No synthesizer is perfect, and the K8 is no exception. In defiance of the low quality of the initial recording, it sounded wonderful. I mapped and trimmed it in the Kurzweil's sample editor, inserted the result into a Keymap, turned this into a Layer, added a filter, duplicated the Layer a few times and detuned each, added a bucketful of reverb, and played. To test this, I sang a few seconds of "aaahhh” into my Mac's internal mic, then connected the computer to the K8 and transferred the AIFF sample. The K8 is also able to load 8- and 16-bit AIFF and WAV files with sample rates of up to 96kHz. The KSP8–derived effects generators in the K8 are incompatible with the more basic effects in the earlier models, so the K8 substitutes appropriate alternatives. However, they didn't sound quite the same.
KURZWEIL PC2X MAC INSTALL
(This may have been because the programs I selected were based on the obsolete K2xxxx 'triple mode', or because they required me to download and install a ROM compatibility file.) Happily, other disks loaded all of their samples and programs successfully and, as on the K-series workstations for which I obtained them, many of them sounded gorgeous. My first attempt was not entirely successful some sounds reported 'Object Not Found' and remained stubbornly silent. I then copied the files to a USB memory stick and loaded them into the K8. To test this, I dug out a USB floppy drive that I bought many moons ago and loaded dozens of disks, including my K2000 Analog Collection, onto my Mac. The key here is the letter 'K' in the name, which is intended to convey that the K8 and its siblings are (largely) compatible with the sample libraries and programs for the K2xxx series. But saying that it offers sample playback doesn't tell the whole story. The third is a more efficient method of saving User Objects (things such as keymaps, programs, setups, arpeggiator patterns, samples and effects chains), so the maximum number has increased from 2560 to 16,000. The second is the change from using XD cards to using USB sticks for external memory. This is better news than it seems, because the memory is flash RAM, meaning that samples are retained when you switch the instrument off and are immediately available when you switch it on again. The first is the inclusion of 128MB of sample memory in the PC3K series. In fact, there are just three differences. They can even host the same Kore64 ROM expansion board, and you can program both using the same SoundTower editor. Both include Kurzweil's highly regarded Contemporary and Orchestral sound blocks, and both offer the popular Stereo Triple Strike Piano, Classic Keys, and String Sections.
The company's latest workstation, the PC3K8, is not much different from the PC3X that I reviewed in Performing Musician magazine in October 2008 (which can be read at share the same keybeds, the same screens, the same 128‐voice polyphony and 16-part multitimbrality, the same effects structures, the same sequencer, the same real-time controllers and the same (somewhat limited) audio I/O. There are times when a Kurzweil simply sounds nicer than the alternatives.
Over the years, they have garnered a reputation for sounding bigger, warmer, and altogether more cuddly than other synths. So why do people like Kurzweils so much? The answer is, as always, their sound. And, let's face it, the 64MB ROMs, 64MB expansions and 128MB sample memories in the latest models hardly compete with the gigabytes offered elsewhere. For example, despite being described by Kurzweil as of "ample size” and enabling you to "view lots of information at one time”, the monochrome, non-touch-sensitive screen on the latest model offers a resolution of just 240 x 64 pixels, which was anachronistic before the end of the last millennium. Secondly, they're far from ground-breaking.
The VAST (Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology) engine that generates their initial sounds was unveiled in 1990 and, despite advances in each of the subsequent generations, it's clearly the same underlying system. For one thing, they're far from ground-breaking. There's something rather odd about Kurzweils. Kurzweil's latest workstation introduces enhancements - but doesn't mess with that Kurzweil sound.