Kurzweil K2000VP

you know

better of with Roland MC-50 for sequencing songs but I like the swing function in the song editor, the MC does not have this.

It's probably better to go with an analog synth but who knows if they even make those anymore. Maybe moogs...

I don't know who to blame for this. I think the problems I am having with it right now might be my own fault. I installed SIMMS to upgrade the sample memory but according to my recent observations I was supposed to also install a fan kit with these. Not sure if I was improperly instructed about this or if it was of my own ingnorance. But I have taken out the 3.14 and 3.54 chips the other day and it seems to have worked better for a while. It may have gotten magnetized or something when it over-heated... I also did all the other things I was able to do with my present knowlege of electronic cicuits. I checked the fuse/voltage box and checked the fuse in there. I move a few of the jumpers in there to see if anything changed, I did some hard-resets a few times, you know (turn the power on while holding down 1-2-3) and folowing the instructions on the screen. The only thing when you remove the 3.14, 3.54 etc. chips is try not to bend the heck out of the little legs on the chips, or break them (ouch!!!*$#.) It waspretty cool to when it actually powered on real quick with the 3.14 chips out, but the only thing was that all the rom memory was gone. Not a bad thing maybe if all you want to do is use external samples. But I did not try see if that would work or not. I don't know much about the EP roms or ROM upgrades, maybe that's what I need that may have got fried. If you know, e-mail me...P.S. If you decide to void your warranty if you still have one and decide to take a look in there like I did, please remember not to stick your hands in there with the power cord connected. That always sucks to see your equipement or your face to go down in flames. If it's the board you will probably see it but I don't know if you fry yourself! Yours Truly, Always

What's the saying?...It's always easier to blame someone else...

It's zen absolutely. Take your program, run it through your algorythm of choice with filters and parameters of your choice, send it to the output of your choice, control it with sliders, pedals, LFO's, enveloppes?, add up to 9 layers in a setup, 3 in a program etc. I think with a good effects unit you can do a lot.

Kurzweil probably makes the most programably complexified synthesizers that exist.

The sequencer is more easy on my roland mc-50mk-II so that's what I use

Haven't had the pleasure of creating much original sounds. Still reading the manual.

Was having problems with it not staying powered up. unplugged power, removed back panel (6 screws), moved some jumpers around, particularly those two next to the software version chips.
Then removed and put back in the version 3.14 chips. that was pretty cool cause when those two were out and the version 3.54 were still in. all the prorams and samples were gone, I was like woh!!...Anyway!
Then, I put those 3.14s back in and took the 3.54s out, that just put me back to the original problem with power-up...So finally, I put all the 3.14's and 3.54's back in there, moved around the jumpers, back to their originall position maybe... and the Keyboard is lighting back up a little quicker now.
P.S. I also removed the fuse panel and checked it.
My belief is that something in there is getting magnetised or polarised and all those things I did may have helped to demagnify it.
For now,...Maybe I will check out version 3.87 software in the futur.

Used to be okay a few years ago. I think maybe they are trying to make technicians out of us to.

It's one of the only companies that make a keyboard that can play back wav. files and other samples. It is not a general midi keyboard either so...

It is easy to get lost in the editing. If you want to get the full potential of this keyboard strap yourself to a seat and spend time studying the manual.Ive read that some people complained about the manual. I can understand where they are coming from.I have two manuals and a video. I sometimes scratch my head reading parts of it. Again this keyboard is not a toy. So I expected spending a lot of time learning it.

24 notes of polophony. The keyboard action is great if you are a synth player. Ive felt the keys on many other synths and kurzweil puts more quality in the feel of their product. The effects are outstanding and are usable. The expansion capabilities are good. I recommend expanding it to get the full potential out of it. The sequencer is difficult to use, but once you learn, It is one of the best sequencers out there.

all of the sounds are just plain amazing and very usable. This keyboard has many ways of using expression internally, pressure sensitvity,mod wheels, control slider, expression pedals etc. This instrument will cover all music types.

I will not rate a 10, because when I first purchased this product I had to get it replaced by a new one because the effects chip went bad. The one that replaced the first one has lasted me almost ten years so far.

I have not had to deal with Kurzweil. My music store took care of the replacement.

When I bought this keyboard almost ten years ago. I wanted something that would give me years of enjoyment and not fade out to knew technology. Kurzweil knew where the future was going and painstakingly made a keyboard that will rival with the best today. Kurzweil never left the drawing table of the K2000 technology, they only advanced upon it with its predecessors K2500 And K2600. If it were ever stolen i would just cry! Because, this keyboard will be one day as a prized piece of vintage gear. If I had to replace it. I would have to get a loan and buy the 2500 or 2600.

Software version 3.54J
Presets are stainding the test of time.
Editing patches is straightforward enough to do without a manual. Manual is needed though for deeper stuff.

Polyphony isn't as impressive these days on paper but let your ears determine what you need. Everybody has a recording setup now so this shouldn't really be an issue, multi-track if you need to! Usual MIDI capabilities are there pressure sensitive keys with aftertouch. For me this has the best action of all my synths. It is plastic but it has QUALITY written all over it. I am talking down to the key-shape. If you look close at a Roland board, you will find the surface it flat. On the Kurzweil it is slightly curved (great for glissandos). Plastic key weight is more and noticably thicker. I can also feel felt as the key rises to the top of the stroke. This board sets the standard and some new boards still don't have it right.

Very expressive, clean. Still a contender in 2006 for top marks! My effects however, have a problem. Sounds like the FX chip is crashing or something. I have tried hard and soft resets-nothing. I also know I am not the only one. If anyone has any advice please shoot me an email. For now I don't use any effects as I am recording and have outboard gear.......

Solid, I have taken this thing on tour for about 2 years and no problem. You don't need a back up with this machine....

Kurzweil support is decent. They are currenty helping me upgrade the ROM chips in one of my other boards. No problems here.

If it were lost or stolen, I would have to replace it. Discovering Kurzweil is like being in a good relationship for the first time. It has its own voice-its different. I don't compare it to anything else out there. I have different boards for different applications (Motif ES, Triton Extreme, Trinity V3 etc..). This board has a 'warm' feel to it. You

having a k 2500 for many years, it was easy to use this keyboard. much the same type of features. i like the preset. and the concept of putting the sounds into the quick access makes a lot of sense in gigs. you can easily get the different sounds you want, especially helpful if you change keyboard sounds in the middles of songs!

it has synth action, i prefer the weighted keys of my k 2500, but it'll do at a gig. i mainly got this for ease of transportation. easy to add memory. i already have lots of floppies for extra sounds, but truthfull, i don't always use them

this is kurzweil's best feature. i love the presets. i also like the idea of making my own sounds, which can be done with this as well.

the only complaint i have, and this has to do with the kurzweils in general, i hate their organ sounds.it just not sound right. i al most never use them. when i gig, i always have my korg cx 3, so i don't even bother with the organ presets on this thing.

my k 2500 has been a workhorse. it has seen plenty of gigs and has the battle scars to [prove it. i think this should be just as reliable. i got it used, but i am not sure how it was gigged before - there are no beer cup stains on the surface.....

i got this mainly to gig with and i wish i had done so earlier, would have been easier on my back!

never had to deal with them

got this as a keyboard exclusively for gigging. i already know that kurzweil is one of the best out there. i am a dedicated kurzweil user myself. this is versitile. can do the piano trio thing as well as be a synth god. i don't like the organ sounds, but you can't have everything. my live rig consists of this and a korg cx 3, and i have all the sounds that i need with those two. might be nice to get really spare and have one keyboard that does all those things really well, alas......

I'm using version 3.? I fell in love with this machine when i listened to the presets... that never happened to me before. The unique (warm, deep, evolving) character of the sounds convinced me at once. Creating your own sounds is relatively easy, compared to other button-operated synths. The VAST architecture is intuitive, but perhaps that's because i'm used to subtractive synthesis. The sequencer is another story: it is a bit cumbersome and not an alternative to a DAW. A pc-based editor would be nice.
The manual is ok. I enjoyed reading it.

The K2000 is a veteran. It lacks polyphony, digital interfaces, etc, but because the VAST engine was designed so well, no modern synth can replace it, except perhaps its successors (K2500,K2600).

I like the combination of samples (realism) and versatile sound-shaping abilities, thanks to the VAST-engine. This combination makes anything possible, except physical modelling. Modulation sources include complex mathematical functions, clocks and conventional envelopes. Everything sounds musical and warmish.

The K2K is a professional keyboard. It looks sturdy and i would be confident to use it on a gig. One thing bothers me: the backup-batteries run out of power very quickly... So you have to use this musical beast as often as possible.

I bought the K2K 8 years ago and it is still my favourite keyboard, together with my Z1 keyboard and the Reactor system. Some synths have character, some don't. The Kurzweil K2000 has a lot of character. I would certainly buy it again if it were stolen.

We have the 3.54 OS I think. The sounds are just oustanding and effect are quite usuable. The biggest is trying to find out how to use it, espically if you use midi . It is easy to figure out how to pull up a factory voice. Anything else you better get some time to experiment, call people who own them,got to the Kurxweil website and get a tutorial , which is slightly better. It is very most user unfriendly, perhaps the most difficlut keyboard to figure out we have had. ( We have had 4 keyboards in our band, 2 early sy series Yamaha's and currently a Roland ex 90that we use with our Kurzweil). There 2 manuals I think were wtitten by the boss' son in Law. These manuals are the worst, I mean the VERY WORST manuals for anything....... ever invented. I would rate them a minus 100. You cannot figure out how to make a patch, how to edit a an effect, almost anything without going to there website and downloading a tuttorial. Once you find out how to do it, it isn't that hard. You could never learn from the manual. You would slit your wrists first. I might be just very stupid, but I have learned how to program our drums, edit files and assign them to everything else. I firgure out the Roland ex90 with out too much trouble. We use Midi light packs and they weren't too bad. i have wasted hours with the manual. You really have to contact there support which is very slow. To say that ther manual (there are 2 with the K2000 vp) is a joke would be a compliment. I cannot emphasize enough how difficult there instruction manual is. To work with Midi live was a bit aof a chalange, but nothing like trying to figure out how to the K2000. It is unbelievable how they could make such a fine instrument and allow this ridicluus manual go with it. It is truly a joke.

The action is excelent. The adjustmsnts are there , the keys are touch sensetive and you can get Kurzweil voices off the internet and download many sounds, that are just excellent. It does have an on board sequencer, I don't know anyone who has a keybaord at this level that would bother to sequence with . It make no sense to me. If you have a Kurzweil and you sequence or use midi, you have a computer ,a cakewalk or cubse, or some other program to sequence with. Why they put in the keyaboard I don't know. One other thing. when you download other voices, it runs out of memory almost immediately. You almost have to get the P ram option , other wise you can only keep a few sounds. We bought a hardrive fot this Kurzweil, but you can't access it for live performances. You can store voices in it. we haven't been able to figure out how to that yet. Another example as to how dificult it is to operate without live technical or help from another owner.

The sound are outstanding. Effects are pretty good. After touch very good .

We have only had it a year, Seems to be pretty good so far.

It is slow and the last time I didn't recieve an answer. I am not real happy with, but if it could have been explained in a usable manual. you wouldn't need tech support.

This is definately a keeper. The K2000 is very afforable now with ebay and we use it with a Roland ex90 which has a lot of pianos. We play mostly 80's cover tunes and can get most of the sounds we need from the Kurzweil. We often use the Roland for the painos and the Kurzweil for everything else. All the strings , other synths , flutes and horns we play with midi and use the Kurzweil.If you are just going to use it live and not layer anything and just use the striaght factory voices, it isn't hard at all.

Version 3.57. Fairly easy to use if you like using the factory presets. Editing is a lot of work.

Polyphony is ok. Keyboard action is average (synth style action). Effects are good. I had to upgrade memory & replacing the chips inside was easy to do. The sequencer is hard to use & I don't have the patience to work with it. I recommend linking it to a computer with sequencing software.

I like the sounds in this thing! The sounds are what this board excels at. I have analog disk sounds that came with it and they sound very realistic. Comes close to my Nord Lead, doesn't beat my Prophet VS though. I use it for the piano's & sampled instrument stuff anyway.

Never had a problem.

Terrible customer support!! The tech was rude & didn't want to be bothered. I would say they were having a bad day but I called on a few different occasions. I think I would get better customer support from a morgue than these people!!

If it were lost I would probably look for something else because I can't stand being treated like sh**. If they fired their support techs I may consider buying from Kurzweil. There are a ton of other keyboards in this world that compare to Kurzweil.

I got mine used, in great conditio with version 3.54 on it. the machine is great. it's death is really unbelivable, but after you get a few of the main ideas, it's so easy to navigate... U can learn to program the patches (called actualyl "programs" by Kurzweil) alone, and do it succesully... the program editing fueture is very powerful. the manuel is preety ggood, but I used it only for understandintg some of the the shortcuts and initials I found in the editor. the Factory patches are GREAT!

Poliphont is 24... sure as hell is enoughe. I play evering from calssic to ujazz fusion, rock and D&B and the poliphont is just enoughe. the sensitivity is also excellent and could be programed to change many prefferences and to tweak the sounds without leaving the keys. action is also preety nice. .. helf-weighted... the effects are shit.. but that's the only thing bad in this macihne. it is so expendable. it canread Ensoniq, Akai and Roland samples, and offcourse Waveforms, meanning it can read nything... there are also 2 expension boards avilable, but I'm not sure it is worth buying them, anyway not here, cause I can get real good samples for free... this is a great controller, can be splited to 3, each parts with it's own lyers which can be twicked in many ways, using external pedals or copntroller and many more.
the Sequencer is great, 16 channel ( well, thisIS a workstation after all) the only problem it can have only one channel with drums on it...
but it's really great. you can really write a fucking whole album on this unit...

ALL instruments are great... it might take you some time to find what instruments are where, becuaseof the fact that you get this piece with 200 (!) Factory pathces... Pianos are great, Leads too, all kind of classic winds are grewat for jazz also, drums are so so so AWESOM!!! onyl one problem. this machine can get the sounds of a full orchastra out of it... but if your'e dealing with trane, dance, even (unfortuneally) D&B it doesn't come with enough sounds for that purpose. sounds are great, just most o fthem are too classic... BUT, this is really not that bad, cause you can get many mroe sounds easly

SURe. Steady as a fucking ROCK!

no idea

if it's lost, I'd propablyl get a nrew one... maybe not... it is great for the price I bought it for...if you have an access to more sounds (samples) then this is one of the most perfect machines you'll ever put your hands on...!

Basics are very easy. It comes with a 4 inch manual and an instructional video. I've never needed them. If you understand the basics of MIDI and such you woun't have a problems getting sound out of the box. Programming is a bit more cumbersome (akin to a DX7) although very powerful.

24 notes - reads samples (I put in 2 old 8mb simms -30pin- for 16mb ram) has SCSI (plugged in my zip without problems). The effects are OK when you create them as part of the patch. The keyboard feels very nice. The fact that it read DOS format disks makes getting and sharing sounds online a dream.

After all these years VAST is still a kick butt engine. The sounds from this unit are anything you want them to be - realistic acustic, warm, cool, punchy - whatever. There are also a lot of available sounds for those who don't have time to program. There's a reason as to why this machine has been a top seller for so long.

The unit is very solid. If you gig - put it in a case and don't dance on it.

Never had to deal with Young & Chang. - Reliability!

This is by far the best all around board you could get. It can do good pianos, super strings and other acustics, but it also does very nice pads, electronic and filter sounds. You'll need to find and build your own sound set becuase the factory sounds won't satisfy everyone.