Transferring K2000 files to Cakewalk

   I have a Kurzweil K2000 and i love the sounds. I want to use these sounds with cakewalk. Anyone done this before????

Hey poundy777 I am a Kurzweil lover (and had quite some experience with them too) from way back and have two actually. There are two types of sounds you need to consider. The internal memory ROM and the sounds that are on the Kurzweil CD ROMS.

If it's the internal ROM there is nothing you can do about those. Other than sequence the device itself. And if it is working OK why not just keep it and do it. Simply turn your external Kurzweil parts into audio when and if you are ready. You could sample the internal sounds in a format for use inside Sonar for one of their samplers etc . This would be time consuming. The internal sounds do include the internal effects processors as well which are a part of the sound.

With the CD ROMS there are some better options. As Fog points out.  Kontakt is the best way to go. It can read Kurzweil discs directly. You might try some of those translators mentioned. To be honest I have tried this (translators) and they only do part of the job. Have not tried Kontakt but I believe it is better.

You may need to investigate what effects are present and set up some similar effects. The CDROMS have only the raw materials. Don't forget that VAST may be a big part of the sound too.

I have two rack modules and they are working great and really the best way out is to simply externally sequence them. And yes they are one of the best sounding instruments on the planet. Still.

I have had a few extra thoughts on your Kurzweil situation too. If you have a keyboard consider picking up a second hand rack version. They seem to be on ebay regularly.

If it is the display, the backlight and LCD parts are available. (if you want to replace it) If you have a rack version or keyboard, and the display is fading which it should be around now, you can improve readability anotherway by putting an external light facing the display. In my rack I have a little gooseneck lamp fitted on the side. It will make them readable for years to come. Even if the back light fails they are perfectly readable under the external lamp.

The latest version of the software is 3.87 and they are always available on ebay. SCSI load times are much quicker and the Kurz can read a normal PC disc under 3.87 which is cool. It will import and load up wave files for example making preset creation fast and amazing.

Connecting a SCSI CD ROM drive is a great thing to do. It opens up the unlimited world of the CDROM sounds and believe me there is plenty around. Its a good idea to max out the sample memory to 64 meg and get an internal hard drive fitted too. You can then load up huge multi timbral setups quickly and easily.

It does not take much to turn it into a maxed out beast and then you can really get to town. The cost of doing all that now is cheap too. We need to keep our Kurzweils alive!