Kurzweil SP-76

76 semi-weighted key stage piano/controller. 32 built-in presets, 32 assignable controller setups. Built-in reverb and chorus, very basic FX processor. 3 assignable ribbon controllers, and one silder (which controls volume also). 1 assignable switch and 1 assg. pedal jacks.

Well, the only thing you can edit here, is the FX type and amount of reverb and chorus. You can save the settings on each sound.

The manual is very good. (You can download it from kurzweil's site, PDF format)

Ease of use: Altough this is a simple board, I give it only a 7, because the interface is driven by only 4 keys (well, for sake of the price), that makes editing a little tedious and slow. Printed characters on the editing grid are too small, dificult to read.
It seems to me that the SP-76 has got the same sound board found on the MicroPiano, because:
1.- Same patches (some of them uses different patch numbers.)
2.- Same FX
3.- Same sound (samples)
4.- Same demo tune
5.- Both are monotimbral
6.- I asked kurzweil about this, and they answered 'Yes'

So, if you're planning to get one of this, read SP-88 and MicroPiano reviews too.

32-voice polyphony. Important: THIS BOARD IS MONOTIMBRAL, so you can use only one patch at the same time. And, no, you can't layer or split 2 internal voices. It only recieves MIDI data on channel 1 (can't change it!!). It transmits on 2 assignable MIDI channels. No MIDI thru.

Controller capabilities: Can send on 2 independent midi channels, can split/layer 2 channels (one can control the intenal sound module), all ribons are asignable, you can save 32 of this MIDI setups.
But, there is a very disappointing thing about this board: the "assignable slider" is, by default, assigned to controller 7 (volume). This means that volume is can be only MIDI controlled. When you lower volume below the half, decay times cut suddenly before the normal time. Strange!!

I bought this board mainly for its piano sound. The most realistic piano sound I've heard is the one found on the PC2 (no, I've never heard the GigaSampler or Yamaha's P-200) Well, you know, this is a matter of personal tastes. But, the acoustic piano sound here (altough its decay/sustain time is shorter than on a real piano) is very playable, with a lot of character, color. Lows are very good, but midrange is a little boxy. Highs are very clean. I would liked more "hammer-sound" around C6. Notes around C2-C3 sound very warm. In other synths I've played, they sounded very thin. This piano sound is designed to sound as an acoustic piano, not as those synth thin and bright piano sounds (some people likes them, good for dance/pop). This one plays full and warm, rich, very real. Similar to the PC88, but i don't think it's dynamically-sampled. The D/A conversor isn't as clean here.
I've got to EQ the acoustic piano a little, because it has got too much gain on the mid frecuencies (around 1 kHz).
There are various acoustic piano patches: Grand Piano (full, dark) Stage Piano (brighter and not as heavy as Grand Piano, good to play with other instruments), Bright Piano (awful), Sustain Piano (same as Grand Piano, but with longer decay time).
There is a very good and expressive Rhodes patch too. There are Piano+Strings (strings brightness/vol can be controlled by a ribbon), a very good and expressive Rhodes, MIDI grands, Organs (they sound lame and "paddy") and very good strings (better than in my Korg N5!).

Keyboard action is very good, but I don't think it is weighted (it uses springs). It feels much better than on any standard synth, but it's a little dificult to play softly. I'm not heavy-handed, so I like its action -it don't make my hands feel tired-. The 'weight' of the keyboard is good, but keys bounce back to fingers very quick. Velocity and note off sensitive, no aftertouch, but ribbons can send. Velocity responds perfectly to my playing.
The SP-76 applies to any real piano-playing style. I play mainly jazz/fusion/acid jazz/salsa, etc, a little of all styles too, and it works vey good for all of them. But, if you want those brilliant pop/dance piano sounds this board 's not recommendable.
Piano samples could be longer (not so looped), and the D/A conversor a little more clean, so I give it an 8.

Yes, I definetively depend on it. It is my main piano controller, and I love its sound and touch. Had it for 2 months now, and no problems.
It's built like a tank. All metal casing, sides are plastic.
The paint seems to be vey durable, scratch-proof.
BUT, I hate wallwarts!! (this come with one...) The AC cable is very thin!

Never called.

If it were lost, stolen, or a truck rolls over it, I think, first, I would shout all four-letter-words I know, and, start saving, penny by penny, for the PC2X... But, I think i would buy it again, sure.
I own a Korg N5 synth too (which piano sound sux!)
It's definetively worth what I've paid. I compared it to:
- Roland RD-100 (good sound and feel, but too heavy and no controller capabilities, expensive)
- Yamaha P-80 (same as RD-100, but it sounded thinner to me)
- Korg SP-100 (The piano sound really sucks here -at least for my ears-, more expensive)
So, for me, if you don't need fully-weighted action, the SP-76 is the best Stage piano / Controller you can get for this price. Plus, It's very light and portable.
I've been playing for 7 years, and I've played every keyboard I've seen, so, trust me.
If you've got questions, just mail me. (to platz@latinmail.com too)

VIVA CHILE MIERDA!!!

No problem - very intuitive menu.

Polyphony only 32, but this instrument is built for live playing, so it doesn't matter. Nice keyboard action - espetially in this weight (12,5 kg). MIDI is super. 7 progamable controllers: 2 ribbons (one is divided in two halfs), 1 fader, 1 continues pedal and two switches. It has built in effect unit (controlling the chorus and reverb is programable to any controller).

Grand pianos are nice, FM pianos too. Organs could be better, but when you use a lot of chorus and smething like 'built-in pseudoleslie (modulation)' its usable. Epianos are great - dyno, rhodes, hard rhodes, tremolo epiano - very good for jazz, funky and pop. Strings are SUPER and pads are very usable

No problem (so far).

N/A

Best instrument fo beginning jazz/rock/pop player.

Decent manual, if you want the presets it is extremely easy to use, using
with MIDI requires reading the manual a couple of times.

Nice keyboard action.

I like the sounds very much. Only 32 sounds preset but works fine with
the Creative SoundBlaster Live and its soundfonts for more sounds.

I love it, I would buy another from Sam Ash at 499 in a minute. I'm
a beginner/intermediate upgrading from a Yamaha PSR-320 and am pleased
to death, all I want to do is play the damn thing thru my Grado phones.

Software version doesn't apply. The presets are okay. They are primarily various acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organ and strings. The pianos are good, but I don't think it's the same one used in the micropiano or PC88. I like my Nanopiano better. The ep's are nice. They're more like the classic DX-7 tine piano than a real Rhodes, very clean, clear, bright, round sounding. I run them through the tube preamp channel on my motion sound KT-80 keyboard amp to get some warmth and they sound excellent. Organs are worthless, but I own a VK-7 and have played a B3 so I'm biased. Strings are nice, warm and full. Editing is simple but it takes a little bit of manual time to learn how to navigate through the processes. The manual is excellent. Took me 5 minutes to learn how to get through the editing parameters/menus. I was setting up custom midi patches w/all the program changes, controller assignments, etc in no time. I rate it a 8 b/c the pianos were a little bit of a let down considering it's a Kurzweil, but the ep's make up for it and the controller functions are a breeze to setup.

32 voice polyphony. I haven't had any problems w/notes dropping off, but I did an A/B comparison holding down the sustain pedal and playing an octave and compared to my Nanopiano, sustain/decay time is considerablely shorter and more obvious (i.e. not really natural decay) regarding the acoustic pianos. The keyboard actiion is good, very expressive. I sold my Fatar Studiologic SL-760 to get the SP76. The dynamic range from ppp to fff is very broad and natural. IMHO pretty true to acoustic piano dynamics. No expansion available. I bought it b/c 1.) Sam Ash was blowing them out for $499 and 2.)The MIDI controller functions are easy to use and perfect for what I use it for which is to control a Nanopiano. It's child's play setting up program changes/assignments, controller assignments (3 ribbon controllers), pedal assignments, transpose, effects settings, etc. It's no A90 or A70, but it's not meant to be. It's a digital piano that happens to have good controller functionality. I give it a 10 b/c it does what I want it to do and it's easy to make it do what I want it to do.

To reiterate, the pianos are a bit disappointing, organs stink, strings are good and I enjoy the electric pianos. It works well for any genre of music that requires real playing (jazz, pop, classical, soul, R&B, blues, ragtime, etc.). If you're a tecnojunkie, it's not for you, although the ep's would work for that stuff. The on board effects are adequete. I'm more into natural sound so I turn them real low or completely off. As stated above, the keyboard is extremely expressive and responds ver dynamically to vel and aftertouch.

It's built pretty solid. All metal casing. My Fatar was all plastic and I gigged w/it for 3 years in a soft case w/no problems. I also had a K1000 that I beat up pretty good w/no problems. I've only used the SP76 on one gig so far, but I did bang it against a wall pretty good while trying to move it. Scraped the paint off the wall. No harm done to the keyboard.

Haven't had to deal w/them yet.

It is definitely worth the $499 (list $995)I paid for it. If it were lost, stolen or broken beyond repair, I would get one again if I could get one at the same price. I've been playing for 15 years. My keyboard instruments include a Roland Vk-7, a rhodes suitcase 73, a rhodes stage 73, a nanopiano. I compared it to the Roland A-70JV that Sam Ash was blowing out for $499. There were a broader range of sounds (pianos to synths to bass, etc) but I missed the promotion and they sold out of them. I wish it had AC power. I hate Walwarts. It is definitely a creative keyboard if you can actually play and don't rely on synth sweeps and drum loops to inspire you. IMHO, this is a players keyboard. By this I mean, you have to be a real keyboard or piano player to really appreciate it. If you're a drum loop, sound effects, techno guy, get a Nord Lead or one of the Korgs. If you're touring w/Prince, Santana, Faith Hill, etc. get an A90. If you're writing/recording in your home studio or pro studio or gigging regularly w/ a modest size rig (1-3 midi modules) the SP76 will do you right. Even if you don't need one, $499 is a steal for a digital piano w/above average controller functions.

Pretty easy and straight forward. The manual is very good. I can almost always find what I need in the index. Too bad Cakewalk's manual isn't like that. The only problem is you have to scroll through the menus, and if you pass up what you want, you have to go around again. Not a big deal-just a bit of a pain.

76 semi-weighted keys. It does not feel like a piano, but it's a lot better than the Roland organ-touch.

32 note polyphony (but I don't hear any notes dropping off). Standard effects that are okay, not quite as good as a separate effects box, but not bad.

32 internal sounds, 32 midi setups. Midi has 1 internal zone, and 2 external zones. The one problem is that the internal zone must cover the entire keyboard. So if you wanted to have a keyboard/bass split, it must be all external. But for a simple controller it fits the bill. Pitch bend, mod ribbons are assignable, as is the one slider. Very easy to call up the midi setups, and is easy setting up the setups. Editing parameters is easy, but can't edit sounds. Sends on 2 midi channels, receives only on channel 1. It has the right number of buttons and controls.

The guy at the store said it had the same piano sound as the PC-88- I don't think so. However the piano is very good, especially for this price range. The strings are also very good. It also has digital EPs and organs that are alright. There are also a few layers (piano/string, EP string, organ/piano). That's about all it has. Velocity sensitive.
Fun to play.

Although it's small and light, it seems very solid. It feels a lot more solid than most others in this range. I can't see much going wrong with it.

One note, the manual says not to switch between internal and midi while having the pedal down. Believe it-the first sound you had will continue to drone. But the panic takes care of that.

If their customer service is anything like their sales, then it's great. I did try to get some info about when this was going to ship, and got a note saying "It's shipping" Then I got a message that this guy was on vacation. So I called and talked to Jennifer who was very helpful, and went out of her way for me! Even called the store here, and called me back, and said they would have it in 2 days, which they did. I just hope if I need cust-service, they're as good.

I would definately buy it again, and urge anyone else to look at it also!

I was looking for a controller with a good piano sound for around $1000, and the only other possibilities were a Fatar with a piano module ($300 more, and the fatar feels very cheap), or a Yamaha P-80 (Very nice feel and sound, but little in the way of midi control), or Roland A70ex (Crappy feel, but good control). The SP76 fit the bill perfectly (better than the rest) The control capabilities are limited compared to more expensive, or dedicated controllers, but it has what I need. The sounds are great. It's very nice to look at (very nice design, purple-blue color, not black).
I use it with a nanosynth, and with cakewalk at home. Have had a bit of a problem with it and cakewalk, but probably, because I don't know enough about cakewalk. With the sound box, it works fine.

The most important thing is that it inspires me to play it. Every time I see it, I have to sit down for a bit and play> That alone is worth the $850!