Kronos 61 action vs. Kurzweil pc3

bennyvilner · Post by **bennyvilner** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:01 pm

Hi guys.
I'm new to the forum (and to korg products in general, except my nanokontrol2).
I am a happy owner of kurzweil pc3 (among lot of other stuff) and the one thing I personally very pleased about in the true semi-weighted touch of that board. For my playing style, it's the ultimate compromise between piano playing and all the rest.

But... years goes by and I was blown away by the sounds, specs and reviews I saw online on the kronos. It's a beast, and it's potential is limitless.

I went to a music store here in Israel to check out the kronos x 61, which is the only model I'll consider because of the weight of the board. I think it was os 2 (not 3).
The sounds were amazing, the built quality felt very good and the touch of the keys really felt premium.

Only thing, I didn't have my kurzweil pc3 with me so I couldn't do realtime comparison of the actions, but it felt like the action on my kurz is heavier and sturdier. I was pretty sure I'm missing a lot of fun without heavier keys...

Anyone here own both of the boards and can give me a subjective opinion on the differences? Again, the pc3 (76) is not the hammer-action one (pc3x) and not the pc361 action. It has a Fatar TP8 keybed.

Thanks![/img]

Barbenzinc · Post by **Barbenzinc** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:17 pm

Hi Bennyvilner,
The Kronos61 keyboard is much more lighter, it's a typical synth type action.
And the keys are a bit shorter.

bennyvilner · Post by **bennyvilner** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:17 pm

Thanks Barbenzinc for a direct and informative reply!

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:23 am

The PC3 keys are more stiffly sprung. Personally, I don't like that, but to each his own. The 61 key version (PC361) has an action that is more like the Kronos, though the throw on the Kronos seems deeper.

GRISWOLD3 · Post by **GRISWOLD3** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:19 am

Hi Benny – I currently have exactly those two keyboards. I bought the Kurz about 3 years ago & fell in love with it including the action. I play organ/ piano, some synth & I find the PC3 a good compromise. Playing B3 chops on the Kurz has improved my playing. I also got fairly involved customizing my own sounds & I have never had more compliments on the sounds of any keyboard.

I bought the Kronos 61 due to the weight & because I personally can’t stand the action of the other Kronos models. My intent was to play synth & sampled sounds on it. Of course one of the first things I did was to attempt a good B3 & Rhodes sound on the K. I can say my Kurz still blows away the K for organs but playing the Ks keyboard here is nice & fast.

The Rhodes is a catch22 however. I downloaded Busch’s Rhodes samples & they are killer. Also with some mods I really like the Ks internal EP sounds. However it sucks playing these on the K. Yes I can adjust velocity settings & sound good in a band situation but the overall joy of playing these sounds with wide dynamics isn’t there. You can barely hit the keys hard enough to generate above MIDI 110 or so to get that Bark from the Rhodes samples. I hooked this up to a Midi monitor to verify based on my playing.

Now - playing the sampled Kronos Rhodes patches from the Kurz keyboard is perfect for me! I have had a real Rhodes since the 70s & I’ve always hated the action.

Sooooooo - the Kurz has better organ sounds but is more fun to play on the Kronos, and the other way around for the Rhodes - in my opinion.

What I can tell you is that these boards sound nice together. Different technologies, learning curves and sound generation. I can also tell you that I always go back to the Kurz for any orchestral sounds. Forget the hype about 20 year old samples, the Kurz OWNS these sounds. Likewise I still prefer my layered Triple Strike piano/ pad setups in the Kurz for band situations even though the K is technically a better approximation of a real piano. I don’t usually get involved in these discussions but the Kurz is designed to fit in a mix very well.

The Ks horns & synths are what I currently use the most & they are a blast. Plus Korg is doing an outstanding job of making sure this keyboard doesn’t go extinct for quite a while.

Sorry for getting off on a tangent here but you struck a nerve with me. Stay in touch.

Larry

bennyvilner · Post by **bennyvilner** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:58 am

Wow Larry, what a reply!
You realy got me thinking again on my setup (and described my thoughts exactly). I realy love my pc3 and having a VERY hard time finding something else to replace it (even nord stage compact or anything else).

The reasons I began looking in the first place were weight of the board (17k for a semi-weighted, not a lot but I'm spoiled) and lack of audio samples add-ons.

Thanks again

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:30 am

GRISWOLD3 wrote:I can say my Kurz still blows away the K for organs

Even with the KRS-06 update?

PCFREE · Post by **PCFREE** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:37 pm

Scott wrote:
GRISWOLD3 wrote:I can say my Kurz still blows away the K for organs
Even with the KRS-06 update?

The organs have a totally different character in both boards. I think it's like comparing apples and oranges.
Personally, I'm not keen on the Kronos organs but love the Kurzweil ones. I think they're much warmer.

Perhaps it's more a matter of taste than quality