Kurzweil PC2R

I upgraded mine to 2.10. The presets are really good if you like Kurzweil sounds. Patch editing seems easy enough and the manual is well written.

Mine has the stock 64-note polyphony. The built in effects are good adn clean. It has numerous expansion options; sounds and polyphony to 128-notes. Has more than enough MIDI capabilities even allowing full MIDI control from the module. No onboard sequencer. Does have a builtin arpeggiator.

The sounds I guess are a matter of opinion. I loved them in my music room at home and found I didn't care for them LIVE with my classic rock band. They just didn't cut through the mix as well as my Roland P-55. And yes I tried modifying the built in EQ and parameters in each preset and still was not happy. Don't get me wrong the sounds are as good or better as they say but I think it depends o the application. In a solo(jazz or classical) setting I think it would be fine, but weak in a pop or rock setting. Maybe I'm just stuck on Roland piano sounds? Who knows...I've played several models of other digital pianos the Yamaha P-200 sounds GREAT and would be ideal if it was in a 64-note module, I also played a GEM Pro series and really liked it as well but I can't find the module version or I would have bought it instead of the Kurzweil. Playing in regards to velocity, aftertouch and the like is fully adjustable.

It is definately built well and could be used without a backup unless you drop your rack from 100 floor buildings ona regular basis.

If it were lost or stolen I would opt for finding a GEM Real Piano Expander if I could locate one. Again, this is only my opinion the sounds are killer in this module just not what I need to play live in a guitarish classic rock band.

The rack mount version of the PC2 is easy enough to use. I have version 2.00 of the software. The patches are easy enough to edit, but creating the setups take a bit longer than it should. The KB3 mode editing is great, and each patch shows the drawbar assignments. The midi mode that adjusts to the midi channel you are sending on is a nice feature.

The PC2 rack has 64 voices -- although a good number get eaten when a patch is in KB3 mode. I'm not sure exactly how many are available in KB3 mode. It comes with some good stock sounds and effects. The midi setups are nice, but it might be nice to be able to drive more than 4 midi channels at a time (for sequencing). It has an arpeggiator that is interesting, but not terribly useful on a rack. The thing is expandable to 128 voices, and sound expansion cards are in the works.

Overall it sounds very nice. The first thing you notice about the box is that it sounds very -- midrange. It doesn't have the dynamic range of a Korg box, or the warmth of a Roland. But you wouldn't expect it to sound like the others. The global EQ seems to benefit the sound.

The sounds themselves are great. The piano sound in particular is very nice. A woody sound -- more organic than other piano sounds you may have heard. But in a loud band, the subtle attack transients may get lost in the mix. The Yamaha P200 piano sounds seem a bit better to my ears, and mixes more effectively with other instruments. But it's a damn good.

I really like the KB3 "B3" organ simulation mode. I love to play with the drawbar and percussion settings to get the sound that I want. It sounds pretty authentic to boot. The organs are some of the "fatter" sounds on the box. However, the presets seem a bit "serile" -- overly clean, and I can't pinpoint why. The overdrive (tube amp simulation) in the KB3 effects section does not produce a pleasing distortion sound. The leslie simulation is good, but not the best I've heard. It can sound very good, but gets a bit "home organy" sometimes. If Kurzweil works on getting a better tube amp simulation, and cleans up the leslie sound, KB3 mode will equal many dedicated organ simulators, and surpass some. Its a fun feature and one of the reasons I bought the thing.

I like the electric pianos and the clav sound (Wurly is nice). Nice ooh and aah vocal sample too. The strings are fine -- a bit "fruity" sounding though. Basses are solid and useable, but not for dance or R&B. Brass is -- like all the other brass samples out there. The other synth stuff really is not usable. Oh, and, awful electric grand and accordion :).

It's been fine so far, but it looks somewhat less sturdy than comparible Roland boxes.

Overall, I'm happy with the box. It's great for what I do, because of the quality of the piano, organ, and electric piano sounds. I like the KB3 mode alot, and I hope Kurzweil continues to improve it. For about a grand, this is a hell of a deal. And its expandable too.