Kawai • K1
The K1 is one of Kawai's most economic digital synthesizers in the K-series. The K1 has 256 digital samples of waveforms, 50 of which are from acoustic instruments. You combine up to four wave shapes to create very new and unique sounds. The K1 is capable of very good acoustic recreation, excellent unique synth sounds or at times, completely noisy walls of complex sound.
The K1 comes in many options: the K1m module/desktop version and the rackmount K1r (pictured above). It makes a great entry-level or back-up synth. Budget digital D-50-like synthesis doesn't get much better than this! It is used by Cirrus and Lab-4.
VISITOR COMMENTS
Comments page 1 of 2
I agree, noise is a problem, but will not be that disturbing in the overall mix. Given that you get the K1r for around 80 Euros today, this one is a very nice synth. Even some of the preset sounds are very good, eg stringpad, kickbass, visitors (!). Fans of german rock band BAP should listen to the album"Da Capo", where nearly all synth sounds are presets from the K1. With some programming effort, you will get cools sounds out of it that fit good in the mix with other synths.
The K1 has a lot of potential for sounding as old as it is. That being said, it also is capable of further possibilities. The sample set is rough and grainy, but that could just be your bag. When played, it also creates a lot of additional noise, especially when stacking sounds. It's basic waveform (sine, triangle, etc) sounds aren't bad, and it's percussion and metallic sounds could fit well into a brash, perhaps industrial setting. This synthesizer can really benefit from additional synth/effect processing. It may not be highly desired today, but worth stumbling upon.
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