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(More customer reviews)Now that all Kurzweil's can be layered and split, their glaring weakness is all the more conspicuous. The company, in my opinion, makes the best digital pianos--in terms of sound, versatility, and keyboard "feel"--but with the most convoluted, incoherent, least helpful instructions. Guaranteed to lead to many all-nighters for musicians just trying to "set up" the keyboard for the next day's gig, which may not have a bass player or drummer.
If you have q friend, or a knowledgeable techie/gear-head who works cheap, by all means hire him. The manual, as usual, looks like it's been written by a committee. After talking about the most "powerful" dimension of the keyboard as its adaptiveness to set-ups, it fails to explain or illustrate how to construct sounds in the favored "set-up," or "500," mode rather than the more limiting "performance" mode. It gives no directions or helpful illustrations on how the user might be able to use one of the factory set-ups (all of them unusable) as a "template" to help the user with the creation of his own more practical set-ups. It doesn't explain how to transpose a good acoustic bass sound up an octave into a playable range without having all of the notes in the treble, or right hand, also transposed, except into an unplayable range. It provides a paragraph on doing a "hard reset," so that the player can get rid of all the monstrosities he's created and start afresh--unfortunately the manual fails to provide the vital information that before the "reset" button will activate the instructions permitting a hard reset, the user must first depress the "Global" button. (By accident, and several hours later, I finally stumbled upon it.)
Whether the reader finds it merely curious or confounding, the manual will introduce and begin to discuss some of the specifics of splitting, layering, set-up programs, etc. Then in a late section of the book, the reader finds a paragraph stating that the instrument is capable of "layering and splitting, which means adding on another sound or dividing the keyboard into two or more zones so that different sounds can be played, a feature that can often be convenient for a musician, especially one who is playing in a show" (!!!). In other words, the paragraph sounds as though the authors are unaware that anything preceded it. Instead of specific instructions, we're given a reductive introduction that sounds like it belongs in the ad sheet! I's in details like this where Kurzweil seems determined to cut the corners, in the process cutting the frustrated user to shreds.
I could say that this latest Kurzweil gives me more problems when, during the middle of a fast-moving passage in the middle of a tune, I attempt to go from one program to another. Often the button doesn't register my quick press, the light blinks back at me when it should have changed--but for all I know I've programmed it wrong. The same goes for the sustain pedal. It's the slipperiest pedal I have yet to encounter on an electric keyboard. At one time, Roland marketed a pedal with a heel flap, which made eminent sense and was quite effective (enough reason to get rid of it in this inscrutable market). The bottom surface of this Kurzweil pedal is less abrasive than Kurzweil pedals I've had with my K1000, PC2, or PC1se, squirting across a linoleum floor like a hocky puck repeatedly over the course of a 4-hour job (might as well have been 40). Maybe that's the way they like them in Minnesota.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Kurzweil SP2XS 88 Note Digital Stage Piano, Hammer Action Keys, 64 Programs, 64 Voice Polyphony, Includes Two 6 Inch Speakers and Stand, Black and Chrome
The SP2XS delivers the legendary Kurzweil sound, with all of its detail and refinement, in a digital piano which is both professional and easy to use. Using the next generation of Kurzweil technology, the SP2XS provides some of our best sounds: pianos, EPs, strings, pads, mallets and voices, all available at the touch of a button. Endless hours of engineering and sample editing went into the Triple Strike Grand Piano sound, and it shows. Behind the scenes, the SP2XS's powerful synthesizer engine brings these samples to life and makes them sing. The result is an instrument which not only sounds like, but feels like a real piano. A 64 note polyphony ensures that notes will continue sounding even under high demand performance situations. The SP2XS has is its own custom 20 watt/channel power amplifier and matched, high efficiency speaker sound system, featuring full range 3 x 5 inch drivers, optimized for the SP2XS cabinetry. A USB interface allows the SP2XS to connect to a computer (Mac or PC) for complete MIDI performance and OS updates. Ideal for both practice and songwriting, the SP2XS comes equipped with 64 pre-recorded drum grooves, rhythms and adjustable metronome. The SP2XS features Kurzweil's renowned effects processing technology, the same leading-edge technology found in all of our professional products. The SP2XS's effects can put the right finish on any sound whether it's crystal clear or warm and organic. Nothing else in the industry even comes close in this department.
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