Kurzweil SP-88X

Very easy. It's a basic tools with just 32 voices, most of them really really good (let's not forget it's a cheap keyboard). The midi setup is pretty good and the SP88X can be used to control other modules or your VST array easy.

32 polyphony, good enough since you will never use it for more than one program at a time (the sp88x sounds can't be layered, layers only work for external modules).

Effects are decent.

No expansion abilities - what do you want for this price?

Great pianos, great e.pianos, decent organs (not great).

Good strings.

Great basic sounds for the keyboard player.

I bought it 2 years ago, worked perfect!

Never used it.

Great value for the money. You get a Kurzweil (I like the purple color), great piano action for so little money.

Then you can use it as a master midi controller and always fall back to its basic sounds if needed.

Easy to dial up any of the 32 on-board sounds, but tough to get into advanced editing due to a limited LED display.

It's advertised as a Stage Piano and that's what it is - a smaller, lighter-weight keyboard with critical gigging sounds on it.

Grand piano sound to my ear is very good, as are strings/piano, strings, and some 80s-era pianos. Crummy Rhodes - which is why I own one. No Clav tone. Organs are passable at best, plus there seems to be an infinite number of patches that sound like the cheesy keys on Chicago tunes (think You're the Inspiration.)

This instrument is first and foremost a portable piano for me.

I have broken the weighted action on about a dozen different keys now. They still sound but are not weighted and need to be repaired. First time it happened, it cost me $190. Second time, I called Kurzweil to complain and got a whole KB action counterweight set sent to me free. Still had to pay to have it installed, but the fact they were willing to do that for free suggests to me that these boards aren't as tough as we'd like them to be. I don't carry a backup, but will NOT be buying another one when this one finally dies.

Kurzweil doesn't support its own pianos anymore. Caveat emptor.

It's gotten me through the need for a piano, but it's done it with more stress and hassle than I'd prefer. I will be looking at a Yamaha P-95 or P-140 for my next piano.

I have had the sp88x for about 3 years. I bought because i needed a keyboard that gave the basic sounds, like piano,rhodes,organ,strings, and pads. Another reason that I bought it is because i needed something good for church.
To find sounds it is very easy. To get effects on the sounds or other stuff it is hard. You are going yo use the manual, trust me. This munual is very easy to use though. It has everything plain and simple. There is no patch editor.

I think it has 32note polyphony. Not bad but ok. The keyboard action is very good. Nice and heavy. Especially for the pianos or rhodes, not the organ, although ok, but your hands will hurt. It has effects but they are hard to program(go to manual). It has like 9 or 10 effects, all different types of reverb. No expansion capatabilities, what a bummer. It has MIDI in/thru/out. I use a Roland xv-2020 and it sends the signals like it should.

IT has 32 sounds. Perfect for church and people who do noy need the crazy sounds of a synth. The piano is not a triple strike piano, that sucks, but it is ok. It sounds good not like the Yamaha's or Roland's but it ok. None of the other sounds are multi-strike. The rhodes are good, especially for ballads. The organs are not that good but still useable. The strings are stereo and sound good. They sound almost like the real thing. The pads are perfect. They do not change dramatically they are very good layered. This keyboard is good for classical and rock. The effect are very good. The sounds do not change in levels just in volume, not good if playing a piano solo.

This thing is built tough. I drop it like two times (with the case) and nothing happened to it. I thought that something was going to get broken inside but it did'nt. It is made out of metal. It is not that good to be draging it around from place to place. The machine weighs like 52 pounds. With a case it is like 70 pounds. On gigs it is really realiable, looks nice on stage too. Looks pro but it does not sound pro(just like korg).

Never ever had to call them.

IF it were lost or stolen i will not buy it again. Why should I? There are other stage pianos out there that sound better and weight less too(Yammy S90es, S90, p-90). I love the action. The sounds are perfect for people who do not need a good synth just good sound. I wish it had the sounds with multi stike. Good for composing.
For 800 dollars it is a good deal. I have seen the prices in stores and it is 850. I asked the saleperson to keep knocking off more money but that is all he could. I have been playing instruments for about 8 yrs. in my 18 year old life. Again I also own a xv-2020. I also ask the saleperson to knock out price on that one too. Piece of advice, ask to knock the price out as much as they can on gear. You might save 100 or more dollars.

Straightforward. Simple. pianos [regular and stretched tuned], rhodes, dx, strings, organs. No frills. Easy to edit the effects. Manual is clear.

32 polyphony, plenty for me. Fatar weighted action which I have always liked. It feels like the old Baldwin Acrosonic I learned on when I was a kid. Reverb, chorus. I midi the sp88x up to my Hammond xk3 as a 2nd manual. Midi is easy to manage. No horns, no drum kits, no synths, no expansion, no frills - just what the Dr ordered. I hate imitating horns, etc. When someone says "how 'bout the horn part", I say 'What horn part? If I can't cover it with the XK-3 you'll have to hire a horn player." Features are good for a piano. This is not a workstation, after all. Just a solid stage piano.

I hear this sound set is from the old Micropiano. Fine piano, I really like the pianos. The rhodes is very good when the effects are dialed in. Kurzweil strings are very fine. organs, not so hot; I do not use them.

No problems so far. I have used it on gigs with no back-up.

I'd get another if stolen. This piano is just too good a bargain. I have been playing since I was 5, but only for the last 20 yrs or so have I been fooling with synths, etc. I own a pc1x, an sp76, the xk3, an e-mu vintage keys board. I bought this one for the easy weighted action, the piano sound, and the midi capability. This board is easy to play, does not get in the way, just helps you out, makes the songs easy to navigate and helps the performance. Sounds good, and has just enough midi. I bought it when I was going through a stage of thinning out my gear to just piano and organ. It fits the bill for me because it just does its job well as a piano. Rugged, no nonsense gear. I am glad I have it.

I use the SP more as a digital piano than as a controller. It's easy to use. The only things that are a bit more difficult are the Midi stuff, but as I said before, I don't use as a controller.

The polyphony is 32 I guess and i never ran out of notes yet. There are some built in effects that sounds good like the reverbs. No aftertouch i guess, but a lot of nice controls like portamento and timbre editing capabilities.

The sounds are very good. The piano is, in overal, excelent. I just don't understand why some notes don't sound as good as others, specially the mid registers. I think they lack sustain, so I use the patch #6 (which is Sustain Piano). I love some of the E. Pianos and the organs are great too. The strings can sound good through a mix and the low registers are specially good.
There are several velocity curves and i use #2. The keys don't have a Graded hammer effect which is a weak point, but it's no problem for me, and they are a bit lighter than a real piano (and I prefer like this).

It seems to be very weel built. Solid steel. I'm sure I could depend on it for gigging. The keys seems solid built too.

I never used it, but the guys of the store I bought were very receptive and the SP88X is still in warranty.

If it were lost or stolen I would try to find a 88 weighted key Synth. I paid around US$200 more for this unit than I would have bought for a Casio Privia PX-300 but the SP88X blows away the Casio in sound although Privia has a "graded hammer effect" in it's keys that the Kurzweil doesn't have. It's a very nice keyboard and I'll keep it for very long because I use it with a Korg X5D and they sound very nice together. One fills the other.