Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kurzweil k2700

Hello everyone
I've been playing 61 key korg kross 2 for 2 years and I can play some classical pieces like turkish march, shubert moment musical no3 and so on... But i really like prog bands like Dream theater or Deep purple so I was wondering should i buy 88 key workstation like kurzweil k2700 even tho I never played hammer action keybed. Is fatar TP40L too heavy for someone like me? Can i make the transition and will i still be able to play shreddy solos form dream theater set?

You can adapt to any action given time. Whether you'll enjoy playing piano on the TP40L is another matter.
The K2700 is certainly one of the most powerful boards to hit the market and I can appreciate why you'd want one.

The Korg Kronos is also something to consider (I believe that Jordan Rudess played this for many years), along with Synth workstations like the Fantom 8 (which has a nicer action).

I believe they could have used a more advanced piano action (Fatar action) but chose to use the TP40L. Perhaps there is a good reason for this choice---maybe it's easier to play Dreamweaver on than e.g., the PHA50.

I guess all you can do is test side-by-side the Kronos, Fantom 8, Montage 8, K2700 etc., and see which you prefer.

Hey ty for the reply but I don't have access to music stores where I live and i don't know what action will be good for me because i never played hammer action so i'm looking for lighter hammer if possible... And kronos is great but a bit expensive and i heard roland fantom 0 has polyphony issues and you can hear it on youtube so kurzweil iz best option for me i guess but i heard you need 75 grams of pressure to press down a key and that is acctualy on a heavier side so i don't know...

Depends upon how you measure it tbh.

Two different methods exist which give quite different results. For instance, some models take over 100g in the lower octaves in one result set. There is another method which yields much lower downweight measurements, so it has caused some confusion.

So I think if they are using the method of measuring downweight that this table used, you're going to be fine.

Ohhhhh thanks so much this helps a lot😊

A graded hammer action will help with the classical repertoire you are playing, but for say Deep Purple, a semi-weighted synthesizer action or organ action will work better for the organs.

In other words, the Korg Kross you already have is superior to a graded hammer weight action for the music you mention.

You could add a midi hardware module to your setup. For instance, a Ferrofish module would provide drawbar organs. Also Korg has a library of sounds that can be downloaded into a Kross. I don’t know how useful it is. And a Roland Integra-7 has a staggering collection of sounds, including all of the SRX cards, which includes the Roland Ultimate Keys SRX-07 card.

A cheaper module available used like a Roland XV-5050 and the Ultimate keys SRX card would be another option. There also was a card SRX-97 with samples of the organs and settings used by Jon Lord of Deep Purple.

Oh yea I agree that synth action is much better for fast organ solos but tbh I'm kinda in a middle beacuse i have chopin book of waltzes and i really want to learn his nocturnes and also i have all dream theater keyboard books and they use 88 keys pretty often. And for me it is really hard to control dynamics on synth action when using piano sounds... Oh and midi is not an option since i dont have a computer that I can use and also my kross can't handel polyphony very well on sam big dream theater patches it kinda just glitches and 61 keys are kinda limitng for me personaly

There is one chap who is quite good at reviewing these types of instruments (an Italian chap, so turn on CC in YouTube to get subtitles):



Worth a watch..

Also, he's compared it to the newish Korg Nautilus

Oh i've been looking videos for months and months and seen lots of posts and reviews, form all workstations there are, roland fantom, fantom 0, korg kronos, nautilus, kurzweil k2700, pc4, yamaha montage and modx and still i think k2700 is the only one that has everything that i need at that price point. I'm just always unsure about the keybed beacuse i never played hammer action so i just came here to ask is fatar TP40L found on K2700 going to be good for fast synth solos and piano without being too heavy or slugish. I'm kinda in between classical music and prog rock so i need something to do both mediocrely good, i know it won't be perfect for classical piano but i am not a classically trained pianist so i just need something okay-ish if you get me

If the people playing the K2700 in demos are doing some stuff you're thinking of doing, then you'll probably be able to adapt ok, even if you've not played something like that. I went from organ actions to a piano action. The Fatar TP40/L will be a good bit lighter than my MP7SE, and ungraded. Of course, all new keybeds are a tad stiff till you play them in.

There are mixed reports about the TP40L. Some users have had notes that are stiffer. Others report no issue. Kurzweil are a good company though, so I think if it suits your purpose, why not. If I was buying, I'd definitely want to head to the store to try the action. That said, my interests are balanced against wanting a good action for piano.

The worst thing that could happen is that you end up swapping it.

What options are left that comes close?
I would say they are all either less powerful or have other issues like the Roland Fantom and its awful piano sound.

Well man i really don't know i thought fantom 0 series was perfect but it really has big polyphony problems, huge amount of people pointed it out. So i went for Pc4 but heard medeli k6 action is really bad so i think only k2700 is the one that has everything i need. Honstly i would buy roland RD2000 but my piano teacher said i was to old to start classical training so im pretty much forced into buying something that can play synth sounds since i can't learn classical technique I'm just left with rock to play but thanks for your help man I REALLY appreciate it, really gave me a new perspective and i think i am going to buy it in few months when i get the money

The Fantom zero has polyphony issues. Wouldn't touch that. The Fantom 8 would be a competitor to the K2700, but it is expensive.

Too old to start piano training?
Not sure I agree with that statement in general. Some people have trouble learning for a variety of reasons in specific cases. Perhaps your teacher is correct, but I find it odd: to be willing to teach, but not classical.

I'm afraid noone else does either The preferences here are very subjective so you just can't trust others. You can only try ordering from a place that accepts returns, but returning heavy parcels is always hassle.

> i never played hammer action so i'm looking for lighter hammer if possible...
> And for me it is really hard to control dynamics on synth action when using piano sounds...

Downweight isn't all there is to this. Actually there is a force characteristic curve, not a constant downweight. Hammer has some inertia (even weighted keys without hammers feel different than lightweight spring-loaded plastic). And there are also differences in friction. Weighted keys suppress some errors when you brush the next key slightly (where a loud note may result with light synth keys).

You may want to check the recent Numa X Piano, some Dexibell...

I was looking to replace my aging Kurzweil K2500X (weighted Fatar action, albeit an earlier generation than in the K2700). Ended up with a Fantom 8. The PHA50 feels quite a bit more "piano-like" than the Fatar, in my opinion. My only quibble is it seems the key return is a hair slower than I am used to. But, could be I just need to break in the mechanism, or maybe I've just grown used to the somewhat lighter action on the Kurz.

I kept the K2500X, though, because there is really no other synth engine like VAST. That being said, the Fantom 8 has been an absolute blast to monkey with when I'm not practicing piano.

I'm not looking so much for a "realistic" piano action, i wolud more like something in between a little lighter action so that i can one minute play piano and next minute lead sound and then an orchestral patch mybe? And how slow is the key return on fatar tp40L if anybody knows, is it possible to play fast repeated notes?

Please let us know how you like the TP40L, and whether you find the lower keys any heavier.

I've come to realize that the difference in "zones" in mine should be stemming from - but not limited to - a certain cushioning difference, as the topmost keys are not only lighter in terms of downweight, but on the other hand have a more hurtful bounceback. Hence this may have been done deliberately.