Legacy Model
Downloads and support materials maintained here as a courtesy to owners.

MARK 152i OVERVIEW

A digital piano designed in an authentic Young Chang grand piano cabinet, the Mark 152i offers the features of the Mark 12 in a mini-grand cabinet. Features include sustain, sostenuto and soft pedals, a Boston-style fallboard, and an 88-note weighted keyboard with three degree tilt, just like the finest concert grand pianos. Its comfortable and supportive grand piano bench opens for additional storage. This unique instrument is available in a wide variety of finishes to complement any lifestyle or decor.

Many New Sounds and Styles

The Mark 152i includes 325 unequaled sampled sounds that continue the Kurzweil tradition of the finest sound quality in the industry. The Mark 152 features a superb Concert Grand Piano; new French Horns; snare drum with brushes; harmon-muted trumpet; arpeggiated or solo harp; pizzicato strings; banjo; nylon string guitar and hundreds more sounds on which the best composers and arrangers in the music business rely.

In addition, the Mark 152i offers 64 user-editable auto-accompaniment styles. We hired some of the best arrangers working today to create the most realistic sounding styles on ANY digital instrument. These styles are undoubtedly the finest Kurzweil has ever produced. We’ve made it so easy to use that Mark 152i owners can even create their own styles.

Unique, Exciting Features

The Mark 152’s display provides easy-to-read, “no jargon” text, with intuitive menu choices. Its a snap to use everything the Mark 152 offers. With the Mark 152, it’s easy to find the sound you want. Simply push a button to get to your favorite instrument, or press the “menu select” button for a list of sounds related to the category you’ve chosen. And with the Mark 152’s disk drive, you don’t have to wait while a song loads from a disk – the Mark 152 can read a song directly from the disk and play it – like a CD player. And just like a CD player, you can play songs in order or randomly shuffle-play them. The Mark12’s innovative Edu-Games feature encourages everyone to have fun by sharpening their skills while learning important musical concepts. Edu-Games include harmonic, melodic and rhythmic ear training games. There is also a scale tester and chord dictionary which helps you learn your scales and chords. This is a $400 additional software package not available anywhere else. We built it into the Mark 152!

Now Anyone Can Play the Mark 152i

This exclusive feature means exactly what it says: ANYONE can play. The Mark 152i makes every note sound right. Use Anyone Can Play with auto-accompaniments; or Kurzweil’s Interactive Music Disk Collection. With Anyone Can Play, even a non-musician can get full enjoyment from the Mark 152i.

The Mark 152i features an easy to use 16-track recorder/sequencer. The Mark 152i’s Flash ROM insures against system obsolescence. As Kurzweil develops new and better software, Flash ROM offers you permanent system upgrades- AND THEY’RE FREE.

Unique Programmable Drawbar Organ

The Mark 152i’s Drawbar Organ feature enables you to program and save your own custom organ registrations. Unlike other instruments which limit you to a fixed number of organ presets, the Mark 152i’s organ is limitless.

Beautiful Real Wood Finishes

If you are a church musician or jazz player, this is the digital ensemble instrument for you. Like the highly successful Mark 150, the Mark 152i is available in a variety of Real Wood Finishes to complement any decor. The cabinet and audio system have been custom co-designed with world-renowned Boston Acoustics to provide the finest sounding digital ensemble you have ever heard.

The Head of Our Mark Series Family

As the Flagship of Kurzweil’s Mark Series and in keeping with our desire to present a continuous line of quality digital instruments, all sequences, song disks, style disk and SoundByte libraries created for or on the Mark 10, Mark 150, and Mark 150 Plus will work perfectly on the Mark 152i.

An Outstanding Audio System

Both Kurzweil and our Mark Series have a long-standing reputation for superb audio quality. In the Mark 152i, our dedication to perfection is taken to its greatest extent, with the combination of our acclaimed sounds and our most sophisticated audio system. The Mark 152i literally fills the room with rich, beautiful, instrumental sounds.

The audio system features seven independent amplifiers and speakers, custom-designed to emulate a real acoustic grand piano – with the lid open or closed – so effectively that it is almost impossible for listeners to believe that they are not hearing an acoustic instrument.

The Mark 152i also features transposition and tuning functions; continuous volume, bass and treble controls; and two headphone jacks.

All specifications subject to change without notice.

SPECS

All specifications subject to change without notice.

Mark 152i Features

Keyboard: 88-note 2 piece, fully weighted action
Polyphony: 32 voice
Multitimbral: 16 channel
Preset Programs: 325 Selectable Sounds, includes: 21 pianos (acoustic, rock, and ragtime), 10 electric pianos, 3 harpsichords, 9 pipe organs, 10 jazz and rock organs, 3 clavichords, 2 celeste, 16 basses (acoustic, electric, and synth), 9 acoustic guitars, 3 banjos, 16 jazz and rock guitars, 20 string sections, 8 choirs, 2 solo violins, viola, 2 cellos, contrabass, 12 flutes, 4 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 2 oboes, english horn, 5 trumpets, 2 trombones, 2 french horns, 2 tubas, 11 brass sections, soprano sax, 2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes, 2 baritone saxes, 4 vibraphones, 3 marimbas, 6 other mallet instruments, accordion, harmonica, bells, plus a wide variety of ethic/world instruments, synth brass, ensembles, orchestral ensembles, pads, leads, synth effects, and sound effects. Additionally, over 100 jazz, rock, and latin percussion instruments are accessible in 22 selectable keyboard arrangements.
General MIDI: Yes
Layering: Any 2 sounds may be layered and their relative volumes adjusted.
Splits: Any sound (incl. layers) can be split with one of 4 basses (acoustic, electric, and synth), plus two “custom” (user-definable) sounds.
Split Point: User selectable.
Transpose: Full transposition to any key; Independent octave transposition of each side of split over a +/- 5 octave range.
Tune: Adjust +/- 50 cents
Effects: 880 Reverb and Effects Combinations:

Reverb

Auto-Accompaniment: 64 built-in, preset musical styles. Up to 7 additional new styles can be loaded from disk.
Style Categories: Big Band, Jazz, Classical, Show Tunes, Gospel/World, March/Polka, Latin, Country, Rock/R&B, Pop, Dance, and Special. Each category offers 3 or more choices
Style Parts: Introduction, Basic, variation, Fills, and Ending for each style.
Style Mixer: Independent volume and mute controls for accompaniment (drums, bass, and three accompaniment parts).
Chord Recognition: Basic, Advanced, Chord Inversion, and Full Keyboard recognition modes, plus chord hold feature. Anyone Can Play Mode – allows you to play any note on the keyboard and have it sound correctly in harmony with the chord you play in your left hand. Harmony feature – adds a full chord to every note you play in your right hand using the correct harmonies, based on the chord you play in your left hand.
Arpeggiator: Auto-note generator takes chords you play on the keyboard and automatically turns them into arpeggios. Many different adjustable parameters allow you to specify what type of arpeggio is created.
Drawbar Organ Mode: This special software simulation of a Drawbar organ allows you to program and save your own organ settings. Features all the standard settings found on a typical Drawbar organ, including 9 different partials, percussion, and keyclick.
Recorder/Sequencer: 16 songs, 16 tracks per song (includes dedicated auto-accompaniment track for recording styles).
Recorder Tools: Punch-In, Loop, Merge, and Quantize functions.
MIDI Sync: Internal/External MIDI Beat clock sync for hook up with other sequencers.
Song Compatibility: Can play Standard MIDI Files and can read and convert disks from Yamaha PianoSoft and Disk Orchestra Libraries, plus PianoDisc Music Library.
Disk Drive: 1.4 meg floppy drive for loading and saving songs, styles, and sounds.

Standard MIDI files can be played directly off the disk via DiskPlay feature.

Panel Memories: 90 quick user-storage memories for complete recall of all front panel settings.
Edu-Games: This special feature has several different interactive games that are both educational and fun to play. They are designed to help you develop basic musical skills
Sound System: Built-in, premium 200 watt quad audio system jointly designed with Boston Acoustics:

(1×80 watts for 12″ sub-woofer, 2×20 watts for 6.5″ mid-range, 2×20 watts for 5″ midrange, 2×20 watts for 1″ tweeters)

Audio Controls: Front panel volume, treble, and bass sliders.
Audio Outs: (2) line level RCA jacks
Audio Ins: (2) line level RCA jacks (for connecting external sound sources)
Headphones: (2) 1/4″ stereo headphone outs
MIDI I/O: MIDI In, Out and Thru jacks.
OS Updates: Flash ROM allows for updating of the Operating System via disk. Operating Systems can be downloaded at no charge.
Pedals: (3) programmable switch-type: sustain, sostenuto, soft (defaults)

(1) programmable Continuous Controller (volume by default)

Pitch Bend: (1) Ribbon strip
Finishes: Ebony, Mahogany Red, and Mahogany Brown Polish
Bench: Matching bench included.
Dimensions: 39.75″(H) x 58.25″(W) x 59″(D)
Weight: 512 lbs

FAQs

Disk

Question:
How can I convert one of my Kurzweil Song files into an audio CD?

(aka converting .SNG, or .MID files into .WAV, .AIF, .MP3 audio files)

Answer:

First, you need to remember that when you are recording a song in the Kurzweil, you are not recording audio, you are recording MIDI information.

It is important to understand that MIDI data is not audio and by itself makes no sound. All MIDI consists of is remote control performance data – a record of what keys you played, pedals you pressed, and so on. When the MIDI information is sent back to the instrument, it is the sound module part of the instrument that then creates the sound. So the short answer is there is no way to directly convert MIDI data into audio.

Therefore, in order to make an audio CD (or mp3), you are going to have to make a digital audio recording of the Kurzweil’s audio output while it is playing the song. This means recording into some type of external digital audio recorder.

One such example might be to record directly to a stand-alone CD Audio Recorder. Another possibility would be to use digital audio recording software and a good quality audio recording card for your computer. With either you would connect the Kurzweil to the audio inputs of your chosen recording device or audio interface, start playing the song on your Kurzweil, and record just as you would if you were recording to a traditional tape recorder. If recording to a dedicated CD Recorder, your job is basically done. If recording into a computer, once the audio is digitized (recorded), you can then use CD writing software to burn a CD with the audio files and /or create mp3’s.

Question:
I’m having problems playing some song files directly from disk (using DiskPlay) on my Mark 12/112/152. How can I resolve this?

Answer:

The Mark 12/112/152 can only play certain types of Songs from disk. Supported DiskPlay formats are: .MID Type 0, Yamaha Disk Orchestra* and PianoSoft*, and PianoDisc*.

*Important to note that even some of these 3rd party formats may not work properly either as over the years these formats themselves have changed. So overall, type 0 MIDI Files will be the best format to use.

Kurzweil .SNG and .MID Type 1 format files cannot be played directly from disk but must be loaded into the Mark 12.152 before they can be played.

TIP: If you have a .MID file that can’t be played from disk, it is likely then that it is a Type 1 file. However, you can convert it easily into a Type 0 format file so you can play it from disk.

To do so, simply load the file into the Mark 12/152. then save back to disk, selecting .MID Type 0 for the file format. We recommend saving to a different disk, or renaming the song if you want to save it to the same disk. That way, you won’t erase the original song on your disk. You can also use this same technique to convert Kurzweil format songs to a .MID Type 0 file. However, you can’t do this with songs that use the Auto Accompaniment features, since the information required to use Auto Accompaniment can’t be saved as part of a .MID file.

Troubleshooting

Question:
How can I restore my Mark 12/Mark 112/Mark 152 to its factory defaults? (hard reset)

Answer:

Caution: Hard resetting will erase all user memory ! Need be, back up any custom data to disk before proceeding. (see manual for details)

There are two methods for performing a hard reset on a Mark 12/112/152:

    • MIDI/Prefs Menu Method:
      1. start with the power on
      2. press the MIDI/Prefs Button
      3. press the button under Reset in the display
      4. press the button under “Do it”

-OR-

  • Boot Loader Method: (useful if your screen is blank and cannot perform the MIDI/Prefs menu method)
    1. start with the unit off (i.e., unplug it)
    2. hold down the KEY START, KEY STOP, and LAYER / VOLUME buttons
    3. turn the unit on; wait 2 seconds then release all the buttons.
      You are now in the Boot Block.
    4. press Next.
    5. select “HARD RESET”
    6. answer Yes to prompts that follow
    7. select Run Engine

The unit is now reset.

Song Recorder

Question:
How can I convert one of my Kurzweil Song files into an audio CD?

(aka converting .SNG, or .MID files into .WAV, .AIF, .MP3 audio files)

Answer:

First, you need to remember that when you are recording a song in the Kurzweil, you are not recording audio, you are recording MIDI information.

It is important to understand that MIDI data is not audio and by itself makes no sound. All MIDI consists of is remote control performance data – a record of what keys you played, pedals you pressed, and so on. When the MIDI information is sent back to the instrument, it is the sound module part of the instrument that then creates the sound. So the short answer is there is no way to directly convert MIDI data into audio.

Therefore, in order to make an audio CD (or mp3), you are going to have to make a digital audio recording of the Kurzweil’s audio output while it is playing the song. This means recording into some type of external digital audio recorder.

One such example might be to record directly to a stand-alone CD Audio Recorder. Another possibility would be to use digital audio recording software and a good quality audio recording card for your computer. With either you would connect the Kurzweil to the audio inputs of your chosen recording device or audio interface, start playing the song on your Kurzweil, and record just as you would if you were recording to a traditional tape recorder. If recording to a dedicated CD Recorder, your job is basically done. If recording into a computer, once the audio is digitized (recorded), you can then use CD writing software to burn a CD with the audio files and /or create mp3’s.

Question:
I’m having problems playing some song files directly from disk (using DiskPlay) on my Mark 12/112/152. How can I resolve this?

Answer:

The Mark 12/112/152 can only play certain types of Songs from disk. Supported DiskPlay formats are: .MID Type 0, Yamaha Disk Orchestra* and PianoSoft*, and PianoDisc*.

*Important to note that even some of these 3rd party formats may not work properly either as over the years these formats themselves have changed. So overall, type 0 MIDI Files will be the best format to use.

Kurzweil .SNG and .MID Type 1 format files cannot be played directly from disk but must be loaded into the Mark 12.152 before they can be played.

TIP: If you have a .MID file that can’t be played from disk, it is likely then that it is a Type 1 file. However, you can convert it easily into a Type 0 format file so you can play it from disk.

To do so, simply load the file into the Mark 12/152. then save back to disk, selecting .MID Type 0 for the file format. We recommend saving to a different disk, or renaming the song if you want to save it to the same disk. That way, you won’t erase the original song on your disk. You can also use this same technique to convert Kurzweil format songs to a .MID Type 0 file. However, you can’t do this with songs that use the Auto Accompaniment features, since the information required to use Auto Accompaniment can’t be saved as part of a .MID file.

DOWNLOADS

User Manuals

Mark 12/112/152 User Manual – 6.5 MB
Owner’s Manual
2000-01-01

Mark 12/112/152 – v2 Addendum – 65.2 KB
Owner’s Manual Addendum for V2
2000-01-01

Mark 12/112/152 MadeEasy – 28.0 KB
Supplemental Guide
2000-01-01

OS / Object Updates
There are two OS types: 1) type “M” and 2) type “i” or “original”. Be sure to identify which model you have and only install the appropriate files for your particular unit. To determine the model type check the splash screen at power-on (it will display either an “m”, and “i” or no letter (meaning original).

M12mV305 – 183 KB
Operating System for “m” type models only
2000-01-01

M12mS300 – 614 KB
Soundware Objects for “m” type models only
2000-01-01

M12iV210 – 186 KB
Operating System for “i” and original model types only
2000-01-01

M12iS200 – 618 KB
Soundware Objects for “i” and original model types only
2000-01-01

SoundByte Libraries
(Soundbytes are extra sampled sounds that can be loaded into your instrument)

Volume 1 Soundbyte Library – 1.3 MB
Contains selections of: Harp, Strings, Celeste, Chimes, Vocal Perc, Sound FX (instructions included)
2000-01-01

Volume 2 Soundbyte Library – 645 KB
Contains selections of: Keyboards, Orchestral, Vocal, Horns, Stringed Instruments, Organs (instructions included)
2000-01-01

Style Libraries
(Style disks allow you to add additional auto accompaniment styles to your instrument)

Volume 1 Style Library – 228 KB
Contains selections of: Rock, Southern, Classical/March, Jazz, and other varieties
(instructions included)
2000-01-01

Volume 2 Style Library – 246 KB
Contains selections of: Latin, Country, Pop, Big Band, and other varieties
(instructions included)
2000-01-01

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