ADVICE NEEDED: Kurzweil versus Emu

[dturner]

Hello All,

 

I would like to add a module to my project studio that can produce really good orchestral sound. I had a Proteus 2 awhile back, and really liked the sounds. I hear good things about Kurzweil. I am thinking about either a K2000R [preferably with orchestral ROM] or finding another Proteus 2. I am using a G4 with DIGI001 hardware and ProTools LE.

 

Has anyone had extensive experience with both, especially using the string sections and individual string instruments and wind instruments.

 

Thanks for the help!

[marino]

Hi dturner,

I have the Kurz orchestral board, and I've used the Proteus 2 a few times. I'd say their quality is very comparable. To me, they have similar strengths and weaknesses: Very good percussions, good strings, fair woodwinds and weak brass (very generally speaking). I like the woodwinds on the Kurz quite a bit better.

However, they're both old stuff now. If you're looking at the Kurz for orchestral sounds exclusively, you'd better off with a few sample CDs; but then, you'll find than 24-note polyphony (on the K2000) is a bit weak for orchestral scores. Plus, you would use 10% of the power of this great synth.

If you're looking mainly for orchestral sounds, I strongly recommend that you have a look at the E-mu Virtuoso 2000. It's a kind of super Proteus 2, and the price is quite reasonable.

 

hope this helps

 

marino

[Mark Zeger]

You might want to compare a Kurzweil PC2R, E-mu Virtuoso and Proteus 2000. If you like the P2k, you can add the Virtuoso ROM samples to it (or add P2k ROM samples to the Virtuoso).

 

The Kurzweil + CD-ROM drive + sample library solution is a good one, but a used K2500R loaded with RAM is a better option than the K2000.

 

If you plan to produce musically dense pieces, a software sampler might be the ticket for polyphony and price/performance. As a fellow G4 user, it pains me to say that, at this time, the best soft sampler choice is a cheap PC with Gigastudio.