Kurzweil PC1XREVIEW User Manual

Kurzweil PC1X

STAGE PIANO

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KEYBOARD MARCH 2004 www.keyboardmag.com

Korg D1600Korg D1600

Reports

Reports

I

n a typical two-tier gig rig, the bottom
keyboard is weighted and covers
piano and meat-and-potatoes sounds,
leaving the smaller top keyboard to
deal with synth comps and leads,

orchestral stuff, and other timbres
for which I won’t attempt a food metaphor. For
gigs where budget, space, or cartage issues

make bringing just one axe attractive, it’s
nice to have a “bottom” board that can do
some “toppish” things well.This is one reason
Kurzweil’s PC2X has long been a respected
stage workhorse. Now comes the PC1X,
essentially a streamlined PC2X at a more
aggressive price. Does it belong on a tier of your
keyboard stand?

Overview

As on the PC2X, the nerve center is Setup mode,
used for playing the keyboard multitimbrally
and as a master controller. A Setup can include
up to four Zones, each of which consists of
an internal and/or external sound program as
well as an independent set of MIDI control
assignments. Editing is geared towards creating
your own Setups, and towards altering the

by Stephen Fortner

Color-changing
LEDs and labeling
aid hunting for the
right sound.

Parameters that
can be altered are
accessed here.

Kurzweil’s signature
incremental dial.

Two of four
programmable buttons.

In Setup mode,
these select and
mute zones. In
Program mode,
they do quick
splits and layers.

Tweak sound and
FX parameters in
real time with these,
including the
great-sounding
3-band EQ.

www.keyboardmag.com MARCH 2004 KEYBOARD

59

effects. Within a single Program, you can edit
a few parameters that happen to be factory­assigned to a physical controller (these often
include filter and envelope settings), but you
can’t go as deep as changing waveforms, filter
types, or other aspects taken for granted on
fully-programmable synths.

Now for the main differences: The PC1X
has four knobs instead of sliders, a simplified
button layout, and includes the orchestral
expansion for the PC2X, but lacks its KB3
organ-modeling mode, digital audio output,
numeric keypad, and 128-voice polyphony
expansion capability.

Sounds

If you know and love the PC2 sounds, you’ll
be right at home. Evaluating the PC1X with
fresher ears? Here are some standouts.

The piano bank is based on Kurzweil’s
well-known triple-strike sample, which still
stands up next to the best pianos from the
current crop of ROMpler/workstations. At this
level of quality, piano sounds are somewhat
a matter of taste, but I’m comfortable saying
that to get indisputably better,one would have
to use something quite specialized, such as the
Generalmusic ProMega-3 or a GigaStudio
library. The electric pianos are good — even
very good — with especially detailed
midrange. They’re a bit polite at the extreme
ranges of the keyboard, save for the Wurlies,

which have killer low-end bark. My review unit
did not include the “Classic Keys” expansion,
which I’m told is partly based on the K2600’s
ROM4 block (reviewed Mar. ’03), and
promises superior electric pianos to what’s
already onboard.

With the orchestral option now standard,
there are more solo instruments in addition to
the base ROM’s ensemble-oriented brass and
strings. Nailing every articulation that real
symphonic players employ is the job of huge
libraries these days, and getting ideal results from
them requires a degree of expertise in how
those players think. What stands out about
the PC1X’s orchestral sounds is not just their
pristine, natural character,but their playability
by the rest of us. You can think like a keyboardist
and yet convincingly cop the vibe of, say, a
cello, oboe, or any type of section. Isn’t that one
of the major points of synthesizers?

Spoiled by KB3 mode and dedicated clones,
I was happy to discover something that increased
the realism of the PC1X’s ROM-based organs.
When a B3 sound is dialed up, the effects engine
gives you a dead-on Hammond-style chorus,
and an average rotary emulation respectively
controlled by the SW2 button and mod wheel.
But wait. Engaging the SW4 button brings in
an entirely different Leslie effect, identified as
“VAST Rotary” in the manual, with the wheel
still governing speed. This one is way ballsier,
and has clear and distinct motion differences
between bass and treble rotors. Setting the FX

bus mixes completely dry left it intact, showing
it to be built right into the sound program
itself, not the effects. This means you can’t get
in and tweak its parameters, but it sounds
damned good as-is.

Analog-style synth programs are remarkably
smooth and creamy, with hardly any artifacts,
and there’s no unwanted noise when you sweep
knobs C and D,which are most often mapped
to the cutoff and resonance of the keyboard’s
real resonant filters.“Solar Lead”continues to
be one of my favorite solo patches ever, great for
stylings from Chick Corea to P-Funk, and the
thick pad “Dream Catcher” shines on like a
crazy cubic zirconium.

Effects

The dual-engine onboard processor is a great
balance of simplicity and sound that would be
impressive in a home studio-priced outboard
unit, let alone a keyboard. FX Bus A is mainly
for “effecty” effects; FX-B is dedicated to 30
high-quality reverbs. Routing options are
kept simple. Bus A can be chained into B
serially, but can splits and layers have different
effects on different sounds? Yes, subject to
the limitation that there are only two discrete
effects to work with. Since the wet/dry mixes
for each bus are just MIDI controls, and since
a Setup has separate control assignments per
zone, that bass-piano split could enjoy a
squishy compressor down low and a nice

The Thru-Out switch turns the MIDI thru into a second MIDI out, which is useful when using the keyboard
as a master controller. There’s no breath control input, but you can plug in an optional ribbon controller.
The outs are 24-bit and balanced, a rare nicety at this price.

Stage piano with synthesizer and controller features.

Pros: Excellent sounds, especially the pianos.Orchestral block standard. Balanced 24-bit outputs.

Great bang for the buck.

Cons: Very few voice parameters can be edited and saved. No digital output.Knobs seem fragile,

especially the LCD contrast pot on rear.

Kurzweil, 253-589-3200, www

.kurzweilmusicsystems.com

$1,495

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KEYBOARD MARCH 2004 www.keyboardmag.com

airy reverb up top. Of course, even in a
maxed-out Setup with four parts, each Zone
can partake of however much of effect A, B,
or both that it wants.

It’s not really an effect, but for space reasons,
I’ll mention the arpeggiator here. Accessible from
Setup mode, I found it useful on drum kit
sounds to create basic rhythms, and great for
retro-hooks like the synth intro to Chaka
Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody.” Most programs use
SW3 to turn it on and off.

In Use

The feel is perceptibly lighter than the PC2X
(as well as couple of other staples I compared
it to: a Yamaha S90 and Roland A90), but
more weighted than the 76-key versions of
the PC2 and K2600. I could see primarily
pianistic players perhaps pondering [That
burns your alliteration quota for 2004. —Ed.]
if it’s a bit too light. In a rock or pop band
context, I found it to be ideal, offering all
the dynamics I could want for piano and
other percussive sounds, yet with a snappy
enough response that my show-off synth riffs
weren’t hindered at all. No sore fingers at the
end of the night, either, a problem I’ve often

Kurzweil PC1X Stage Piano

Vital Stats

Synthesis type PCM sample-playback plus subtractive
Polyphony 64 voices
Multitimbral parts 16
Keyboard 88 keys, weighted action, velocity and aftertouch
Controllers pitch and mod wheels, 4 assignable knobs, 4 assignable buttons
Display 2 lines x 20 character LCD
Internal programs 256 base, 128 orchestral, 128 General MIDI
Internal setups 64
User memory locations 128 Programs, 128 Setups
Wave ROM 32MB
Effects two-bus system derived from KDFX engine

Bus A over 150 types, incl. dynamics, distortion, rotary simulation, tap delay,

chorus, phaser, etc.

Bus B 30 reverb types
Data storage sys-ex
Audio outputs L/R 1/4" balanced TRS, 1/4" stereo headphone out
MIDI I/O in, out, switchable thru/out
Expansion options PCR-2 16MB ROM (Classic Keys)
Optional accessories ribbon controller, FS-1 switch pedal, KFP-1 piano-type sustain pedal, KFP-2M

dual piano-type pedal, CC-1 continuous pedal, PC-MDS music rack

Dimensions/weight W 54.3" x D 14" x H 4.3"; 50 lbs.

encountered when covering many different
kinds of parts on a weighted keyboard. It was
sluggish when I tried rapid-fire Hammond
key-slapping a la “Fly Like an Eagle,” but less
so than a heavier 88’s would’ve been.

The four Zone buttons access a performance
feature that existed on the PC2, but it’s so
darned useful it bears repeating. AutoSplit is a
procedure for creating multitimbral setups on
the fly,and here’s how it works: Left to right, the
buttons are labeled Main, Layer, Split,and Split
Layer. Let’s say you’re playing piano in Program
mode and want to add strings. Hit Layer, select
a sound, and voila.Uh-oh! Your bass player

broke a string and the next song is being
counted off! Press Split, call up a bass sound,
and the keyboard will now play it up to G#3
(the default split point, and yes, you can
change it), while leaving the piano-string
layer intact above that point. Split Layer is for
adding a second program to whatever’s in the
lower range of the keyboard. A very nice
touch is that whichever of the four zones
are active or muted, single-clicking on a
button will select that Zone for the purpose
of assigning a sound; pressing it again will then
make the Zone active if it was muted, or
vice-versa, with an inset LED showing that

status. Of course, results can be saved as a User
Setup, and to get outside the format of a
two-range split with up to two layers per
range, you’ll have to create or edit one in the
more usual way. Having often done exactly this
on my K2600 between songs, or during songs
as I held a pad on another keyboard, I can
assure you AutoSplit is comfortably superior
when under the gun.

Overlap — my word for the ability to sustain
notes, change sounds, and have the old notes
continue speaking until released — is silky
smooth, save for very subtle bumps heard
when the new sound uses markedly different
effects. In Program mode, I could hold a pad
with one hand, switch to a piano with the
other, and solo away with the pad still there.
Tr y ing a similar move in Setup mode, the
button I pressed flashed, and the old Setup
remained active across the whole keyboard
until all notes were released. Whichever way
you like more,the ability to go on a sound hunt
without getting cut off by your button-presses
is a vital tool for hitting curve balls thrown at
you during a set, especially if your “bottom”
keyboard is your only keyboard.

A word of caution about handling: Though
knobs on anything should never bear strong
downward pressure, the PC1X’s seem more
delicate than average. In particular, the LCD
contrast shaft protrudes farther than anything
else on the rear panel, and resting the keyboard
on its backside will put a lot of weight on that
little knob, possibly damaging the circuit
board on which it’s mounted. Recessing it
or putting a protective flange near it would be
a good design move.

Conclusions

The PC1X is basic and yet thoroughly professional.
Kurzweil has chosen to trim a few features instead
of giving the user fewer (or lesser-quality)
sounds, and in my opinion they chose exactly the
ones that a broad segment of cost-conscious
and busy keyboardists are least likely to miss.
As a versatile “bottom keyboard,”it makes few
compromises. However, it also has loads of“top
keyboard” sound and application not necessarily
found on comparable stage pianos. The closest
competitor with similar sonic diversity and
quality is likely the Yamaha S90, which is more
programmable, more expandable, and more
expensive. If you’re looking to plug in and
sound great in a hurry, the PC1X’s value can’t
be overstated. k

Steve Fortner is a keyboardist, philosophy professor,
producer, and music journalist working in Los
Angeles and Santa Barbara, California.

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KEYBOARD MARCH 2004 www.keyboardmag.com

Kurzweil PC1X Stage Piano