The Keyboard; The Front Panel; The Ribbon Controllers; Other Controllers - Kurzweil sp88x User Manual

Introducing the Stage Piano

The Keyboard

The Keyboard
Depending on model, the keyboard has 76 keys (E1ÐG7) or a full 88 keys (A0ÐC8).
These are full-sized, weighted keys, the equal of keyboards found on more expensive
synthesizers and controllers. The keyboard is velocity-sensitive, meaning the harder
(faster) you press a key, the louder the voice (except for organ voices which,
realistically, are not velocity-sensitive).
As a MIDI controller, the keyboard is also release-velocity-sensitive, meaning that MIDI
signals expressing how rapidly a key is released get sent to external equipment.

The Front Panel

The front panel has a 3-digit numeric display, 10 mode and editing status LEDS, 16
sound/setup select buttons with dual-color LEDs, and 4 editing buttons. The sound/
setup select buttons make random selection of 32 different sounds or MIDI Setups
quick and easy while the display and LEDs shows the unitÕs present status at a glance.

The Ribbon Controllers

The Stage Piano also has 3 ribbon controllers, which take the place of conventional
wheels and offer signiÞcant advantages. The A ribbon (the one on the left) typically
performs a pitch bending function with the upper half bending pitch upwards and the
lower half bending pitch downwards. Pressing the center bar restores pitch to normal.
The B ribbon is actually split into upper and lower sections. Each section can control a
different characteristic of the sound simultaneously. This is like having two
conventional modulation wheels. Pressing the center bar removes both modulations.
NOTE: The sounds of the Stage Piano do not respond to pitch bending, or to the lower section
of the B ribbon. External MIDI devices may respond to the signals sent by these controllers.
An advantage of ribbons over conventional wheels is that their mode is programmable.
A conventional pitch wheel is spring-loaded so that it always returns to its center
position (no pitch change) when released. Conventional modulation wheels usually
do not spring back, and remain where they were when released. Likewise these are the
default modes of the A and B ribbons respectively, but each can also be set to operate
in the opposite mode. See Hold or Center and Hold or Zero on page 3-6 for details.

Other Controllers

The Volume/Controller slider is actually a general purpose control. Although its
default setting is to control volume (MIDI Volume), it can be set to control any aspect
of the sound. See Control Slider, Control Pedal on page 3-6 for more information.
One Control Pedal can be plugged into the rear panel to permit foot control over the
sound. The foot controller can be set to control volume, modulation, or other sound
parameters. See Control Slider, Control Pedal on page 3-6 for details.
A single or dual switch pedal (piano pedal) can also be plugged into the rear panel. By
default, a single pedal or the right half of a dual pedal will perform a sustain (or
damper) function while the left half of a dual pedal will perform sostenuto. See
Connecting Switch Pedals on page 2-4 and A Special Note About Switch Pedals on page 2-4
for more.
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