Greetings -
After over 20 years living happily with my pc88mx, I'm afraid it's time to upgrade. It has served me well, but it is getting increasingly difficult to live with the down time for repairs and in fact even GETTING repairs for it.
My local retailers have tried valiantly to find an appropriate substitute that they sell, but there's been something wrong with each piece I've tried &/or bought. I'm an active performer, and have gotten used to being able to organize my setups for gigging. I just don't have the time between songs to do massive tweaks. While the new crop of keyboards have some amazing sounds and capabilities, they all fall short in one of the following areas that the pc88mx shined in:
- Afterouch. Many of the manufacturers have it on their top of the line models, but those boards are still lacking most of the following features.
- Pedals, buttons and foot switches programmable and storable per sound and combination. The Big Three seem to have made most of these functions globally programmable. So, if I want to use my e.g., expression pedal for wah wah with a clav sound on one song and volume with a string sound on the next, I'm out of luck.
- More than one expression pedal and foot switch. Maybe even a breath controller input.
- Limited split points, sometimes only one. For someone who often has to produce the piano, strings and horn section with an occasional orchestral hit or pad thrown in all in the same song, a single split point just won't do.
- Easy access to parameters for on the fly switching and adjusting. Too many keys now seem to use a modest sized touch screen, with layers of menus to negotiate. It's a clean look but again, hard to navigate on the gig. Being able to program many of the buttons on the pc88mx was wonderful.
Where the new crop of keys shine is sounds; good ones and lots of them. My pc88mx had its share, but I had to use a little Korg 05RW to get a decent set of B-3s, harmonica, accordion and rock guitar.
So, my questions are simple. Are the controls on the PC3A8 similarly flexible and programmable as my pc88mx, and does it have a better set of meat and potato sounds for the gigging musician?
Looking forward to your reply. Thank you!
Rick Manasa
I went from the 88mx to the PC3 years ago. The controls are very much the same. Setups are nearly identical.
I recently stepped up to the Forte and I would suggest that as an even better replacement IMO. It has some very nice controls that neither the mx or PC3 had.
Thanks for the reply, Lizard. After talking with Jean at Kurzweil, I think the PC3A8 is the way to go for me. The extra programs and multis, General MIDI, ribbon and breath controller, etc., all suit my needs better.
I realize the piano sound on the Forte is considered top of the line, but for most gigging purposes I think I'll be happy enough with the German piano. The ability to have extra control options over things live is more important to me.
Thanks again though for the input. I do appreciate it!
