Kurzweil 1200 Series Modules

I use Mac Object Mover provided by Kurzweil. Other programs that work are Galaxy (Mac) and Kurle (PC). These are recommended - this is a digital synth with the usual practical limitations for numerical programming (no knobs to twiddle) and the software helps ease the pain.

The presets are excellent - some awesome natural sounds.

The 1200 Pro I manual - if you can find one - is well-written and informative as far as it goes. But this is a surprisingly sophisticated beast for its era, with deep synthesis capabilites, and it takes a while and some practice to fully appreciate.

It has some interesting, built-in effects which can be modified by the user via a flexible modular structure which is great fun to experiment with.

There is expansion/technical support via the Yahoo K1000 users group.

MIDI capabilities are sophisticated and therefore, as ever, not for the faint-hearted.

The modular structure supports interesting arpeggiator-like effects.

The natural instrument sounds via ROM waveforms are excellent. But this synth is surprisingly flexible and can generated sounds that fit many musical styles. I have generated great sounds ranging from a realistic accoustic piano with soft string accompaniment, to a Prophet 5 sound-alike, to a pulsing phased synth arpeggiator, to filter-like effects. Incidentally, these patches are available for FTP download at URL:
users.rcn.com/lsireland

The onboard effects are good and programmable via the modular structure within the synth engine.

It is very responsive to playing style via flexible progamming options.

These units are now rather dated. I have heard that they are not the most reliable synthesizers - but I haven't had a problem yet.
There is a very good Yahoo users group dealing with technical issues + for this family of synths at URL:
launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/K1000-K1200/

There is a very good Yahoo users group dealing with technical issues + for this family of synths at URL:
launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/K1000-K1200/

The programming flexibility and depth is great fun and generates awesome sounds.

Disadvantages: No analogue-like filters and it lacks a few other standard playing effects. I wish it had knobs to twiddle instead of programming by numbers. It lacks a headphone jack. My standard 1200 Pro I does not have much RAM space for user programs.

I also wax lyrical about the 1200 Pro I at URL: daveevansblog.blogspot.com
- and would like to share patches with other enthusiasts

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Thanks to the yahoo users group, upgrades are now available for ALL the 1000/1200 series modules. You can now get chips copied and all modules can be upgraded:
1000PX and PX+ to Pro 1;
SX, HX and AX+ to Pro 2;
GX to v.5;
and (at a pinch) a GX to a Pro 3- alhtough you'll need to get a 23 button faceplate from a scrap PX+/AX+ or EX.
Go to www.alzerom.com and follow the links for all the details.
User power rules!

Get them now while they're cheap. e-bay prices seem to be rising, as folks realise what a classic module they are.
Even today, they sound as good if not better than the competition.
Not bad for 20 year old technology!

The 1200 series modules are related to the K1200 keyboard, but as ever with Kurzweil, things don't stop there. There are 3 models: Pro 1, Pro 2 and Pro 3. Thses are all developed from the 1000 series with software upgrades and more sounds. The Pro 1 can be thought of as a PX module with sound blocks A and B, the Pro 2 iws a combination of SX and HX modules with upgrades (woodwinds and timps for the SX, also and bari saxes for the HX), and the Pro 3 is a combination of GX and HX (plus HXA) modules.
Still with me?
The software version on these guys are v5. This allows up to 1000 patches via MIDI using Kurzweil's own proprietary system. 0-99 are loaded as usual, but 101, 102, etc loads banks of 100 sounds. Easier than bank select and controller 0 and 32. Alos you have storable settings for assigned/deassigned MIDI channels (not storable on the original 1000 series, and lots of real time controllers like panning.
Sounds -fabulous! Still state of the art today, and you'll still find the waveforms lurking in K2000 and 2500 units. Class doesn't age.
Editing patches can be as nightmare without the manual (which is very good and essential), but there are free downloads from Kurzweil's ftp site and the Yahoo 1200 users group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K1000-K1200.
Otherwise editing can be convoluted.

24 note polyphony on the Pro 1, 20 note polyphony on the 2 and 3. Each model can be chain linked up to 12 units for 288/240 voice polyphony!
Loads of FX, presets are the usual useful things, Leslies, chorus, flange delays, and complied FX whcich are modular and can have profound results, probably at times on a par with physical modelling. In other words, the starter waveform can be unrecognisable by the end!
Very responsive over MIDI: after touch (including polyphonic), bearth and mod wheels, all sorts of stuff. Check the manual for a list of controllable parameters. Basicallt you can assign anything to control most things.

Fabulous sound quality. Supposedly the sounds are 12 bit, but they give the lie to those who think anything under 16 bit is useless. Very realistic and easy to use throughout the range. Some sounds are a bit eccentric (try a honky tonk DX style piano!!) but for every turkey there are 1000s of superb sounds.

No problems with reliability -mine just keep going. The backlit display eventually fades but is easily repairable by a decent service centre. The chips are copyable. Superb build quality and reliablity.

No official customer support now, sadly. Kurzweil themselves don't have anything, Sweetwater have stopped stocking spares and upgrades. It's now down to DIY servicing and service centres to keep things going. That said, they should last a very long time.
Check the yahho group above for further developments.

Would I buy again, yes, without a doubt. I've used these modules for over 15 years, they're my sound and I love them dearly. Prices are ridiculously cheap on ebay, and likely to get more so with the move to virtual instruments (how much will they be worth in ten years time? Zilch probably). Better than Proteus's, even now they show up the atrocious quality of orchestral sounds in newer hi level synths. Ray Kurzweil got it right with the 1000/1200 series. It's a mystery why they didn't sell more. Still, the K2000 is a classic so we can't complain.