - they're constantly sold out.

 

Interesting. And after this lesson Kurzweil launches the PC4 with 88 keys only? Just wondering why so many manufacturers still refuse to supply the demand for smaller 61/76 boards.

 

Ah I left out an important detail - the 88 note versions of keyboards, at Kurzweil and at most other companies, sell FAR more units than even the most successful 76 and especially 61 note boards. The numbers are insane. 88s blow away everything else in a huge way.

 

Yes it's true that Forte7 has been a resounding success, but the 88 still sells much higher volume.

 

Since they're so small, most keyboard companies don't have the factory bandwidth to manufacturer more than one model at a time of a given product family.

 

For the above reasons it would be insane for them to release anything OTHER than an 88 at first.

 

 

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Yeah, they can't go by a few squeaky wheels on forums like this one and think that's where the market is. All this forum talks about is 76 keys and light weight, light weight and more light weight. That's because we're all old guys. The market is not geared towards old guys. 15 years ago I had no problem at all hauling around my 50 pound PC2X and a pair of 40 pound Barbettas.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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If there were ever to be a 76, I'm not sure which action they would use. I'd guess and hope that it would be the same hammer weighted action as the 88.

 

Do you not think they would stay consistent with the PC3 and offer synth-weighted 76 and 61? Otherwise you've got:

- A Forte line that's 100% hammer-action (8, 7, SE)

- A PC4 line that's 100% hammer (88, hypothetical 76)

- A SP6 line that's 100% hammer (88)

That puts Kurzweil as another Kawai. Not a bad thing in itself, but perhaps narrowing a niche where no narrowing is required?

 

Cheers, Mike.

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Dave, thanks for clarifying the popularity of 88-key rigs. I never would have guessed that, because I'm a cheapskate.

 

I admit, I would prefer a semi-weighted 76 (a la K2600) to fully weighted, the latter of which tires out my wimpy arm muscles.

 

While I'm wishing online, I'll add mod and pitch wheels right beside the lower keys, not half a meter(1) above them.

 

(1) rounded up for hyperbole

-Tom Williams

{First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com

PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361

 

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I like a 76 for general playing.

An 88 is good if some of the keys are used for special functions other than playing.

 

With a 61, I find myself reaching for an octave button.

I've got a 49 controller that I get along with just fine.

Also have a couple 3 octaves, but I use those more as modules.

 

But overall, I prefer 76, with the wheels above the keys to reduce width.

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Dumb question, but am I the only 56 year old who still works out (with a herniated disc) and can still lift more than a can of beer?

 

I salute you sir! If you're ever in Boston I will treat you to all the beer you can lift. :)

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The Forte7, with it's 76 note fully weighted action has been a huge seller - they're constantly sold out.

 

Interesting. And after this lesson Kurzweil launches the PC4 with 88 keys only? Just wondering why so many manufacturers still refuse to supply the demand for smaller 61/76 boards.

 

Ah I left out an important detail - the 88 note versions of keyboards, at Kurzweil and at most other companies, sell FAR more units than even the most successful 76 and especially 61 note boards. The numbers are insane. 88s blow away everything else in a huge way.

 

Yes it's true that Forte7 has been a resounding success, but the 88 still sells much higher volume.

 

Since they're so small, most keyboard companies don't have the factory bandwidth to manufacturer more than one model at a time of a given product family.

 

For the above reasons it would be insane for them to release anything OTHER than an 88 at first.

 

Thanks for the clarification- I was considering writing a post asking you for these distinctions.

 

And while we're at it- I wonder how much bigger or smaller the home arranger market is (from $100 Casios and Yamahas to $5,000 Genos) compared to to the DP/synth/workstation markets (which seem to be most of the folks on this forum). And then there's the market for home pianos/furniture, which typically start from $1,000 and up, which is seen mostly at Pianoworld.com forum, I wouldn't doubt that dollar wise that's a bigger market than the DP/synth/workstation sales.

 

I know Kurzweil doesn't sell in the piano/furniture market, but I know of at least 6 Kurzweil arrangers, the KP 70/100/110/150/200/300x. Some pretty sweet specs at $599 for the KP 300x: 76 keys and 40 watts of speaker power. How big are they for Kurzweil compared to their 'pro' boards?

 

 

AND while we're still at it- more 76 keyboards please, with PB and mod above the keys! It's such a turn off to see a keyboard, which is already unreasonably long, be turned into an aircrap carrier!

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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https://www.musiker-board.de/threads/der-grosse-kurzweil-pc4-thread.691814/

 

13 kg

at 1:45, thanks. And I was going to be impressed with your language skills! I did pick up one thing I understood, at 1:25: "aftertouchen, bravo!"

 

The PC4 does use the SP6 action. It does not use the SP6 enclosure

Ah. And yes, in looking again, the side panels are different, and the angle of the control panel seems like it's steeper. And while I think the back still looks somewhat "winged" (i.e. with recessed connectors along the top and a cutout along the bottom), it's also a little different in the actual contours, including an out-and-in bend where the SP6 was flat. My powers of visual observation are not so acute. ;-)

 

 

I do not know of nor have heard of any plans for a 76 note version. (But I would welcome one of course!) If there were ever to be a 76, I'm not sure which action they would use. I'd guess and hope that it would be the same hammer weighted action as the 88, similar to the Forte and Forte7 both using the same action.

Someone posted that a Kurz rep at musikmesse said that a 76 semi-weighted would be forthcoming... but as with the game of telephone (even without possible differences in language), I'd say it would be premature to take that as gospel. If the Artis series is going to be entirely phased out, I would hope for a semi-weighted PC4 to take the place of the Artis 7, but I guess time will tell. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll do what Nord does in the Electro and Stage, make 7x key versions available in both hammer and semi-weighted variants. I don't think any other company has done that, though... in any given line, companies tend to pick one or the other.

 

I personally think it's highly unlikely that they would use the SP4-7 semi-weighted Medeli action again. When I worked at Kurz, I received a good amount of negative feedback on that one. (Not quality-related, people just didn't care for the feel.)

I was much happier with the later SP4-7 I played than the first one, because my first one had very sharp edges to the keys, which made organ playing painful. The later one was much better, and I actually was pretty happy with that action. Though I bought that one used, so maybe the previous owner had filed it down. ;-) I actually liked the SP4-7 better than the Artis 7 as shipped, because the SP4 didn't spring back as hard... but once I put different springs in the Artis 7, I liked that better, for its longer key length and more even front to back response (though even the SP4-7 was better in that respect than boards like the Roland DS/FA and Korg Kross/Krome).

 

 

 

PC4 in 76 semiweight would be an awesome replacement for the Artis7.

 

If the Medelli action solves the shortcomings of the TP-100 and is just as light - I sorta wish Crumar had looked at it for the Seven.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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PC4 in 76 semiweight would be an awesome replacement for the Artis7.

This would be the "perfect" gigging Kurzweil, but I guess there is quite an electronic difference between the 88 note Medeli action, and a 76 note Fatar TP/8 (piano), so I guess this won't happen soon... but I love the keys of my PC3K7, so, please..! :)

Too much stuff, too little time, too few gigs, should spend more time practicing...!  🙄

main instruments: Nord Stage 3 compact, Yamaha CP88, Kurzweil PC4, Viscount KeyB Legend Live

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To all you 76ers, is it the length or is it the weight of the keyboard that bothers you? With the ridiculously low weight, Id expect you could put up with the extra length, which might be part of Kurzweils calculus.
CA93, MODX8, YC88, K8.2
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To all you 76ers, is it the length or is it the weight of the keyboard that bothers you? With the ridiculously low weight, Id expect you could put up with the extra length, which might be part of Kurzweils calculus.

 

I hate playing any sound but AP/EP with a typical 88keys hammeraction, organ in particular. To me the Nord Stage/Electro hammerkeys for example are awful in this regard. Then again there are very few half weighted 76key actions which are tolerable for AP/EP playing. To me the Artis 7 with lighter springs was one of them. The TP40 in the Forte 7 is a bearable compromise too (conversely).

 

Not so sure about the Medeli from this point of view. I didn't like it when I had the SP6 for testing. Well, it's only me...

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

 

 

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To all you 76ers, is it the length or is it the weight of the keyboard that bothers you? With the ridiculously low weight, Id expect you could put up with the extra length, which might be part of Kurzweils calculus.
For me it's the length. 76/73 gets in the boot (trunk) of my car, 88 doesn't. Plus smaller stage footprint is useful.

 

I bet every KCer here will have their own take on this...

 

Cheers, Mike.

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Also length here: 76 with pitch and mod wheels above keys is about the same length as a 61 key, and will fit in a 61 case.

 

88 key Privia, which has wheels above keys and so is short for an 88, doesn't fit well in back seat of SUV, where bass guitar, Kronos and Rev2 61 in cases all fit.

 

Agree also with stage footprint, things are right enough as is.

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I'm 51 and work out regularly--one of my favorite exercises is "farmer's carries" where you pick up a lot of weight in each hand and simply walk.

 

I still value lighter weight in my gear. I'm not there for a workout, I'm trying to reduce headache and time when loading in/out and setting up. Easier to re-position my stand with light boards on it, less banging into stuff if I'm carrying too much etc etc. Just easier across the board. That said, my rock'n'roller cart has made this less of a thing.

 

As far as size, we unfortunately play on some REALLY small stages (which I can tolerate due to IEMs) and even 61 keys can sometimes be a squeeze if I want to be able to get out between sets! :D

 

A big beef with most of the light new boards is that they are going away from built-in power supplies; this is a major buying factor for me, I like everything using the same standard power cords. I'm buying a Nord electro today actually and I like that it is light and has a power supply, so it certainly can be done....

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I hate playing any sound but AP/EP with a typical 88keys hammeraction, organ in particular. To me the Nord Stage/Electro hammerkeys for example are awful in this regard. Then again there are very few half weighted 76key actions which are tolerable for AP/EP playing. To me the Artis 7 with lighter springs was one of them. The TP40 in the Forte 7 is a bearable compromise too (conversely).

My only point of disagreement there is that I find most non AP/EP sounds still perfectly playable from hammer actions (not counting organ, obviously).

 

If someone wants a lightweight hammer action all in one, PC4 looks pretty unbeatable. For whatever sounds that you prefer to play from a non-hammer action, the Kurz' MIDI capabilities should make it especially easy to pair it with any 5-pin MIDI non-hammer board to control whatever Kurz sounds you want to toss over to it.

 

Thinking about what would pair well with a PC4 to drive its organ sounds (and whatever else you may prefer to drive from an alternate action) while bringing something else to the table, I'm thinking maybe a Roland AX-Edge if you'd like to go mobile once in a while, or your dedicated knobby and/or analog synth of choice. The PC4 covers so many bases, you may be able to be more adventurous in your selection of a second board. You could also just go with something that gives you a lot of extra real estate at minimal additional cost or weight, like a Numa Compact 2/2X, or Juno DS76.

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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To all you 76ers, is it the length or is it the weight of the keyboard that bothers you?
Neither. It's the action. And "bothers" is probably too strong.

 

Many 73s and 76s are "semi-weighted", which works well for me. I actually prefer the lightweight action of my M-Audio Keystation 88es to the much more accurate PX-5S.

 

-Tom Williams

{First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com

PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361

 

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