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.

My Kurz has v3.54 software. The presets are great for the most part -great strings, pianos, etc. The horns are nothing special. This is a very powerful machine with A LOT of capabilities, so by default it's not the easiest thing to operate. However it is easy to navigate - the layout makes sense and is very organized. The manuals leave something to be desired, but are good for reference. Best way to learn is to read the basics and then dive in.

The polyphony is 24, and the action is pretty good. Most of the effects are pretty good and you can, of course, edit them and create your own. You can upgrade the battery backed memory (PRAM), expand the regular RAM and buy the sampling option which upgrades it to a full sampler, meaning you can record your own samples into the machine rather than just loading them from a disk. The sequencer and song arranger are really, really cool. You can assign entire sequences, or a series of sequences to the keys on the board, which is great for techno music. As for the synthesis - I've seen WAY too many reviews and articles claiming the K2000 is great for strings and orchestral sounds, or that excels at a couple different things. Bullshit! The synthesis is AMAZING and is VERY versatile. Even if you're having difficulty getting a certain sound, you can always load a sample of the sound into it and process it and it will sound great. This machine will not give you the instant gratification of knob-and-slider based analogue style synths, but if you actually put some time into learning this machine, it can be a be-all, end-all tool for your electronic music. After doing some reading, it's very apparent that a lot of people are far too lazy and passive with this machine to put it to good use. The presets are cool, but if you're just going to stop there, don't bother buying a k2000.

As I stated above, the presets are very good, and with the synthesis / sampling capabilities, there really isn't anything this machine won't do. Should work well for most music styles. It reacts very well to my playing and you can adjust the velocity and aftertouch and all that stuff. I think the effects are quite good, but you can also get a lot of effects just by programming your patches to sound like they have an effect on them, without actually running the patch through the effects processor. For example - decay and aftertouch can be set to give you a natural echo effect, etc.

It seems like a pretty sturdy box. I wouldn't gig with it, but that's just me! I'm sure it would be great in a live performance and if you take good care of it, you shouldn't need backup.

I haven't dealt with the company. There's k2000 tips and trouble-shooting sites all over the net, so you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. The only upgrade I made was expanding the RAM to 16 meg. If you know a thing or two about computer components, you should be able to do all the upgrading by yourself. Too much trouble to ship it or take it to a dealer!

This is the cornerstone for all of my music, I would definitely replace it if it were broken or stolen. Although if that happened I might consider getting the k2500 or k2600. This synth is already a classic. I chose it by reputation and I can see why so many use it.

Software version: 3.54
Presets Sound Warm an realistic
Editing patches is easy even if you don't know what you're doing
Huge manual that doesn't answer all questions-bonus VHS Tape

Poly=24 voice
Effects are easy to use
many expansion options mostly SCSI & hardware based.
Full midi implementationFlexible onboard sequence
To get the full upgrades need tos spend another $1,000.00.

Excellent realism
Work well for all types ofmusic becuase you can load samples of anything imaginable
Onboard effects areat best less than average. I couldn't ceate a descent distortion yet
reacts well to playing aftertouch and velocity

I've only had it 2days-note the system disk had a computer virus on it.

Only viewed website which I rate a 5 out of 10

Iwould replace it ifit were lost or stolen.
I think it is worth what I paid but the synthesis is not like what I have been used to mainly Roland, Yamaha, Korg, and EMU gear. I think the best thing they could do to improve the unit is to have ability ofgreaterthan 2GB hard Drives.

For the k2000's capabilities, it's surprisingly simple to navigate. The only complicated part is knowing what all the parameters do. Most of the presets are awesome! The manual could have been better. You'll learn more from experimenting with the machine and using the manual as a reference guide.

The polyphony is 24 voices, not much by today's standards, but not bad. The action is fairly good. The built in effects are great, but again there's a LOT of parameters to figure out. The sequencer is pretty easy to use. The synthesis is limitless!!!! Any sound you can imagine!!

I would say this is a good all-purpose synth. There's something for everyone. The piano and string presets are amazing! The endless synth possibilities are what make this thing so cool. I use it to add to ambience to songs, and to program techno/industrial type sequences as the foundations for songs. The effects are pretty impressive. HUGE reverb sound.

Haven't used it in a live setting. It seems pretty durable, though.

If there's one complaint I have, it's that the internal disk drive was disconnected when I bought it! The drive wasn't responding at all, and I thought about sending it back to see what the problem was, but instead my friend and I unscrewed the bottom panel and reconnected it. Good thing I didn't send it back for something that simple!

If this thing were stolen or destroyed, I'd DEFINITELY buy another. If you're looking for a totally all-purpose synth and sampling workstation, I would recommend this very much.

I only rate this as an 8 for those who have worked with some form of music technology before. My first experiences with a workstation type keyboard were with a Roland W30 and Korg M1. If you are looking for a first workstation, this might be a little too much for you. The large display is nice and makes working with the sequencer pretty easy.

I have the fan kit, extra prom, and a cd-rom for this keyboard. To really enjoy using it you have to have at least these accessories. The cd-rom drive is great for loading up samples. The person I bought the keyboard from had several of the sweetwater cd's. Very good sounds on all of them. I have been unable to find a way to send bank change information from this to my jv-1010. Not a big deal, but it would be nice to be able to send this info to the mod. Asked about how to do this on a users group message board and most replys were that it was impossible. Not a major gripe though. The mixer display in the sequencer page is nice, as is the sequencer itself. I have cakewalk on my pc, but usually do most of my sequencing on the K2000VP. Be careful if buying a used board. To my knowledge, some of the very first K2000's (without the VP designation) did not have a full fledged sequencer. This apparently changed when later operating systems came out.

This is the main reason I bought this keyboard. All of the sounds are very rich and expressive sounding. In other words, this board does not sound cheesy. Sure, in a pure numbers to numbers comparison to other keyboards, the Kurzweil looks like the loser. However, the quality of the sounds more than make up for what it lacks in specs. There are some great cd's of sounds out on the market too. I use this board for a variety of jobs, and it sounds great for all of them.

I don't use this keyboard live. I'm really a guitar player and its part of my home project studio. Wouldn't be comfortable taking it into a club, but then I hate taking any equipment to a club. It feels very solid though.

Haven't dealt with young chang on this board. Plenty of net resources for it though, which can't be a bad thing.

I really like this board. There are several good workstations on the market, but the K2000 has a great history and there are a lot of sounds available for it. It is one of those great keyboards that is destined to be a classic, much like the DX7, M1, etc. Not a cookie cutter machine; it's very unique.

Nice Presets (i.e. Dyno)
Takes time to get to know the structures, but the manual is very good

polyphony - 24 voices :-(
effects - 80s style Digitech :-(
expansion capability - more RAM, ROM blocks, Sampling Option... :-)
MIDI... very flexible
sequencer: 190.000 events, 32 tracks :-)

V.A.S.T. abilities!!!

No probs

Helpful via Internet

I bought the K because I wanted a synth and a sampler with a
keyboard and a good ROM. It has been on the market for long long years
now and the main processor isn't very fast, but it's features are
still up to date.

V3.54
Presets are good but the extra sounds on the floppies and from previous incarnations of the k2000 are better. Editing is very different from other keyboards. It seems geared toward someone with a degree in acoustic engineering. If you know anything about sound theory you will get it. Otherwise you will need to fiddle for a few hours with the manual and excellent video Kurzweil provide. I tried MOTU Unisyn patch editor and I think it makes editing worse. There are really cool shortcuts for editing from the front panel and there's a numeric keypad so it's really not that bad.

Polyphony:quality rather than quantity. Once you get over this you will understand why fine vintage instruments are worth more than cheap, throw away flavor of the year instruments. Unlike other synths that require multi effects to sound good, this thing sounds good with just a little reverb coming from the Digitech FX chip. The sounds have FX built in like phasing, chorus, delay, distortion, wah, parametric EQ's, etc. This thing is fully expandable up to a full fledged sampler. But the upgradability it needs the most(more voices) is not an option. Excellent MIDI implementation, no probs so far. Built in sequencer was easy to use but is relatively useless because there isn't enough PRAM (needs $350 PRAM upgrade.

Very realistic in almost every category. Very expressive. Works well in new age, prog rock, orchestral, industrial. It lacks the cheesiness that the Korg M1, O1W, Roland JV to be good for pop. The onboard FX are very limited by todays standards but quite unnecessary given the complexity of voices. This thing is very expressive. Excellent aftertouch (the keys squish just a little bit for the aftertouch).

My unit has an intermittent PRAM problem, but I don't know if I can part with it to get it fixed. Other than that it's built like a tank. I work in the electronics field and I know what good components look like. The PCB and switches are all industrial grade. I can't afford to get a backup, but I would definitely have one for this keyboard. With the limited polyphony you should have two of these things anyway.

I called the repair center and was told what component on the mainboard was probably failing. Not many companies would do that. Convoluted phone system though...

9.9 I would definitely replace it. It is a fine instrument in the sense that it will still be a fine instrument in 20 years.

Not bad. I thought it was going to be difficult to use but I was surprised to find it was nearly as easy as an ASR10. The VAST stuff is a little difficlut to understand as Kurzweils sport extremely unique product architecture. The sequencer is a breeze and I really dig the resolution, (v. 3.54 software) I feel you must have a fairly good understanding programming fundamentals to edit samples on the K2K. I would NOT recommend this board for a newbie to the trade. This is about my 7th board and I'm glad I have a lot of experience under my belt to navigate it. The manual is very straight forward.. though a bit ambiguous in some parts. Thank goodness for all the web resources (another reason I bought a K2 incidentally)

Everyone is pretty familiar with the main stuff (24 voices, one effects bus, 64MB max RAM, PRAM option, ROM block option, etc etc). I feel the keyboard has GREAT action (the earlier K2s were wack if you ask me--felt like a Casio) Buttons are firm. This is a well built machine. About the voices. For the $%&@#$$ life of me I don't understand why they didn't give this baby more polyphony through the years. 24 voices? Please. Then again, you won't get voice stealing if you're doing (eg) hip hop, etc.. 24 voices is enough. For more complex stuff, you'll need a K2500 (48 voices) or another box in your rack to supplement the K2. I bought a Proteus 2000 for that. As far as the MIDI implementation goes.. I'm fresh off the heals of owning a JV 2080 so I'm not crazy about this ONE MIDI CHANNEL OF A MULTI SETUP PER PAGE nonsense. Lots of button clicking. Time for an on screen editor. Go with MOTU or Kurle2... or SoundDiver. The MIDI response is the BEST I have ever experienced. The JV 2080 I had lags behind the K2. The K2 stays in perfect sync with Cubase. This was by far the most pleasant surprise for me. The effects? What effects? Forgetaboutit. They suck. Time for a rack mount with the 8 outs.

**I** feel the 200 ROM presets KICK major A$$. In my opinion the drums are some of the best drums I have ever heard. The synths are smoking, the strings are fat, the setups are STUPENDOUS, the horns rule, etc etc. The pianos suck. Someday a manufacturer will come out with a synth or sampler with a kick a$$ piano sample (s). :)

So far so good. I'd gig with it. No back up??? I'd NEVER use ANY synth without a backup.

Who cares. There is enough support between the list server group and webs to last a lifetime. I don't need to talk to YoungChang.

First off, I can't BELIEVE I have played 9 years and never owned one of these. WHAT WAS I THINKING? The K2 is simply the bomb, despite it's shortcomings. I've accepted it as a two or three instrument sampler rather than a workstation.. because a workstation it is NOT. Compare it to say a JP8000 or Nord Lead in terms of its polyphony. It is certainly not a Proteus 2000 (read: 128 voice) or A3K. In MY opinion the K2 has the very best sonic quality I have heard from a box. And to ALLLLLLLLL the people who told me the K2 is weak for bass and drums, GET REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bottom end is FAT and WARM and the bass kix KICK hard. And who says this baby doesn't run hot like an Akai?? PUHLEEEEZE!!!! These people apparently have never found the gain switch for a program. The K2 runs even HOTTER than an Akai. The K2 (with the exception of its polyphony limitation and effects) may perhaps be the finest musical instrument ever made and I will debate that until the cows come as I have owned Ensoniqs, Akais, Emus, Phatts, JVs, etc etc etc etc.