Kurzweil Forte User manual

is Getting Started Guide is designed to cover both the Forte and Forte7 pianos. ese instruments share common

features and the term “Forte” is used to cover a description of both. Where there are dierences, we use the name

“Forte7” to help instruct owners of that instrument.

is Guide will help you hook up the Forte to your sound system and MIDI system, give you a quick overview, and

show you how to start playing music with the Forte. A full manual for either instrument can be obtained in electronic

format from www.kurzweil.com.

Specications

Forte and Forte7 are Kurzweil’s new 128 voice pianos featuring FlashPlay technology, and are Kurzweil’s most

advanced stage pianos to date. Some of the key specications and improvements over Kurzweil’s previous instruments

include:

• New FlashPlay technology.

• Support for up to 16GB of Sound ROM.

• Two new high denition pianos.

• New high denition electric pianos.

• Improved modelled organ emulation.

• More eects resources.

• 4.3” 480x272 pixel color display.

• High speed USB ports.

• New improved user interface design.

It’s the sound.

™

Forte®

GETTING STARTED GUIDE

Forte

Before You Start…

GS-1

Before You Start…

Don’t connect anything until you make sure the Forte is properly and safely situated. If your

Forte keyboard has been out in the cold, give it time to warm up to room temperature before

starting it, since condensation may have formed inside.

Setting up the Forte/Forte7

1. Set the keyboard on a hard, at, level surface.

2. Four adhesive-backed rubber feet are provided with Forte. Carefully turn the keyboard

over onto a soft surface, remove the paper backing from the rubber feet and attach them.

NOTE : Unless the instrument will always be used with a keyboard stand,

attachment of the rubber feet is strongly advised. Otherwise protruding

screws may scratch the tabletop.

3. Connect the AC power cord to the Forte. Before plugging the cable into the power outlet,

check that the power is compatible with the Forte. e Forte runs on AC power and

works with voltages from 100-240 volts at 50–60 Hz. e voltage level is detected and

set automatically by the Forte. If your power source does not have the standard three hole

outlet, you should take the time to install a proper grounding system. is will reduce the

risk of a shock. If your power outlet is not within these ranges it is recommended you use

an appropriate adaptor.

4. Plug the power cable into the wall.

5. Plug the Switch Pedal into the marked SW1 (Sustain) Pedal jack on the Forte rear panel.

6. Connect stereo headphones to the headphone jack on the front left panel, or connect the

audio outputs to your mixer or amplier inputs using standard (1/4-inch) audio cables

(use the Left out for mono). Balanced (“TRS” or “Stereo”) cables are recommended if your

mixer or amp supports balanced inputs.

7. Make sure your sound system is at a safe volume level. Also make sure that the Forte

Master Volume slider (on the far left side of the front panel) is all the way down.

The Rear Panel

Using the Forte/Forte7

GS-2

Using the Forte/Forte7

1. Power up the Forte using the power switch on the rear left side of the instrument, and then

raise the Master Volume slider, and mixer/amp volume. Your Forte keyboard starts up in

Program Mode by default. Press one of the buttons under the “Mode” label to the right of

the display to switch Modes.

Master Volume Slider Mode Selection

2. If you are connected to a mixing board and hear distortion, reduce the gain level on your

mixing board, or use the pad (a switch that decreases the input audio signal level, typically by

20dB) if it has one.

3. To hear the capabilities of the Forte, you can play the demo songs. Press the Hybrid and

Misc Category buttons simultaneously to listen to a demo song.

4. In Program Mode, scroll through the Programs using the Alpha Wheel, the Previous and

Next buttons, or press a Category button to audition the sounds in the Forte. e Forte

has short demos for each of the factory Programs. To hear a Program Demo for the current

Program, press the Voices and Mallets Category buttons simultaneously.

The Rear Panel

e power switch and most of the Forte/Forte7 connections are located on the rear panel.

e headphone connection on the Forte is located on the front left side underneath the Pitch

& Modulation wheels. On the Forte7 it is on the left side, on the rear panel.

The Rear Panel

The AC Power Jack

GS-3

The AC Power Jack

Please refer to “Setting up the Forte/Forte7” on page GS-1.

The USB Ports

Use the “Computer” USB ports to connect the Forte to a computer/tablet in order to do the

following:

• Use the Forte as a MIDI controller to play software instruments on a computer.

• Use a computer program to sequence multitrack songs on the Forte.

• Use a computer/tablet to manage the user data contents of the Forte.

• Update the software and sounds of the Forte.

Use the “Storage” USB Port to store custom Programs and Multis on a USB ash drive.

Be sure to check the Kurzweil Music Systems website at www.kurzweil.com for new

documentation and software updates before using your new instrument.

The MIDI Ports (In / Thru / Out)

Use the MIDI ports to communicate with other MIDI modules and controllers. e Out port

is the MIDI transmitting port, and the In port is the MIDI receiving port. Use the ru port

to pass MIDI data through the Forte to other instuments or modules.

By sliding the switch on the rear panel from ru to Out, the Forte sends MIDI Out messages

on both the ru and Out ports. e USB ports can also be used to transmit MIDI messages.

The Rear Panel

Basic MIDI Port Hookup

GS-4

Basic MIDI Port Hookup

To use the Forte as a MIDI controller for another sound module, use a MIDI cable to connect

the MIDI port marked “OUT” to the MIDI input port of the module that you want to

control.

To control the Forte using another MIDI controller, use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI

port marked “IN” to the MIDI output port of the controller that you will be using.

Using Forte MIDI Out

Using Forte MIDI In

For other MIDI connection scenarios, please refer to the Forte User Manual.

The Pedal Jacks

Use the ve pedal jacks to connect controller pedals to the Forte.

Although optional Kurzweil pedals are recommended, it is possible to use most switch or

controller pedals that adhere to the following specications.

Switch Pedals 1/4 inch tip-sleeve (mono) plug

Continuous Control

(CC) Pedals

10-kOhm linear-taper potentiometer, 1/4 inch tip-ring-sleeve

(stereo) plug with the wiper connected to the tip.

The Rear Panel

The Pedal Jacks

GS-5

Pedals are all independently assignable within each Zone of every Multi.

On the back panel the Pedals are labeled as SWITCH 1/2/3, corresponding to the SW 1/2/3

labelling on the top panel. In this manual the Switch Pedals will be referred to as per the top

panel (SW1, SW2 and SW3)

Here are the default control settings for the ve pedals used by the Forte:

Switch Pedal 1 (SW1) Sustain (MIDI 64)

Switch Pedal 2 (SW2) Sostenuto (MIDI 66)

Switch Pedal 3 (SW3) Soft (MIDI 67)

CC Pedal 1 (CC1) Expression (Volume) (MIDI 11)

CC Pedal 2 (CC2) Foot (MIDI 4)

The SW1 (Sustain), SW2 and SW3 Jacks

Use the pedal jacks to connect switch pedals. A switch pedal is a physical controller typically

used to control two-state (i.e., “on / o”) parameters, such as sustain, sostenuto, soft and Mute

Zone.

NOTE : Do not to step on the switch pedals when powering up the Forte,

as the state of the pedal is detected as part of the power up sequence.

The Rear Panel

The Pedal Jacks

GS-6

e Forte supports a single switch pedal or half-damper pedal on each of the SW1, SW2 and

SW3 jacks.

NOTE : It is not recommended to plug CC pedals into the SW inputs.

Due to the exible switch pedal support, CC pedals may not operate

as expected in these inputs.

If you are not using a Kurzweil switch pedal, make sure it’s connected before you turn on

the Forte. is ensures that the pedal will work properly (it might function in reverse—o

when it’s down and on when it’s up—if you turn on your Forte before plugging in the pedal).

Similarly, don’t press any of your switch pedals while powering up, as the Forte veries each

pedal’s orientation during power-up. If you’re pressing a pedal, you might cause it to work in

reverse.

Connecting a Dual Switch Pedal

You can connect a dual switch pedal with a single stereo plug, such as the Kurzweil

KFP-2S, into the SW1 and SW2 jacks. You will need a Y adapter with a stereo ¼-inch jack and

two mono ¼-inch plugs. Plug the Y adapter into the SW1 and SW2 jacks, then connect the

dual switch pedal to the Y adapter. If the Sustain and Sostenuto functions are swapped, then

swap the two mono plugs.

If you’re not familiar with traditional piano technique, the sostenuto (center) pedal on a grand

piano allows one to hold chords in the bass while continuing to play the melody without the

latter notes sustaining. Any keys that are down when you depress the pedal will sustain when

you let go of the keys, but new notes played afterward will not be sustained. Releasing the pedal

puts things back to normal. Of course it can be programmed to do other functions as well.

The Rear Panel

The Pedal Jacks

GS-7

The CC1 (Volume) and CC2 Jacks

Use the CC pedal jacks to connect continuous control (or CC) pedals. A CC pedal is a physical

controller typically used to control multi-state (i.e., “continuous”) parameters such as volume

or wah.

e Kurzweil CC-1 continuous control pedal will work best with Forte, but it is also possible

to use some third-party continuous control pedals designed for synthesizers.

NOTE : Only CC pedals should be connected to the CC pedal input.

Connecting to Your Audio System

The Audio Jacks (A & B Audio Outputs)

GS-8

The Audio Jacks (A & B Audio Outputs)

Please refer to “Connecting to Your Audio System” below.

The Headphones Jack

Use the Headphones jack to listen to the Forte on stereo headphones. On the Forte the

headphone jack is located at the front left of the instrument, under the Pitch & Modulation

wheels. On the Forte7 it is on the left end of the instrument, on the rear panel.

You will need a 1/4-inch-to-1/8-inch adapter in order to use headphones that have a smaller

mini plug connector.

Connecting to Your Audio System

After you’ve turned down the level on your sound system, connect the Forte analog audio

outputs to your sound system using a pair of balanced (TRS or “stereo”) or unbalanced (TS or

“mono”) audio cables. Unbalanced cables will always work, but if you’re going into balanced

inputs, use balanced cables for a better signal-to-noise ratio and a bit more volume. e Forte

analog outputs are balanced.

You’ll nd four 1/4-inch balanced audio output jacks on the rear panel, the “A” Audio Output

pair and the “B” Output pair. Connect one end of each audio cable to your mixing board or PA

system inputs, and connect the other end to the “A” Audio Output jacks marked Left (Mono)

and Right on the rear panel of the Forte. If you have only one input available, use the Forte’s

Left (Mono) output to get the full signal in mono. Use the jack marked Headphones (located

on the front/left of the instrument) to listen to Forte on headphones. When headphones are

plugged in, sound still comes through the Left and Right audio jacks.

Forte connected to powered speakers and headphones

“A” AUDIO OUTPUTS

NOTE: Headphone jack on the

Forte7 is on the rear panel

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