Kurzweil SP1

[Ken Beaumont]

Sweetwater has them listed at $995. Frankly I don't get it. Such a limited sound set and only $300 less than the SP6 which gives so much more sounds, the ability to load sounds from other boards and extensive controller capabilities. There are several competitors boards at less than a grand that offer a whole lot more capabilities.

[lvercaut]

Like the SP6, it has to be the ugliest board I've ever seen. Love the sounds, but what the hell were they thinking????

 

+1.

 

Give me the form factor metallic case from SP4-7 + German D sample and i'll buy one !

[ElmerJFudd]

Perusing the Kurzweil site it seems they no longer specify what action these models are using? No reference to Fatar or Medelli TP-XXX.

[AnotherScott]

It's come down from the original (ridiculous) $999 to a very justifiable $599. In fact, at that price, for me, I think it's the pick of the lightweight 88 hammer action litter.

 

Sounds are competitive at that price (even though it really should have had a Wurly), operational ergonomics are a lot better than most of the other low cost boards (which have just a few tiny buttons and/or use the keys themselves as buttons), it's got real MIDI jacks, expression pedal jack, and even pitch and mod wheels and a bit of external MIDI sound integration. (Though it lacks the speakers the others usually have.)

 

At a grand, it was going up against much more capable 88s like the MX88, Kross, DS88, PX5S. But at $599, it's looks a whole lot better next to the low-end Casios/Yamahas/Rolands. I wonder if they're closing it out at this price, or if this will be an on-going offering.

 

It seems like a nice match, for example, as a low-cost lightweight hammer action to put under a semi-weighted Nord Electro/Stage or similar and control some of its sounds as well.

[Mighty Motif Max]

It's come down from the original (ridiculous) $999 to a very justifiable $599. In fact, at that price, for me, I think it's the pick of the lightweight 88 hammer action litter.

 

Sounds are competitive at that price (even though it really should have had a Wurly), operational ergonomics are a lot better than most of the other low cost boards (which have just a few tiny buttons and/or use the keys themselves as buttons), it's got real MIDI jacks, expression pedal jack, and even pitch and mod wheels and a bit of external MIDI sound integration. (Though it lacks the speakers the others usually have.)

 

At a grand, it was going up against much more capable 88s like the MX88, Kross, DS88, PX5S. But at $599, it's looks a whole lot better next to the low-end Casios/Yamahas/Rolands. I wonder if they're closing it out at this price, or if this will be an on-going offering.

 

It seems like a nice match, for example, as a low-cost lightweight hammer action to put under a semi-weighted Nord Electro/Stage or similar and control some of its sounds as well.

 

Every recording I"ve heard makes the piano sound like crap. Like a super boxy 'lo-fi' kind of sound.

[AnotherScott]

The Kurzweil price increases appear to have hit this model as well. It's not $599 anymore. Sweetwater is showing it at $899. Wow. Tough sell, there.

[Morrissey]

The Kurzweil price increases appear to have hit this model as well. It's not $599 anymore. Sweetwater is showing it at $899. Wow. Tough sell, there.

 

Yikes. Hope that's not a trend that other manufacturers will follow. Lots of good options from Yamaha, Kawai, Roland, etc. in that ~$600 range.

[AnotherScott]

Yeah. It does have the MIDI jacks, expression pedal jack, and pitch/mod wheels that are hard to find at $600, while the Roland DS88/RD88, Korg Kross 88, and Yamaha MX88 have all gone up in price a bit as well so they're not as close to that $900 as they used to be... but the difference is smaller than it was.

[Miguelón]

I still have my SP4-8 and Love it! Brushed Aluminium case.. TDP classic piano, good e.pianos as well, KB3 tone generator, VA1 analogue tone emulator, and a good sort of PC3 orquestration samples. Plus good keybed FATAR (Nord2). Don't really thing the SP1 is better, despite both, were/is (on each case for the release moment) the Pro entry level of Kurzweil stage pianos line.

I just don't think can even compare them.

 

 

* polyphony don't really rob my sleeping.

[AnotherScott]

10 hours ago, Miguelón said:

I still have my SP4-8 and Love it!...Don't really thing the SP1 is better

SP4-8 is WAY more capable. Lots more sounds, lots more split/layer flexibility, ability to load other sounds, ability to use an editor, etc. SP1 advantages are lighter travel weight, presumably better piano sound (and maybe Rhodes), and it's an in-production rather than out-of-production model.

[synthizen2]

On 1/25/2018 at 7:34 AM, Aidan said:

Has anyone looked at the Kurzweil line recently and thought it has just _too many_ products?

 

I've thought this for a long while.

 

Especially when the Artis and Forte came out, in the middle of the previous decade. What do they offer that the K and PC series do not? Different actions, different samples, different kind of purpose (DP, synth, controller... whatever!). For a comparatively smaller company than Korg/Yamaha/Roland, they have an awful lot of overlapping products. And they put out like 3 or 4 new flagship boards just about every single year since 2013 or so.

 

There is so much overlap, it's nearly impossible to 'flag down' the board that's just right for you. Some of these products seem like half-DP/half-synth, or half-controller/half-DP. Hard to keep up with. Hard to classify exactly what each board is trying to be.

[The Piano Man]

I’ll try…

 

SP Series

- stage pianos

- focus on piano and other sounds in a simple format

- recent moves to focus on portability

- decent zoning/multi capabilities

- single pair of audio outputs

- wallwart power supply

 

PC Series

- mid range

- zoning/multis

- huge sound range

- sequencer

- extra pair of outputs

- wallwart power supply 

 

The PC3 was an anomaly as it was, I believe, designed for Andrew Lloyd Weber. It is therefore more high end in terms of build/internal power supply etc. 

But if you look at PC2 and PC4, they fit the above criteria (albeit the PC2 may not have had the extra outputs!)

 

K Series

- the ultimate high end model

 

To me, the Artis was an attempt at a high end stage piano to compete with RD2000 etc and the Forte was the same idea at a higher level. The Forte was then updated such that it became a PC3 successor (after PC3x, PC3k and PC3a variants)

 

The new SP7 Grand confuses things a little more. Perhaps it should have been given an Artis or Forte branding.

 

Anyway, personally, I love Kurzweil. They might even be my favourite brand. The sounds are excellent, particularly acoustic type instruments. The UI is really straightforward in my view, yet also very very deep on some models.

 

My only complaint with recent models has been the design. I love the PC2/3 SP76 type classic styling. I am not so keen on SP6, PC4. However, I suspect the shape is something to do with trying to keep the weight down with a plastic design. It’s a bit like the Yamaha MOFX etc. These models are always quite light but just look so bulky. I like what Roland have done with the RD88. Quite a nice classic design and shape and nice and light. Also Korg with the D1. That’s my idea of style. 

[AnotherScott]

SP stands for Stage Piano. They are geared for simpler operation, and do not have sequencer, on-board sound editing, or user sample memory.

 

Artis was also a stage piano, they seem to have tried-and-abandoned that nomenclature. Forte started as a stage piano, but they added features. My guess is that they are abandoning that nomenclature as well.

[Dave Weiser]

Kurz has a great lineup of pro boards these days, with the SP6, PC4SE, PC4 and K2700. All of these have a great bang to buck ratio in my opinion.

 

I would skip the SP1 and SP7 as they  don't have the standard Kurz VAST engine, just very simple sample playback. 

 

 

[pawelsz]

13 hours ago, Dave Weiser said:

I would skip the SP1 and SP7 as they  don't have the standard Kurz VAST engine, just very simple sample playback. 

 

 

 

So I understand that new ATST isn't going to replace VAST.