Kurzweil PC1X

? OS 1.0. Just bought it and it's brand new.

? Very little patch editing available (though there are four knobs which can be assigned for things like filter cut-off). There's an up-front EQ button which can allow you to boost an individual patch; great if you don't think that piano patch is cutting through enough!

? Manual is one of the better ones: clearly written with a proper index and complete and detailed patch descriptions

? I should say that I was able to start playing patches and switching banks without having to think about it as you can select patches with buttons, inc/dec buttons, AND a nice big datawheel. It's also very easy on the eye; a good-looking board (doesn't use that ugly orange display, either).

? 64-note poly. I'm hoping that it has the same kind of note-handling capabilities as my old PC88MX which was 32-note poly except in a few instances, yet never dropped a note!

Built-in effects are sweet and rich (I have come to loathe digital delays, but they're used judiciously here). Note, though, that individual patch effects are lost in multi-timbral mode (that shaves one point).

? Unit can be expanded with more ROM sounds via a single board. So far Kurzy has only released one board in a loooong time, the Orchestral, and since those sounds come stock in the PC1X, you'll probably be waiting another loooong time before (if?) another board appears. Yamaha, Emu, Roland, Korg (even Alesis) offer far, far more and far faster in this area, so Kurzy gets shaved another point just for that.

? The PC1X is a controller with a weighted, but not too weighted full keyboard. Piano tones feel right, but it's responsive enough for organ and synth. Aftertouch is perfect; you don't have to dig to China to get a response. All of the controls are well laid-out on the facia and they all make sense. You can split the keyboard into four zones; 2 MIDI Outs! Nice.

? There's no sequencer and no ability to play sequences.

? There's a bread-and-butter arpeggiator, not changed too much (at all?) from the PC88MX. It's too limited and too hard to get to and use so for me, it's like it's not even there. I must point out, too, that not all of the arpeggiated tones in the Setup patches actually worked (and I double-checked the manual to see why; they just didn't). Hmmm.

This does not have the organs of the PC2X, but they're decent organs. I don't know why aftertouch doesn't kick in the rotary effect. Who thinks it's a good idea to play organ one-handed so you can nurse the mod-wheel? LAME (and Kurzy is not the only one to make this mistake of logic and musicianship)

The EPs are gorgeous and the Wurlies not bad. The pianos are not what I bought this for (see final comments below), but they are pretty good. I feel they fade out too fast. That said, there's a lot to choose from, including a Rock Piano that solves an age-old complaint: IT WILL CUT THROUGH ANYTHING!

Orchestral sounds are mostly lovely, though I would hope Kurzy's eventual ROM board would add essentials like bass clarinet, contra bassoon, piccolo (!), alto and bass flute, muted brass (hand-in-bell Horns, for example), brass shakes and falls (etc.), muted strings, and the like. Hint to Kurzweil NO ONE ELSE OFFERS THIS!

Some terrific un-tuned and tuned percussion. Nice range of brushed perc; And the timpani are very aggressive and muscular. In fact, overall I'd say most of the orchestral sounds have a more cutting, aggressive quality to them than Roland's or Yamaha's.

Synths and pads are quite good (and there aren't enough). Solid basses (but all synths' basses are good). Acoustic guitars are wonderfully done, even though they don't have any of the velocity extras as Emu, Roland, and Yammie have now. Rock guitars just aren't good.

Drum kits are plentiful and fun to play with. Real care was given here.

The GM selections are a mixed-bag (flute doubles as piccolor, for example). Kurzy should have done an XG bank!

Too new to know. It's heavy and solidly built. Could probably stand up to some pounding.

When I had my PC88MX I found Kurzweil to be lousy. Absolutely the worst, which puts them right down there with so many other synth companies. But some companies are FINALLY starting to treat customers like customers (Yamaha) so I'll reserve judgment and hope Kurzy has changed. We'll see if I run into any problems or how quickly they come out with expansion boards.

The PC1X is advertised as a controller that happens to already have great sounds in it and there's no disagreement here. I had a Yammie S90 and liked it, but wasn't in love with it. I sold it in advance of getting a Motif ES, then when I had a chance to judge the ES, found it wasn't quite what I was looking for. The ES has an atrocious interface, sampling without crossfading, a sequencer I'll never use (etc.). The sounds ARE improved over my S90 (and the older Motifs), but aside from the Mega Voices for guitar and bass and a few Sweet Voices, I didn't think it was worth the money or learning curve.

Another consideration was Yammie's P250. Lovely board with great pianos, 128 voice poly, and modeled effects like keyboard resonance. But it's the size of a fussball game and costs $1800. In the meantime, I came into possession of a used GeneralMusic RealPiano which also has string resonance, pedal damping, etc., so why get a P250?

But I had no keyboard, so I checked Sweetwater for controllers. A top- of- the- line (but feature poor) controller was just a few hun less than this new Kurzweil PC1X (as I write this, October 2003, the PC1X has only been out about a week). Hmmm, sound-dead controller, or pay a little more for what is actually a BETTER controller that also has several great sounds.

Literally a no-brainer. I bought the PC1X.

Despite my quibbles, there's really nothing like it with 88 keys and this quality in this price range. Roland's RS9? Keyboard is non-weighted and the sounds aren't as good as the Kurzy. Alesis QS8.2? Old sounds and technology in a board that offers much less than the original QS8 from several years back. From there, we start going up quite a bit in price to the S90, Triton LE, etc.

I think the PC1X is going to see plenty of sales! A winner.

Oh, one final quibble and this is addressed at ALL manufacturers. The PC1X may be affordable, but it's still a professional keyboard, not a kiddie toy. Professionals read music and charts. So why, oh why does it NOT come with a stand for sheet music? Every real piano and organ I've ever seen comes with a stand.

How about it?

My other boxes: a Roland XV5050 (with string board) and SH-32, GeneralMusic RealPiano, Emu Virtuoso 2000 (with World and Protoza boards).