Got my Forte yesterday and loaded in the 1.2 OS from the Kurzweil website (the OS update came out in February, so no doubt some...  Read More

Got my Forte yesterday and loaded in the 1.2 OS from the Kurzweil website (the OS update came out in February, so no doubt some of the more newly boxed boards will have it installed). Two things stand out for me:1) The layout and utility of the deck is near perfect. 9 sliders with a cool memory feature that shows the slider placement for a voice in lights, regardless of where the physical sliders are, and you can adjust at will. Big, informative screen with multiple views. Clear voice groups that you can scroll through via dial or buttons. Favorites buttons right in front. Global EQ and compressor that can be on or off. Etc., etc. Excellent layout for performance!2) Gorgeous voices! Beautiful pianos. Very nice Tonewheel organ with 3 or 4 presets I love, and many ways to tweak. The EPs are especially popular with reviewers, though I'm still looking for one I love (for years I've played an Alesis QS 8.1 with a voice called Rayz Rhodes that has been my beloved go-to -- the Forte has 'better' EPs, but I'm still missing the oldie). The only hitch is that all these stunning sounds are stunning through headphones, and I have come to realize that maybe my mixer/amp/speakers rig is ready for an upgrade too. Sigh.Negatives? Nothing unexpected. Compared to a Stage 2 and a couple of others, it's a wider (wheels left of keys instead of above) and heavier (48 lbs!) board. The Fatar keybed is quick and smooth, but isn't a perfect match for my finger muscle memory yet. While I think Yamaha, Kawai and Roland all have better keybeds for straight piano, I can see how this Fatar is going to work very well for organ, EP, synth leads AND piano, which is what I needed. I definitely found some joy in tweaking the velocity mapping, even though I ended up sticking with the defaults for now.I know. When it comes to top-of-the-line stage pianos, everyone has preferences. CP4, Stage 2, RD800, Kronos, MP__, Forte and a couple others. All that I tried struck me as excellent. The Forte was my call because of the best-of-class 16GBs of sound with Flash Play, and because of the usability of the deck for performance. Time will expose all the minor plusses and minuses, but I love this baby so far. Have fun.PS - In searching for a new board, I've come to realize what a good one I've had in the Alesis QS 8.1 for the last 16 years. Cheers.  Read Less

Got my Forte yesterday and loaded in the 1.2 OS from the Kurzweil website (the OS update came out in February, so no doubt some...  Read More

Got my Forte yesterday and loaded in the 1.2 OS from the Kurzweil website (the OS update came out in February, so no doubt some of the more newly boxed boards will have it installed). Two things stand out for me:1) The layout and utility of the deck is near perfect. 9 sliders with a cool memory feature that shows the slider placement for a voice in lights, regardless of where the physical sliders are, and you can adjust at will. Big, informative screen with multiple views. Clear voice groups that you can scroll through via dial or buttons. Favorites buttons right in front. Global EQ and compressor that can be on or off. Etc., etc. Excellent layout for performance!2) Gorgeous voices! Beautiful pianos. Very nice Tonewheel organ with 3 or 4 presets I love, and many ways to tweak. The EPs are especially popular with reviewers, though I'm still looking for one I love (for years I've played an Alesis QS 8.1 with a voice called Rayz Rhodes that has been my beloved go-to -- the Forte has 'better' EPs, but I'm still missing the oldie). The only hitch is that all these stunning sounds are stunning through headphones, and I have come to realize that maybe my mixer/amp/speakers rig is ready for an upgrade too. Sigh.Negatives? Nothing unexpected. Compared to a Stage 2 and a couple of others, it's a wider (wheels left of keys instead of above) and heavier (48 lbs!) board. The Fatar keybed is quick and smooth, but isn't a perfect match for my finger muscle memory yet. While I think Yamaha, Kawai and Roland all have better keybeds for straight piano, I can see how this Fatar is going to work very well for organ, EP, synth leads AND piano, which is what I needed. I definitely found some joy in tweaking the velocity mapping, even though I ended up sticking with the defaults for now.I know. When it comes to top-of-the-line stage pianos, everyone has preferences. CP4, Stage 2, RD800, Kronos, MP__, Forte and a couple others. All that I tried struck me as excellent. The Forte was my call because of the best-of-class 16GBs of sound with Flash Play, and because of the usability of the deck for performance. Time will expose all the minor plusses and minuses, but I love this baby so far. Have fun.PS - In searching for a new board, I've come to realize what a good one I've had in the Alesis QS 8.1 for the last 16 years. Cheers.  Read Less