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How is Your PC4 Holding Up?


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I am currently up saving up for the PC4, hopefully I'll have enough money around may or june.

 

But there seems to be a weird lack of excitement around this instrument - not that people are talking bad about it, but... it's seems to have flown a bit under the radar somehow. Very few people have reviewed it, many of the demos on YT seems oddly uninspired, sound examples from the new FM-engine are very sparse, etc.

 

So yeah, any feedback from PC4 owners would be very welcome indeed, as my excitement about the PC4 isn't quite where I wish it would be.

Currently: Kurzweil PC4, PC3X & K2000.

Novation Mininova. Roland FA-06.

IK Multimedia SampleTank 4 & Syntronik.

 

Previously: Korg Trinity Plus. Roland XP-80. Yamaha EX-5.

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Day 2 â holding up great. It"s a pretty beefy machine.

 

Hi NoLights, I see you also own a Yamaha CP4. Since you have experience with the CP4 any comments you have about the PC4 keybed will be much appreciated. Is there a drastic difference or is the adjustment minor in your opinion? Thank you in advance for your input.

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Hey Rally...

 

It"s a different experience. I really like the CP4 action â it"s solid and just feels right. I started with Yamaha weighted keys with the P80 back in 2000, and have owned a few other Yamahas (Motif 8, S90, S70XS, P-255) over the years so I"m pretty comfortable with their overall feel. I have used the CP4 on gigs when I"m primarily going to play piano or EP. For more involved cover band gigs, I used to bring a second board, a MOXF6, for a much bigger selection of sounds, Its splits/layers, setlist-related features and a more usable organ. I"ve been downsizing. I ditched the MOXF6 and picked up the PC4, with the idea that I could play cover gigs with one board â simpler setup, less weight. The Medelli action on the Kurzweil is a compromise, but I find that I can adapt to it pretty well. It feels 'looser' , less pianistic, but it plays fast and works well with EPs and organ ... and the KB3 organs are much better than either the CP4 or MOXF6. So, the PC4 keybed is fine... excellent, actually, when you consider the board"s weight (I sure like it better than the Fater TP100 , the lightweight action that was in a Nord Electro 3 HP I owned briefly). But what the PC4 lacks in 'feel', it more than makes up for with it"s huge array of sounds, deep editing and workstation features. And its 28 pound weight. I"m just getting started with getting to know what it does.

 

As for the excitement factor, Kurzweil has a reputation for not being too flashy, though this one does have a lighted 'PC4' facing the audience (which you can turn off if that"s too flashy).

_______________________________________________

Kurzweil PC4; Yamaha P515; EV ZXA1s

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NoLights, you and I are using the Yamaha and Kurzweil for the same things, and I have the same impression of sounds and action (we even have the same speakers). My goal remains getting down to one board, and I look forward to trying the RD88 as a possibility. Have you considered the FA08?
CA93, MODX8, YC88, K8.2
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Hi Coker --

 

The quest for "the one" do-it-all board. I've had kind of a decades-long chase for that. In recent history, I had a Nord Stage 2 -- but I never really warmed up to its interface and I never really connected with its sounds (huge as their library is). So I traded for a Forte7. Great board, but despite the shorter keyed, it was still pretty heavy. And I used a fairly heavy case (you don't travel around with a $3K board without a good case). Around that time, I started having back problems. All I wanted was a lightweight board that could get me through most gigs. I got an SP-6... 27 pounds. I wasn't sure if I'd like the Medelli keybed... but as I said above, I can adapt and I had some good gigs with it. Then they came out with the PC4, which is, essentially, the SP6 on steroids, and only a pound heavier. The feel, and many of the sounds, are identical to your SP6... so you've already got a good idea of what a PC4 is. I got it from Dave Weiser (Weisersound), who does a lot of value-added service and adds his own sounds, many of which improve on the factory sounds (he used to be a Kurzweil sound designer).

 

I didn't check out the FA8 -- There is a Guitar Center about 90 minutes south in Portland and they only had an RD2000, which felt good and checks a lot of boxes but we're back up in the 35+ pound category, which I was trying to avoid.

 

So, now you should trade in your SP6, get a PC4, and I'll pick up a CA-93.

_______________________________________________

Kurzweil PC4; Yamaha P515; EV ZXA1s

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Had it for a week and a half and sent it back. Loved the sound and the functionality, but the keybed had this weird "bounce" after pressing the a key that I just couldn't get used to.
Same experience here regarding the "weird bounce" thing, which is why I would never consider this board...although some folks seem to dig it.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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Too soon to tell how it's holding up - check back in 10 or 15 years.

 

The aftertouch takes more pressure than I'm used to using,

and there are a couple keys on the extreme low end that have a very minor clunk to them,

but other than that, I really like almost everything about it.

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On the PC-4, when in KB3 organ mode, can you split the keybed so you have the top (right hand) sound of the organ, and the bottom (left hand) sound for songs like "Whiter Shade of Pale" and song you just need that softer Hammond sound coming from the bottom keybed?

 

 

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You can do that on a PC3 or a K2600 in Setup mode; PC4's Multi mode is essentially the same.

 

Note that you still only get one KB3 engine; you'll need a non-KB3 organ (generated by VAST or FM) for one side of the split.

-Tom Williams

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

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

 

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here is my question .. I have a PC1x (that I love for gigging) and I used lots of "user" (multi) setups with different zones, layers, etc ... they are very easy to call up during a gig , etc ... but i had an SP6 that I sent back since it seemed like a pain to access multis on the fly for a gig, etc .... is the PC4 any better in this regard? .. really would like the light weight, but need the functionality that my pc1x currently has

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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Actually besides the 5 'Favorites' for often used stuff its really not that difficult to call up a multi if you are in keypad mode. I have the 4 digit numerical address written on my setlist. I can change before the drummer can count us in. And after a while you begin to remember the numbers. The only problem is changing multi mid-song , but I rarely do that. I can also use the iPad setlist app to do changes. I would prefer the PC4 for the FM engine, more favorites and last but not least sliders. But the SP6 is a hell of a board for the price.

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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