Vintage Synth Explorer

Kawai • K5000

The K5000 was Kawai's top of the line music workstation digital synthesizer when it was released back in 1996. It's a bold and elegantly designed synth with a large LCD display, realtime controls and incredible sounds! The look and functionality is rivals the competition from the time...the Korg Trinity and Kurzweil K2500.

Programming sounds with the K5000 can be a breeze (once you learn how) although it has over 1,000 parameters per patch! That's plenty to play with. It combines additive synthesis and PCM sampled waveforms for you to layer and combine to design a whole range of sounds. Plenty of LFO modulation, filters and envelope controls allow you to shape and morph your sounds further. On-board multi-effects add the final touch of life to your sounds.

Once you've created some sounds, there's the on-board sequencer (K5000W only) for creating songs or loading Standard Midi File sequences (via disk-drive). It has a 40,000 note capacity and 40 tracks. Real-time record and step-edit modes are available and the sequencer is pretty straight forward.

The K5000S (pictured above) adds 12 dedicated knobs for hands-on control of filter, LFO and envelope parameters. There are 4 user-definable knobs and 2 assignable switches. The K5000S also has a 40-pattern arpeggiator on-board with 8 user-definable patterns too! K5000's have been used by Kraftwerk.

In 1997 a rack-module version of the K5000 was released. The rack version shipped with Kawai's more stable OS 3.0 software. The latest is 4.03 and is free to upgrade via download from Kawai. The rack offers all the same power and flexibility as its keyboard counterparts. To get a more hands-on-knobs control of the K5000 (like the K5000S) there is a Knobs Macro box. But other controllers such as Encore Knobby or Keyfax Phatboy can also do the trick.

VISITOR COMMENTS (24)

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Posting Rules: Please keep your comments relevant! Do not post requests for help, do not use for sales, do not post unless you have something interesting to say about this instrument, or we may delete your post.

 

Peter Kadar

Posted 37 days ago

I deeply regret getting rid of my K5000r. It was an absolutely powerful, beautiful, and unique synthesizer. If I ever see one agan, I'm buying it for sure.

Projectwoofer

Posted 38 days ago

I have this synth for about a year and I still find it difficult to program! People say that FM and PD synths are hard, wait to see this one guys!:)

But it's a really deep-sounding synth with a truly unique sound and I love it for that! Bought it used along with a bunch of preset sounds and I must say, it sounds absolutely fantastic! I WILL learn how to program this efficiently soon, I'm sure!

Reinaldo Torres

Posted 43 days ago

I have had many synths in my life. This one was beyond be, is an extra terrestial force inside but for sure the most amazing sound. I got the keyboard back in 1998 for $200 in Sam Ash New York, the rack was at $300 but I didn't acted fast enough. I sold the keyboard 2 years later because I had too much equipment in the studio. I had a Kurzweil K2500RS and trust me, the Kurzweil was a joke compared with the Akai.

If you can get one, do it, but you will be entering in another dimension. This is the best sound you will ever get from any synth ever.

jack-the-tab

Posted 65 days ago

As far as build quality goes its a tank, and keys feel wonderful! This machine is a beast when it comes to pads and textures. It can really create some great soundscapes. I agree with most of the posts here, a real gem!

k-boarding

Posted 78 days ago

Like I said, take your time to explore it, this is a jewell ignored or unknown for the grand mass.
For more resources, visit too.
http://k-boarding.spaces.live.com

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