KurzweilPC4-7 76-key Synthesizer Workstation

I love this synth! Over the last few months, I have purchased a Fantom, Nautilus, MODX-6, PolyBrute, Take 5 and a few others. They’re all super nice, especially the Fantom but this Kurzweil is simply on another level. The synth action keybed is perfect. It’s not mushy like some of the others. The travel of the keys is similar to a piano but more bouncy and with much much less effort. “It’s all about the sound” is their motto and it’s spot on. The sounds are grouped together and accessible with the push of one button. Each category has many sounds and overall, they’re typical Kurzweil…perfect and there are over a thousand to choose from and ample slots to create your own sounds or combinations. I’ve already tried that (I’ve only had it a few days) and creating your own is easy and straightforward. On back, there are all of the expected plugins except for a MIDI thru. I have a lot of synths so a thru would have been nice. I’ll stop here but overall, I would rate it a 99 out of 100, dropping its score by one for the lack of the MIDI thru. If you’re looking for a workstation synth, this is the one you want. Did I mention that I love this synth?!

Uneven sound distribution. Some notes are louder than others especially when splitting the keyboard with bass on the left. I would not recommend this for professional use. On a positive note, the keyboard weight is light which was one of my objectives and sound selection is easy. I wish the return window had not expired when I discovered the sound distribution issues. Hurricane Beryl and power loss got in the way of giving the keyboard a good test run.

Just like the 88 key version, this keyboard is so flexible that if you can imagine it, you can do it. The sounds are really good! The sheer number of assignable controls - knobs, sliders, buttons, and wheels - is fantastic. You can load DX7 sysex patches and they work perfectly, and you can also load your own samples and tweak the ADSR and add FX and controllers. Or you can simply use any factory programs as is. In addition, it’s a full-fledged MIDI controller. At this price, it’s a great buy.

This instrument is replacing a 76-key PC3 that is getting a bit old and tired. Great upgrade for a reasonable price. The synthesis architecture is mostly the same, just that memory is no longer being miserly conserved like it was in the PC3. User interface is much improved. Greatly looking forward to saving/storing patches using a standard USB stick vs the hard to find camera memory cards.