Vintage Synth Explorer

Kurzweil • K1000

Following in the footsteps of its popular (and far more expensive) big brother, the K250, the Kurzweil K1000 is a sample playback instrument as well as a synthesizer. Weighed down by its 76-note keyboard, the K1000 boasts many of the same award-winning samples found in the K250 in a 24-note polyphonic multitimbral synth. The famous Kurzweil piano is here, as well as the gorgeous strings and brass too. The K1000 has emulations of almost any orchestral instrument you can think of. And they're great sounding. The popular rumor is that the samples were recorded using members of the Boston Symphony orchestra-and it shows.

The K1000 also has a very sophisticated digital/wave synthesizer engine. K1000 patches start life as a digitally coded waveform that Kurzweil calls a Soundfile. A Soundfile can be a sampled waveform (coming from Kurzweil's famous samples like piano, string, wind, etc...) or a digitally produced waveform like sine, sawtooth, or square. Then, you put Soundfiles together into the layers of a program. Effects are part of each layer as well.

Now, for the bad news. All of this power is extremely difficult to harness through the diminutive LCD display on the front panel. To make matters worse, the backlight on the LCD is prone to burning out, so most K1000's you find on the used market won't have a working backlight. This problem can be fixed by using one of the third party backlight replacements available on the web, but it is a relatively delicate procedure that requires some basic knowledge of electronics.

The K1000 also came in a series of rackmount synths. The so-called "1000 Series" consists of no less than ten different models of the rackmount version of the synth. Each module in the series has a different set of sounds. Complicating things further, you could upgrade these modules, so that they may have one name on the front panel, but have the features and sounds of a different model from the series. Some of the upgrades include:

• SXA Expansion ROM: Clarinet, Flute, Oboe , Bassoon, Fr. Horn, Timpani
• HXA Expansion ROM: Soprano sax, Alto sax, Baritone Sax, Brass stabs
• PXA Expansion ROM: Flute, Rhodes, E. bass, Drums, more waveforms
• PXB Expansion ROM: Steel guitar, Harp, Marimba, Tenor Sax, Percussion

Kurzweil later added aftertouch to the K1000 (an upgrade not available to owners of the original K1000), known as the K1000SE (Special Edition).

The K1000 sells for peanuts on the used market today. It has some fantastic sounds and the 76 key semi-weighted keyboard is reasonably fun to play. If you couple it with third party computer software, it is capable of making some really great sounds, even if its front panel is minimalist and hides the monstrous capabilities of this synth. Kurzweil always seemed to go overboard and this synth was no exception. At the time of its introduction in 1988, 24-note polyphony was enormous (and still not too bad today) and being multitimbral was a relatively new feature as well. Kurzweil didn't disappoint. And that means these instruments can still be valid and useful tools in your studio today.

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Brenton F.

Posted 37 days ago

I am completely in love with my Kurzweil K1000SE. I have many high end keyboards such as the Korg M3 and still love the piano sound on this thing. I do, however, notice my backlight going dim. It doesnt really hinder the playing of this keyboard unless youre into playing in a pitch black environment. Have all the expansions for this unit and still have never heard any other keyboard manufacture replicate them! You can get them very cheap if you look in the right places. I bought mine for 120 in excellent condition which is a song and a dance. Definitely worth buying as I take this on the road with me and play and have never had this thing break down on me. Completely durable. The construction of this thing is like a tank. You could run it over with a semi and still plug it in and play it. Bottom line is if you like great sounds at an excellent price, dont pass this thing up. No matter how old the keyboard is, the sounds will be the top forever.

Bill C.

Posted 47 days ago

Very good and truthful description for the 1000 series. I can't speak for the keyboard version, but I've been using the modules for many years, particularly the GX, and PX incarnations. The sampled sounds are just incredible even after all these years. There are still certain things that these modules are capable of that newer, more "modern" synths can't touch. I'm sure that even the most modern and well equipped studios maintain a few of these. They do sell for peanuts, and you can get a whole set of these for a song! There are many active support groups on the net to help with upgrades, and getting that backlite problem taken care of. Ray Kurzweil was way ahead of the curve with the K250, and the 1000 seies, and even 20 years later, they still shine!

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