Kurzweil SP88x [Archive] - Jazz Bulletin Board

Phil Kelly

July 14th, 2004, 03:32 PM

Kurzweil usually makes good stuff ..

here's the OnStage mag review of it:

>>KURZWEIL SP88X
By Peter Drescher
Onstage,*Jun 1, 2001

MANY KEYBOARDISTS don't need a high-end axe designed for demanding professionals, and if you don't need pro features, you probably don't want to pay big bucks for them. If all you require is a modest selection of good sounds, a reasonably good weighted action, and basic MIDI control, you might be better off with a small, lightweight, easy-to-carry slim-line stage piano. These instruments — meant for home users, weekend warriors, lounge musicians, and those who play mostly low-key casuals — are priced to sell at $1,000 to $1,500.

Kurzweil's newest entry in this market is the SP88X, an 88-key stage piano with a fully weighted action. It's the top of the line in Kurzweil's Stage Piano series, which includes two other models: the unweighted 76-key SP76 and the semiweighted 88-key SP88. The SP88X is stripped down compared with the company's higher-end instruments, but it offers an array of MIDI control features not often found in this price range.

As a professional keyboardist, I generally prefer higher-end instruments, but I was eager to try out the SP88X because of the company's reputation for making high-quality gear with great samples. One of my big questions was whether this affordable instrument was good enough to please a pro with modest expectations (considering the unit's price) but an experienced ear and touch.
PHYSICAL STUFF

One of the advantages of stage pianos is that they're easy to carry around. At 52 pounds, the SP88X is not the lightest keyboard in its class — the Korg SP100 weighs just under 42 pounds, and the Yamaha P80 a mere 37 pounds — but it's still quite portable. I could pick it up one-handed, making it a snap to load in at the gig.

I have to admit the instrument's purple color put me off. It might be fine for some types of stage acts, but it clearly would not be appropriate for others. I would much prefer a simple black or gray instrument that could fit in with any act.

The SP88X, like all the company's keyboard synths, uses a Fatar TP10MD action — the same model used in the K2600XS and PC2X — but somehow it didn't feel quite as firm as the one in the K2600XS. I don't think I'm imagining the difference; I can only speculate that Kurzweil might have mounted the action differently in the K2600XS. I tend to like a firmer action, and I found the SP88X's decent but light for my taste.

The front panel has a master volume slider, 16 patch selection buttons, various red indicator lights, and a small LED for parameter editing. Instead of modulation and pitch wheels, the unit has two ribbon controllers. As much as I appreciate a good ribbon controller, these don't qualify. To begin with, they feel cheap, unlike the ribbons on the Kurzweil ExpressionMate and K2600-series keyboards. Furthermore, their vertical orientation and location at the far left end of the keyboard make them difficult to use effectively. I would much prefer to have one or two control wheels at the left end of the keyboard and one horizontally oriented ribbon controller conveniently placed above the keyboard. That would make it far simpler to produce, say, an effective finger vibrato.

On the rear panel, you'll find connectors for headphones, stereo output, and MIDI I/O. You get two pedal controller jacks: one for the included piano-style sustain pedal and another for an optional expression pedal that sends a variety of MIDI Control Change messages to external modules. Unlike the ribbon controllers, which offer control over a limited set of internal sound parameters, the expression pedal has no effect on the internal sounds. That's too bad, because you could control some parameters more effectively with a pedal, especially if you want to change a parameter while playing with both hands.

The back panel is also home to a power switch as well as an input for the unit's wall-wart power supply. Because wall warts are flimsy by nature, they're a disadvantage on an instrument that is designed for stage use. However, they do serve to keep the cost down.
BELLS AND WHISTLES

You access the SP88X's 32 internal sounds with the 16 aforementioned patch selection buttons, each of which controls two patches. In Play mode, press a button once and it turns red, indicating that you've selected the first patch. Press the button again and it turns green, indicating that you've selected the second patch.

In Internal Voices mode (the default), you can edit a large number of performance-related parameters, including transposition, ribbon controller action, Velocity curve, MIDI channel, and effects levels, to name a few. However, the SP88X does not allow you to do any deep synth-type editing of the sounds, such as selecting waveforms and adjusting envelopes and filters. Furthermore, of the eight Velocity curves that are offered, all but two are odd or reverse curves. According to Kurzweil, these curves create crossfades when used with other Kurzweil instruments, but I suspect that most people who are buying this sort of keyboard will never use them. I wish the company had omitted the oddball curves and supplied more practical Velocity curves, perhaps with varying offsets. For instance, the upper notes on the piano sounds barely respond to Velocity; I would have liked some curves that gave me more variety in top response.

You can also place the SP88X in MIDI Setups mode, which offers two user-definable zones, each with its own patch and controller assignments. You can use these to create key splits and layers with external sound modules. You could, for example, create a split in which half the keyboard controlled one of the SP88X's internal sounds, and the other half controlled a sound from an external module — or, alternatively, both zones could control external sounds.

Unfortunately, you cannot set up a split that uses two internal sounds, because the internal sound module is limited to playing one patch at a time (although some patches consist of preprogrammed layers, such as piano with strings). That presented a problem, because for a lot of casual gigs I don't want to haul an external sound module, and I sometimes need to create splits.
GETTING AROUND

The user interface was my least favorite part of the instrument. If all you want to do is call up presets and play them as is, things are simple enough — but making changes can be cumbersome.

The names of all the editable parameters are printed above the keys in three columns and six rows. Each row has a red LED indicator light. In Edit mode, you navigate to the desired parameter by pressing a Column Select button until the LED indicator at the top of the first or second column lights up. (When both indicators are off, it means the third column of Global parameters is active.) You then press a Row Select button until the indicator next to the parameter lights up. A steady glow means that the first of two parameters in the row is selected; a flashing light indicates that the second parameter is active.

The current value of the parameter is then shown in a small three-letter LED. In Edit mode, the patch selection buttons serve as input keys. You can change the value by entering the desired number and pressing Enter or by holding down keys labeled Yes and No, which increase and decrease the displayed value.

One of the first things I noticed was that the parameter selection labels are incredibly hard to read, with tiny lettering printed in azure blue. Against the purple background of the unit, in fact, the labels are practically illegible, especially in the low-light situations on many stages. The manual contains this information, of course, but that doesn't make things any easier when you're operating on the fly at rehearsals or gigs.

The patch labels are a bit easier to read — written in a somewhat larger white font — but they cram a lot of info into a small space. In contrast, four lines of advertisement (not a decal) appear on the keyboard's top panel in easily visible white letters: “Award Winning Sounds,” “Flexible MIDI Controller,” and so on.

Navigating the parameter display required an especially frustrating number of button pushes. Once you have the correct column selected, the Row Select button runs through the parameters only in sequential order. That means you have to push buttons over and over to access parameters located farther down. There's no function for backing up, so if you miss your mark the first time, you have to cycle all the way through again. This tedious method of changing parameters contrasts sharply with the procedures incorporated into Kurzweil's other, higher-priced keyboards, most of which offer big, bright displays and dedicated buttons. It also contrasts with the friendlier interfaces found in some competing instruments.
IN PLAY

Although you have a choice of 32 preset patches, they derive from just five basic instruments: acoustic piano, electric piano, FM electric piano, organ, and strings. The keyboard offers numerous variations of these (including piano and string combinations), but no vibes or clavinet, essential instruments for many gigs. You don't get a bass sound, either, but because you cannot split the internal sounds, you would have to use an external module to play bass with another sound anyway.

The SP88X's piano sounds are the same as those in Kurzweil's popular MicroPiano. Although these were once considered top of the line, developers have raised the bar for piano sounds quite a bit since the MicroPiano's introduction. Perhaps as a result of those higher expectations, the SP88X's acoustic piano sounds disappointed me. The attacks are fairly decent, but when you hold a note, it decays much too fast. Though the pianos seem fairly realistic on up-tempo numbers, on slow ballads the rapid decay makes sustained chords sound thin and weak. The acoustic piano's timbre changes in response to Velocity; however, the changes are hardly noticeable in the top octave.

The keyboard offered a more satisfying variety of reasonably convincing electric piano and organ sounds. However, the rotating speaker effect is unimpressive, especially coming from a company that has proven it can make an excellent Leslie-type effect. The string sounds, which include ensemble patches with both fast and slow attacks, are good enough for many purposes, if not memorable.

The SP88X also has built-in effects, including a smooth-sounding reverb and chorus. The default levels were a bit wetter than I'd like, but you can modify and save your preferred effects parameters and MIDI settings before the gig to avoid having to deal with the multistep editing procedure onstage. Still, the lack of dedicated buttons to control chorus and reverb is a distinct disadvantage.
KEY THOUGHTS

Overall, the SP88X left me feeling lukewarm. On the upside, you get a fully weighted, 88-key keyboard, good (not great) sounds, and a bevy of MIDI controller options that give you flexibility when using the instrument with external sound modules. Considering the price, that's a good deal. On the other hand, the user interface is unnecessarily clumsy, the ribbon controllers are not a great choice for this application, and the selection of sounds could have been slightly larger and better.

The SP88X seems best suited to predictable gig situations where you can set everything in advance and where decent sounds are good enough — or where you want to use an external sound module. If you are performing your gig with just one instrument and no module, you'll have to do without splits, bass, and other standard sounds, as well as the ability to tweak on the fly.

Would this instrument suit serious professional keyboardists on a budget? Maybe, but probably not. On the other hand, stage piano buyers, who do not need pro features and who just want a good basic instrument for casuals or to control an external module, will find the SP88X an attractive and affordable choice.
PRODUCT SUMMARY

Kurzweil Music Systems
SP88X
stage piano
$1,395

Overall Rating (1 through 5): 3

PROS: Full-size keyboard with weighted action. Plentiful MIDI controller functions. Good (not great) onboard sounds. Moderate weight. Portable.

CONS: No vibe or clavinet sounds. Unreadable parameter labels. Cumbersome user interface. No splits for onboard sounds. Limited sound editing. Poorly implemented ribbon controllers.

Contact: Kurzweil Music Systems/Young Chang
tel. (800) 421-9846 or (253) 589-3200
Web www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com
SP88X SPECS

Audio Outputs (2) ¼", (1) ¼" TRS headphone
Additional Ports MIDI I/O (transmits on 2 channels, receives on 1 channel)
Zones 2
Setups 32
Patches 32 variations and combinations of acoustic piano, electric piano, FM electric piano, organ, and strings
Keyboard 88-note fully weighted action
Controllers pitch and modulation ribbons; volume slider; (2) ¼" pedal inputs
Polyphony 32 notes
Effects reverb, chorus
Dimensions 58.4" (W) ¥ 4.8" (H) ¥ 14" (D)
Weight 52 lbs.

jlee

July 29th, 2004, 08:21 AM

The SP76 actually has a semi-weighted action, not unweighted as the OnStage review states -- I bought one, tried it out, then returned it in order to buy a Yamaha P120 (fully weighted). Pretty good review, though -- good job at pointing out Pros AND cons (can't do splits with onboard sounds, e.g., only 2 zones, etc.)

Now I'm thinking about buying the same board to use again as a "compromise" action for controlling Hammond organ sounds, synths, and EP (B4, Oddity [an ARP Odyssey replicator], MrRay, and TickyClav -- all software synthesizers. Mr. Ray is a free [of charge] Rhodes simulator with good effects that works just as well as Lounge Lizard to my ears, and TickyClav is a freeware clavinet VST instrument that is so-so, but serviceable), in addition to Kurzweil's quite good inboard acoustic piano sound that I'm certain is the same as the 88x model: we both seem to agree that the SP-series acoustic piano sounds are just fine -- I especially thought (though I didn't experiment) that they would cut through live pretty well.

What I can report that will carry over to the SP88x board is: it appeared to be exceptionally solid, with a metal case, in a funky deep purple color (which I loved -- very rock and roll-ish although not garish). Also, it appears to have great (basic) features as a controller -- I just checked out the manual again online the other day. It appears, though, that you can't set velocity curves yourself to anything other than preset curves (I think there are six or eight preset curves to choose from -- more than adequate, most likely, for pianos). I didn't find the onboard sounds other than the acoustic pianos to be professional or usable, though you might have some use for them in YOUR live mixes or whatever. I have heard (not personally yet, but through hearsay) that the Kurzweil ME-1 sound module has very good electric piano sounds, on a par with the Yamaha Motif sounds, if you should need them at some point.

I've heard that the wall wart does have a stress-relief clip, if you're worried about damaging the AC supply.

How's the weighted action on that board, anyway? Is it as "heavy" as the Yamahas?

Cheers,

John

[EDIT]: P.S. Oh yeah, I would totally recommend the Yamaha P120 if you need something in the same price range (I find the realism for playing acoustic pianos on classical and jazz to be exceptional) -- and also the P80, which I owned prior to the P120. The disadvantages to the Yamahas are that I don't PERCEIVE them to be as roadworthy as the Kurzweil's (developed some sluggish/sticking keys on the P80 after two years) and the controller features aren't as good (no ribbon controllers, e.g., a very "piano" like action which just isn't very good for doing the ARP lead thing or the Jimmy Smith thing or whatever). The two boards (SP88x and P120/P80) are probably quite close, though, in terms of for whom they are marketed -- with the slight edge going to Kurzweil in terms of construction/overall coolness/usability as a controller. That's why I want one (the 76, not the 88x, but same dif, right?)!