- Joined
- Mar 8, 2019
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 5
THE SOUNDS:
Great sounds across every possible area. If you just want to select sounds and not design your own, you will have a ton to play with. Kurzweil has also added a variety of free soundbanks (which use the existing samples.)
Great organs, too, with full drawbar controls via 9 sliders, and the usual assortment of controls over key click, etc. Leslie sim is solid.
From a sound standpoint it's hard to imagine you would need anything better in most situations--and if you need some 12G piano for a classical solo, you aren't reading this review.
The pianos are very good. In my experience with an older PC3x, the piano sounds Kurz provides sit very well in a mix, and I've gotten many compliments even on those (older, lesser) sounds. These are much better with the same "sit well" feature. The Kurz pianos support half damper, but oddly enough Kurz only includes a normal sustain pedal in the box. I have a half-damper pedal on order, we'll see how it works.
Because the sounds use a combination of sampling and processing, basically all of the patches have modifications and controls ready to go out of the box--sliders are assigned to filters, attack, tremolo, etc. This means that not only do you have an enormous batch of factory sounds ready to go, but you also have the ability to tweak each of those sounds to your liking.
USER MEMORY AND ADDING MORE SOUNDS
There is 3.5 G of user memory for samples. This obviously opens up a wide range of options, and you can upload basically any sound set. Personally, given all the time and money involved in a keyboard purchase/use, it seems blatantly obvious that if you have a particular favorite sound, you can easily get it for a proportionally tiny amount For example, I play a huge amount of solo EP and have owned and played many "real" versions, so I sprung for the Purgatory Creek EP collection ($30 on sale for multiples EPs.) This isn't a diss of the K2700--the built in EPs are really good--but obviously there's no keyboard on the market, whether Kurz or otherwise, that includes 579MB for a single Rhodes. Which is to say: if you want ___ sound and it isn't quite perfect enough for your taste, just buy it and upload it!
The upload process is simple. It's best to use a USB stick. It is slow (uploading 2G of EPs took a long time) but straightforward.
THE CONTROLS:
The K2700 is arguably one of the best and most powerful controllers on the market. There are 9 sliders which also act as organ drawbars, each w/ a rotary encoder and a button; 16 velocity sensitive pads; the kurzweil ribbon (like a a huge touch-sensitive slider that can also be assigned, split, etc.); and a bunch of other buttons.
It will support 2 CC pedals and up to four standard pedals (or one with half-damper and two regular ones.) Everything can be assigned everywhere--if you want your foot pedals to cycle through patches, you can do that; if you want them to act differently with cutom settings on a per-patch basis, you can do that too.
The extreme flexibility w/r/t splits and assignment also means that it's simple to set up some keys at the ends of the keyboard to act as additional triggers, if you prefer to have them there.
PATCHES, MULTIS, LAYERS, SPLITS:
One of the great strengths is the ease of tweaking sounds, and the ease of building splits or layers.
A "program" is one or more sound-generators stuck together. In theory, you can think of a program as "a sound," but it's more than that. For example, almost all "single-sound" programs have extra stuff that is accessed by a push of the "variation" button. Pushing "variation" on the piano patches will add a pad or string layer. On other patches, the 'variation' button does other stuff.
Taking a program and turning it into a split, layer, or both is a quick and simple process involving making a "multi."
A "multi" is a number of programs assembled in any combination of layers & splits, which can also contain songs, riffs, custom arps. Multis can be INCREDIBLY powerful, and the only limit is the 256-key polyphony. Beyond that you can do about anything you want.
Obviously the sky is the limit. Any number of programs can be added together in any fashion and combined with any set of effects.
Multis are not only useful for complex sounds; they are also useful for some setups. To use an example, I often play a split w/ bass on the left hand, in which I want to be able to quickly flip my right hand back and forth between organ and EP. This doesn't come with the board, but it's extremely easy and rapid to set up the control and assign it to a spare foot pedal (or anything else). To illustrate the Kurz' flexibility, you could choose two options: 1) You could set up two different multis that you like, and use the foot pedals to increment between them (they load instantly and sounds carry over) or 2) you could set up a single multi which had both sounds; you could then assign a footpedal to toggle an on/off mute between EP and organ.
THE KEYBED:
My favorite do-it-all keybed on the market, a Fatar TP40L. This is a somewhat lighter version of the much-loved FATAR tp40M. Dedicated acoustic piano players will want a heavier feel and will not be happy, but the TP40L is insanely pleasurable to use.
It doesn't feel like a grand piano of course--I have a steinway so it's easy to A/B on it--but it isn't trying to get that. And I don't want it to: After all, have you ever tried to play fast EP or synth or organ on a grand-piano-copy keybed? It sucks. The Fatar TP40L hits the perfect balance from synth to EP to piano. Fast runs are a joy; it works beautifully even w/ organ. Monophonic aftertouch, too.
THE FRONT PANEL:
The K2700 is arguably the best control surface on the market, which ties a lot into its functionality. Basically, ANY INPUT SOURCE on the board can be assigned to ANY CONTROL. If you're asking the question "Can I make the ___ do ___?" the answer is almost always is "yes!"
All of the programs are intelligently set up to use the existing controls, with ample room to add other tweaks. There are 9 physical sliders (for drawbars etc), each accompanied by an encoder and on/off button. There's the famous Kurzweil ribbon, which is sort of a touch-sensitive instant-access slider that can be split into multiple zones. There are 16 velocity-sensitive pads, which can also function like a step sequencer when paired with the arpeggiator. And there are the usual other stuff--a few more buttons, a large entry wheel, a bunch of program category buttons that can also toggle into keypad mode.
CONTROLS AND SOUND MODIFICATION
I don't tend to do a lot of starting-from-zero programming, but VAST is certainly powerful enough to do anything that most folks would ever dream of, especially in combo w/ the ability to add new samples.
More to my interest: basically every factory sound has pre-loaded and pre-assigned controls for many of the relevant factors (filter frequency or resonance, vibrato depth, etc.) You can find the whole list with a push of the "edit" button, or you can move a control and the display will show what it does. As a result, it's very easy to take a sound and make small changes.
For larger changes, there are a ton of effects (all editable of course) and as discussed above, all of the effect parameters can easily be assigned to one or more controllers.
For playing around, there are available patches that basically turn the K2700 into a VA synth.
SEQUENCER:
It has a functional sequencer--old school, but reasonably simple and powerful enough to use for what most folks would be doing. Obviously if you want to do very complex midi you'll be better off to use a PC and import it. But it works fine to quickly lay down riffs and custom arpeggios.
The arpeggiator is deep and fun. There are a wide variety of premade patterns for selection. They can also be customized with relative ease. One of my favorite touches is that you can easily assign arps to show up on the pads (one beat per pad) at which point many of them work in a fashion akin to a step sequencer playback, complete with visual cues and on/off triggers.
Overall A+.
Post questoins in the comments.
Great sounds across every possible area. If you just want to select sounds and not design your own, you will have a ton to play with. Kurzweil has also added a variety of free soundbanks (which use the existing samples.)
Great organs, too, with full drawbar controls via 9 sliders, and the usual assortment of controls over key click, etc. Leslie sim is solid.
From a sound standpoint it's hard to imagine you would need anything better in most situations--and if you need some 12G piano for a classical solo, you aren't reading this review.
The pianos are very good. In my experience with an older PC3x, the piano sounds Kurz provides sit very well in a mix, and I've gotten many compliments even on those (older, lesser) sounds. These are much better with the same "sit well" feature. The Kurz pianos support half damper, but oddly enough Kurz only includes a normal sustain pedal in the box. I have a half-damper pedal on order, we'll see how it works.
Because the sounds use a combination of sampling and processing, basically all of the patches have modifications and controls ready to go out of the box--sliders are assigned to filters, attack, tremolo, etc. This means that not only do you have an enormous batch of factory sounds ready to go, but you also have the ability to tweak each of those sounds to your liking.
USER MEMORY AND ADDING MORE SOUNDS
There is 3.5 G of user memory for samples. This obviously opens up a wide range of options, and you can upload basically any sound set. Personally, given all the time and money involved in a keyboard purchase/use, it seems blatantly obvious that if you have a particular favorite sound, you can easily get it for a proportionally tiny amount For example, I play a huge amount of solo EP and have owned and played many "real" versions, so I sprung for the Purgatory Creek EP collection ($30 on sale for multiples EPs.) This isn't a diss of the K2700--the built in EPs are really good--but obviously there's no keyboard on the market, whether Kurz or otherwise, that includes 579MB for a single Rhodes. Which is to say: if you want ___ sound and it isn't quite perfect enough for your taste, just buy it and upload it!
The upload process is simple. It's best to use a USB stick. It is slow (uploading 2G of EPs took a long time) but straightforward.
THE CONTROLS:
The K2700 is arguably one of the best and most powerful controllers on the market. There are 9 sliders which also act as organ drawbars, each w/ a rotary encoder and a button; 16 velocity sensitive pads; the kurzweil ribbon (like a a huge touch-sensitive slider that can also be assigned, split, etc.); and a bunch of other buttons.
It will support 2 CC pedals and up to four standard pedals (or one with half-damper and two regular ones.) Everything can be assigned everywhere--if you want your foot pedals to cycle through patches, you can do that; if you want them to act differently with cutom settings on a per-patch basis, you can do that too.
The extreme flexibility w/r/t splits and assignment also means that it's simple to set up some keys at the ends of the keyboard to act as additional triggers, if you prefer to have them there.
PATCHES, MULTIS, LAYERS, SPLITS:
One of the great strengths is the ease of tweaking sounds, and the ease of building splits or layers.
A "program" is one or more sound-generators stuck together. In theory, you can think of a program as "a sound," but it's more than that. For example, almost all "single-sound" programs have extra stuff that is accessed by a push of the "variation" button. Pushing "variation" on the piano patches will add a pad or string layer. On other patches, the 'variation' button does other stuff.
Taking a program and turning it into a split, layer, or both is a quick and simple process involving making a "multi."
A "multi" is a number of programs assembled in any combination of layers & splits, which can also contain songs, riffs, custom arps. Multis can be INCREDIBLY powerful, and the only limit is the 256-key polyphony. Beyond that you can do about anything you want.
Obviously the sky is the limit. Any number of programs can be added together in any fashion and combined with any set of effects.
Multis are not only useful for complex sounds; they are also useful for some setups. To use an example, I often play a split w/ bass on the left hand, in which I want to be able to quickly flip my right hand back and forth between organ and EP. This doesn't come with the board, but it's extremely easy and rapid to set up the control and assign it to a spare foot pedal (or anything else). To illustrate the Kurz' flexibility, you could choose two options: 1) You could set up two different multis that you like, and use the foot pedals to increment between them (they load instantly and sounds carry over) or 2) you could set up a single multi which had both sounds; you could then assign a footpedal to toggle an on/off mute between EP and organ.
THE KEYBED:
My favorite do-it-all keybed on the market, a Fatar TP40L. This is a somewhat lighter version of the much-loved FATAR tp40M. Dedicated acoustic piano players will want a heavier feel and will not be happy, but the TP40L is insanely pleasurable to use.
It doesn't feel like a grand piano of course--I have a steinway so it's easy to A/B on it--but it isn't trying to get that. And I don't want it to: After all, have you ever tried to play fast EP or synth or organ on a grand-piano-copy keybed? It sucks. The Fatar TP40L hits the perfect balance from synth to EP to piano. Fast runs are a joy; it works beautifully even w/ organ. Monophonic aftertouch, too.
THE FRONT PANEL:
The K2700 is arguably the best control surface on the market, which ties a lot into its functionality. Basically, ANY INPUT SOURCE on the board can be assigned to ANY CONTROL. If you're asking the question "Can I make the ___ do ___?" the answer is almost always is "yes!"
All of the programs are intelligently set up to use the existing controls, with ample room to add other tweaks. There are 9 physical sliders (for drawbars etc), each accompanied by an encoder and on/off button. There's the famous Kurzweil ribbon, which is sort of a touch-sensitive instant-access slider that can be split into multiple zones. There are 16 velocity-sensitive pads, which can also function like a step sequencer when paired with the arpeggiator. And there are the usual other stuff--a few more buttons, a large entry wheel, a bunch of program category buttons that can also toggle into keypad mode.
CONTROLS AND SOUND MODIFICATION
I don't tend to do a lot of starting-from-zero programming, but VAST is certainly powerful enough to do anything that most folks would ever dream of, especially in combo w/ the ability to add new samples.
More to my interest: basically every factory sound has pre-loaded and pre-assigned controls for many of the relevant factors (filter frequency or resonance, vibrato depth, etc.) You can find the whole list with a push of the "edit" button, or you can move a control and the display will show what it does. As a result, it's very easy to take a sound and make small changes.
For larger changes, there are a ton of effects (all editable of course) and as discussed above, all of the effect parameters can easily be assigned to one or more controllers.
For playing around, there are available patches that basically turn the K2700 into a VA synth.
SEQUENCER:
It has a functional sequencer--old school, but reasonably simple and powerful enough to use for what most folks would be doing. Obviously if you want to do very complex midi you'll be better off to use a PC and import it. But it works fine to quickly lay down riffs and custom arpeggios.
The arpeggiator is deep and fun. There are a wide variety of premade patterns for selection. They can also be customized with relative ease. One of my favorite touches is that you can easily assign arps to show up on the pads (one beat per pad) at which point many of them work in a fashion akin to a step sequencer playback, complete with visual cues and on/off triggers.
Overall A+.
Post questoins in the comments.
