Kurzweil PC3LE8 vx Yamaha MOXF6

[tjjohn61]

Hi All,

I've got around a thousand Euros to spare for a workstation and have narrowed my choice down to the two above boards. I like the PC3LE8 because it's 88 keys and is fully weighted. It sounds great too from the demos. I haven't had a chance to test drive either board since I live far from any music stores. The PC3LE8 is nearly the same price as the MOXF6. Both sound great. I wonder what the MOXF6 offers that make it the same price as the PC3, which has the fully weighted keyboard and is built solid as a rock?

Anyone here have experience with both keyboards? I tend more towards creating my own sounds starting from scratch, like the old style analog synths, but I also welcome all the other additional features in workstations. Is it possible with either of these workstations to start from scratch with a sine or square wave, etc, and build from there adding filters, detuning oscillators, etc?

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers

TJJOHN61

 

[happyrat1]

No experience with the MOXF6 but I do own a PC3K8.

For some reason, Kurzweils tend to be more popular in Europe than in North America.

If you are into creating sounds then the VAST architecture has incredible depth and flexibility, but the LE versions lack the ability to import WAV samples that the K models do.

I'd suggest that even if you have to finance it partly to go with the PC3K8 instead of the PC3LE8.

Kurzweils have far better support online and from the manufacturer than Yamaha ever will.

It took me 6 months to pay off my PC3K and I don't regret it for a heartbeat. Like you said, it's built like a tank and I plan to use it as my main keyboard for at least the next 20 years to come.

While no keyboard is obsolescence proof, Kurzweil builds their stuff with backward compatibility and they manage to come pretty close.

If you want to talk to other Kurzweil owners I'd suggest logging into http://cunka.com and http://ksetlist.com to hear the good the bad and the ugly first hand

Gary

 

[tjjohn61]

Thanks Gary. I'm leaning towards the Kurzweil PC3, since I grew up playing piano and don't think I could get used to playing a plasticky, spongy keyboard, although there is an moxf8 with fully weighted keys.

I guess I'll have to make a trip to a music store and compare them first hand. There are a lot to choose from these days in my price range, including Korg Krome and Roland FA-06.

I'll try those links you suggested and do a little more research on the web. I find You Tube useful but the sound quality is often lacking. I hear the Yamaha is a bit of a challenge to master in terms of ease of use, and the Cubase it ships with is one of the more complex DAWs to work with. I'm used to FL Studio which meets all my basic needs.

Then of course you need a decent sound system. I have a great set of Sennheiser headphones since I don't want to annoy my family and neighbors with late night improvisations. Looks like you can get a decent pair of monitor speakers from M-Audio for a couple of hundred Euros.

Thanks again,

TJJOHN61

 

[happyrat1]

I use a couple of M-Audio BX5A monitors in my home studio which I picked up years ago for a good price. They are nice, solid, clear sounding monitors which don't add too much coloration to the sound of the keyboard.

As for decent feeling keybeds, one other thing to look at are the Studiologic 88 MIDI Keyboard Controllers which you could pick up for about 500 Euros and then add as many hardware modules to your rig as you'd like.

For a truly obsolescence proof studio that would give you the best of both worlds. A Fatar 88 Key Weighted Hammer Action in the keyboard and then add a Yamaha or Muse Receptor or Peavey Musebox or an old Korg Triton hardware sound module (or as many modules as you can afford to collect and add) and you'd have one kick-ass, obsolescence proof studio on your hands for about the same price as the PC3LE8 or the MOXF8 by themselves.

Rack modules can be ridiculously expensive when they are first released, but after a couple of years the top of the line can be had for a fraction of the original cost and because there is no keyboard action and minimal mechanical controls you are usually safer buying a used module than a used keyboard which may have been drop kicked at every airport in Europe by troglodyte roadies

Food for thought,

Gary