Kurzweil SP8

Kurzweil SP8 — an 88-key hammer-action stage keyboard built on the V.A.S.T. engine, combining acoustic pianos, KB3 organs and FM synthesis in a single chassis.

The SP8 replaces the SP7 series and pulls its sound set straight from Kurzweil's flagship instruments — the K2700, K2088/61 and PC4. At its core sits the V.A.S.T. engine backed by FlashPlay technology, which loads nearly 2 GB of factory samples with zero wait time. You get 256 voices of polyphony, 1000 factory programs across 10 categories, over 200 factory multis and more than 4000 user locations for your own patches.

A full sound set for the whole set

A typical gig calls for a grand, a Rhodes, an organ and a synth — usually spread across several instruments. The SP8 folds all of it into one unit: German D and Triple Strike pianos with KSR string resonance, classic electric pianos, clavinets and harpsichords, plus the KB3 ToneReal organ engine where the panel knobs act as drawbars. A 6-operator FM engine adds classic bells, basses and 80s tones without reaching for outboard gear.

Control without menu diving

On stage, instant access to parameters matters. The panel provides 5 assignable knobs and 5 buttons with a 3-position Shift, giving 15 virtual controls per section. Multi mode opens up 5 independent zones for splits and layers, each with its own arpeggiator and CC sequencer. The dedicated Global FX section with 3-band EQ and compression lets you polish the output without an external processor, and the instrument boots in under 23 seconds.

KEY FEATURES

• 88-key fully weighted, graded hammer-action keyboard with 4 zones
• V.A.S.T. engine with FlashPlay technology and nearly 2 GB of factory samples
• German D and Triple Strike pianos with KSR string resonance
• KB3 ToneReal organ engine with front-panel drawbar control
• 6-operator FM engine plus vector and virtual-analog synthesis waveforms
• Multi mode with 5 controller zones, arpeggiators and CC sequencers
• Global FX section with 3-band EQ and compression
• Audio input for line, instrument or microphone sources

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Keyboard: 88 keys, fully weighted graded hammer action, 4 zones
• Polyphony: 256 voices
• Sounds: 1000 programs across 10 categories, 200+ multis, 4000+ user locations
• Sample memory: nearly 2 GB (FlashPlay)
• Controllers: 5 knobs and 5 buttons with 3-position Shift
• Display: high-resolution color LCD
• I/O: stereo audio in, 2 assignable switch-pedal jacks (up to 4 pedals), 1 continuous pedal, MIDI, USB
• Half-damper pedal support, editor apps for Mac, PC and iPad