Kurzweil SP-76

The presents are excellent. The SP-76 has 32 voices, all of which are very usable. (unlike most digital piano's, which combine their piano sounds with totally useless sounds) The manual is one of the best I've seen included with a keyboard.

The keyboard has semi-weighted keys, which help keep your fingers from getting too tired too quickly. The build in effects are good,and add some depth to the sounds. If you don't like them, they can easily be changed. (the manual will help you through this part) In terms of polyphony, it is 32 note, and so far,haven't yet had a problem running out of notes during performance. I have not used it for a controller as of yet, but the SP-76 appears to have all the features needed for effective operation.

The sounds are nothing less than incredible, as Kurzweil products are known to be. All the sounds are very usable and very realistic. Even the organs, normally known for being weak on most keyboards, are usable. (Hey, it't not advertised to be a B-3 copy) The SP-76 will work well for all kinds of music, though my use is purely rock and pop. I've noticed no problem with playability/

So far so good, in terms of reliability. It seems to be built well. In terms of carrying it from place to place, I always recommend a good keyboard case for any keyboard. The SP-76 does appear very rugged.

I have never had to deal with Kurzweil thus far.

I would buy it again in a heartbeat. The SP-76 is definately worth the money and is an excellent stage piano/keyboard/controller. The sounds are great, and all are very usable for almost any rock or pop style. Being a current Ensoniq/Emu user, the piano sounds are as good, if not better than either company's products. A real gem!

Easy Keyboard to use. Just plug and play. I don't use a whole lot of midi, but the buttons are pretty plainly labled as to what they are.

The Keyboard action was sold to me as Weighted and I didn't believe that until I actually had to find out that indeed it did(and I stress the past tense - did!)have weights in the bottom of the keys along with spring action that was fairly comfortable(for a while)

The sounds are pretty close to great for the price! The piano was really good and actually compared with some of the Rolands, Korgs, Yamahas that i played when shopping. The strings are really good too. The String/Piano combination is probably the best thing about the board. The Organs are Weak, There isn't really one that suits my style on this board.

I definetly could not trust this keyboard on a road gig. About 8 months after buying ours, The Weights in the bottom of the keys started breaking loose from the cheap plastic that holds them in the bottom of the keys! This isn't good when you are hundreds of miles away and 2 and then 3 and 4, 5 , 6, etc. of your keys start making a horrible metallic tapping on the bottom of your Keyboard while you are trying to get into the spirit of a song!

The Customer support I tried was through e-mail and they never returned my e-mail. The warranty was up anyway, but I wanted to see if there was a fix. Perhaps if I would have called they would have had some answers, but they didn't respond to the e-mail, so... a rating of 7

If it were stolen I would be glad since I can't sell or play it the way it is anyway. I have been playing for over 25 years and i haven't heard any better Piano, Strings sounds for the money. But the Quality is not up to any traveling band's Par. It won't last if it is moved and shifted around. It would be good for Practice rooms or Students.

Ease of use depends on what you use this keyboard for. I have a 61key
Korg Triton that gives me all the sounds, sequencing and sampling
abilities that I need. I simply wanted a good controller keyboard
that had good piano and elec piano sounds as a foundation for the
Triton and I didn't want to pay a arm and a leg for it. This keyboard
meets my needs. Alot of reverb on some of the patches, but very easy
to adjust. Manual is simple for what I need.

Having gotten used to playing synths for the last 15 years or so, I
had to get used to the semi weighted keys. Nevertheless, the key
action is good. This keyboard doesn't come with alot of bells and
whistles. If you want more features, be ready to spend more money.
For the price and quality of sounds, you can't beat this keyboard.

Although I love my Triton, I think Korg's piano sounds could stand
some improvement. Kurzweil on the other hand is known for their
realistic sounds. Elec pianos are nice too. Strings are thick and
lushy. Very good sounds. Like I said, you may have to adjust some
of the effects, but overall very good.

No problems thusfar. Although very lightweight (27lbs.), it seems
very durable. Metal casing is good. Will have to do a few more
road gigs to truly test this keyboards full reliability. Only time
will tell.

Haven't had to deal with customer support yet.

If lost or stolen, I would definitely buy this keyboard again. I did
some homework and tried several other stage pianos (Rolands, Korgs,
Yamahas, etc....). But for the price, I couldn't pass up the SP76.
I briefly thought about getting the SP88, but didn't want to spend the
extra cheese for a few more keys that I'll probably never play. The
SP76 has the same features as the SP88. I play alot of jazz, R&B,
and Gospel which require good piano and elec piano sounds. This keyboard
is perfect for what I need. It works well as the foundation for my
live setup, with the Triton as an accompanying keyboard. If you're
looking for a simple, cheap, lightweight keyboard that has great sounds,
go out and get an SP76 right away!

i love this piano

good sounds action is better then the hammer in my opinion it is a semi weighted and it does not tire my fingers out when playing

very nice sounds good feel and touch--the only thing i cant figure out is i have roland p330 sound module and i cant figure out how to get it to midi up to the kurzweil sp 76 can any one please help me with this i have tried but just cant get it
bob728@hotmail.com

yes very dependable would buy it again if lost ot stole

never had to deal with

i have had a yamaha p80 roland fp3,general music prp7 alesis Q7 it is much better then all them the only thing i liked better was the roland rd 300 but it was just too heavy to carry to gigs

I have found this keyboard extremely easy to use. Right out of the box I was able to do everything I need without even picking up the manual. (The manual is very good by the way). Selecting presets and editing simple reverbs and chorus are a breeze yet, more advanced layering required me to spend a little extra time with it.

This keyboard only has 32 note polyphony, and since I play mostly new age style (lots of sustain) this was a concern for me. I have to say I have been very impressed with the polyphony. I haven't run out of notes once yet. I especially like the semi weighted action of this board. It feels very true to my fingers and I can play for hours without experiencing the fatigue of a heavier style key. Unfortunately there is no room for expansion with this deck which is a bit of a bummer...but hey its so reasonably priced that you can go out and buy a module and get all the sounds you want.

I have to say that I love the electric pianos, strings, pads, and especially the piano/strings combo. The pianos are a bit weak to me...but hey I wasn't expecting a Steinway. The organs are pretty cool but I don't use them much for my application. I would say all the sounds are very usuable for most people. Players that specialize in blues, funk, rock or new age will be well suited by this deck. However, if you enjoy playing dance/techno music or want a very dark piano sound for classical I would look elsewhere.

No problems as of yet. It seems to be bit very sturtily. Casing is mostly medal no exposed knobs or anything to break off on door jams etc. I would definitely depend on this one.

Haven't had the need as of yet.

I would definitely buy this keyboard again if it were lost or stolen. I have enjoyed it wholeheartedly. I have been playing for almost 20 years and have been quite impressed with this keyboard especially for the price. I did a lot of research before I bought this one. I looked at the Roland RD600, Korg SGPROX, Roland XV88. And I actually bought a Yamaha S80 before I bought this one and returned it. For 3 times the price I couldn't see keeping the S80 when I could buy this Kurzweil for a lot less and put that towards a module (Triton for example) that would give me the sounds I need later. I also own an Alesis QSR module that I play in tandem with the SP76 and have been happy with the setup. I play them through a pair of Yamaha MSP5 powered monitors and once again am satisfied with the expressiveness of the sounds.

To wrap it up...like I said earlier, I originally bought an S80. It was nice and all, but after a few weeks of playing it, I just didn't quite bond with it if you know what I mean. It just didn't feel right to me. I know some people love the board but it wasn't for me. As you all know music is an EXTREMELY subjective art and the S80 didn't seem to complement my style. So I returned it and picked up the SP76. For a tad over $500 I could afford to pickup a sound module and have all the sounds I could want. This keyboard doesn't try to be the end all be all of boards. It has only 32 internal sounds. But they are all very usuable. It doesn't have the hundreds of useless sounds that hurt my ears like a lot of the other decks have. (You know what I mean when I say hurt) Some keyboards pride themselves on having a lot of "cool" sounds that I for one can never work into any sort of song. This one is just a straightforward, easy to use, light weight, stage piano that anyone can afford and enjoy. Need I say more?

It's a digital piano and you can pretty well play it right out of the box without cracking the manual. I find the editing to be easy, but somewhat awkward due to only having two buttons to navigate with.

Not many features, but for less than $500, what do you expect. No sequencer/arpeggiator. 1 midi in and out with 2 midi zones, The effects are only reverb and chorus, somebody else said rotary speaker and it ain't there sister. I have no idea what the polyphony is, it doesn't say anywhere, but I've never had a note die or anything like that. Velocity and Release Velocity (no aftertouch) sensitive keyboard with really good action. The action on this keyboard is very similar to my friends "fully weighted" Korg SP100, and costs about half as much. No expansion capabilities except midi. This thing is designed to be a midi controller and can transmit a lot more than its internal module can handle. For example, it has a pitch bend ribbon controller, but its own module can't take pitch bending, that will only help you if you buy another module that supports it. It also has a mod ribbon that you can split into two parts (effectively making 2 ribbon controllers) You also get an assignable slider which you'll want for volume unless you get a volume pedal. It has room for one continuous control pedal and two piano pedals (comes with one). Everything is modifiable. If the module can do it, you can modify it.

You don't get that many sounds with this (32 total voices)But some of them are great. The pianos sound excellent and very realistic. I'm a big fan of a couple of the electric pianos, although I wouldn't say they sound just like a Fender-Rhodes. They are there own sound, but its a really really good sound. The organs are definitely decent, but probably the most dissappointing of the group (still better than many). They are just a little too clear, so the notes don't blend together like they do on a real Hammond Organ. I still use the organs a lot because I love organ sounds and they're still good, just too crisp. The String Ensembles are excellent, just as good as the pianos. There is one digital pad that sounds nice and ethereal, but only the one. All in all 32 variations on those 5 sounds. Not many sounds, but the sounds that are there are quite good, I would say markedly better than those available in similarly priced units. The keyboard reacts well to velocity and my playing. I'd say this is a good keyboard for any style, as long as you don't need any really intense synth sounds or if you want a really authentic Hammond Organ sound (be prepared to pay twice as much just for that sound). The presets have a little too much reverb for my taste, easily fixed.

So far I have no complaints. It has been dropped a couple times moving to gigs and practices, no problem. I haven't had it long enough to really know this, but it seems sturdy. In this price range, who the hell could afford a backup?

Haven't dealt with them.

I shopped around a lot in the 500-1000 price market. I think this is the best entry level keyboard you can buy for the price. I love the sounds and the keyboard action. I totally love the price. If it were lost and stolen I'd definitely buy it again. I hate that you can't pitchbend even though it has a bend ribbon. I compared it to the Roland ep-70 (this is way better), the Alesis Qs71 (the keyboard and some sounds are better on this, most sounds better on the Alesis, but at this price you could buy this plus the QSrack and still come out a couple bucks cheaper than the Alesis), the Korg SP100 (I thought this was just as good and costs much less). I really think that this is the keyboard to buy if you want a new keyboard for $500. I do have an external effects board (from my guitar) which I rarely use with the keyboard and am planning on adding a Darkstar Synthesizer soon to get those wild analog sounds that this simply doesn't have. I'm a long time guitarist and bass player, only recently a keyboard player (hence entry level), but several of my more experienced friends have been quite impressed as well. My rating of 10 takes the price heavily into consideration, if you've got the money there are definitely better keyboards out there, just not at this price.

This unit is very easy to use. The internal sounds are very easily accessed. With a little bit of reading the midi implementation is pretty straight forward. My only complaint in the "ease of use" department is the inability to see the information on the top of the keyboard when it is a little dark on stage. I don't know what it is about the color combination, but it is much harder to read than the standard black and white format of most keyboards, but this is a relatively small complaint, as the unit is not really intended for massive onstage programming.

The best feature is the combination of size, price and sounds. With my relatively small Barbetta Keyboard Amp, I can walk into any jazz or reception type gig in one trip from the car and have one of the best piano sounds that you can purchase. This is a priceless feature. I know that it doesn't have the totally realistic piano action of other keyboards, but if you play it for a week, it will start to feel very natural, and will be much easier on your hands.

The sounds are very similiar to the Micropiano module, but they seem a little bit brighter and clearer. This is a definite improvement, but they both sound awesome. The keyboard "scaling" is a little bit more severe on the SP76 than on some other units, the higher notes seem to have a little bit less presence on the SP than the KMP, but they still sound great. I use it for jazz and cocktail type music, as well as the main piano sound in my rock setup,and hookup my Voce MicroB to it. I like the versatility, I hate attempting to play organ on a weighted keyboard, and used to have to haul two keyboards to play the different sounds. But with the SP76, I feel very comfortable.

The first day I brought mine home the gig bag that I bought with for it broke at the shoulder strap, the keyboard bounced down my concrete stairs and the plastic on the keyboard broke pretty badly, so never buy Roctec keyboard bags. I took the mess back to Mars Music and they gave me a new unit, making me a Mars customer for life. Since then, the unit has been great, it is made of plastic, and doesn't feel terribly substantial, but it seems constructed pretty well.

I haven'y had to deal with Kurzweil, but Mars was awesome!

I would run back to the store to buy another one it is was stolen. I would really like this unit regardless of price, but for $499, that is amazing. I think that you really have to take a look at what you need before you purchase this keyboard. Personally I take the view that when you play an electronic instrument, it isn't a grand piano, so why try to kid yourself. You are much better taking an easily transportable unit that sounds great for what it does, and make it work, rather than hauling a lot of gear to a gig, and then still being frustrated because it isn't a steinway. Also, owning this unit has cut significant setup and tear down time off of all of the gigs that I play, which is definitely worth quite a bit. Hauling a heavy keyboard and a sound module up a couple of flights of stairs is no fun, but taking one lightweight setup brings the emphasis on the playing, not the equipment.

Todella helppo editoida ja kayttaa. Vaikkakin manuaali on englannin kielinen paasee hommasta jyvalle hetkessa...kuka vain osaa kayttaa tata!

32 polyphony:riittaa erittain hyvin keikalle! Mutta tama ei ehka ole paras hankinta studioon, mutta muuten muusikoille kylla!
Koskettimet on puolipainotetut. Voisinpa melkein sanoa etta talla on mukavampi soittaa kuin akustisella pianolla. Helppo ja hyva soittaa..hyva tuntuma!

Pianot ovat todella upeat.Helppo mixata! Tarpeeksi kirkkaat. Saatoja loytyy reverb:n kohdalta hyvin. Ehka urku soundit eivat ole maailman parhaat. Mutta kun muut ovat tata luokkaa ei urku soundeista niin valia. Kurzweil-laatua!

Luotan tahan kuin vuoreen. Jo ulkkokuori tekee siita kestavan:metallia eika mitaan muovia kuten fatar tms. En ole ikina kuullut, etta Kurzweil hajoaisi alle...mahdotonta(?)!!

Ilmeisesti hyva!En tosin ole kokeillut.

Jos tama varastettaisiin minulta: ostaisin heti uuden! On todellakin hintansa arvoinen. En pysty loytamaan mitaan huonoa tasta soittimesta. Kun hintakin on viela tingitty todella alas...huh huh...Taytyy muistaa, etta varmasti parempiakin soittimia on olemassa MUTTA ei tahan hintaan! Kysy lisaa jos olet ostamassa kyseista soitinta!!

I use the sp 76 in blues/ classic rock bands. The piano, rhodes and ep presets are excellent. I have a p-80 and in my opinion the piano sounds are a push, and the sp 76 has the edge in the rhodes department. The presets had way too much reverb for my taste, and it was easy to edit the reverb down. The manual is easy to understand and use.

32 voice polyphony works just fine in the live performance situations I use the sp 76 in. The keyboard action is semi-weighted - I'm used to almost anything. The cool thing about the keyboard is that it has a good organ feel. I drive a Voce V5 velcor'd to the top of the kurzweil - with a midi set-up on the sp 76 and it works very well. The keys feel much better than the fatar controller I used before.

I got this board because it's light and it simplifies my rig. We have horn players so I don't have to fool around with cheesy faux horns. I'm happy with the piano/ep and V5 combination - it does just what I hoped it would do - only better. Sound quality is excellent - frankly I was surprised - I didn't expect it to be so good.

I use it all the time without a back-up instrument. Seems quite dependable.

Haven't had to deal with the company

If lost or stolen, I'd buy another sp 76 without hesitation - I've paid a lot more money for less. I've been playing a long time and it's great for gigs because the sounds work for me and it's light. The keyboard feel is a good trade off - most of the boards with heavy piano touch are heavyweights. Touch is not a big deal with me antway, pounder that I am. I like using the board with the V5. For what I need it really works. I am glad I bought it.

This board is extremely easy to use if you are using the internal sounds. Midi requires some reading. The pianos sound great and cut the mix on stage. Great gigging instrument. The manual is put together very nicely and is easy to use.

32 not polyphony but it hasn't presented a problem. The built in effects are nice but you will probably want to immediately back off the reverb. ALL patches are bathed in reverb. The midi capabilities are very broad. In addition to being a good stage instrument, it has excellent qualities as a midi controller.

I find myself using the Stage Piano 2 and the Dyno Piano the most. Both are bright enough to cut the mix on stage where I have two guitars in addition to the rest of the band. I use this board for blues and jazz and it works quite well. The feel may not suit a true piano player but works just great for me as I have tendonitis in my left hand and four hours of pounding a full weighted piano really causes problems.

Very dependable. I use it along with a Hammond XK2 and a Voce V5.

Haven't used them.

Overall this is a very dependable instrument for the gigging musician. I perform about three times a week and it goes everywhere with me.