The Best Just Keeps Getting Better
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by
Scott Wilkinson
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FIG.
1: The K2600’s front panel hasn’t changed much from the K2500 (except
for the color). Prominent features include a long ribbon controller
above the keyboard, a short ribbon controller below the pitch and
mod wheels, two switch buttons above the wheels, eight assignable
sliders, a large LCD with six soft buttons below it, a large data
wheel, and an alphanumeric keypad in addition to various mode buttons
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Nowhere is this reverse evolution more apparent than in Kurzweil’s V.A.S.T. synthesizers. Talk about survival of the fit; these synths are the best all-purpose electronic instruments on the market. (They are also among the most expensive.) One of the primary reasons for these synths’ success is that Kurzweil designs them to be upgradeable and continues to release improvements for older models while incorporating those changes as standard features in newer ones.
The latest instrument in the line—the K2600—represents a significant evolutionary step beyond its predecessor, the K2500. Many of its new features are also available as options for the older model, although the K2600 has a few tricks that are beyond the K2500’s capabilities.
I’ve reviewed several of these synths in issues of EM—the K2000 (March 1992), K2000RS rack module (May 1993), and K2500 (May 1996)—so I won’t repeat myself here. Instead, I’ll concentrate on the K2600’s new features and point out which are available for the K2500 as software or hardware upgrades.
I looked at the 76-key version with sampling, which is officially known as the K2600S. It’s also available without sampling as the K2600 ($6,256). The 88-key version without sampling is the K2600X ($6,820); with sampling, it’s the K2600XS ($7,700). The new instrument is also available as a rack-mount unit with or without sampling: the K2600R ($5,175) and K2600RS ($5,950). There’s even a soup-to-nuts 88-key model with all the options included: the K2600AES ($20,000). As in previous generations, you can always add sampling to an instrument that lacks it ($900). Unless otherwise noted, I’ll refer to the K2600 generically; all features and options are available in all varieties of the instrument (with the obvious exception of a keyboard on the rack-mount versions).
Evolved Hardware
The K2600’s front-panel appearance is much the same as the K2500’s, except for its deep purple color and lighter background behind the controls, which is endemic to all new Kurzweil instruments (see Fig. 1). According to the company, the 88-key weighted keyboard action of the K2600X has improved from the one in the K2500X and PC88; Kurzweil worked with Fatar to refine the design, which Kurzweil’s representative described as more rugged. The 76-note, semiweighted keyboard is unchanged, which is fine with me; I really like the feel of this action.
The circuit boards were redesigned from scratch, which lets the K2600 include twice as much Flash ROM as the K2500 (from 2 MB to 4 MB). This is critical to accommodate the more advanced software features. The new circuit boards also exhibit a higher signal-to-noise ratio at the outputs, which is always a good thing.
Reprinted with permission from 
Magazine, January, 2001
© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved
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