Kurzweil PC3A7 Getting Started Guide

®

GETTING STARTED GUIDE

for

PC3A8, PC3A7, PC3A6

©2014 Young Chang Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. Kurzweil® is a product line of Young Chang Co., Ltd. Kurzweil®, Young
Chang®, V. A. S. T.®, and PC3A™ are trademarks of Young Chang Co., Ltd. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of
their respective companies. Product features and specications are subject to change without notice.

You may legally print up to two (2) copies of this document for personal use. Commercial use of any copies of this document is
prohibited. Young Chang Co. retains ownership of all intellectual property represented by this document.

Part Number 910567-001

i

Kurzweil International Contacts

Contact the Kurzweil oce listed below to locate your local Kurzweil representative.

US Customers:

American Music & Sound
22020 Clarendon Street, Suite 305
Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

www.kurzweil.com

Customers outside the US:

Young Chang Co., LTD.
9th Floor, Bldg 102, I-Park,
Jeongja-Dong, Bundang-Gu, Seongnam-Si,
Gyeonggi-Do
463-859 South Korea

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

www.facebook.com/kurzweilmusicsystems/

www.twitter.com/KurzweilMusic

www.youtube.com/user/KurzweilTutorials

ii

Introduction

Updates and Boot Loader

Introduction

Your new instrument oers amazing acoustic, electric, and synthesizer sounds, combined with
advanced programming features that will let you create almost any sound you can imagine. The
PC3A comes loaded with 256 MB of ROM sounds, including:

• The Original PC3K set.

• The KORE64 expansion set (featuring improved guitar, drums, synth, brass, and woodwind
sounds).

• The German D Grand EXP expansion set (featuring improved acoustic piano sounds).

In Program Mode, press the Exp 1 Bank button to access KORE64 Programs (IDs 3200-3590), or
press the Exp 2 Bank button to access the German D Grand EXP Programs (IDs 3700-3730). By
default, program 3700 will be selected when the PC3A is rst powered on.

How to Use This Guide

This Quick Start Guide describes how to connect and power up your PC3A, and to hook up the
PC3A to your sound system and MIDI system. It provides an overview of the front panel, and a
brief description of the operating modes to help you start playing music with the instrument. It
covers the PC3A in its 88, 76, and 61-note congurations (PC3A8, PC3A7, and PC3A6).

For detailed information on editing and advanced programming features, refer to the PC3A
Musician’s Guide provided on the Kurzweil website:

http://www.kurzweil.com

The best way to read this guide is with your PC3A in front of you. By trying the examples we give
to illustrate various functions, you can get a quick understanding of the basics.

Do I Have Everything?

Your PC3A shipping carton should include the following in addition to your instrument:

• Power cable

• Sustain pedal

• USB cable

• Getting Started manual (this book)

If you don’t have all of these components, please call your Kurzweil/Young Chang dealer.

You may also want to purchase a USB thumb drive for portable backups and storage.

Updates and Boot Loader

Check for new documentation and operating system upgrades before you start using your
instrument. When new software is available for the PC3A, it will be posted at www.kurzweil.
com. You’ll use the PC3A’s Boot Loader to upgrade your instrument to use the new software. To
bring up the Boot Loader, hold down the Exit button (below the cursor buttons, to the right of the
display) while powering on your PC3A. When you’ve downloaded an upgrade, you can install it
yourself in a matter of minutes. Follow the instructions included with the upgrade les.

page 3

Introduction

Arp

SW

Overview of the PC3A

Pictured below is the 88-key PC3A8.

The PC3A’s 1400+ programs include improved piano sounds from the German D Grand EXP
expansion, and improved guitar, drums, synth, brass, and woodwind sounds from the KORE64
expansion. Also included are string sections from the Orchestral and Contemporary sound
blocks, Stereo Triple Strike Piano, Classic Keys for realistic vintage electric piano sounds, and
General MIDI (GM) sounds. Multi-zone performance setups are also provided; many of these
setups use note triggers to play factory-recorded songs that provide grooves and arpeggiation
that make great templates for performance or recording. An on-board sequencer with front panel
transport buttons lets you record your ideas any time inspiration strikes. This sequencer (Song
mode) lets you play back MIDI type 0 or 1 sequences, record and play back your own songs, and
record multi-timbral sequences received via MIDI.

In addition to V.A.S.T. capability, a few of the features that by themselves make the PC3A an
impressive stage and studio machine are:

• 128-voice polyphony

• Fully multi-timbral voices, so that dierent programs can be played on each MIDI channel.

• An on-board digital eects processor provides multiple simultaneous eects, including
real-time eects control, internally or via MIDI.

• More eects processing power than Kurzweil’s own KSP8 studio eects processor.

• Two additional balanced analog outputs in addition to the standard stereo audio output pair,
as well as a digital output. All of the outputs are available simultaneously.

For backup, storage, and moving les, two types of USB ports are provided on the back panel of
the PC3A. A USB storage port allows you to connect a USB device such as a thumb drive, and a
second USB Computer port lets you connect the PC3A to a computer for le transfer and MIDI
connectivity.

page 4

Introduction

Options

Ask your Kurzweil dealer about the following PC3A options:

Sound ROM Expansion Card

The PC3A has the KORE64 and German D Grand EXP cards installed as standard components.

Pedals

The PC3A has jacks for three switch pedals (for functions like sustain or program/setup changes)
and two continuous pedals (for functions like volume control and wah). Your Kurzweil dealer
stocks the following optional pedals:

FS-1 Standard box-shaped switch pedal
KFP-1 Single piano-style switch pedal
KFP-2M Double piano-style switch pedal unit
CC-1 Continuous pedal

Ribbon Controller

There’s a dedicated modular jack (like a telephone jack) on the rear panel of the PC3A for
connecting this 600-mm (24-inch) ribbon controller. You can congure the PC3A to use the ribbon
as a single large controller, or a three-section controller with independent settings for each
section.

Breath Controller

You can plug a Yamaha (or equivalent) breath controller into the dedicated jack on the PC3A’s
rear panel.

USB Storage Device

You can plug a USB mass storage device such as a “thumb drive” or memory stick into the PC3A
for backing up, archiving, sharing your work, and updating your software. Any size USB mass
storage device will work, though thumb drives are recommended for their portability, durability,
and low price.

Note: Most USB thumb drives are compatible with the PC3A, but some older USB thumb drives and larger

USB bus powered drives will not work with the PC3A if they require more than 100 mA of current (high
power USB devices). When attempting to use an incompatible USB device, the PC3A will display the
message “USB device requires too much power.” The PC3A is designed to work with low power USB

devicesandcanprovideamaximumof100mAtoaUSBdevice.Powerrequirementspecicationsfor

thumb drives are not always made clearly available by the manufacturer, but a newly purchased thumb

drivewillmostlikelybecompatible.Ifpossible,checkthepowerrequirementspecicationsofyourUSB

device before purchase.

page 5

Startup summary

Startup summary

If you are familiar with Kurzweil instruments and are comfortable making system connections,
here is a quick summary of the necessary steps. More detailed instructions are on the following
pages.

Making Connections

1. Set the keyboard on a hard, at, level surface. Make sure to leave plenty of room for
ventilation.

2. Four adhesive-backed rubber feet are provided with your PC3A. If you want to attach them to
the bottom of the PC3A(recommended to prevent scratching your tabletop), carefully turn the
keyboard over, remove the paper backing from the rubber feet and attach them now, near each
corner, all on the same level.

3. Connect the AC power cable to the rear panel.

4. Make sure your sound system is at a safe volume level. Also make sure that the PC3A’s
MASTER VOLUME slider (on the far left side of the front panel) is all the way down.

5. Plug in a pair of stereo headphones to the jack labelled on the rear panel, or run standard
(1/4-inch) audio cables from your amplier or mixer to the MIX audio outputs on the PC3A.
(Use the Main Left out for mono.) Balanced (“TRS” or “Stereo”) cables are recommended.

6. You may also want to adjust the display contrast and brightness, using thetwo small knobs on
the rear panel of the PC3A for this purpose.

Making Music

1. Plug the power cable into an AC source and power up your PC3A with the switch on the rear
panel, next to the power cord connector. Raise the level of the MASTER VOLUME slider, and
check out some of the programs and setups. The PC3A starts up in Program mode by default.

2. If you hear distortion, reduce the gain on your mixing board (or use the pad if it has one).

3. Scroll through the program list with the Alpha Wheel, or the dedicated Category and Program
buttons, to try the PC3A’s many sounds.

page 6