Help w/ PC3X replacement: PC4? Rd-2000? FA-08? MOD-X8? Something else?

[hammarlund]

I'm looking to replace a dying PC3X. I have no access to try things and am hoping others here can help steer me in the right direction.

USE: A lot of home fiddling (mostly on EPs, mostly blues / rock / piano song covers), some friendly local jams (where I play exclusively EPs / pianos) and, perhaps, some friendly local bands (everything in theory, though no sound requirements which will strain any of the items I'm looking at.) There won't be any major traveling, I'm a big guy, and weight isn't a real issue.

MY SKILLS / INTERESTS: I play a lot of instruments but do no computer recording. As of now I also do no sampling. High end WS features are wasted on me, though I do and will use a built in sequencer to record songs and work things out.

MY NEEDS: I am MUCH more interested in a solid sound bank. I am uninterested in building sounds from scratch. I DO NOT have a ton of PC3x sounds, so the whole "import your old ones" thing has zero benefit for me.

What I like about my current PC3X:

• I'm very happy with the light keyboard (Fatar TP/40-L) , which seems to have the perfect balance for piano, EP, and organ/synth action. I can't get the same one without overbuying but y'all can help me find alternates I hope
• I'm happy w/ the organ controls.
• I'm happy with the sounds overall, I suppose, though they aren't as good as a real thing. That said the velocity curve on my otherwise-favorite wurly patch is a bit off. The pianos aren't great solo but I have a grand anyway and they're fine in a mix.
• Easy to do split setups.

What I wish it would improve:

• Even better EPs in particular Wurlitzers. Definitely not worse.
• Somewhat more accessible sequencer. Maybe I just need to buy a small control surface but still, when I find myself missing my old Kawai Q-80 that is a bad sign.
• Much more accessible effects, ideally ones I can just add on to presets. Frankly I never really "got" VAST and I'm never going to spend the 200 hours needed to be an expert in sound design. I want be able to EASILY "add a bit of distortion" or "add a bit of compression" to a sound. In a perfect works, I would be able to quickly assign those to an encoder for the sounds / effects I use most.
• Better internal notation. Say I have a Wurly sound and want to add a fuzz or distortion effect to a slider, I would ideally have some way to be able to save it as showing that info.
• Simpler sequencers and setups for somewhat more complex stuff. For example, I never really figured out how to do a repeated loop which would trigger off the most recently-pressed bass key, though I'm sure it would be handy.

THE CURENT CONTENDERS (feel free to add to the list!) in no particular order.

• Kurzweil PC4
• Roland RD-2000
• Roland FA-08

Ideas? Comments?

Thanks!

 

[Biggles]

The Roland’s have hammer action keybeds.

The FA 08 is now quite old and Roland have released a lot of new kit in the last year, I did consider buying an FA but decided against it as on the fly volume adjustments of individual instruments when they are layered is a fiddly menu action. Tones are good as is the sequencer and the ability to create studio sets. I liked the action of the FA 07.

A radical option would be a Korg Pa1000 arranger, plenty of sounds, very easily to create layers and to add effects.

Or

Why not get a new PC3X

 

[happyrat1]

By all accounts the Kurzweil PC4 is a very powerful and reasonably priced workstation.

Since you are already adept at working with the Kurzweil way of doing things I would advise giving it a long hard look as the top of the choice list.

Furthermore it is also the most recently released of the boards in your short list.

My PC3K is still serving me well, but I would not hesitate to consider a PC4 if it suddenly died on me.

A bonus is the ability to load PC3 patches with a bit of fiddling so backward compatibility with your existing library is also a huge plus.

Gary

 

[anotherscott]

The Roland’s have hammer action keybeds.

Every board mentioned (including his PC3X) has hammer action, so presumably, that's what he wants,

Why not get a new PC3X

Besides not offering any of the listed improvements he'd like to have, PC3X is long discontinued. Even the later models that directly replaced it (PC3A8 and PC3K8) are discontinued.

What I like about my current PC3X:

• I'm very happy with the light keyboard (Fatar TP/40-L) , which seems to have the perfect balance for piano, EP, and organ/synth action. I can't get the same one without overbuying but y'all can help me find alternates I hope
• I'm happy w/ the organ controls.
• I'm happy with the sounds overall, I suppose, though they aren't as good as a real thing. That said the velocity curve on my otherwise-favorite wurly patch is a bit off. The pianos aren't great solo but I have a grand anyway and they're fine in a mix.
• Easy to do split setups.

What I wish it would improve:

• Even better EPs in particular Wurlitzers. Definitely not worse.
• Somewhat more accessible sequencer. Maybe I just need to buy a small control surface but still, when I find myself missing my old Kawai Q-80 that is a bad sign.
• Much more accessible effects, ideally ones I can just add on to presets. Frankly I never really "got" VAST and I'm never going to spend the 200 hours needed to be an expert in sound design. I want be able to EASILY "add a bit of distortion" or "add a bit of compression" to a sound. In a perfect works, I would be able to quickly assign those to an encoder for the sounds / effects I use most.
• Better internal notation. Say I have a Wurly sound and want to add a fuzz or distortion effect to a slider, I would ideally have some way to be able to save it as showing that info.
• Simpler sequencers and setups for somewhat more complex stuff. For example, I never really figured out how to do a repeated loop which would trigger off the most recently-pressed bass key, though I'm sure it would be handy.

THE CURENT CONTENDERS (feel free to add to the list!) in no particular order.

• Kurzweil PC4
• Roland RD-2000
• Roland FA-08

PC4 gives you #2, 3, and 4 from the "what I like" list, but the action is heavier feeling. You'd have to go to the Forte or Forte 7 to get the action you like, which I assume is what you mean by overbuying. PC4 does give you some of the improvements... improved EPs but also the ability to load third party samples, like the ones at https://www.purgatorycreek.com/index.php/vkc-for-kurzweil-forte/ (which should work fine on PC4 even though they say for Forte). Some of the other things on your wish list have to do with interface, which is also generally improved somewhat by virtue of the larger screen that presents more info.

If you can get by with the action, PC4 is probably your best choice. The FA-08 doesn't have the full set of organ controls you like, and personally I think its EP sounds are weak (though that can be subjective). I don't think the RD-2000 has a sequencer (and I'm not sure whether its EPs are any better than on the FA-08). And I don't think either board feels much closer to a PC3X than the PC4 does (though the RD is more responsive than the FA).

A weighted action board with drawbar organ and sequencer is a pretty rare combination. I think the only other one not yet mentioned is the Korg Kronos, but I think that's in your "overbuying" price range.