Hi fellow Kurzweil users!
I started gigging with a hobby cover band nearly 20 years ago. Then there was a period of no active bands, instead practicing jazz piano, few gigs and joining every jam session I could. When I got tired of just piano playing and looked for a cheap Nord Electro alternative, my Kurzweil journey started. It's a pitty but here in Germany the instruments don't seem very popular. Used ones are incredibly cheap compared to hyped models of other brands. Seems like only older Pink Floyd and Dream Theater fans know Kurzweil as a big brand. I think there is a huge misunderstanding of what it is and their marketing contributes to it. Personally I'm just grateful to have stumbled across and discover the unique community around these sound monsters.
So I got that PC3LE6 in 2020, grabbed some great KB3 patches from the web and added up with Barbs Keys of Gold for EPs. Only the overly sprung key action was never mine so I swapped to an even cheaper SP4-7, also happy about the form factor (but the same sound engine). Paired with a MIDI drawbar controller there's no reason to consider a Nord Electro or clonewhell anymore. I also probably bought the last all-new SPS4-8 on the market. Both have great keybeds. Compared to the famous Fatar TP9S and TP40L actions or even Steinway grands I find nothing to complain about those Medelis!
In 2025 I still think the SP4s are awesome instruments with all the power of the PC3 line for bread-and-butter players. Yes, the SPS4 looks like any digital home piano - but it's actually a synthesizer workstation with decent internal speakers and living-room friendly design. Prep your setlist on the board your family is using an home piano, then transfer it to the gigging board. How cool is that! I really find it a pitty that the SP range is marketed to compare with bog-standard stage pianos - even Artis and Forte were. But they are repackaged PC-series workstations made for anyone who is happy with reduced interface and specs but still being able to load thousands of patches and tweak them. (I know, SP5 and SP7 deviate from that with no editing capabilities...)
Dreaming of a K2088-S speaker version these days or make it a reduced SPS8, I'd buy. 🤓
