Devices that sample, such as the Kurzweil K2000 with its sampling option installed, can be choosy about which CD drives they'll address.
I currently have a Pentium III 600 PC running Logic Audio Platinum, but do most of my sound editing on a Kurzweil K2000VP synth/sampler. I have a SCSI chain with a Sony SCSI CD‑RW at one end, connected to an Adaptec SCSI card, then a Zip, and lastly my Kurzweil. Loading sounds and programmes from the Zip is never a problem, but using the CD‑RW to load stuff off CD‑ROM is flaky — sometimes it works, but a lot of times it doesn't. (Both the Kurzweil and the PC hang.) Everything in the chain has a different ID, and the PC can see the Kurzweil on boot‑up. However, when I run the diagnostic software that came with my Adaptec card, it lists all the SCSI devices except the Kurzweil. I've also tried taking the Zip drive out of the chain and connecting the K2000 directly, but still no joy. Am I doing something wrong, or is it a bad idea to link the Kurzweil to the PC and expect them to live in harmony? Time to go out and buy an external SCSI CD‑ROM?
Mark Huggett
SOS Contributor and Kurzweil user Paul Ward replies: I think your problem is that the K2000, like most samplers, is very picky about which CD‑ROM drives it will speak to, let alone a CD‑RW! Kurzweil used to have a compatibility list on their web site, and the list was very restrictive. I have had similar 'flaky' results from various CD‑ROM drives I've tried (ie. got on the cheap). I now have a Yamaha CD‑RW which the K2000 seems fairly happy with — although I have had failures from time to time — but my Akai S1100 will only read the first volume before locking up completely. Generally the best results are achieved with slower drives (less than 6x).
The only real answer is to get a CD drive that is guaranteed for the job. I know that Turnkey (+44 (0)20 7419 9999) do one.