Kawai K1-II

Unknown software version :(
The strings, pads and voice pressets are good, for more acid I think I'll build an external resonant low-pass filter, maybe with a MIDI triggered ADSR envelope.
Patch editor seems allmost ok for a digital synth, except for the wave selector menu, where you need a lot of patience to find the sound that you need. Maybe because I bought it without the manual ? Where can I download a manual from ? :( HEELP !

I use it primary as a MIDI keyboard, so I don't care much about poliphony. It sends all the notes that I need, and that's good. Too bad it has no MIDI implementation for the joystick controller. But the velocity, aftertouch, pitch and modulation work ok.
Too bad I can't find preset cards for it.

I like the feel of it, that's why I use it as a masterkeyboard.
The simple reverb/delay effect has a surprisingly good sound.

It's a good build. Very solid, it's been heavily used before, and it can take a lot of punching. I trust it a lot.

Customer support sux. It's allmost inexistant.

On my recently bought k1 2 ive found that as an older instrument its still packs a big punch.The patch editor is fair,but of immense importance.The only drawbacks that i have encountered are finding the memory cards it uses.I bought this product used for $150,and i couldnt be happier,although i somewhat dislike the fact that when you change a single patch's parameters it changes all multi banks that use it.But its still easier to change a single patch than changing a multi patch and all its settings.

I like that it allows you to use any unused keys on its polyphony in the virtual octaves it has.There is no onboard sequencer,to my dismay,but used with midi there are (to my knowledge)pressure,omni,effect,and at least one other that i cant remember.I havent used the cards it takes because i havent found any in my area,yet.The patch editor along with any effects it has(at least 9 or 10) i think makes the k1 2 still above obsolete.(its still old...)

Overall,the sounds are fair.Some more than others.Ive never heard a digital synth sound just like the real acoustic its trying to emulate.The effects are alright,i just wish you could change the parameters on them,too!Velocity is a little bit tricky(live),but the layering of a sound hit harder or lighter is really nice.

Ive owned it for about 3 months,and so far ive taken it in once to have a key fixed.Like i said i got it used,but for the price i think i got a good deal because i like what i get out of it.I havent taken it on a gig yet,but when i do i plan on having another to back it up.Definatley.

If it broke completly,got stolen or i lost it i probley would save and get a newer syth.But i dont want that to happen!It would be nice if it had a sequencer,but i own an alesis drum machine and i can program it with the k1 2,and i really like that.I chose it because the price and how badly i needed another synth.It is an integral part of my sound generation(though limited...for now).

i thought the menus for sound editing were fairly confusing,
it took a while to translate the manual's terminology.
though certainly the menus are quite usable if you know what
they mean. as my first midi keyboard in 1989, i dont
have anything to compare it to, really. Kawai thoughtfully
provided some nice 'cheat sheets' that can be taped to the keyboard.

the joystick feature is pretty cool in concept, but a little
difficult to decipher how to use it in performance.
some examples would have helped in the manual.

The user buttons are not entirely self-evident, nor
laid out in a very logical way.

Since I noted some reviewers here commented they didnt like the piano sounds,
I would like to mention that I personally like the piano
sounds quite well. (BUT - I am not a real musician! maybe thats why? :)

Anyway, the piano sound does sound quite rich to me.
Since Kawai is such a large
and respected piano mfr, one would think (or hope?) that
they did the best they could on their piano sounds.

Now, 11 years later, since buying the K1-II as my first
keyboard synth, for 900$ new, (having only played
with synth PAIA modules prior),
I still admire Kawai's design philosophies
as exemplified, for example, in the truly amazing K5000 type
synths, and the very portable and practical KC10 and KC20,
and the GMega module, and the PB3 pocket sound generator,
and the GB2 accompanist.

Kawai seems to have a clear vision regarding the design of each instrument,
it seems to me. Though, the manuals, the factory sound presets,
and other user documentation dont always support the design vision,
sadly.

I am happy to see lots of K1-IIs on Ebay these days,
and am glad they are fetching reasonably high prices (250 US$ or
so?) given their age.

It seems to me, and I certainly hope, that the K1-II is on
its way to being a 'classic', even though it came well
after the age of the 'vintage' synths. It certainly deserves
a long and continuing life among synth fans (and fools!) :)

The K1-II synthesis algorithms will appeal to 'sound engineer'
types who understand, for example, what a sine wave is,
and what a Fourier Spectrum is. This is in contrast to the
classical synthesizer architectures. I think that at the time
the K1-II came out, (1988?), Kawai was quite innovative
in their design of this synth.

The one big drawback in sound quality is that it is based on
8 bit digital samples. This causes the audible hiss and noise
that is fairly noticeable. This synth came out just before 16
bit sound became the norm. 8 bit sound will give you about
the dynamic range of the average cassette tape, about 60 dB
if i recall, whereas the 16 bit synths have practically inaudible
noise and hiss, just like CDs, 96 dB signal-to-noise.

well built for sure.
has never glitched on me, though i dont use it that
hard either, but i believe the other reviewers who give
it high marks for ruggedness.

i am a little peeved that Kawai-US's website is so lame,
with very little support info, or archives on discontinued
products. Kawai Australia has the premier English language
site for Kawai synths.

Have had good responsiveness from inquiries to the
email address listed on the Kawai US website though.
Parts and Manuals are still quite available, it seems.

still have fun with it, which is the point (for me),
even though its 8 bit, and no sequencer etc.

the factory presets are fairly lame, in general, as other
reviewers have mentioned, and dont really reveal the instrument's
potential. Someone auditioning this keyboard purely based on the
factory presets could easily be unimpressed.

Also, compared to some of the newer 'monster' all-in-one
workstation synths, this one comes about as close to an acoustic
instrument's 'pick up and play'-ability as one can get
these days with an electronic (non-Casio :) keyboard.

I noted that one (16 year old!) reviewer on this
site (I think, or was it another?)
*never* saw a manual for the K1-II and yet figured
*everything* out, and even designed a whole suite of impressive
sounds!

Hello my name is Samson and I make dance music with A Roland s-50, Djx, Bosss Dr202 and a Kawai K1 mk2, YES I SAID A K1! The K1 is an ecellent synth for its price (#200). I bought mine in 1998 for #250 and have never looked back since then. I have read many reviews on the K1 most of them drone on about how good it is at emulating M1 warm pads and choirs, BORING! I am a hardcore synthesiser programmer and spend hours on it trying to replicate sounds or produce new ones and believe me this synth is under-rated and can do more than lush pads (which I have to say are marvellous!!!!). I have now built up a bank of analogue style dance sounds (mainly leads). To cmpensate for the lack of filters you have to get your head down, roll your sleves up and work. The K1 is brilliant at creating thick low-end leads and fiery leads however it all depends on what waveforms you choose and what you do with them. Incidently there are 256 of them covering a wide range of instruments. I don't know the names but number 190 and 83 are the best for analoguey sounds.To be honest the samples are crappy (8-bit! yuck) and repeat themselves often but are still very useful. the presets are rubbish but they can be fixed and dramatically changed to your prefference. editing patches is pretty easy but laborious. There are so many editing features and so few buttons so scrolling is plenty! Patch editors are availabe but not neccesrary its just laziness getting one ! Suprisingly the K1 features in all my demos and pieces and is well worth its place in my studio. With a lot of work and time most sounds can be replicated (NOT INCLUDING SOUNDS WITH FILTERED ENV i.e tB303 basses. Funnyily enough the K1 is good at thick, buzzy, angry basses not so hot at acoustic basses or any thing acoustic. There are drum samples in the waveform bank , 100 of them in my opinion they are annoying and unusable.All in all the synth capabilities are excelllent. (BY THE WAY I AM NOT SOME #######! WHO WRITES BIASED IGNORANT AND MISLEADING REVIEWS BECAUSE I HAVN'T TRIED ANY DECENT SYNTHS!

Synthesis type: S + S (sample based) and AM (A modulation feature which drastically extends the sonic potential of the K1 providing you mess around with the key track value of each oscillator in key track ON mode Number of Keys: 61 Ports: MIDI IN, OUT AND THRU. L and R outputs and Phones socket Screen size : 2 * 16 characters ( this is very annoying as you have to scroll alot) Filters: none, you can make up for this by extensive SYNTHESIZING also the waveforms have varieties at different Cut off level and of varing resonance Colour: black There are 64 patch spaces (2 banks of 32) I and i they are called for some reason. Also there are 32 multi patches- this important for midi work as it allows you to stack voices and assign voices to midi channels for sequence playback. 8 NOTE POLYPHONY IF USING 4 OSCILLATERS PER VOICE ( 16 IF USING 2 ) this may be crap by todays standards but its surplus if you are using it in a large studio set-up. The keybourd action is suprisingly good, however it can feel a bit to bouncy over used keys tend to loose there bounce!hmmmmmmm! Its by no means cheep like certain CASIOS and YAMAHAs For expressive play the K1 is exceptional. It has initial touch, after touch, pressure sensitivity and release sensitivity all of which can be assigned to many of the synthesiser functions i.e attack, pitch bend The k1 because of this would make a n excellent controller device! The modulation and pitch bend wheels are placed awkwardly near the top of panel which makes it difficult to use. There are 16 effects all of which to a certain extent are useable especially the delays REVERBS 3 CHORUSES 2 ( these can thicken voices up) PLATES 1 DELAYS multiple The effect levels can be changed 0 - 100 this is useful as the delays can be to over powering and loud. If you tweak the delays to around 40 they are fine especially the panning one! (number 13) The effects are simple to use but are unfortunatly Global and can not be assigned to individual voices or midi channels, its as much as I expect from a 1988 synth. Expansion wise there RAM cards you can by to for the K1mk2 but are difficult to find. I have never had one so I can not comment on how good or rubbish they are. I think they double storage space. I'm not to sure though. There is no onboard sequencer but there is an exceptional performance or multi mode where patches can be arranged for multi-timbrel playback. This machine is 8-part multi-timbral + drums section. The multi mode of the K1 is equal to the EX5s. Here alot of things can be done toe each voice: 1 assign voice to midi channels 1 -16 2 keybourd scale each patch to an area on the keybourd 3 By- pass the effects processer 4 Assign to L or R or Both outputs 5 Patch level 6 Transpose 7 Give each voice a polyphony limit 8 Disable voices from keybourd triggering which is great for live gigging. It means you can play a patch while the others are being sequenced via midi. 9 and more... The K1 responds to after touch and volume levels as expected and the multi mode is extremely easy to use

Insruments are not the K1 strong point infact it's its weakeness, the K1 is purely a SYNTH! When it comes to thick synth sounds, pads, strings, choirs and fiery leads its no 1. I have even programmed some decent HITS! This synth was probably brought out fo elctro or synth pop! But if you are patient and like programming, getting some Dance?Techno sounds out of it isn@t to hard at all infact it can be quite easy. Sometimes I am amazed by some of the sounds it is capable of producing. However beware of some CHEESY PRESETS and PATCHES, it is quite easy to programme some crappy sounds!!!! The K1 is an alround synth suited for Dance, synth/electro pop and rock, there is nothing 'classical' about it! I must emphasise that although the K1 can produce some amazing pads, it can also do some amazing leads or general sounds. The effects are deffinetly useable however the reverbs are a bit on the thin side! The delays need tweaking as they are way to strong and loud. For more serious work I suggest using an external effects processer as it is no ALESIS QUADRAVERB!!! As mentioned before there is an extensive selection of controllers i.e pressure dtecters which allow a lot of expression. However more levels of sensitivity on all the controllers are needed. The lack of Filters is a big downer as they would have been useful as SONIC AMMUNITION and after touch and velocity sensitivity. The K4 has got resonant and cut off filter otherwise it is similar to the K1 I have my sights set on one.grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! do not expect the K1 to be an all in one machine that can make whole songs and pieces. It is just a weapon to be used in your studio set up. I would reccomend it to anyone especially if you are starting out in the Synths or for Experienced Hard core programmers who like a challenge. Beleive me the K1 is capable of producing some wierd new sounds. Basses 8 Leads 8 Pads and strings 10 Brasses 6 synth 9 hits 7 As mentioned before the sound quality can be a bit iffy due to crappy samples but with an external effects processor and lowering of patch volumes the noise can be eliminated.

The K1mk2 has never let me done, even during giggs it is spot on. Suprisingly there are no hanging notes during sequencing playback. I have not encountered any major problems as such, however the THRU IS A BIT DOGGY it sends corrupt messages to my S-50 Generally the K1 is sound!

never needed it

I would definatly buy it agian if anything happened to it but I would be ~~~~~~~ off that I would have to re proggramme all the sounds again. Its well worth the money. I am 18 and have been playing for 5 years. As mentioned before I also own: ROLAND S-50 BOSS DR 202 YAMAHA DJX I love the original sounds it can create or replicate, it also looks good (the side of it looks like the CS1x just abit!). Its extremely easy to use as i have not seen the K1 manuals and yet I acn use everything on it. Its best feature is the MULTI/PERFORMANCE section which allows mnlti-timbral playback with precise control. Its pads and synth sound can be absolutely amazing or cheesy. On the down side it could do with more patch memories, better placed mod and P.B wheels, bigger screen, better quality samples, more samples and most of all FIIIIIIIIIILTERS of the resonant kind and LOw and High pass filters. I have compered the K1 with the Sy-35 and I think the k1 wins easily. The Sy-35 may have 16 bit samples but they are mostly crap and not useable and as the FM (Yuck!!!) side of it, that just brings back memeories or the the DX27 I used to own. The K1 is generally armwer and produce a wider range of sounds while the Sy-35 produces more harsher colder sounds. The K1 is a cheap M1 in some ways because of its gorgeous warm pads. its also like a Poly 61 or Jx3p interms of its leads and synth sounds.
Oh by the way I have a Pentium 2 processor 266mhz and 32 mb sdram to swap for a K4r can anyone help phone 0151 724 5232 only if you are living in U.K please!!!!!

This is a real little gem! The onboard effects add a bit of thickness to the sounds, and programming is a snip. The 16 X 2 LCD display is a bit of a faff sometimes, with lots of scrolling to get the edit parameters you need. And DON'T lost the table of waveforms, as there is no clue from the screen what is going on!

Polyphony: 10 nots + 4 for drums (they don't eat into your valuable notes) There's a card slot. Good luck at finding any! I've also used K1 sounds & cards without any problem. There's lots of them out there on the WWW

I like the choir and string stuff. Without filters, you have to like the basic wavefroms! It's not so good at brass sounds, but for user controlled morphing, using the joystick, it's great. The keyboard is quite heavy for a spring plastic effort.

I've used this for a few years now. It's absolutely un-commentworthy. It just does the job.

Never used the support lines!

This is a definite replacement if anything ever happens to it. It's musical - it encourages you to get in and create.