Introduction
Overview of the K2vx
1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Welcome!
Congratulations, and thanks for purchasing the Kurzweil/Young Chang K2vx! YouÕve got your
hands on an extremely capable musical instrument packed with great acoustic, electric, and
synth soundsÑcombined with some of the most advanced synthesis features available, which
you can use to create almost any sound imaginable.
Overview of the K2vx
The K2vx has been designed to be a versatile instrument both for performance, and for multi-
timbral sequencing and recording. Its Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology lets you
build sounds from realistic instrumental samples and sampled synth waveformsÑthen modify
the nature of those sounds through a dazzling array of digital signal processing (DSP)
functions. The K2vx also generates its own synth waveforms, which can be combined with the
samples or used on their own. The K2vx packs 8 Megabytes of on-board sound ROM, and you
can load samples from disk into optional sample RAM.
Before we get into explaining Variable Architecture Synthesis, here are a few of the features that
by themselves make the K2vx an impressive stage and studio machine. ItÕs fully multi-
timbralÑdifferent programs can be played on each MIDI channel. ItÕs 48-note polyphonic, for a
full sound no matter how many chords you play. ThereÕs an on-board digital effects processor,
providing up to four simultaneous effects, including realtime effects control, internally or via
MIDI.
In addition to the standard stereo audio output pair, there are eight separate outputs that can be
conÞgured as stereo pairs, or as individual mono outputs. You can also use the separate
outputs as insert points for outboard gear.
The K2vx offers eight SIMM sockets (single, in-line memory modules) so you can add optional
sample RAM, where you can store samples that youÕve loaded from disk. You can add up to
128 megabytes of sample RAM! (Sample RAM is not battery-backed, so RAM samples are
erased from memory when you power down.)
For ofßine storage, thereÕs also a ßoppy drive and two
SCSI
ports, so you can store Þles on
ßoppies or on an external hard disk or load them from a CD-ROM drive. The two SCSI ports
make it easy to chain multiple SCSI devices together. ThereÕs also provision for an internal SCSI
hard disk. YouÕll Þnd all this storage potential extremely useful for saving and loading samples,
which can be transferred to and from the K2vx using the standard MIDI sample transfer
format, or the new, faster, parallel SMDI sample transfer format (SCSI Musical Data
Interchange). See the
Reference Guide
for information about MIDI and SMDI sample transfers.
The K2vxÕs battery-backed RAM will store about 400 of your own programs, or 30,000 notes
recorded in the sequencer. This sequencer (Song mode) lets you play back MIDI type 0
sequences, record and play back your own songs, and record multi-timbral sequences received
via MIDI. For more onboard storage you can add the P/RAM option, which will increase your
battery-backed RAM to about 1280K, enough to store hundreds of additional programs, setups,
songs, and other
objects
.
The Local Keyboard Channel feature enables you to use the K2vxÕs tri-zone setups even if your
MIDI controller can transmit on only one channel. The K2vx will also rechannelize incoming
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