Help me out please. What do u think?

I have never tasted Kurzy

If you drop an XS on a PC3X from 20 feet, it will damage both. And vice versa.

I like my Kurzweil K2500, but I don’t use it much. It’s covered in dust. Some beautiful sounds in there, but more of a source of the occasional timbre more than anything for me.

V.A.S.T. is an amazing synthsis engine for people who love sound editing though. You just need a LOT of time to get into it.

Df.

Dreamflight - 05 February 2010 01:38 PM

V.A.S.T. is an amazing synthsis engine for people who love sound editing though. You just need a LOT of time to get into it.

That, plus Kurzweil’s ridiculously small display screens.

They are not even remotely similar, and are aimed towards completely different markets. What you want to do with your keyboard?

Personally for me, I liked my PC3, but I gave it up for my XS7.  The keybed on PC3 is a lot better.  The sounds are similar, but the XS has a better sound overall. 

The PC3 is a controller, primarily.  It is the BEST controller that money can buy, imho.  It really does not compete with the XS.

My ultimate combo would be the PC3 and the XS rack.  Great keybed, great sounds.

And I agree with Dreamflight, the synth engine on the Kurz is pretty outstanding.  But not easy.

Over the years of owning various keyboards, I (and I am sure most others here too) have noticed that each company seems to have their own way of thinking about work flow and how the user interface should be presented.  I am not talking so much specifically about the size of the display as I am about the overall user interface design.  There were some keyboards I really liked and others that just didn’t “click” for me.  I owned a K2000R at one time and I had friends who had (and still own and use) the K2000 keyboard.  The friends absolutely love that system, while for me, it just never really made sense.  To those same people, Yamaha keyboards never made good working sense (i.e. getting around the logic of Yamaha’s interface).  It really comes down to a matter of how you think and work.  Unfortunately, it takes some time living with a piece of equipment to really get to know it well enough to determine if it works for you.  For me, the Motif XS makes sense and I can work with it.  There are people who much prefer working with Kurzweil equipment and that makes working sense to them.  I really don’t think that, at any given point in the technological progression of these keyboards, that among the manufacturers of product at a given price point, there are any that are really bad.  Instead, it seems to me that they each present a different approach to working with a keyboard, and they all tend to make use of whatever technology is available at the time they build their product, so though they don’t necessarily sound the same, they all sound reasonably good compared to each other.  So it really comes down to playing with each keyboard you are considering and then determining which best suits your needs and ways of thinking and working.

TonyB

Interesting thread as I just added the PC361 to my setup.  I’ve had the XS for about 2 years now.  I think they both sound great. 

The PC3 just does not have the arps and sequencer features of the Motif XS.  I’ve found the PC3 easy to run, where I still forget were things (commands) are on the XS.

I love them both and they make great partners with the FG & M3. 

But I noticed that the operating system you have grown up with tend to be the one yo perfer.  I started out with a Korg M1 and I find the M3 to be similar and the PC3 to be almost the same after you get use to the different jargon.

I think the sounds of all the instruments are great, yet different.  I think the Motif XS sound really shines when playing with others.

Hello.

I have and Kurzweil PC3X and Yamaha XS8. From their experiences I can say that Yamaha made much better (I mean build quality). There is a VAST Kurzweil and quite pleasant sounds, but what can vste VAST, can be found for Yamaha (for example on this site), and many sounds are even on the more interesting. And even if you need a instrument for the playing select Yamaha, but if you want poprogramming sophisticated algorithms for generating a synthetic sound that is Kurzweil (VAST). Kurzweil only when you need to carefully look at the keyboard (there are a lot of marriage), very often the keys unpleasantly creak and snap (so he found himself), this course is corrected, but requires complete disassembly of you NEW instrument.

Sorry for my English :)

Atlas5 - 08 February 2010 09:04 PM

The PC3 just does not have the arps and sequencer features of the Motif XS. 

Doesn’t the PC3 have 16 independent arpeggiators? Can they all run at once?

synthlogic - 09 February 2010 06:31 AM

Atlas5 - 08 February 2010 09:04 PM

The PC3 just does not have the arps and sequencer features of the Motif XS. 

Doesn’t the PC3 have 16 independent arpeggiators? Can they all run at once?

Yes the PC3 has 16 independent arpeggiators and can run at the once but the XS has 6678preset plus 256user app’s you can pick any 4 and run at the same time.

NO keyboard workstation to day or y....day can touch the XS on App’s.  You can see and control the XS app’s EZ it is hard to find them in the pc3 and very hard to work with them. And NO the PC3 don’t not have 6000+ and 256user app’s like the XS.

The ES had a 1700 app’s but PC3 don’t even have a 1000 i can only find about a 128 in the PC3. No body use the SEQ on the PC3 check YOUTUBE (Why) it’s out of date.

So what you’re saying is: the PC3 still isn’t very user friendly (that’s the norm for Kurzweil), the arps aren’t easy to set up or locate, and there are few to choose from. I assume you can “roll your own?” Can you set up arps to have intros and fills?

I also read something about being able to create and trigger sequencer riffs with the PC3… yes? And what effect does that have on the arps?

radurobert - 05 February 2010 12:55 PM

Help me out please. What do u think?

I have never tasted Kurzy

Don’t buy a PC3 with out testing it first! The PC3 has a
1.Very very good keybed no lie the best I have touched.
2.Very good controller the best.
3.Very good sound 2nd only to the Motif XS.
4.Sound just as good in mono as in stereo (XS sound better in stereo then in mono).

5.Poor LCD plus no knobs on board.
6.Very poor SEQ. 
7.No help like here at Motifator.
8.The Big One is it is NO Motif XS.

synthlogic - 09 February 2010 07:49 AM

So what you’re saying is: the PC3 still isn’t very user friendly (that’s the norm for Kurzweil), the arps aren’t easy to set up or locate, and there are few to choose from. I assume you can “roll your own?” Can you set up arps to have intros and fills?

I also read something about being able to create and trigger sequencer riffs with the PC3… yes? And what effect does that have on the arps?

Yes I can roll on my own. Yes I can make and set up intros and fills with app’s and seq in the XS. I real don’t need App’s for Live. But I have used them in SEQ. I have on two song set 5 apps
parts intro fill fill fill end on XS and used on live show and had drumer,bass play,and singers with me. But if someone need to do this a lot buy a PSR9000 not a XS or PC3.

Just curious about the PC3 capabilities. I have no access to one.

synthlogic - 09 February 2010 11:28 AM

Just curious about the PC3 capabilities. I have no access to one.

The Music store here in B’ham Alabama try to sale the PC3 (76 keys)from 1-25-08 to 1-27-09 but don’t not sale one until price drop $1700 out the door for the one on the floor. Now store no long sale it. Why? because the store had the Motif XS side by side the PC3.  It is very hard to sale Kurzweil if you sale Yamaha.  Kurzweil and the Music store know that so that is why you dont see them in the store must so you buy before you try. I like the PC3 but real love the XS

radurobert - 05 February 2010 12:55 PM

Help me out please. What do u think?

I have never tasted Kurzy

good for you, you would get indigestion.
Get motif, there is no comparison.