Kurzweil PC3K

[Maximus]

Wanted to buy a PC3 for Xmas, well, save your pennies, the PC3K is coming...

http://www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com/NewsStory.php?id=21

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/kb_201001/#/22

Finally its here, and you have no more excuses not to buy one.

[Tiko]

Oh my s*it f***ing god. Sorry about the language. I'm gonna sell my car to get this. :biggrin:

- Tiko

[Mick Larouche]

Awesome ! The problem is I have no money whatsoever to buy any gear at all :P

[Omega Monkey]

That actually sounds pretty cool. Especially the 128 MB of non-volatile RAM.

[glassprison]

Does this mean that the PC3X will go down in price? :Hopeful Smiley:

[motorhead9999]

Any idea what this will cost or when its coming out?

[Tiko]

Hoping to have this released by March. Could be sooner, could be later.... I'll post when I have better info.

MSRP for the 88 should be around $4K US - the street price will be a good bit lower, probably mid 3's.

:wink:

- Tiko

[motorhead9999]

Thanks Tiko, I probably should have thought to check out SonikMatter.

Here's some of my thoughts having read the thread.

At first I thought "holy crap! Don't bother getting a PC3x because for the money, I might as well wait for the K"

Having read the thread though, I'm far less excited about the K than when I first heard about it. To me personally, it reaks of Kurzweil just trying to make a few extra dollars. Not that there's anything wrong with that mind you, and I'm sure it'll make many people who need that feature happy. However, from the way Dave Weiser put it, it seems as if a major name (Andrew Lloyd Weber) needed a version of the PC3x with some features to suit his shows. Kurzweil obliged, and got the "Well, we've got this keyboard designed, lets go ahead and sell it!" bug, yet later on in one of his posts, he mentions that this isn't the last keyboard they're going to make, and implies that another one's coming out next year or so.

Having said that, I think the Pc3x will suit me fine still. Other than the sampling memory, nothing else looks like its being updated/added on the K: No display/UI upgrade, no pads on the board nothing. Just some sampling memory and wood end caps. If anything, it'll push the prices down on used PC3x's, which will make me just as happy ;-)

[Maximus]

for me the 128MB of non volatile RAM is a big deal, only few instruments have had this feature, i can think of the 8MB on the trinity, and the akai S2000, this is the first time any manufacturer has ofered 128MB, by itself there would just be numbers like the huge sample RAM on the Fantom-G that is not compatible with any sample library, but on the Kurz it means 20 years of web-available material so if you stoped taking your K2000 because the 3.5" drive is shot and SCSI is a bitch, now you have USB, compact media storage, and Non-volitile Ram and those K2K patches will sound even Better on a PC3K, its not a K3000 yet but its closer.

That being said, Some Pads, a big Touch-screen and the ribbon shoul've been added

[HammondToby]

I had a 'private' chat with Dave and someone from the korean side of Kurzweil. Yes, it's true, the PC3K wasn't in the product plan, but it isn't just because of the request of ALW's staff. They had the opportunity to build in sampling features into the PC3 from scratch, but didn't want to use the known technology, as VAST, at least at this point and on this platform, supports only 128MB, that's a technical fact.

Let's see: my Nord Stage classic has only 128MB flash memory, is filled with ... what? ... six sounds ... and I'n happy with it. It's true, you can't work with the 128MB as a memory, containing whole chords and phrases etc. ... at least, you have to know, how to work with samples. But Jordan had a while just the K2600 and it seemed to work. Load in some additional brass samples and here you go.

BTW, before anyone asks, I know nothing about a K3000 or future products. They hold their cards close to the chest, as they don't want rumors about new products and than have to develop for over a year, until they can release it. Remember the PC3 ... it took a while, 'till it was the board, you all love!

Best
HammondToby

[-=AnatomiC=-]

128 Mb does seems like a lot to me.

It's always nice to know that you can use your own samples... even if you don't do it much.

[Enigma™]

I personally wasn't sold on the PC3 just because it didn't have sampling... It's something I use a lot of really. There are sounds that I need or want that just don't exist within the immediate library in the PC3.

That being said, if they could include complete backwards compatibility (They said partial because some algorithms don't exist in the PC3K that do in the 2600 like the Saw+ DSP block) so until I get 100% backwards compatibility or at least see how much re-programming I would need to do... I'll wait.

I want to see what this PC3K looks like too - I mean, it's not THAT important to me, but part of it is. One of the reasons I'd want a Korg Oasys over an M3 is the looks. There are other things too, like the 24bit engine, giant screen, etc... But looks DO matter sometimes too.

Ribbon? Sucks they didn't toss it back in. I don't use mine much, but I know I would miss it if I didn't have it.

Well, here's to waiting and hoping :)

I would like to see a complete VAST redesign... Keep the existing DSP's, but remake the engine so that VAST is 100% dynamic. Maybe so you could have a sound signal source, have up to 8 different DSP blocks and have 100% custom "wiring", 512 megs or even 1gb of non-volitile ram, built-in 80gb hard drive, firewire/USB/media cards, etc.

I'm dreaming, but who knows. Someday :)

[Tiko]

I want to see what this PC3K looks like too

Like PC3 but with wooden end-caps.

- Tiko

[Mantarkus]

I personally wasn't sold on the PC3 just because it didn't have sampling... It's something I use a lot of really. There are sounds that I need or want that just don't exist within the immediate library in the PC3.




Same here, I usually trigger loops, effects and some personal instruments on my Alesis QS7 so sampling is a big thing for me also.

But I wonder why the sampling feature wasn't implemented as an unpgrade or an expansion. I posted this request or a way to load and play user samples some time ago in one of the two mayor Kurzweil forums (cant remember which one) and got scolded for requesting a stupid feature that the instrument wasn't designed to do in the first place. Geez...

Anyway, having this new version is taking the PC3k waaay up on my wish list (76 keys for me please) right over a bike or a new car.

David C.

[idp]

How many people bashed how many other people who asked for PC3+samples... It wont happen, Dave said bla bla, topics were closed because of that question, etc.

And now? PC3+samples :) Very funny :)

[Gianni]

So, yet another PC3 incarnation?

Like PC3 but with wooden end-caps.


Really? Oh, they better be careful with that. Wood panels on modern synthesizers can go really well or really bad. If it looks just the same as a PC3x and is under $4k I could see myself getting one next year.

[Rexx]

I'm interested in seeing the new PC3K as well, for years I've been craving a K2600xs with the additional roms then they came out with the PC3x minus the ribbon but 128 voices, all the roms.

I'd like to buy a new Kurzweil but I'm also tempted to just wait it out and see what they come out with in the future. My K2500xs is still a great synth for my purposes as a guitarist who records in a home studio.
:wink:

[Rexx]

Hahahaha,

Enigma post count 1,921,680,362 :biggrin:

I obviously have been absent to not have noticed that.

[norwegiankeyboardist]

I've just ordered the PC3X, but I won't get it untill January 7 or so. When is the PC3K going to be released? I can cancel the order if I want to. So I'm just wondering about buying the PC3 or waiting for the PC3K ;)

[Maximus]

word is that it will be available in march, personally i would wait and raise more money for the price diference, the ribbon and a case

[Mantarkus]

How many people bashed how many other people who asked for PC3+samples... It wont happen, Dave said bla bla, topics were closed because of that question, etc.

And now? PC3+samples :) Very funny :)

Any other feature you want me to request? :biggrin:

Seriously, when the Korg M1 was the thing Cannon Research Group made an upgrade so it could play samples from the T series disks and later on your own samples. So some R&D found a way for an instrument to do what it wasn't supposed to do, and that was in the early 90's so I really don't see why people got so pis...d off about such requests.

Anyway, I recently made a trip to visit my family in San Francisco and was hoping to check out the board in guitar center but to my surprise they didn't have it arround.

But it's still on my wish list.

David C.

[dsadsa]

Is there anything other new than the sampler and couple key maps and perhaps other stuff from the K2600...

I might get this if it doesnt cost too much more than the normal PC3x...

[neubauer]

I think it is better to buy a K2600 or to wait one year for the K3000

[Maximus]

I think it is better to buy a K2600 or to wait one year for the K3000
neither jus wait for namm and see what leaks

[Bigs]

So are there any PC3K pics from NAMM yet?

[gildabass]

Here is a first picture from a poster on Sonikmatter http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee252/erasemoi/q3ga.jpg

isn't it just beautiful ?

[Maximus]

Are those wood end caps? :eek:

SWEET

[gildabass]

Yes they are ! and notice that it is deep dark (as the PC3 series was dark blue).
I love it like that !!

[Gianni]

For me, this is one of those synths that looks too "modern" to have wooden sides, but that's just me.


I'll just wait for the PC3KR and buy that. :wink:

[mav_kybd]

I'm waiting the rack version since 2 years, but sincerely I start to believe that it never will come out... Maybe a K3000R...

[gildabass]

It won't come out ! it has been over said by people @ kurzweil since long on many forum !!
sorry you'll have to wait… for the K3000 ?

[zolhof]

finally a video review @ namm!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML_GdfFgLaU

:biggrin:

[Maximus]

standart PC3 stuff, i wanted to see whats new, and some samples

[FRETPICK]

Can anyone tell me why they have taken the ribbon off the Kuz?

[Maximus]

So they can charge ypu extra for it :rolleyes:

[acidremz]

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee252/erasemoi/q3ga.jpg


... now I have to sell my PC3x and get me one of those, love the wooden end caps!

[idp]

Can anyone tell me why they have taken the ribbon off the Kuz?

Because they couldnt integrate the sampling into PC3 either, haha :) It would cost millions of RD probably (a whole in the upper panel +1 interface as I saw in my k2500, nothing more) and they dont want you to pay that extra money it would generate in the final price.

And maybe its the the timeframe too. You can see how much time they needed to make the IMPOSSIBLE pc3k happen after some big guy asked for it(not even a year or a half). So it would take ages to implement the ribbon, but maybe 1-2year there would be a PC3KRib too :)

Dont take this post it too seriosly, haha :) Its a little cynical. But if I start thinking these thoughts are coming regarding this whole PC3k project :)

[Enigma™]

Can anyone tell me why they have taken the ribbon off the Kuz?

I think as cool an idea as it is, I don't know how much it was actually USED as a controller?

I mean personally, I only use it for my leads... And if you really wanted the ribbon there is the ribbon add-on that you can purchase that sits where the ribbon is for people that wanted it.

I can totally understand why they still offer it and took it off.

I would have liked to have seen it still on there though...

[Bigs]

Can anyone tell me why they have taken the ribbon off the Kuz?

The PC series never had built-in ribbons.

[idp]

The PC series never had built-in ribbons.

...as sampling options :D

[PinkFloydDudi]

Kurz really hates the touch-screen I guess.

[mmichaelc]

Wow, PC series combine with the K series, what more could you want?

[Enigma™]

Hahaha, 256 note polyphony, 10.1 inch touchscreen, a floating hybrid linux OS on top of the current OS so we can load VSTi's and trigger them using the keyboard... Maybe a built in CD/DVD burner, the big-ass ribbon... I can keep going if you want ;-)

[zolhof]

sounds like a dream, but way expensive :(

[Maximus]

This came up last week at the KM forum and i thought some of you might be as interest as i was when i read it:

Dave Weiser
Senior Soundware Engineer/
Pro Products Marketing Manager
Kurzweil R&D


The K series products are long in the tooth these days.
It's becoming more and more difficult to service them.
For some of the repair parts, there is simply a finite supply, which will at one point eventually run dry.

The point about the action is really big. In past models, the action was one of the most common problems - weights falling out, dirty contacts, etc. The PC3 and PC3K use the new Fatar TP40L for the 88-note versions. We've had literally zero problems with the action for the past 2 years.

For sounds, I'd like to think that the PC3 is a bit cooler, but I'm obviously biased.
Here's are two examples: One thing that I had noticed when I first played a K26 - it didn't have much in the way of a realistic vintage clav. But it had a few varieties of "strat clav". Which is not my thing really. The PC3 has 32 clav presets, many of which are taken from classic albums, with a wide variety of amp and effects settings. Another example is pianos. I love the K26's acoustic piano sounds, but there aren't really many flavors. With the PC3, we tried to put a lot of effort into creating a wide variety of pianos - ones that sound like a Steinway, or a Yamaha, or a Baldwin, but also ones that sounded like they were from a classic blues or rock album from the '70s.
These things might not matter so much to certain players but for some players they could be crucial. So I think the sounds being better/worse depends on what's important to you as a player.

Other differences: K26 has 48 voice polyphony, the PC3 has 128.
K26 has 7 "units" of effects, the PC3 has 16, plus two "free" master effects.
The K26 has sampling and sample memory, the PC3 has neither.
The PC3K (coming sometime around May) will provide 128MB of non-volatile user sample memory, but no audio inputs.

SCSI vs USB
The K26 uses SCSI to interface with computers and digital media.
It's getting harder and harder these days to find scsi disks, drives and a means of getting stuff from your computer into a scsi device. The PC3 has USB. The PC3K will support USB thumbdrives.

Last major difference - weight.
The K2600x weighs about 80 lbs, which ruled it out for my gigging purposes. The PC3x weighs just under 50 lbs, which is still hefty, but doable for me.

1. We're going to give you as much compatibility as we can without the project lasting forever and subverting "the next big thing".
As far as I know it is undetermined whether or not K26 macro files will be supported. Consider though, that one of the main reasons for having macros to begin with was that you had to load samples into a K26 each time the unit was powered on. The PC3K, which has no internal hard drive, has non-volatile user sample memory, a first for us. (I think that Nord is the only other company to offer this.)
We have already loaded a compatibility file into a PC3K with all of the samples from a K, including ROM options. The file is a bit large right now (roughly 45MB), but we might offer it on a thumbdrive or on our website for those who really need it. Most of the K alg configs will be included, with a few likely exceptions.

Unfortunately, KDFX compatibility will not be supported in any way. Once you check out the PC3's effects architecture, you will want to throw KDFX into the bottom of the ocean. You can, for example have 10 separate FX chains on different channels, each with its own set of active fx mods. The K has 7 "units" of fx power. The PC3 has 16. These are huge differences. In the case of effects, it was more important for us to improve our effects architecture and to fix what we considered to be flaws (based on customer feedback) than it was to keep doing things the same way for its own sake. Note - when we developed the Pc3's effects architecture, there were no plans for a PC3K, so KDFX compatibility was never an issue.

I promise you that once you see the PC3's effects architecture you will be very happy with it, and should be able to navigate it much more easily than KDFX. Almost every former K26 owner who now has a PC3 that I know has said this.

CD ROMs should not be a problem at all because they often used little to no DSP VAST programming.

You will have to do some tweaking on certain programs developed on a K26 - maybe 30% of them. (We're hoping to make this number lower, but this is a realistic, conservative estimate.) We feel that the time spent tweaking and re-programming will not be overwhelming, and the payoff for customers will be better sounds in the end.
A little reprogramming to have better sounds is worth it to most of the musicians with whom we've consulted.

One example - the K26 had DSP generated oscillators (squaure, saw, pulse, etc) that aliased badly above C4, making them almost unusable for anything but synth basses. The PC3, with its VA anti-aliased oscillators offers a huge improvement in this area.
But the sizes of DSP blocks don't line up. The K26 oscillators used 1 block, the PC3 uses 2 blocks for the "good" oscillators. The K26 simply couldn't get a "good" oscillator by using 2 of its DSP blocks. The PC3 can provide both anti-aliased oscillator AND a 2 pole resonant lowpass (with res controls) all in one alg in one voice - something that the K could never do.

So yes, you might have to do some minor reprogramming, but it should be minimal with DSP generated oscillators being the most likely exception. Most programs, like pianos, strings, basses and drums, will require very little to no tweaking.

2. I hope that we develop a rack but I have not heard any official plans to do so yet. I have passed along input on this to our upper management.

3. The PC3K, as far as I know, should provide the same level of keymap and sample editing that the K provided.

There are going to be some "growing pains" when migrating to the PC3K.... but what happens after growing pains take place with a kid? They end up bigger, smarter, more experienced and more capable - just like the PC3K will be. http://forums.musicplayer.com/images/graemlins/default/smile.gif

First, try not to think of it like we're ignoring it or resting on our laurels. Trust me, all of us at Kurzweil want very much to have new piano samples.

For a bit of perspective, keep in mind that from 2004-2006 we were dealing with a hostile takeover, having been purchased by one of Young Chang's competitors who was intent on killing Kurzweil. They got into some serious trouble for deliberately making us go bankrupt. Can't say much else, except to mention that they laid off all but a handful of us here and killed all of our projects.

As you might have guessed, sound ROM development, especially with all of the extra processing that we do with our proprietary software tools, takes a ton of man hours and money. Years ago, we had a steady stream of products coming out and in parallel, we had a steady stream of samples in the works that would be ready two years out from any given point in time. This steady flow of products and soundware was interrupted during the takeover/bankruptcy.

Product development resumed in earnest in 2007, but we still didn't have the staff to resume a full blown effort to acquire/purchase/process samples - we needed revenue desperately and had to devote all of our resources to the PC3.

So while other companies were plugging away on new samples, we lost a few years' worth of progress.

We are working hard now to catch up to where we ought to be. Over the past year we've hired a team of outside soundware contractors, many of whom are former Kurz employees, to work exclusively on new sound ROM development.

As far as Ivory goes, of course I'd be a fool to not want those samples! But I can't speak for Joe (he hired me here in 2000 and is a good friend) and I certainly could not post about whether or not we ever have or ever will discuss samples with Synthogy. He would kick my ass so hard that I'd travel back in time to when the triple strike piano was originally recorded! But your input has been noted and echoed by many others.

Please understand that at all times, Kurz R&D is doing everything we possibly can to develop the best products and the best sounds, while trying to succeed as a business. We will never be content and we will never deliberately withhold something as crucial as new piano samples from our customers and potential customers - that would be suicide.

While there are limits to what I can post about publicly, what I can say is the following:

1. Everything that can be done IS being done to develop new samples for pianos and other instruments.

2. We recognize that piano sounds are a big part of our history and brand identity and factor this into our decisions at R&D.

3. As I've said on other forums, the PC3 and PC3K are not the last instruments we're going to make. They are only the beginning of the "new" Kurzweil. We have new platforms and technology in the works and multiple products in the pipeline, scheduled for 1,2, 3, 5, etc years from now. It would be safe for you to wager that at some point you're going to see a set of new, fabulous, blow-your-head-off piano samples in one of these future products.
Most of us here work lots of crazy hours in order to get our newest, latest greatest stuff into the hands of you players as quickly as possible. We're all fanatics about the products and the sounds, and the desire for a new Kurzweil piano is very high up on our list.

I know this answer doesn't provide any immediate fulfillment for those hoping for a new Kurz piano, but I hope it at least provides some context for where we're at as a company.

And as always, please keep the input and feedback coming - over the past two years input from folks like yourself has helped us to improve the Pc3 and future keyboards

Now that the PC3K is coming, I suspect that many of those third party developers will get some business.
The Kurzweil CD ROMs should mostly work with the PC3K.

The problem with some of the older third party stuff is that it has not been processed with our proprietary tools, and while they're really cool, they don't meet our standards for what can go into ROM.

We're really more interested in seeing third party developers working with the PC3's superior architecture to develop NEW material. In addition to the PC3's toolset being better, the whole field of digital recording has greatly improved since many of the old K series samples were developed.

The first major 3rd party developer to do something for the PC3 is Brian Cowell, with his Apache sound set. It's programs, not samples, but top-notch stuff. There's a press release for it in the News section of the Kurzweil website.
(All the more reason for us to get his unit out of the repair shop and back into his hands!)

We have considered including the Kurzweil CD ROM content in future ROMs or making it available on our website.
Discussions are still ongoing.
I'll be sure to post when I have more news.

And yes, we hear you loud and clear about larger displays.
Any future product that is considered above the PC3/PC3K in the Kurz food-chain will have a larger display.


:(

[Maximus]

Sh!t it came out long, i've shoul've posted

Warning
Achtung,
Advertencia

FOR SYNTH GEEKS ONLY

at the start, anyway im psyked :biggrin:

[FRETPICK]

This came up last week at the KM forum and i thought some of you might be as interest as i was when i read it:

Dave Weiser
Senior Soundware Engineer/
Pro Products Marketing Manager
Kurzweil R&D

Thanks Maximus. That's the reason I come back here. Because of the info & nice people. Much to take in but I got it.:smile:



The K series products are long in the tooth these days.
It's becoming more and more difficult to service them.
For some of the repair parts, there is simply a finite supply, which will at one point eventually run dry.

The point about the action is really big. In past models, the action was one of the most common problems - weights falling out, dirty contacts, etc. The PC3 and PC3K use the new Fatar TP40L for the 88-note versions. We've had literally zero problems with the action for the past 2 years.

For sounds, I'd like to think that the PC3 is a bit cooler, but I'm obviously biased.
Here's are two examples: One thing that I had noticed when I first played a K26 - it didn't have much in the way of a realistic vintage clav. But it had a few varieties of "strat clav". Which is not my thing really. The PC3 has 32 clav presets, many of which are taken from classic albums, with a wide variety of amp and effects settings. Another example is pianos. I love the K26's acoustic piano sounds, but there aren't really many flavors. With the PC3, we tried to put a lot of effort into creating a wide variety of pianos - ones that sound like a Steinway, or a Yamaha, or a Baldwin, but also ones that sounded like they were from a classic blues or rock album from the '70s.
These things might not matter so much to certain players but for some players they could be crucial. So I think the sounds being better/worse depends on what's important to you as a player.

Other differences: K26 has 48 voice polyphony, the PC3 has 128.
K26 has 7 "units" of effects, the PC3 has 16, plus two "free" master effects.
The K26 has sampling and sample memory, the PC3 has neither.
The PC3K (coming sometime around May) will provide 128MB of non-volatile user sample memory, but no audio inputs.

SCSI vs USB
The K26 uses SCSI to interface with computers and digital media.
It's getting harder and harder these days to find scsi disks, drives and a means of getting stuff from your computer into a scsi device. The PC3 has USB. The PC3K will support USB thumbdrives.

Last major difference - weight.
The K2600x weighs about 80 lbs, which ruled it out for my gigging purposes. The PC3x weighs just under 50 lbs, which is still hefty, but doable for me.

1. We're going to give you as much compatibility as we can without the project lasting forever and subverting "the next big thing".
As far as I know it is undetermined whether or not K26 macro files will be supported. Consider though, that one of the main reasons for having macros to begin with was that you had to load samples into a K26 each time the unit was powered on. The PC3K, which has no internal hard drive, has non-volatile user sample memory, a first for us. (I think that Nord is the only other company to offer this.)
We have already loaded a compatibility file into a PC3K with all of the samples from a K, including ROM options. The file is a bit large right now (roughly 45MB), but we might offer it on a thumbdrive or on our website for those who really need it. Most of the K alg configs will be included, with a few likely exceptions.

Unfortunately, KDFX compatibility will not be supported in any way. Once you check out the PC3's effects architecture, you will want to throw KDFX into the bottom of the ocean. You can, for example have 10 separate FX chains on different channels, each with its own set of active fx mods. The K has 7 "units" of fx power. The PC3 has 16. These are huge differences. In the case of effects, it was more important for us to improve our effects architecture and to fix what we considered to be flaws (based on customer feedback) than it was to keep doing things the same way for its own sake. Note - when we developed the Pc3's effects architecture, there were no plans for a PC3K, so KDFX compatibility was never an issue.

I promise you that once you see the PC3's effects architecture you will be very happy with it, and should be able to navigate it much more easily than KDFX. Almost every former K26 owner who now has a PC3 that I know has said this.

CD ROMs should not be a problem at all because they often used little to no DSP VAST programming.

You will have to do some tweaking on certain programs developed on a K26 - maybe 30% of them. (We're hoping to make this number lower, but this is a realistic, conservative estimate.) We feel that the time spent tweaking and re-programming will not be overwhelming, and the payoff for customers will be better sounds in the end.
A little reprogramming to have better sounds is worth it to most of the musicians with whom we've consulted.

One example - the K26 had DSP generated oscillators (squaure, saw, pulse, etc) that aliased badly above C4, making them almost unusable for anything but synth basses. The PC3, with its VA anti-aliased oscillators offers a huge improvement in this area.
But the sizes of DSP blocks don't line up. The K26 oscillators used 1 block, the PC3 uses 2 blocks for the "good" oscillators. The K26 simply couldn't get a "good" oscillator by using 2 of its DSP blocks. The PC3 can provide both anti-aliased oscillator AND a 2 pole resonant lowpass (with res controls) all in one alg in one voice - something that the K could never do.

So yes, you might have to do some minor reprogramming, but it should be minimal with DSP generated oscillators being the most likely exception. Most programs, like pianos, strings, basses and drums, will require very little to no tweaking.

2. I hope that we develop a rack but I have not heard any official plans to do so yet. I have passed along input on this to our upper management.

3. The PC3K, as far as I know, should provide the same level of keymap and sample editing that the K provided.

There are going to be some "growing pains" when migrating to the PC3K.... but what happens after growing pains take place with a kid? They end up bigger, smarter, more experienced and more capable - just like the PC3K will be. http://forums.musicplayer.com/images...ault/smile.gif

First, try not to think of it like we're ignoring it or resting on our laurels. Trust me, all of us at Kurzweil want very much to have new piano samples.

For a bit of perspective, keep in mind that from 2004-2006 we were dealing with a hostile takeover, having been purchased by one of Young Chang's competitors who was intent on killing Kurzweil. They got into some serious trouble for deliberately making us go bankrupt. Can't say much else, except to mention that they laid off all but a handful of us here and killed all of our projects.

As you might have guessed, sound ROM development, especially with all of the extra processing that we do with our proprietary software tools, takes a ton of man hours and money. Years ago, we had a steady stream of products coming out and in parallel, we had a steady stream of samples in the works that would be ready two years out from any given point in time. This steady flow of products and soundware was interrupted during the takeover/bankruptcy.

Product development resumed in earnest in 2007, but we still didn't have the staff to resume a full blown effort to acquire/purchase/process samples - we needed revenue desperately and had to devote all of our resources to the PC3.

So while other companies were plugging away on new samples, we lost a few years' worth of progress.

We are working hard now to catch up to where we ought to be. Over the past year we've hired a team of outside soundware contractors, many of whom are former Kurz employees, to work exclusively on new sound ROM development.

As far as Ivory goes, of course I'd be a fool to not want those samples! But I can't speak for Joe (he hired me here in 2000 and is a good friend) and I certainly could not post about whether or not we ever have or ever will discuss samples with Synthogy. He would kick my ass so hard that I'd travel back in time to when the triple strike piano was originally recorded! But your input has been noted and echoed by many others.

Please understand that at all times, Kurz R&D is doing everything we possibly can to develop the best products and the best sounds, while trying to succeed as a business. We will never be content and we will never deliberately withhold something as crucial as new piano samples from our customers and potential customers - that would be suicide.

While there are limits to what I can post about publicly, what I can say is the following:

1. Everything that can be done IS being done to develop new samples for pianos and other instruments.

2. We recognize that piano sounds are a big part of our history and brand identity and factor this into our decisions at R&D.

3. As I've said on other forums, the PC3 and PC3K are not the last instruments we're going to make. They are only the beginning of the "new" Kurzweil. We have new platforms and technology in the works and multiple products in the pipeline, scheduled for 1,2, 3, 5, etc years from now. It would be safe for you to wager that at some point you're going to see a set of new, fabulous, blow-your-head-off piano samples in one of these future products.
Most of us here work lots of crazy hours in order to get our newest, latest greatest stuff into the hands of you players as quickly as possible. We're all fanatics about the products and the sounds, and the desire for a new Kurzweil piano is very high up on our list.

I know this answer doesn't provide any immediate fulfillment for those hoping for a new Kurz piano, but I hope it at least provides some context for where we're at as a company.

And as always, please keep the input and feedback coming - over the past two years input from folks like yourself has helped us to improve the Pc3 and future keyboards

Now that the PC3K is coming, I suspect that many of those third party developers will get some business.
The Kurzweil CD ROMs should mostly work with the PC3K.

The problem with some of the older third party stuff is that it has not been processed with our proprietary tools, and while they're really cool, they don't meet our standards for what can go into ROM.

We're really more interested in seeing third party developers working with the PC3's superior architecture to develop NEW material. In addition to the PC3's toolset being better, the whole field of digital recording has greatly improved since many of the old K series samples were developed.

The first major 3rd party developer to do something for the PC3 is Brian Cowell, with his Apache sound set. It's programs, not samples, but top-notch stuff. There's a press release for it in the News section of the Kurzweil website.
(All the more reason for us to get his unit out of the repair shop and back into his hands!)

We have considered including the Kurzweil CD ROM content in future ROMs or making it available on our website.
Discussions are still ongoing.
I'll be sure to post when I have more news.

And yes, we hear you loud and clear about larger displays.
Any future product that is considered above the PC3/PC3K in the Kurz food-chain will have a larger display.

[Maximus]

Thanks man, i might hang around on other forums, but this is my home :smile:

[HammondToby]

Click HERE (http://community.sonikmatter.com/forums/index.php?/topic/45451-who-really-really-wants-a-pc3k-rack/) and vote :D

Best
HammondToby

[mmichaelc]

Will JR buy one? What do people think?

[HammondToby]

Will JR buy one?

Why should he? He has the original PC3 and for sampling stuff he has other boards (Fantom, Oasys) and although the flash memory is cool (I've got it in the Nord Stage), 128mb wouldn't be enough for his demands. And I don't think, he's going to switch back to Kurz before the next generation top workstation ... if at all.

Best
HammondToby

[mmichaelc]

I didn't know he had the PC3, I guess there isn't much point then considering the sample ram but I'd love to hear his Kurzweil lead again.

[Tiko]

I thought he had a PC3X :rolleyes: (Though it doesn't really matter in this context!)

- Tiko

[Maximus]

here it is PC3K8 $3495.97 At sweetwater http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PC3K8/ so it is $500 more for the sample loading

BTW: has anybody bought a PC3LE yet?

[Bigs]

Will JR buy one? What do people think?

Maybe after all the Oasys spare parts in the world have run out, by which time there might be a new K series.

[HammondToby]

BTW: has anybody bought a PC3LE yet?

No, but I played it on the Musik Messe (PC3LE8 ... MAN, why this tongue twister as name?). Nice board, the knobs felt a bit loose, but other than that, it's really a stripped down PC3 (polyphonic and effect wise). Let's see, if it will be fully programmable with the editor, 'cause on the system screen, there are a lot of parameters hidden.

Best
HammondToby

[pbuchta]

I'm drooling. Can't wait for the 76 or 61 key versions. Hope that they are not too heavy. I'm getting older and have to watch what I carry. Pete.

[Devnor]

I heard they are only making 88 key versions of the PC3K.