Kawai Piano Prices: Kurzweil SP-76 Stage Piano Review

[Since posting this review, I see that Kurzweil has come out with the SP2 and SP3.Both pianos now allow for splits and layering, the SP2 with 64 (double those of the SP76) and the SP3 with 512 voices.The only problem is that it's now difficult for an average consumer to distinguish between the SP and PC series.In fact, the SP2 and SP3 look rather gaudy to me compared to the cleaner lines of the PC1, 2, or 3.All the same, the SP2 is still comparatively light and easy to program and hence can be recommended as a player's (as opposed to programmer's) axe.Sill one complaint: you have to wonder if these designers have ever heard a jazz trio--Nat Cole, Monty Alexander, Oscar Peterson, the 3 Sounds--for whom the walking bass plus ride cymbal sound are the very essence of "swing"(what's that?).A performance instrument should have those areas covered before the toys and whistles, the effects, the drum machines, the Take 6 examples, the reverb, the RMI electric piano, and every other clever device that, basically, has nothing to do with jazz, with swing, with music is thrown into the electronic circuitry.]

I've gone through twenty different keyboards and ten brands and am currently on my third SP-76 (one was stolen).It's a trifle inflated right now (it's gone down as low as $500, but that's when the American dollar still had some value).It's the most practical solution for the modern keyboard player (and pianist), the least expensive electric piano that still carries some respectability (don't bring a Casio or low-end Yamaha on a gig).Best of all, I can play a downtown job, walk a block to the hotel with keyboard gig bag over one shoulder (lightweight stand inside) and a small but powerful cube amp in one hand in a single trip (by comparison, I see other guys rolling coffins with Roland RD700s and making 2-3 trips), then repeating the whole process at the end of the night.The SP76 is a life-saver.

I'm more of a "pianist" than a "keyboard" player, but you soon force yourself to get used to unweighted keys in exchange for the lightness, and you rarely miss the 12 subtracted notes. The SP76 piano sounds as good as any but falls considerably short of the long-gone Kurzweil K-1000.

Don't be confused by the descriptions of any pianos in the SP series.You can't split and layer sounds without an external module, the keyboard requires time and patience to MIDI, and the 32 onboard sounds are not always adequate (why no vibes?).Still if I lost another keyboard, I'd have to replace it instantly with this one or stop accepting any more one-nighters.

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