Sound Module Question

[steve350]

I am mainly a guitar player in my band. There are some songs that I play keyboards on. Mainly for piano, organ, strings and horn parts.

I've been using my Korg PA80 for gigs and recording. I am very fascinated by these rack sound modules.

Can anyone tell me if I would get more realistic piano,electric piano, strings and brass sounds from a Kurzweil PC2R or my Korg PA80? Thanks.

http://www.kurzweil.org/products.html?Id=1630

[ssscientist]

Looks like a winner - if it's in your price range.

These units have come SO far in the twenty years I've been involved with midi --- 64 voice polyphony and effects to spare, sampled voices with the Kurzweil stamp of quality - what more could you ask for?

My professional opinion is: snap it up as soon as you possibly can! It sounds like it was made just for you!

[steve350]

Thanks for the reply. I would like to hear from any Korg Keyboard owners to see if these sound modules are any better then the Korg's. Thanks.

[acorec]

Originally Posted by steve350

Thanks for the reply. I would like to hear from any Korg Keyboard owners to see if these sound modules are any better then the Korg's. Thanks.

I have a PC2R and the sounds stomp and crush anything Korg puts out. But, the PC2R does take some time to learn to use well. Be warned, but put in the time to learn it and you have a killer module. I tried everything that was at the GC and this module is the best by far.

[steve350]

Thanks Acorec. I've downloaded the 200 plus pages of the manual. At first my head was spinning but, it started to make sense.
Will my Korg PA80 work O.K. as a midi keyboard for the PC2R or should I get something else to control it?

[acorec]

Originally Posted by steve350

Thanks Acorec. I've downloaded the 200 plus pages of the manual. At first my head was spinning but, it started to make sense.
Will my Korg PA80 work O.K. as a midi keyboard for the PC2R or should I get something else to control it?

It should be just fine. The PC2R is very powerful and gets better with your custom settings. I have done big multi-track recordings with it and it sounds awesome to say the least. I have not touched my Roland or Alesis since getting it.

[metropolis79]

Originally Posted by steve350

Thanks for the reply. I would like to hear from any Korg Keyboard owners to see if these sound modules are any better then the Korg's. Thanks.

I've got a Triton extreme and a Pc2R (and also an S90 ).
the PC2r is the best for pianos and strings/orchestral sounds. Korg should be better for electronic stuff.
The PC2R is however not very programmable speaking of synthesis.
But the sound are top quality and the acoustic are the best in my rig.
If you aren't into programming your sounds and you need high quality sounds the PC2R is the best on the market IMHO...
it's also designed for the use with a non professional master keyb, thanks to the powerful midi filter and options available...

Hope it Helps

[steve350]

I would like to thank you all for your help. Before I purchase anything I will be trying it out locally.

Someone recommended the Roland Fantom-XR. I went to the web site and read and listened to the audio samples. Is that rack mount more for synth sounds rather then GREAT Piano,Organ,Strings, Brass?

Quite honestly, that's all I want and need. My Korg PA80 is good on all of the above except Brass.

[bgavin]

PC2R owners: how does this module do for horn section stuff?

My needs are driving it with midi during live performance. I have the ability to send it multiple midi channels by splitting my keyboard.

I want to be able to do horn section stuff such as Boz Scaggs, Van Morrison, etc.

Thoughts?

[SonicAlbert]

The Roland Fantom XR has a really nice piano built in, and a TON of other sounds. The nice thing about the Fantom is that it is highly programmable, unlike the Kurzweil. Also, the Fantom XR has six SRX slots for expansion boards, so if you wanted to put in other strings or brass you could. There's a new SRX-10 brass board out now that is quite good.

The Kurzweil piano is great, no question. I love their piano sounds. However, the Fantom XR offers a lot more overall as a synth and sampler.

[Alexbt]

Well, this is good for me to hear. I just puchased a Kurzweil ME1 midi module, which uses the same internal voices as the PC2 series (this may be a better buy if you don't need all of the advanced features. It has yet to arrive but I am eagerly waiting to use it with my Kurzweil SP88.

When I got my SP88 I was slighly disappointed with some of the sounds, but the ME1 is very promising! Its grand piano alone is superior to the one in the SP88. (I heard some demos comparing the two on a website.)

Just to rant... The grand piano on the SP88 is kinda plunky in the mids/high, and the bass notes are too short to be natural.

The Rhodes equiv is too light and bell-like to me through headphones, but when amp-ed it becomes beefier overall.

I do however, like the Hard Stereo E. Piano. I don't know what it's supposed to imitate... it kind of sounds like a Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Hohner Pianet all meshed together. It's really a great patch, and is the 'official' patch for one of my band's song. I don't think I could find another patch to replace it!

The Organs are pretty good! I just wish there were more.

The strings, however, are soooo good. Best strings I've heard on a keyboard yet.

I'm kind of hoping that the ME1 has improvements over the SP88 so I can just use outputs from that and not need to worry about sound techs getting mad at me for so many volumes!