From: sef@sef-pmax.slisp.cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Re: K2000 Questions
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 02:55:01 GMT

    
    From: kemp@uiatma.atmos.uiuc.edu (John Kemp)
    
    1) Someone with a Sam Ash catalog know what a K2000 would
        go for through mail order?
    
Can't help you.  Pianos 'n Stuff in Pittsburgh is still selling them for
$2096, but that's a walk-in price.  I think most of the mail order dealers
charge more, but throw in assorted goodies to make it a reasonable deal.
That's the case with Sweetwater Sound, which is probably the biggest
Kurzweil dealer.

    2) I am confused by the sampling section of the keyboard.
    	A) What ways can you load samples, floppy? scsi? midi?

All of the above.

    	B) What kind of samples can you use? AKAI1000?

Currently native K2000 patches plus Akai S1000.  Ensoniq EPS-16 format will
reportedly be supported by the 2.0 software.

    	C) Can you map 10-20 samples to different zones?

Yes, or even 128 samples.  Each "layer" is assoicated with a "keymap" (or
with two if it's in stereo).  A keymap is a set of sample roots, each
assigned to a range of keys.  You can assign a different sample to each
MIDI note if you want.

    	D) Is there velocity crossfade?

Not per se.  A keymap can have one, two, or three velocity ranges, each
with a different set of samples assigned to different key ranges.  This is
a sharp cut-over at some translated velocity level (ppp to fff).

To blend smoothly from one sample to another using velocity, you have to
use two layers, fading one out and the other in as velocity increases.  The
"funs" give you a lot of flexibility in choosing the shape and posiiton of
the crossover.

    	E) What are the available rates/options/stereo/etc.?

Stereo samples can be played.  The sampling option (coming soon) is
supposed to offer sampling at 32KHz and 48KHz, according to the K2000
manual.
    
    RE: The CASIO FZ-1 to me was incredibly simple to understand.
        If someone could discuss the K2000 just with respect to 
        it as a sample keyboard, that would be neato, and keen.
    
Just as a sample-playing keyboard, the K2000 is neato and keen.  It doesn't
sample yet, so I can't comment on that.

    3) Would you wait for the next release of the K2000 before
       buying one, and why?

The 2.0 operating system will probably have some new tricks and some bug
fixes, though I haven't found any bugs that really cause me serious grief.
Someone posted here recently that there are new, improved ROM-based
programs and setups on the way.

I expect that Kurzweil will have a reasonable policy about ROM upgrades.
Maybe you can get your dealer to agree to install new ROMS for free/cheap
if you buy now.  (Unlikely if you buy mail-order, however.)

You'll want to install a fan and some sample memory when you buy.  You may
want other options later, such as the sampling option, the extended
object/sequence memory, or the additional 8M byte sound blocks.  I wouldn't
wait around (and in fact, I didn't).

Some people may want to wait for the module, of course, if they already
have enough black-and-white plastic in their setups.
    
    4) Are you getting tired of all of these questions?

Yeah, but I think I see the end of the list coming up pretty soon...
    
    5) Will the SCSI work with a Syquest drive and read cartridges
       formatted on a MacIIcx?

I think it will work with any external SCSI drive, but wouldn't swear to
this.  Mac formatting may be a problem, however.  The floppies (and
presumably also the hard disks) use IBM file format.
    
    6) Does it get easier to program after you use it for a while?

    RE: I looked at some of the builtin patches.  They had anywhere
        from 5-20 functions going into the sound wave generation 
        section of the patch!  It looks incredibly powerful just 
        from a beginners point-of-view, but is it comprehensible
        once you start using it?

I found it easy to tweak the built-in sounds right there in the store,
before I had even cracked open the manual.  Even the more complex features
are laid out in a clean, intuitive way.  However, I'm still learning new
VAST tricks after four months, and there's no end in sight.  Your mileage
may vary.  I have a fair amount of experience with computers and synth
programming, and I know something about digital signal processing, so I
can't really say what all this would look like to the random beginner.  If
you you don't know anything at all about conventional synth programming
(i.e. what a filter is for), the K2000 probably isn't the place to start.

    7) How well suited to you think this keyboard would be as the 
       sound source for electronic drumming?

Great.  Mostly very good drum samples, adequate built-in effects, and the
ability to tune, filter, and layer things to your heart's content.  This
assumes that you do the sequencing on an external computer, however.  The
K2000's current built-in seuqencer is rudimentary, though there are rumors
of a better one on the way.
    
    8) "Keyboard" and "Electronic Musician" must have reviewed this
       awesome looking monster synth.  Anyone know which issues?

See the March 1992 issues of both magazines.
    
    9) Do you think anyone will do a computer based patch editor?

I'm sure someone will, though Kurzweil is slowing the process down by not
releasing the detailed system exclusive specs.  The manual describes the
format for requesting and dumping various objects, but not the internal
data fields in those objects.  They plan to release this info, but have
just been too busy trying to get out the 2.0 operating system and other
goodies.  It wouldn't be too hard to "crack" the format by wiggling various
paramters using the K2000 controls and seeing what changes in the dumped
voices, but this would be mighty tedious.

-- Scott
===========================================================================
Scott E. Fahlman
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Internet: sef+@cs.cmu.edu