StalledOtter

When I was first thinking of these I was very tempted by the upgraded ones for the spring reverb and the sake of it, but as I look further the blue doesn't look right to me and the gray is less nice than the black and also seemingly perpetually out of stock (even moreso than the regular), so I'll probably just end up with a standard (if I decide to get them when they come to the US). I'm also intrigued by how Thomann has the blue one listed for only $17 more than the black and resultingly ends up coming in cheaper than any US dealer, even after the $50 shipping. I don't understand how they work.

Poly Aftertouch is amazing. I wish more things (ie anything else) had it. The hydrasynth synth engine itself is great and the UI for it is fantastic, but I'm not using it as much as I expected because it turns out that in depth synthesis was not actually what I needed. Still don't anticipate ever getting rid of it because having something that has that depth and can do most anything I have the ability to program it to (besides samples I guess) is great.

Went ahead and picked up a PC4 today since my brain had told me that June was still a month or so away until I noticed the price increase while doing my weekly check of if any of the places near me had their storefronts open yet. Panicked after seeing it and snagged one of the few left on reverb that hadn't had prices increased to match yet. Definitely was hesitant given the variability in weighted actions, but I figure I'm unfamiliar enough with them (besides some piano lessons 20 years ago I've been playing on synth or semiweighted actions) that I'll adapt. And if I don't I bet used prices go up over the medium term so that I don't lose much.

How does the K2600 hold up in terms of build and sound quality these days? An XS showed up on the local craigslist for $600 and seems to be in good condition, which is a very tempting buy. Had been looking at something shiny and new (PC4 or K2700), but that's a super tempting price and I expect I wouldn't be making full use of a lot of the power anyway (and it seems like the majority of it is still there).

Oof, that's rough. Definitely means that if I wait long enough before deciding it's gonna be the K2700 over the PC4, but I'm not sure I pick the PC4 at that price point. Still worth an argument for considering that it keeps a bunch of features of flagships compared to the ~$2k options, but that's a much stronger argument when it's in the same price range instead of a step up.

Glad to hear there are ways at least, even if not as nice. And setting those pads up to turn on/off a drone note controlled by the ribbon sounds like it would lead to its own world of fun but different options. Something this big I'll definitely want to wait until the music stores near me open up to try it out first, but I think it's gonna be hard to say no to.

Anyone know if the ribbon controllers on the Kurzweils can be used as note triggering source? The "theremin mode" on my hydrasynth is fantastic to play with, and on the Kurzweils where it would be assignable to another sound it would be even cooler.

Oh goodness, only $1k more than the PC4? That's really inconsiderate of them, I was betting on at least $3500 if not $4k+ so that the decision to stick with the PC4 was easy. I had just gotten around to finishing convincing myself that it was worthwhile to drop $2k on a keyboard, now I might need to go even higher.