Kurz current Reliablity/quality?

[Kevmo]

Kurzwiel is on my list of brands to to replace my QS7 with another 73/76 key unweighted rompler/controller/ workstation for live rock/blues country gigs. From reading many forums it appears the recent Kurz products have quality control/reliability/ support problems compared to the big 3? Is this a correct impression that they have keyboard/mechanical issues that don't get prompt customer support?

 

Kevin T

[daBowsa]

I think you'll find the opposite opinion on this forum.

 

 

[Prague]

Originally posted by Kevmo:

From reading many forums it appears the recent Kurz products have quality control/reliability/ support problems compared to the big 3?

Forums are notorious for misinformation.

[wmp]

My old PC88 had bad action problems. The company was not particularly honest about the problems (incredibly stupid mechanical design combined with remarkably brittle plastic). Service through their authorized service centers was slow, expensive, and ineffective. They just replaced broken defective parts with unbroken defective parts.

 

So you'd figure I'd never buy another one. After listening to everything I could get my hands on, I bought a PC2X about 15 months ago. I've had no such problems. The same amount of playing would've killed 1 or 2 PC88s. Service hasn't been a problem. I haven't needed any.

 

Seems to me the recent products are better, but I only have 2 data points. Other examples of improvement include a more manly power supply connector and a more durable finish on the case. The PC88 rusted badly on the keyslip where I wore the finish off lifting it in and out of the case. The PC2X still looks new.

[rce1]

All I can say is that I've had a K2600XS for several years now and gig 4-6 times a month with it. Problems = 0. Since I've had no trouble I've never used their customer support and can't comment on it.

[Michelle ggurl]

I've had a PC2 for 2 years now. Sporadic gigging, frequent lugging to recording and practices.

 

The only problem I had was when the keyboard fell of the stand and I broke a key, DOH! But Sweetwater was able to get me replacement parts ... I still haven't bothered to put them in because my stop-gap solution of gluing the key together and reinstalling it into the board continues to work just fine (it looks kinda ghetto, but plays and sounds fine ).

 

So I'd buy another Kurzweil at some point, sure.

[marino]

I have owned several (eight or nine) Kurzweils over the years, and I have had one problem once, with a motherboard, on an instrument which I had battered quite a bit.

The reliability issue with the PC88 keyboard is well known; they have resolved those problems with the most current products.

[Finale]

I have three Kurzweil instruments. Two are about 15 years old and the other will have its first birthday this summer.

 

The only problem I had is with the newest one : there was a little cable that disconnected during shipping, causing the aftertouch to remain stuck at 100%. Fixed that myself in about 30 minutes (29 minutes to open/close the thing, 1 minute to fix the bug).

[David Loving]

I have 3 Kurzweils [sp88x, pc1x a,d pc2] and report zero trouble. They have always delivered. I sold an sp76 a while back and had zero trouble with it and it was gigged frequently. Lately I tried to install a classic expansion board in my pc2 and could not do it myself. The tech that did it for me had to call Kurzweil for some guidance, reached them with no problem and the pc2 is now upgraded to the latest OS with the new classic keys installed. I haven't had a problem with the instruments I own and as you can see had no trouble reaching Kurzweil HQ and getting assistance.

[C.J. Lewis]

Hey Kevmo,

 

Because Kurzweil does not reside in the huge chain stores as a product line anymore (definitely a mutual decision, by the way), the consumer's perception is slowly degraded by individual opinion, inactivity from our inexistent marketing department, and the pressure that has been placed on us in the past few years dealing with a hostile takeover attempt and subsequent attempts at killing our parent company (Young Chang), as well as other factors beyond our control.

 

OK, sob story over. I think the replies you've read pretty much sum up what the actual story is. Our products are very well respected by pros around the world, and lusted after by many -- that's worth it for us. Kurzweil is a small, botique type company that probably never will build as many Tritons as Korg built or Motifs as Yamaha built. Lamborghini doesn't make as many cars as Ford or Chevy, either.

 

I can say one thing for certainty, as long as I'm with this company, you will get 125% from me if you have a problem...for what it's worth.

[ITGITC]

Originally posted by ivorycj:

I can say one thing for certainty, as long as I'm with this company, you will get 125% from me if you have a problem...for what it's worth.

Excellent

[awfulgrace]

complete OT - but Gas - what the heck is your Avatar??? A flea or something?

 

(I realize this will make zero sense to anyone reading this after you change your avatar...)

 

Oh yeah, and for what it's worth - in the very short time I've had my SP76 (2 months) I've had 0 problems with it.

[keyoctave]

Owned SP-76 and ME-1 x 1.5 years.....0 problems.

 

Own PC2x with both expansion rom's x 2 years .....0 problems.

 

All the keyboards have been gigged with.

[Clavinovaguyusa]

Awfulgrace, Gas's present avatar looks like a member of the Tick/Chigger/Lice family.

[DLN]

I have owned a K2500R previously, and a K2600 for 6 years: no reliability/quality issues at all. I know many Kurzweil users owning different products and am not aware of any quality issues.

[EscapeRocks]

OT---

 

The avatar is a picture of a newly discovered crustacean that some scientists found. Basically a lobster with feathers.

 

I saw it on a couple news sites a few days ago....

 

ewwww....

[cnegrad]

I'm confused, so please set me straight:

 

Are there any _current_ Kurz products on the market? I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that Kurz was poised to re-appear after some significant down time from the industry.

 

If that's the case, any comments made on the reliability of the current crop of Kurzweil products would be false, as there are no current prodcuts.

 

As I said, I could be mistaken, due to the fact that Kurz don't appear at my local GC. What're the facts?

[RABid]

I think it was the early 2500's that were manufactured with a batch of parts that were below spec, and these units had trouble. The only other thing I remember is people waiting for months to get replacement parts during the buyout/reorganization/court battle. There are a few threads on this somewhere back in history along with a post saying parts are now available again.

 

Robert

[rappa29]

FWIW I've owned my SP76 for around 7 years. It's seen A LOT of live and studio action in that span. Hauled around the whole time in a softcase that's too big for it, so it's shifted and bounced around the back of my vehicle from gig to gig, session to session. Still performs for me regardless of how bad I treat it!

[JMcS]

Originally posted by cnegrad:

I'm confused, so please set me straight:

 

Are there any _current_ Kurz products on the market? I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that Kurz was poised to re-appear after some significant down time from the industry.

 

If that's the case, any comments made on the reliability of the current crop of Kurzweil products would be false, as there are no current prodcuts.

 

As I said, I could be mistaken, due to the fact that Kurz don't appear at my local GC. What're the facts?

Here is the Kurzweil website:

http://kurzweilmusicsystems.com/home.html

 

They are selling a number of instruments - keyboard/rack units, digital pianos and signal processors. These are current products. They may have been current for some time now but they are still being made/sold. I have owned a PC2R for about 2 weeks, so reliability hasn't been an issue. I bought it to add additional voices to my XK-System. It sounds great. In addition, I can run the organ voices (with the PC2R's Leslie off) into the effects return of the XK-S and have overdrive on the upper manual and clean on the lower as well as separate C/V. The PC2R's organs go through the Leslie 21S and the XK-S's digital Leslie. A Peavey PC1600x controls the drawbars but a Voce drawbar controller will work as well.

 

An earlier post indicated that Kurzweil products are not sold through the chain music stores like GC and Sam Ash. Online music stores like Sweetwater as well as smaller independant music stores carry them.

[Sven Golly]

Originally posted by Prague:

Forums are notorious for misinformation.

Not to mention trolls.

[Moon Zero Two]

K2000: Nothing but trouble. In the shop more than it was at home. Sold it for a PC88 after two years.

 

PC88: after two years of gigs the key weights starting falling apart.

 

K2500: Broke down after four months. Needed a new motherboard. After waiting for another four months K was kind enough to give me full trade in price for a K2600x.

 

K2600x: Some sticky keys - there was glue on the felt strip. Some of the front panel buttons worked erratically - turned out that I needed a power line conditioner and that solved it. Now one of the keys is outputting 128 velocity no matter how hard I press it.

 

PC2X: totally freaked out after six months. Took forever to get parts and help because of the reorg K was going through. Was in the shop for six months.

 

CJ was very helpful in getting issues resolved.

 

My experience is that Kurzweil work best if you don't gig with them.

[Bobsk8]

I am going to start by saying that I have never owned a Kurzweil Product. The reason is, starting many years ago, I would occasionally sit in on a gig where the keyboard player had one , or have to use one with multiple bands on the stage and no time for switching keyboards ( what a drag ).

 

My impression was that the Kurz keyboard action was a pile of junk compared to the boards that I owned and played like Roland, Yamaha, and Korg. There always seemed to be some kind of issue with a key(s) not working or sticking or responding weirdly, or the keyboard itself looking like a roller coaster when viewed from the side. I personally didn't think the sounds at the time were anything to rave about either, compared to what I had been used to. For these reasons, I never entertained the idea of buying one.

[keyoctave]

Originally posted by cnegrad:

I'm confused, so please set me straight:

 

Are there any _current_ Kurz products on the market? I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that Kurz was poised to re-appear after some significant down time from the industry.

 

If that's the case, any comments made on the reliability of the current crop of Kurzweil products would be false, as there are no current prodcuts.

 

As I said, I could be mistaken, due to the fact that Kurz don't appear at my local GC. What're the facts?

Here are some facts taken off the Sonikmatter site written by Jeff Dunmire, VP of sales Kurzweil & YC..

 

 

"The real story is this:

Kurzweil Music Systems, a division of Young Chang, and distributed here in the states by AND Music ended

it's relationship with Samick in January of 2005. During 2005 several court decisions were handed down, but the biggest ruling involved recovering the Kurzweil and Young Chang inventory that was removed from our Washington warehouse and moved to Samick's California warehouse in 2004. We won that decision. Samick still had and still has some Kurz and YC inventory that was shipped to them when they had control of the company during 2004.

This week, we just finished a hearing before the American Arbitrators Association or (Triple A) to determine who will have the exclusive distribution in the US and Canada for Kurzweil and YC. Samick had entered into a 10 year agreement(s) to distribute those products when it controlled YC. This litigation that just finished was to decide the legitimacy of any of their agreement. It will also return our money from our accounts receiveables. The decision will be made public in about 30 days. We're pretty certain of a win in this decision.

 

At the same time, on January 10th, Young Chang announced that it was seeking bidders to buy YC and all of its subsidiaries. (including Kurzweil) This is different from the Samick takeover. Since YC is asking for bids and has a hand in deciding who its new partner/owner will be they can exercise a certain amount of control over the process. To date their have been six parties interested in the purchase, and not all are from the Music Industry.

Young Chang's interest is not only in the bid price, but also the intentions of the company who will be the new owner. Once this process is finished (probably in early April) an announcement will be made shortly after.

The intentions of Young Chang, since escaping Samick, has always been to find a suitable owner after getting it's affairs in order.

If we have someone who is willing to really invest in Young Chang and especially, what's near and dear to my heart, Kurzweil, and who will give us time to hire additional engineers, provide money for much needed marketing, and let us do our jobs, this could be a really good thing.

This is not a Pollyanna approach to what is happening. It is simply a viewpoint from someone who has been

involved in company before and after Samick.

Change is not always good or bad, but in this case, change would be good.

 

Incidently, Guitar Center is selling Kurzweil on a Special Order basis. Sam Ash is selling Kurzweil from Sam Ash .com. So except for some GC floor salesmen who may not know yet, we're doing business in a limited fashion.

As the decision concerning litigation and the company sale become known to us, we will keep you informed........

........ I know that my reps and the rest of the Kurzweil people would love to put the the last 2 years behind us and move on to the future. Hopefully, we will be able to start that process sometime in next 2-3 months.

 

I know this was long, but there was a lot to say. And it still wasn't everything that could have been said. but this is supposed to be a comment, not a novel."

 

Jeff Dunmire

VP of Sales Kurzweil and YC

[Carbon111]

Just bought a Kurzweil SP76 a couple of weeks ago as a simple controller. In my 23 years of playing, its my favorite semi-weighted synth action! Been meaning to get that action back in my setup ever since I sold my 2600 (built like a tank) three years aso.

 

 

http://www.carbon111.com/studio2.jpg

[DafDuc]

I had an SP-88 for 4 or 5 years. I had no problems with it. Loved the semi-weighted action, hated the sounds, hated the pitch ribbon.

 

Gone now, but a well-built machine - my only gripe (other than sounds and features) was that the keys would develop sort of a "catch" overnight, so I had to do a full gliss down the keyboard to unstick everything each day I used it. It never took more than one gliss to fix it, and it didn't matter how long it sat, so it just became part of my routine.

 

I'm about to buy a KME-61 for my old church. Some GREAT sounds on that.

 

Daf

[Michelle ggurl]

Originally posted by keyoctave:

Here are some facts taken off the Sonikmatter site written by Jeff Dunmire, VP of sales Kurzweil & YC..

All I know is, the legal troubles Kurzweil has had are the kind that put lesser companies 6 feet under for good. The fact that enough people on the business and consumer side think it's worth saving says something about the company's products and philosophy.

[jimtheswede]

My SP76 came down with a problem with the output channel in one side - crackled and hissed, etc. Needs a complete new main circuit board according to the tech. Trying to get a new one went nowhere (this was a couple of months ago). This keyboard had just sat in my studio and didn't get out to any gigs. Now, I am gigging with it but using it just as a controller for a JV100. Works great for that. Wish I had stereo outs for the SP76 though.

[Prague]

Originally posted by jimtheswede:

My SP76 came down with a problem with the output channel in one side - crackled and hissed, etc. Needs a complete new main circuit board according to the tech. Trying to get a new one went nowhere (this was a couple of months ago). This keyboard had just sat in my studio and didn't get out to any gigs. Now, I am gigging with it but using it just as a controller for a JV100. Works great for that. Wish I had stereo outs for the SP76 though.

I'd run this by Kurz's tech help at their website. A 2nd opinion seems like a good idea. I'm not really agreeing with the tech. How did it "come down with a problem"? Is part of the story missing?

[jimtheswede]

Thanks for the suggestion - I think I will try their website for assistance. I wasn't very confident of the "tech" anyway. The problem is just intermittent noise, and digital garbage out of the right channel. Quite frustrating not being able to use both outputs because I had just bought a MS KP200 to run everything stereo. Turns out that I like the Roland JV1010 piano sounds now more than the Kurz. The SP76 keyboard action is great as a controller, and it is well built.