Kurzweil:Kurzweil 101
From Sonikmatter
Never used a Kurzweil before, and have one sitting there in front of you? The front panel looks deceptively simple, but that little screen is like a window to a whole new universe.
Take a guided tour, with The Puppeteer, of the most important landmarks and get the lowdown on what the heck all the fuss is about.
Contents |
Before You Start
Check to make sure the voltage is set correctly before you plug it in and turn it on. This is especially important if you got your Kurz from overseas. Kurzweils can operate at 4 voltage ranges, and have a pretty sturdy power supply. Have a look next to the power switch, and note which of the 4 holes has the white dot in. If it's the voltage of your local supply, then plug it in and turn it on.
If you've already turned it on, and the screen in blank, and you've realized that the voltage was wrong, don't worry. It's likely that you just blew some fuses. It's pretty easy to fix, and to change the voltage. It's detailed in the manual, at the back. Only replace fuses with the same rated fuses, otherwise you can fry your Kurz.
Manuals and Disks
All manuals, and disks that ship with the Kurzweil are available from the downloads section at www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com.
The Kurz's also shipped with a foot switch (which gets plugged into the FootSw jacks on keyboard models. The Racks don't have these jacks. The Kurz also shipped with a power cable and some disks (or a SM Card). Some Kurzweil's came with a video or CD-ROMs as well.
Turning It On
Turn it on, and take note of the operating system number that comes up on the first screen. For K2500s, K2600s and K2661s, the OS can be updated for free to the latest version, which is available from kurzweilmusicsystems.com. For K2000s, the latest OS is 3.87, and it requires some chips to be swapped out, to upgrade.
On K2000's there is a Calvin and Janis series of Keyboards. They are functionally identical, but the OS is a slightly different format. If the OS says n.nnJ, then it is Janis. If it's just n.nn, then it's Calvin. You cannot upgrade a Calvin machine with Janis ROMs and vice versa. If the OS is V1, then the upgrade process can be quite involved, requiring new Setup EEPROMs, and from V2, it may also require some jumpers to be changed.
Don't worry about the OS too much at this stage, except that early OS's often don't have all of the features of later ones, but all machines can be updated to the latest OS without too much expense or effort. All K2500's and K2600's can be updated at no cost.
For K2500's be aware that there are 2 series of OS's. One for KDFX machines, and one for non-KDFX machines. OS's above 4.0 are for KDFX machines. Lower numbered OS's are for machines without KDFX.
The Tour
Kurzweils have 8 main operating mode, indicated by the eight buttons to the left of the display. The main mode used is Program Mode, and the Kurzweil will most likely start in this mode. K2500 and K2600's can also start in setup mode, which is a bit like a Combination Mode, but quite a bit more powerful.
To put it simply, every MIDI channel is always active, and it can contain a program. A program can consist of up to 32 VAST layers, or be a KB3 program. You can change MIDI channels by pressing the Chan/Bank buttons to the left of screen. The current channel is displayed in the top dark line.
Setup Mode allows you to set the parameters for 8 Channels (3 for the K2000, reassign all of the physical controls, and trigger songs or grooves. There is always a setup active (except for the K2000 which has a less powerful Setup Mode, though program mode uses a special control setup (that can be customised).
Sounds made with setups can be extremely complex, and these are the best sounding stuff in the Kurz, but be warned, they can be tricky to build, and when you are demoing the unit songs can be launched, channel volumes messed with, controller reassigned etc, and sometimes, they can be left that way when you get out of a setup.
If you see this when you are demoing the unit, don't worry too much. It's most likely some incomplete programming, or some unusual feature that's being used.
In all modes, if the object (ie program, setup or song) has an asterix next to it (*), then it means that it is a user program. Factory defaults don't have the * next to them. Be aware that it is possible to overwrite ROM sounds with user sounds. The * will tell you what is what.
ROM sounds are never lost during normal operation, though it is possible to create your own custom set of ROM sounds, and load them into ROM on the K2500's and K2600's. This isn't possible with the K2000. This is an advanced feature, that I won't tell you how to do here, but just be aware that it is possible.
Expansion ROM's
The K2000 can have up to 2 additional ROM's, the K2500, 3 additional ROM's and the K2600, 4 additional ROM's. A daughterboard is needed on the K2000 and K2500 (on the K2500, the daughterboard actually contains the piano ROM). ROMs can be moved from one keyboard to another, though different models require different daughter boards.
For K2500's and K2600's the sounds for the ROM's are loaded up by disk in a special configuration mode. For the K2000, chips need to be changed.
The sounds for the Contemporary and Orchestral ROMs are in the 800 and 900 banks respectively, for all models. If there are a bunch of sounds in these banks, but they don't make any noise, then it's likely that the ROMs have been removed, but that the sounds haven't been updated. On the K2500 and K2600 this isn't a problem, but on the K2000, you should ask that either the setup eeproms for the current configuration be supplied, or ask for the ROM's back so that the ROM contents match the sounds.
It's not too difficult to change in any case, but it can be frustrating.
If there are no sounds at all, then it's likely that the objects were not installed properly for K2500's and K2600's. This isn't a problem at all for these keyboards, except that you won't be able to demo them. All objects are available from kurzweilmusicsystems.com for free.
If there are no sounds at all on a K2000, then this is a problem. Probably best to avoid unless you know what you are doing, or are comfortable getting it fixed.
Read Expansion ROM's for more information.
No Sound
There are several reasons why a Kurzweil may not make any noise. The most common reasons are that
- The wrong outputs are connected. Use Mix or Headphones
- The volume slider is turned down
- MIDI Volume is turned down - Press the Panic Button, in Program Mode
- The unit is in MIDI Mode.
To take it out of MIDI Mode, press MIDI and then XMIT and change the Mode to Local. Now when you press keys, the currently selected program (or setup) will make noise.
If it still doesn't make noise after these changes, then there are a few other valid reasons why no sound is coming out, but it's easiest to do a hard reset (Press Master (and then MAST2 on the K2600) and then Reset and keep pressing Yes, to do a hard reset.
Note that this will delete all user sounds from the keyboard and reset the keyboard to the factory (or custom) default state. It's normally factory default, because very few people ever do a custom set of ROM sounds, and those that do, will likely know the OS very well, and be able to show you how to get noise out of your Kurz.
If you want to keep the current sounds and settings, then you'll need to save everything to disk.
There are also some other scenario's where the Kurzweil will not make a sound. If a program name has brackets around it eg (750 Testify) then you are trying to play a special sound on a channel not nominated for it. If it's a K2600, then you are trying to play a KB3 sound, which can only be played on the KB3 Channel (normally Channel 1, but you can change this in the Master Page). On other a K2000, this is likely a Drum Program, which is a program with more than 3 layers. Early version of K2000 have only a single Drum Channel (Channel 1 by default), but with 3.87, you can have 8 Drum Channels if you have the PRAM option installed. The K2500 has both 8 Drum Channels and 1 KB3 channel, so you can have both of the above issues. On the K2600, all channels are Drum Channels.
Hard Disk
To find out if the Kurzweil has an internal drive press Disk, and scroll through the various Disks. The first is floppy, and the rest are 0-7. Pause for a few seconds on each one. If there is a disk on an ID, then a bunch of information will show up in the lower half of the screen, including the drive size. Press Load to navigate through the directory structure.
Try loading something and saving something to the floppy drive to check if it works.
Not a major drama if it doesn't, but it's good to know. The floppy drive is just a standard PC floppy drive, with the ID set to 1 (they are set to 0 by default).
Memory
There are 2 types of memory in the Kurzweil RAM and PRAM. RAM stores samples, until you turn off the power, and then they disappear. The K2000 can have up to 64 MB or RAM (though there are a couple of custom K2000's around that have been hacked to allow 128 MB of RAM) and K2500's and K2600's can have up to 128 MB of RAM.
PRAM is the parameter RAM and it has all the other stuff (like programs, setups, songs and all the Kurzweils settings). This RAM is battery backed. If you get a low battery message, when you turn on the Kurz, this is what it refers to. The battery's can be replaced relatively easily.
You can check the amount of RAM and PRAM by pressing MASTER. They are displayed in the top line. Samples is RAM. Memory is free pRAM. PRAM expansions are available for all models, and gives more memory for objects and songs. They are expensive also to buy as an option, even on the second hand market.
RAM however is user installable, and it uses standard SIMMs. Check FAQ#Kurzweil_Memory for specific information on required SIMMS.
Options
There are a number of options available for each keyboard. Some of them can be checked from outside the case, some via software, and others require the case to be opened up to see them.
K2000
- Fan - Can be seen underneath the keyboard. Required if there are any options whatsoever. Later versions (3.01 and later) came with this from the factory.
- Daughterboard - is installed if you can see any programs without *'s in the 800 or 900 bank. Can be installed with no ROM's but will require the case to be open to see it.
- HDD Kit - if you find an internal HDD and it is working, then this is installed. Can be installed with no HDD, though it's rare, and you'll need to open the case to inspect.
- PRAM - If you have approx 760 kB or Memory, after a hard reset, then this is installed. Otherwise it isn't (or isn't installed properly).
- ROMS - see FAQ#Expansion_ROMs for more information.
- RAM - Press Master. Whatever is listed next to Memory in the top line, is what is installed.
- Sampling Option - Can be seen at the back of the case (in keyboard) or in the bottom left of the front panel for the rack. Press Master and then Samp to get to the sampling mode. You should be able to choose an external source, and sample by pressing record. Note that this option isn't required in order to load and edit samples, only to record them.
K2500
As above, except the daughterboard has the Piano ROM on it, the Fan is installed by default, and the PRAM is larger (about 1MB - I think)
- KDFX - Go to a program, press Edit and press More> repeatedly until you have cycled through all the options. If you saw KDFX at any time, then KDFX is installed. OS's below 4 are for units without KDFX. Above 4 are for KDFX.
- Sampling Option also includes KDS Output, that can be used for 8 digital outputs via a DMTi
K2600
As above except that there are 5 ROMs available. ROM 4 and 5 use the same slot and cannot be installed at the same time. You can see these by opening the user panel in the bottom of the keyboard or top of the rack. You can also see if there is any RAM or PRAM installed inside this panel.
- KDFX is factory installed in all K2600's
- Purple and Black K2600's are identical except for the colour of the paint.
- DIO Option - is required for digital I/O. Check the back panel to see if there are any connectors in the KDS slots. If there are, then the DIO Option is installed. You will need DMTi's to make full use of this.
- ADAT Option - can be installed in place of the DIO Option. There will be ADAT I/O connectors if this is installed.
K2661
As per the K2600 except that the ribbon is an option
- Hard Drives cannot be installed internally
- DIO option is not available, but ADAT is installed at the factory
Common Problems
- Outputs - Occasionally output Opamps may fail. Test all of the outputs to make sure that they work. On K2000's and K2500's without KDFX you can do this easily, by selecting a program and pressing edit. Press more-> until you see Output, and press the soft button underneath it. Change Output to B (and test the B Outputs) and the same for C and D (for K2000 Racks, or all K2500's without KDFX). Make sure that the panner is in the centre. Also be aware that Auto will mean High keys will be panned right, and low keys left.
For K2500's with KDFX and K2600 series, it's a bit more involved to test the outputs. Select Program #1. Press Effect and set the effect to Master. Select the Studio and press edit. Press more> and then Output. Set all Outputs to Mix. You should be able to hear the same signal from all outputs, though Mix will be much louder than the others. It's normal for the Mix output to be a bit noiser than the others.
- Volume Slider - The volume slider is hardwired to the Mix outputs. It has no other effect, and will only change the volume for the Mix outputs, no others. This is normal.
- Buttons - Click every button, to make sure they all work. The first batch of K2500's had inferior buttons. All others should be OK.
- Keys - play every key and check the loudness of the sound, and the feel. It's common for the velocity sensors to get clogged with dirt, or damaged. The symptom will be no sound, or full velocity sound. This is normally a simple fix for a tech (though don't try this yourself, unless you know what you are doing, it involves almost complete disassbly of the keyboard). Make sure all keys have the same feel and don't make any noise. If it does, then you will need some repairs to the keyboard/keybed, which can be quite involved. Not the end of the world, but do be aware of it.
- Screen - backlights have a limited life. Most K2000 backlights are now long extinguished, but they can be repaired relatively easily. K2500's and K2600 have much better backlights, but even so, they have a limited life. Not a huge drama to get repaired, but it will need a trip to a tech.
- Diagnotics - There are a set of diagnostics, available if you press Exit while the screen says Please Wait... when you turn the machine on.
Most of them are self-explanatory, but a few notes, if you want to run these. The MIDI Uart test will fail unless you have a MIDI Cable from the Input to the Output. The sampling and ADAT tests will require special cables. The FDD test will require a blank disk. The NVRAM tests will fail - don't worry about these. The RAM test will take a long time if you have any appreciable amount of RAM in there.
Object Structure
Here's how I think of the Kurzweil, in terms of it's internal architecture.
Samples are the main thing that make sound. A sample can be a wav file, aif or from Roland, Ensoniq, Akai or another Kurzweil. It's the same as most other samples. A keymap controls how the samples are assigned. You can assign one sample to any number of keys, or a sample to each key. Additionally, each key can have a different sample assigned to up to 8 different velocity levels. There are 2 special keymaps that read the sampling buffer in real time for Live Mode, and special alternative keymaps that allow streaming from the ADAT or KDS Inputs, in real time (selectable in the Program -> Keymap -> Mode parameter)
A keymap is what feeds a layer and is analogous to an oscillator on a normal synth. The keymap goes through the algorithm, which is like an entire synth architecture, consisting of envelopes, LFO's, filters, Amps, pitch bending and all the other stuff that synths have.
A program can have up to 32 layers in it. Some layers are special, and are called Triples, where 3 layers are linked together to create unprecedented levels of sound mashing. Each layer has 2 LFO's, 3 envelopes, 4 Funs, 2 ASR's and bunches of other controllers. Each layer uses 1 voice for each key pressed, but the LFO's etc are seperate for each voice. So you can press 2 keys of the same layer, and they have their own LFO's (though they will share the programming, but can be manipulated by key number or pitch).
Each layer can feed into 1 of 4 KDFX Inputs. The KDFX Inputs are global, as is the rest of KDFX. Each KDFX Input can feed 2 KDFX Busses, after passing through EQ. Each Buss has a send to an Aux Buss and the Mix Buss, which are independent, but the Aux Buss can also feed the Mix Buss. The 4 physical outputs can take a signal from pretty much anywhere on any KDFX buss, except for between effects (ie it can take Inputs, EQ outputs, FX Outputs, Aux Outputs or Mix Outputs. Each of the 4 physical outs is summed and sent to the mix outputs, via the volume fader.
A setup can control 8 programs, on up to 8 MIDI channels, as well as global FX settings, reassign all physical controllers and play songs or grooves. A setup is at the top of the tree.
The K2600 always has a setup active, even in program mode (which is a setup with a single program assigned, and a default controller configuration).
The Puppeteer 01:59, 1 November 2006 (EST)
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