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Has anyone on here ever played a Kurzweil SP-76 and/or heard one through a PA? I need to buy a keyboard for live use that makes a reasonably good piano sound, doesn't weigh more than about 30lbs, and doesn't cost more than $600-$700. Everything I've read on-line suggests this Kurzweil is the best 76-key keyboard that meets all these criteria, but I'm too far from a music store to try one out. I'm curious about two things in particular: how the "semi-weighted" keys feel, and how it sounds coming through a club PA. (I've read testimonials on the on-line websites that sell it, but I never know what to make of those things.)

Grazie mille for any help.
Biz

I haven't played or heard one of the kurzweils, but if you're looking for a decent "piano" keyboard, Alesis' QS series is pretty great, similarly priced (if I remember correctly) and at least worth checking into.

the QS8 has the weighted keys and is a full 88. heavy. we used to play shows with one of these. it sucked to move.

the QS7 is smaller (one octave less) and has good semi weighted keys
probably the best sized one for what you're loooking for. It has the same sounds as the QS8, it's just littler.

and so on down with the QS6.

they have some okay organs, and harpsichords and tympani, etc, but the piano sounds are solid.

fwiw, the Nord Lead 2 I use has a passable piano sound if you don't expect it to sound like a grand. there's a "piano pad" sound that I've just tweaked so there are no delays, and stored it. it's super portable and is infinitely fun to play. one could fit in a hollowed out guitar case.

it's maybe $300 over your budget, though.


what are you going to be running it through? just the PA/monitors or are you going to have an amp?



Faiz

Faiz,

I will be running this straight to the PA.

Do the semi-weighted keys on the Alesis feel like the keys on a well-used piano? Or do they feel closer to normal synth keys? I don't know if these keyboards are "semi" weighted because they're made of lighter materials or because they're designed to have a different sort of action, or both. (I'm assuming they're more than just touch-sensitive.)

I have a Korg Triton Le from about 1999 or 2000 and its piano sounds are woeful. Actually they're ok if you play lightly, but the slightest pressure makes the piano sound metallic, or maybe the word I'm looking for is Hornsby. Does the Alesis Hornsby out?

Biz

Biznono wrote:Faiz,

I will be running this straight to the PA.

gotcha. only problem with that is that it'll be hard for you in the monitors. I would recommend maybe even a small 15-20W practice amp that you can plug into one of the stereo channels just to keep tabs on yourself. with keys, as I'm sure you've seen, the low frequencies get eaten by the bass and the mid to high frequencies get got by the guitar. You probably won't need to mic it, but a lil guy might solve several problems at once if you have to play in a more unorthodox setting.

for keys, though, you cannot beat the roland KC line. they make 'em small, medium and big. big is powerful enough to be a PA/Bass amp.

biznono wrote:Do the semi-weighted keys on the Alesis feel like the keys on a well-used piano? Or do they feel closer to normal synth keys? I don't know if these keyboards are "semi" weighted because they're made of lighter materials or because they're designed to have a different sort of action, or both. (I'm assuming they're more than just touch-sensitive.)

the QS8 (the big one) has fully weighted keys, which feel like a well-used piano.
the QS7, is the synth version of the QS8. the keys aren't solid like piano keys, but have that little ledge underneath it hollowed out (if that makes sense).

I may have mistyped when I wrote 'semi weighted' --I meant 'touch sensitivity'. it's still a fairly expressive instrument, from what I remember. . besides, I believe most of these things have the tweakability to the tone and timbre that you can dial in and save if you just snoop through the manual. the keys are full size and felt good to play, but there are plenty of disagreeing opinions in the harm cent review.

the alesis also has some sound library cards you can buy on the cheap (i think 30 bucks a card) and get hundreds of other patches. I'm pretty sure there's a "piano patches" cartidge.

I have a Korg Triton Le from about 1999 or 2000 and its piano sounds are woeful. Actually they're ok if you play lightly, but the slightest pressure makes the piano sound metallic, or maybe the word I'm looking for is Hornsby. Does the Alesis Hornsby out?

Biz

the Korg is super good for hip hop. you could make This Biz Never Sleeps, Also. looks really heavy, though. the QS7 is pretty light. I'd bet easily under twenty pounds. for some reason I want to say between 14 and 16 at most, but I may be remembering incorrectly.

as far as it Hornsby-ing out, I was in a band for five years with a bandmate who had been playing piano for 11-13 years when we first started. She had the QS8 because it was the best 'feeling' and 'sounding' digital piano she had tried.

when we started touring more, it was getting to be a drag carrying that 88key monstrosity around, so she 'road upgraded' to the smaller QS7. one caveat: the top casing came loose after a while, but we also did buy it used. We took it on several midwest/east coast tours, and even flew it overseas for shows, and it returned home intact. other than the casing, we've had absolutely zero problems with either for at least 5 years. not bad, for reliability.

I don't mean to color your inquiry about the Kurzweil, and don't want to steer you towards a product that you may not want. I wish I had more info on that type of dig. piano as well, so you could weigh your options, but I figured if the alesis was good enough for a very 'serious' piano player, it'd probably be okay for most other folks, too.


I saw a listing for one at about $550 on one of the random google searches.


good resources for this kind of stuff are vintagesynth.com and the synth museum.

hope this is helpful.




Faiz

Faiz,
All this info is a big help.
Thanks, Biz

absolutely, Biz.


you might want to try a search on the forums here:
http://www.vintagesynth.com/
for more info.

it's probably my favourite site to geek out on keyboards, with good, semi-biased reviews, and nice touches like listing the cost new as well as listing the average price said keyboards are currently going for. the site itself doesn't have an entry for the kurzweil (it does for the alesis), so I didn't post it earlier, but I just checked the forum and got a handful of results.


If you're just going to use the keyboard for piano (and not for wacky synth, bell, or bass or drum sounds), maybe a wurlitzer or a rhodes electric piano would be fun. I've played maybe two or three of each and have always wanted to get one or the other. both sound killer in different ways.

I believe both come with built in cases, too, which is a cost you'll have to factor in. they are, for sure, heavier, but possibly just as heavy as a keyboard and a case. I know our overseas cases were built maybe 3-4 times heavier than they keys themselves so they can take the abuse, and save your shit.

as a bonus, some of the rhodes have a flat top, as opposed to the curved top of the wurli , which makes them an ideal stand for a second, smaller keyboard. like a synth! the flat tops are a really good investment if you plan on upgrading to multiple keyboards, because you won't have to buy an additional stand. plus, if your stand has a double brace (as opposed to the cheap single brace stands), it'll easily take the weight without being risky.


the Rhodes sounds incredible through a twin. especially with the reverb and vibrato footwsitch. And if I remember correctly, you might have one lying around. you could probably play it into one of the channels of a fender, while the guitar goes into the other. I believe the rhodes was designed to be played through ender amps, specifically.

both can be played without an amp, too. for home use, they're really quiet, but audible when turned off (because they still have hammers??). the wurlitzers have built in speakers in addition to the 1/4" out, if I'm not mistaken, and both of these definitely play like a slightly broken-in piano.

neither of them Hornsby Out. fact.


granted, you'll have to deal with vintage upkeep, but if you don't treat your gear like shit, you should be ok. My friends toured with one of the wurlitzers a lot. I don't remember if they had an amp for it or not, but I think they didn't. these should both be ok for PA use.




I don't get very many chances to talk about keyboards here. it's fun.


tip top,


Faiz

I don´t know if a rhodes or a wurly would be the best choices. the feeling and touch - specially on the rhodes - is VERY different than the feeling in a piano. You need to play much softer - a bit attack can overdrive it. I never played one personally but sevel keyboard players told me that they are not the more friendly instruments to play.

Jose Luis Perales wrote:I don´t know if a rhodes or a wurly would be the best choices. the feeling and touch - specially on the rhodes - is VERY different than the feeling in a piano. You need to play much softer - a bit attack can overdrive it. I never played one personally but sevel keyboard players told me that they are not the more friendly instruments to play.

good point. I have maybe six or so different keyboards (let's see....nord2, juno6, farfisa compact duo, lowrey full size 500 lb organ, a little sampling casio, an accordion and two harmoniums), and they all play differently. none of them have been 'deal breakers' though. you get used to whatever the action of the keys is, and your playing should, over time, calibrate itself accordingly.

the only real issue i've ever had with keyboards is when the keys are obviously cheap and shitty, zero-weight plastic, or (even worse) the keys are too narrow. there are some awesome sounding keyboards (like the micro korg with the vocoder), but they're such a chore to play because of the small keys, that it's almost not worth it.

both the rhodes and the wurli have nice wide keys, like the kurzweil and the alesis, so I felt adding them would be okay.

The Kurzweil will give you the best piano sounds available. I would recommend full weighted keys if it's offered- having the feel and action of a real piano is pretty crucial to it sounding like one.
Semi-weighted keys and synth keys may be more versatile for playing organ, moog and theremin-type sounds(ever see a B3 w/weighted keys?). You could split the difference, but it sounds like you're seeking the ideal piano
setup.

The Roland KCs are great keyboard amps. Most important when choosing an amp is to get one with a tweeter. And get one with enough clean juice to be heard above your self-absorbed guitar playing bandmates!

thyklopth wrote:The Kurzweil will give you the best piano sounds available. I would recommend full weighted keys if it's offered- having the feel and action of a real piano is pretty crucial to it sounding like one.
Semi-weighted keys and synth keys may be more versatile for playing organ, moog and theremin-type sounds(ever see a B3 w/weighted keys?). You could split the difference, but it sounds like you're seeking the ideal piano
setup.

the problem with the weighted keys is that they usually only make them in 88 keys (unless someone does that I'm unaware of). it pushes both the kurzweil and the alesis into the 50+ pound range, a full 20 pounds over Biz' limit. this is without the case, too. I don't think the 76 key ones come in fully weighted for either of these models.

thyklopth wrote:The Roland KCs are great keyboard amps. Most important when choosing an amp is to get one with a tweeter. And get one with enough clean juice to be heard above your self-absorbed guitar playing bandmates!

seguro. the four inputs, xlr ins for mics and outs for the PA, daisychainability, and optional subwoofer out are such nice features. and the casters! we used to use the amps as hand trucks to move the twin, the drum cases, keyboards, etc. I don't think they make a better, more tailored to the touring musician, keyboard amp.