Kurzweil PC3K7 - Keeping Current; Overview of the PC3 K

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Introduction
Keeping Current
Keeping Current
Checkfornewdocumentationandoperatingsystemupgradesbeforeyoustartusingyour
instrument.WhennewsoftwareisavailableforthePC3K,itwillbepostedat
www.kurzweil.com
.You’llusethePC3K’sBootLoader(describedinthismanual)toupgrade
yourinstrumenttousethenewsoftware.
Picturedbelowisthe88‐keyPC3K8.
Overview of the PC3K
ThePC3K’s800+programsincludetheOrchestralandContemporarysoundblocks,General
MIDI(GM),StereoTripleStrikePiano,ClassicKeysforrealisticvintageelectricpianosounds,
andnewSt ringSections.Multi‐zoneperformancesetupsarealsoprovided;manyofthese
setupsusenotetriggerstoplayfactory‐recordedsongsthatprovide
groovesandarpeggiation
thatmakegreattemplatesforperformanceorrecording.Anon‐boardsequencerwithfront
paneltransportbuttonsletsyourecordyourideasanytimeinspirationstrikes.Thissequencer
(Songmode)letsyouplaybackMIDItype0or1sequences,recordandplaybackyourown
songs,
andrecordmulti‐timbralseq uences receivedviaMIDI.
BeforewegetintoexplainingVAST,hereareafewofthefeaturesthatbythemselvesmakethe
PC3Kanimpressivestageandstudiomachine.Ithas128‐voicepolyphonyandisfullymulti‐
timbral,sothat differentprogramscanbeplayedon
eachMIDIchannel.There’sanon‐board
digitaleffectsprocessorprovidingmult iplesimultaneouseffects,includingreal‐timeeffects
control,internallyorviaMIDI.Infact,thePC3Koffersmoreeffectsprocessingpowerthan
Kurzweil’smuch‐laudedKSP8studioeffectsprocessor.
ThePC3Koffers128megabytesofusersamplememory.Samplescan
beloadedviaUSBfroma
thumb‐driveordirectlyfromacomputer,andsamplesremainloadedevenwhilepowerisoff.
OncesamplesareloadedintothePC3Kʹsflashmemory,thereiszeroloadtimeforthosesamples
whenpoweringontheinstrument.ThePC3Kiscompatiblewithmost
Kseriesobjectfiles(with
extensions.KRZ,.K25,or.K26,)includingsamples,keymaps,programs,andsetups(see
Appendix Efordetails.)Additionally,thePC3Kcanload.PC3filesthatwerecreatedwiththe
PC3.ThePC3KcanalsoloadWAVEandAIFFfiles(seepage 13‐7fordetails.)
Inadditiontothe
standardstereoaudiooutputpair,therearetwoadditionalbalancedanalog
outputs,aswellasadigitaloutput.Alloftheoutputsareavailabletoyousimultaneously.
Forbackup,storage,andmovingfiles,there’stwotypesofUSBportsonthebackpanelofthe
PC3K.AUSBstorageport
allowsyoutoconnectaUSBdevicesuchasathumbdrive,anda
secondUSBComputerportletsyouconnectthePC3KtoacomputerforfiletransferandMIDI
connectivity.
Arp
SW