Kawai K1

i remember programming it right out of the box, after having read half the (btw.well-written!) manual. the presets sound nice, but they are too dated to be of much use, exc. for the occasional string pad. that's why it's a synth, folks. so you can make it your own.

a lot of complaints are voiced about the keyboard, but its not quite THAT bad. you are not going on solistic flights with this machine, it's rather the perfect texture maker, or background instrument. the pressure sensitivity is pretty crap, though.
fortunately no fx, they don't really belong on a synth, and you wouldn't want to use them much nowadays. do your k1 the favour to run it thru sth decent, and it will reward you with out of this worlds, beautiful ethereal pads and bizarro pseude-modular insect drones.

i would use it for electronica, ambient, film music, whatever. not per se an techno synth, though. (no filter)
none of the instruments are "realistic", but the string sounds are very very beautiful, not just for this price range.
btw, the noise mainly seems to stem from the pcm samples (the attack sounds and percussive sounds) , so i mainly use the additive waveforms, and with a decent fx processor, there's nothing to complain about.

its actually surprisingly well built for a cheap keyboard of its age.

i often hook it up to my kawai phm module, even lusher textures ooze out of this pair. this review is coming from someone who also plays yamaha cs-60, roland jupitre, moog etc. if you only ever own one digital synth, it should be the k1.

As far as I know, there was never any specific user-available software
designed for this synth, unless you include the dc-8 mem'ry, which really should be considered a hardware peripheral, I believe. Patch editing , along with all of the other adjustable functions are real easy if you red the manual first. The manual is one of the simplest on the market - it got straight to the point of the most common issues
and eliminated a lot of red mental tape by avoiding obscure possibilities and micro-tech dialect.

8 note polyphony. 96 preconstructed patches, 64 single, 32 multi's
which can be divided into 8 sections apiece. Vibrato and auto-bend are the only effects, but that doesn't undermine the extent to which the vm tone generator allowed enhancement manipulation control.DC-8
cards gave the machine a good reputation for expansion possibilities.
The midi capabilities continue to be useful(if not necessary) for those who continue using this machine in 2003. Velocity information can be transmitted on this machine as did most midi-capable synths could which had velocity capabilities in the late 80's. No sequencing,
but with a little sweat one could modify the "drum" patches to arpeggiate in ways that perhaps even the Kawai techs didn't consider.

The various string elements remind one of the sweet warmth that used to be associated with the Crumar Performer(at least when it first came out of the box!) I still listen carefully when playing the French Horn patch. I found the machine endlessly useful for clean, expressive orchestrated patches when it came to giving small symphonic impressions(don't you think that this is an important way of thinking when engineering ballads? Remember - good art invokes the
audiences to supply the details of overall structure through their imagination, expression can then be brought forth full strength by the artist. The Kawai K1 was masterful in it's abilities as a tool for the essntial backrounds. It never got in the way, yet, it was fully supportive - you know, like a B1.)
The K1 was excellent for ballads of all sorts of musical genre. However, no lead synth could it be without the retro on the fly oscillation and filter adjusters. To be fair, the pitch bend and modulation wheels were beautifully engineered, along with the multi-functional joy stick that came with the machine. Problem is, all of these still had to have there performance parameters selected way before you hit the stage. I don't know about everyone else but I never
gave up my potential for improvisaional expressionism without a fight.
As so many of even today's entry class synths, unweighted keys sacrifice a lot. The K1 does do well when used with a controller - and in this regards is still quite amazing to me when mixed with updated synths. The aftertouch sucks...

The K1 was the most reliable keyboard I have ever used. 15 years on the same battery. It looks great - yet, I've never once put it in a bag or a shell(shame on me!).It's too old to fool myself that it shouldn't have a back-up now, but, man, can you dig the reliability
history?! I'm 46 - all these years and keyboards later, if I could only have one keyboard - Kawai would be its name because of this one factor!

You know, I'm just needing information for things like the battery,
extra DC8 cards, and some other things. Maybe this format can help me.

I've seen some of these keys in pawn shops for 150.00. They are well worth having as stackable entries in your studio needs. If you have the moolah for all the toys available today - forget looking for this one - an S80 would blow this machine away. But I'm holding on to mine for future use - not just sentimentally, mind you, but, I'm just used to using it in my studio as an outstanding ballad enhancement tool. Yes, I usually hook it up as a midi slave. If your looking for a pawn bargain, there you go.

Note to potential K1 buyers or enthusiasts:

please see my review under the K1m (the module version) as it is relevant to the K1 keyboard or rack mount versions.
The only thing I would like to re-emphasize is that as much as I like this synth as it is, a good stereo multi-effects processor can make this thing come ALIVE. I recently picked up a Roland/Boss SE50 to use exclusively with the K1, and man, it sounds incredible. Before this I was mostly using a Yamaha FX500, which was ok, but only had mono input, so a lot of the stereo imaging was lost, especially on those wonderful airy pads that the K1 is known for. Having the stereo inputs made a big difference. I picked up the SE50 used for only $60 and it was a great investment, as it expanded the sonic capability of the K1 by a lot.
The only other thing I would add is that the presets are a mixed bag, with a lot of them not being that great. However, if you take the time to program this synth, or at least download some good tweaked patches, you will be surprised how good this thing can sound.

This was my first digital synth way back in 1989. Since then I've found it to be very easy to program and it doesn't take long to do it either - even with the tiny display. The manual is OK, very to understand with nothing lost in the translation from Japanese, unlike others I could mention. Only when you start to tinker does the potential of this beast hit you.

The polyphony is a bit limited, put you can improve things by cutting down on the number of voices within a single patch. You lose some texture to the sounds, but it can be useful at times when creating a multi patch.
The keyboard is great for a #500 synth with nice weight and aftertouch. No onboard effects but no hardship really.

When I bought the K1 I tried everything from Roland, Yamaha and Korg had at the time below #1000. The strings on the K1 blew them into the weeds! I have still to hear a string sound that has such depth as this machine can produce. It cuts at the top end and the bass is deep. Compared to an M1 or a D50 this thing just takes things to a higher level. One patch, Fairmarket, has become my sound. I tweaked it and it is so deep and different than any other string sound out there. I love it. Mix it with a pure string sound (say from an EMT10) and you have the instant dirtiness off the good ol' mellotron! Wonderful. All the pad and effect sounds are great, the organs are OK, the basses good, the acoustic pianos poor, the electric pianos/clavinets are good but the drums are awful! The Ahh and Voice sounds are brilliant though, such depth.

Only one problem about six months after I bought it, the aftertouch disappeared. It was quickly fixed but over the years has faded again. It still works but you have to press VERY hard! The original battery is still in though after 14 years - but I make sure all my stuff is sysex dumped just in case.
It weighs a ton, and is very tough. Metal chassis and tough plastic case. You could hammer nails in with it.

Quick to repair the aftertouch, no problems since. They give out free patches and patch editors on the website (or did the last time I looked - but it was a while back.)

I would break my legs to get this replaced if anything happened to it. A wonderful synth that has aged better than its contemporaries which sound dated now. A cracking second hand buy - I wouldn't mind a K1R too!

The K1 keyboard does not have built-in effects. I was only referring
to the module having sound effects in the previous post.

Excellent for Dark Industrial, Trance, New Age, and Groove. Very nyce
strings and Rhodes Piano. Other pianos, well forget them. Satisfactory
drum kits included also. Very airy, Dark and warm sounds (metals
pinging, mist rising.

The presets to this machine are well established, strangely but greatly. The patches are fairly easy to edit once some experience
is obtained. You can also save and access more memory to the card
(or cards). The K1 has no filter, once you tweak with the LFO and
ringmodulation, I don't assume that you'll have any complaints
about not having one.

This is a nyce synth for capabilities of keyboard splitting, a decent polyphony, not to mention velocity and aftertouch sensitive
keys. It works well as a master MIDI. The K1 also employs built-in
sound effects. Chorous, reverb to name a few. Full MIDI - IN,THRU,
and OUT ports for well communication of abilities. The K1, however,
does not accompany an onboard sequencer. Concerning patches, there
are several new ones that can be downloaded free from the Kawai
website.

Instrument patches of the K1 are different. The strings and brass are
very compatable to being real, the piano patches could be improved to
some point (except for the Rhodes piano which is prefferably hypersonic and plastic. The ability to modify the LFO out of it's
boundaries and ringmodulation allow the K1 to produce an array of
sounds that's blown completely out of proportion, unlike none I've
ever heard before! Very strange, ethereal, mystic and nasty. It
would be an excellent synth for an Industrial, Gothic Rock, New Age
or even a groove band. And yes, there are some impressive drum kits included. Being that it is a velocity and pressure sensitive keyboard, it works suprisingly well with many units of percussion.

It is a well built synth, however like any other synth will require
some maintenance and upkeep, usually minor things such as battery replacement, cleaning electrical contacts for the keys, and perhaps
replacing the display light after several years use.

I haven't dealt with the company before, but I know of someone who
needed a backlight, which he obtained directly from Kawai, and was
very satisfied with their speed and service.

Go find a used K1 in acceptable condition and buy it. Experiment with
it. If you are unique and elemental, you'll enjoy this synth that
only few have came to appreciate.

After reading the manual,this synth is easy to use,eventhough there
are only a few buttons for programming.
Once familiar with the programming Menue,sounds can be easily developed.
The manual explains a lot,but not enough.A disease of the eighthies
synths.Especially the explanation of FM theory in the DX7 manual
was joke.And in the K1 we find it again.

2 to 4 independent waveforms at a time with ADSR for each Wave.
256 Waveforms.Most are static K5 sounds with an add of some PCM Samples
Multisamples..
AMPLITUDEMODULATION !
Vectorjoystick for blending through the 4 waveforms during play.
8 Multitimbral.8/16Voice polyphony,depending on the singlesoundsetting.

An ordinary preset waveform synth,like the Korg M1.Soundquality is
8 Bit.Not crispy clean and a little weak in the bass.A unique sound-
character.
For standard sounds,Pads and Brass are fine.They really sound good for
such a limited device.
The big over mufty cracker is the AM-function.It is not a Ringmodulation like the manual
explains.AM is two pole and RM is four pole,if compared to Lowpass-
FiltersIN RM you only here the differencs and summary of the used
waveforms.In AM still here the original waveforms.Anyway....

The AM is the KillerAPP of the K1.Here you can produce really dirty
and muddy sounds,far away from digital and cold crispness.
Here you can make the sound fat,dirty or really weird.This is the
FX-section of the K1.
Another thing is the LFO.If set to extreme,then the IC can not calculate correct anymore
and offers a kinf of Random LFO with a special flavour.

For FX Sounds Freaks like me a real good source of inspiration.

As FX device I give it a 10,as ROM based synth a 7.So it is 8,5 with
rounding a nine

After 13 years of usage,it needs a new puffer battery.
Buttons are not of good quality-like in the K5.

Not yet needed

The K1 has Wolfemansoul in the body of a sheep.
Using it only for Pads or Brass is OK,but then you miss the dark
heart of it.
This dark heart will appear with the AM function.Amazing.
Not to forget the sick LFO at extreme settings.

Multimode is fine and well arranged.The sound is 8Bit,wich fits to
the AM.Here you can get dirt in the sound.
At its time the K1 was a cheap and flexible synth with a lot of
sound and functions for a small money.Most users preferred it to use it as Korg M1 clone.
What a pity.
The real heart is in the AM function.And here the K1 sounds incredible.

NO FX on board.But with programming you can produce pseudo chorus,
flanging and phaser effect and also a kind of pseudo reverb.
Pseudo delay can be also set.

I got this keyboard as a gift from a friend. He didn't have a manual and he also had forgot how to edit the patches. I have had a good time using it to play with preset sounds and so has everyone I know who has played it. I have had some good ideas for patches but I cant seem to figure out how to save them. If anyone knows the process post a review with instructions or e-mail me.

For a simple keyboard it has excellent action and superb polyphony. I havent found any built in effects so I don't know if it even has any, but it can accept cards so I imagine that it can be expanded.

I agree with the guy who posted about the string and pad sounds. They are Outrageous!

I think that this is a pretty hardcore keyboard as far as construction goes... so I would definetly carry it around without a backup.

Its a good keyboard if your just getting into synthesisers.

This synth is easier to use than any Korg I've owned.
OK. That's not saying much. It's as easy as my MU90 also.
In fact, it is set up in the classic synth framework.
Multiple patches and single patches. 4 banks for each.
Editing is very interesting and advanced. This is an
additive synth folks! It sells for $100 on Ebay and
it is an additive synth. One of the first. You can add
waves to each other in the editing process to produce
very unusual sounds.

8 polyphony.
Keyboard action is excellent for a synth.
I always thought Kawai had excellent key action.
The early additive synthesis feature is unique
in its time. It is an excellent little midi controller.

The strings and pads on the K-1 are famous.
There are hundreds of sounds for this thing free on the internet.
But where the K-1 reputation will always rest is on the strings and pads. Unique and wonderful! The strings are the best I've heard for my own music. I have come to be dependent on the string pad sound.

I have used it since 1989 without a problem.
I would rate it an 11.

Fantastic customer support. Perhaps because Kawai still keeps their two synth guys employed (Troy and another Gent), despite the fact that they stopped manufacturing synths a few years ago. I got to know Troy reasonably well. You call 'em up or email them. They answer your questions.
Not like Korg.

It was an inexpensive synth in its time.
Over the years, mainly because of the strings and pads,
its reputation has grown. They sell for $100-200 on Ebay.
Can you believe it? I've purchased a second one.

It is easy to use. Easier to edit with a patch editor such as midiquest, of course, this what I used. Never had manual, can't comment on it. Editing to a beginner could be daunting and only a beginner would want this synth.

Standard/Run of the Mill features. Nothing to get hard nips over. 8 part multi , however the polyphone (not sure) is too low to make serious use of this capability. oh yeah, joystick is a joke.
I hate the position and feel of the mod and pitch wheel. keyboard nice to play

The sounds are so bland in this thing. I hate it. I created 100s of patches and couldn't get anything out of the range of run of the mill.
noises even suck. leads, bass, - nothing has punch or balls.
Good for filler. I used it for background stuff in a couple recordings. Good beginner keyboard.

It's plastic. As with all gear, be gentle and you'll have it forever.
I've never had a problem. Living proof that smoke doesn't hurt your gear too much - kept in a very smoky home studio.

n/a

This is a bland board - all in all. I'd only recommend it to beginners. Don't take me wrong, you can get stock sounds out of it.
But if you've got one, you'll eventually yearn for something more.
After making 100s of patches for it, I pretty much learned that there were no stellar sounds lurking somewhere in the circuitry waithing to be found. I wouldn't pay more than $150 for one - if you have to do it.

In terms of ease of use, its pretty easy. I mean hey, this thing is pretty damn old school. Mine came with out a manual, so I had a little stumbling around to do, but its pretty easy to use once you get there.

No onboard effects, but a cheap reverb unit will totally add to it. It has a ram slot in the back, but I've never used it, preferring to program it through sysex instead. There are a number of patches available.. (more later).

In terms of features, its pretty slim, but if you're expecting a full synth, you're looking in the wrong place. It does a few things very well, and for the cost is totall worth it. Don't expect to much out of it, and you'll be very happy.

Features that ARE good though, is the fact that you can program the crap out of it. You can do whole bunches of things with it that i haven't dug into yet, but being programmable is a plus.

It does have a joystick too, which allows you change the sound in real time, but its not midi recordable so I barely use it.

Here is where you set your expectations. This synth SUCKS for doing real life sounds like piano and brass, but don't buy it for that. The real silver lining of this cloud is the Pads and Strings. Oh my! Its a little thin there because of its age, but a simple reverb unit will add the depth. The pads, strings and organ sounds make this unit excellent, very nice stuff. You can make some really spacy sound on this.

Just got it, but its old and used, and has been through a couple of owners so far and its working fine for me..

Kawai US just rules in terms of support. I got it without a manual, and within a day, had one sent to me in the mail. cost $12 plus shipping, but they were very nice. And the tech support guys have been VERY helpful in helping me figure out how to use it in the mean time. they're great!

Yeah, I would get another one if this one disapeared, I'm actually considering tracking down a second one if I can find it cheap, since I can only get one midi channel at a time, I want to stack them. I wouldn't pay over a hundred, but its a fun synth for the pads and strings..

Once you have made friends with your K1, the quirky "dead flesh" buttons, tiny screen and joystick become less of a hinderence. Most K1 users have sufficient love to apply the required patience in matestering the programming and MIDI aspects. I have had my K1 for over 10 years and can race my way through the menu's to make a sound on the fly or make a tweak.

The features of the K1 are more than enough for your money. I won't repeat the comments of other reviewers except to say that the K1 has a certain uniqueness in sound and all the features you'll need to apply those sounds in your tunes.

The K1 excells in strange "mars landing" and "UFO Invasion" styles, also I've emulated some good analogue CZ101 type synth sounds plus the famous, breathy strings and choral arrangement stuff is lovely. I agree with the additional external effects suggestion though - and I too have an old MIDIVerb III on the case! This synth works well sound-wise for any style but will never be everything to everyone. It could be used alone for "soundtrack" work, but dance/pop/rock you'll need other stuff and use the K1 for pads/fx.

I've hoiked my K1 all over the country and although a couple of keys are now a bit flaky, and it rattles cos of all the bits in it, it's going strong 10 hard years on!

Never had any need to contact Kawai.

I love my K1. I've used it as a master keyboard for ever and feel my most creative when sat before it. I use less of the sounds these days having samplers coming out of my ears, but there's a particular place for my ash tray on it, a place where my beer rests. It's one of those synths that feels heavy enough to be a "real" synth, but the keys are light and fluffy which appeals to a non-pianist like me. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed if paying what must be such a low price today for such a solid and faithful all-rounder.

The K1 is easy to use and to programme from its soundarchitecture.
No relations to the parametric battlefield of the big brother K5.
The UserInterface is typical for the late 80,a few buttons wich control
the whole parameters.Without an Editorsoftware it makes no fun to
programm patches.
Anyway,at its time it was the standard on such devices.

Programming is easy,with all necessary features.A good Midi Multi Mode.
Manual describes the functions in an accepptable way.Also total
beginners should be able to have wonderful programmingsessions.

K1 has 8/16 polyphony,depending if in a patch are used 2 or 4 sources.
No buildin effects.Cartridge slot for additional sounds/Multis.
MIDI-Dump.Keyboard is OK with aftertouch.Quality is good.

Synthesis is simple,combine in the four source VM and PCM waves.
Special feature is the Ringmodulation.This RM enables the K1 to have
"dirty/odd"-sounds up to FM-like sounds.
Standard ADSR envelopes.
A joystick for realtimemanipulation for the volumes of each source.

Conclusion: A simple synthesisdevice,with some interesting gimmicks.

Sounds can be varied a lot.The soundquality is 8Bit.But it is OK.
Some noises and buzzes are typical for 8 Bit devices.
Some nice PCM sounds.
Sounds can be edited fast and can have nice expressions,by joystick,
pitchbend and Modulation.
If set to a high value,the LFO gets an own life.

No Filtersection,but at this time,digital Filters were far away from
to be marvelous.Pseudo Filtering can be realized with different
waveforms in row.
Today effectdevices are cheap,so if you own a K1,be nice and give it
such a unit.Sounds will get more life.

The big Clou of the K1 is the Ringmodulation.This is not the place
to explain,what can be done with it,but it is able to get a really
FAT sound out of the K1.A little bit like FM,a little bit analog.
RM also can produce nice phasing effect.Depending on the waves and
the ratio between two ringmodulated Sources.
It needs only experience and careful programming.

I still use the K1 in my Setup.For such sweet sounds-wich it is also
able to produce,but mostly for SciFi-sounds or analogue clones.
Of course I have an external analog 24dB Filter switched behind it.

On gigs still in use.

Never needed

Eventhough an old and cheap device,I still need this tiny device.
Mostly for Ringmodulation.
K1 is K1 and can not be compared with other devices.It has this special
8 Bit sound(LoFi) and is easy to use.
If lost/stolen I would buy a new one.

Not TOO easy, but I have learned. Presets sound VERY good, manual too, and editing is alright.

Good features - an excellent keyboard, which alone is worth much more than I did pay!

HEy man - yo wanna SPACE !?!?!

Well, well, well,.... is is old stuff, isnt it...

Buy this if you can get it !!! Fantastic sounds, fantastic keyboard action!

Editing is pretty easy, since the options are pretty limited... I use an editor on all my synths, so I am not particularly fond of editing from the front panel. Screen is pretty small. Selecting patches and mixes and setting up global parameters is pretty straight forward.

Features are limited, but, that's what you get from an entry level synth from 1989. MIDI capabilities are good considering how old it is. Kybd action good, held up well over the years. Memory cards are still available that work on the K1 but they are expensive (around $100) considering how many patches they hold... I wouldn't bother with them given how much the synth is worth. If you're using it at home only there is a librarian free of charge available in the net. Do a search for soundlib. I've checked it out and it works w/ my K1.

Presets actually don't do justice.. do yourself a favor and check out other patches. kawai's page (www.kawaius.com) has a few extra banks. Check thru the internet because i've found a total of 12-14 extra banks for it. The main thing about the K1 is it sounds dry and thin compared to today's synths, which mostly have built in effects processors. I run mine thru an old midiverb III and I think it allows a better apples to apples comparison to other synths. Lack of filters is a big - ... they could improved the sounds significantly with an LPF and a filter envelope.

Above all this is a subjective category. My other synths are either newer or higher end.. alesis qsr, kurzweil pc88mx, yamaha cs6x. Yep the cs does more and sounds better and it's 10 years younger. '

Works pretty well for weird synth sounds, some acoustic simulations (strings), effects, low-fi drum sounds. again, I definetly recommend running it thru a simple reverb unit.

Reliable so far.. have had it for about 9 years.

Never had to contact Kawai...

They were pretty popular at the time and I've seen them on ebay on several occasions.. wouldn't pay more than $150 personally (more if you can buy from a shop and have a 30 day warranty or something) for a new one though. It was worth at the time what I paid.. and I've got my money's worth.

At the time I bought it was worth every penny... I was in school and had no money but wanted something to practice. I'm still fond of some of the sounds, and I guess I'm quite fond of it since it's piece of gear that i've owned the longest.

I've just gotten this synth from my dad today. It's my first real MIDI synth, so this is what I'll be learning on. In the few hours I've spent with it so far, it's proving to be very user-friendly, with just enough options to really get into making my own patches, but not so many that I get lost (well, not TOOO lost... ;-).

I was with my dad when he got this keyboard last year at a used-gear shop for $200 (too much?) with hold pedal, power-pak, three manuals and one K-8 (?) memory card. Somewhere along the way, the card was lost or misplaced. So, if you have a spare to sell/trade, please let me know!

For an early MIDI-era keyboard, it has pretty cool sounds! And, like most of you other K 1 users out there, I too love those sweet strings sounds!

I've put it through it's paces in the last hour, and seen no signs of wear or trouble.

If anyone out there feels like droping a few hints/tips my way, please email me at huckdunsany@hotmail.com
Thanks!

This is a really nice keyboard to use.
The menu structure is pretty clear - setting up multitimbral combinations is incredibly easy.
The little joystick is a nice feature for setting up sounds and you can use 'live' to edit sounds while playing, though I can't say I do.
As a non-piano player I find the keyboard really pleasant - it is more substantial feeling than many synth keyboards & I think responds well to after-touch.

Comapre with modern synths it is lacking in features - no filters (shame!), no built-in effects, no separate drums, 8 part polyphony only. But for the price you can get it for now (if you can find one) it makes a good master keyboard and a great source for more unusual sounds.
With a bit of programming it can produce some really off-the-wall stuff.

It's an old synth now and those 8-bit pcm samples really don't cut the mustard for reproducing 'natural' sounds. It also won't do analogue-type stuff (no filters). But it does have some really great sounds & great potential for programming. As someone else has said, the strings patch is lovely! (As is the 'Aaah' I think) It can do some good 'digital synth' sounds. It's also great for just plain wierd sounds.

I've had mine for over 10 years without a single problem.

I've never had a reason to contact Kawai.

I would really miss mine if I lost it - I used it as my main synth for many years & I still use it as my controller keyboard & for some key sounds.

I bought my first and only synth/midi controller keyboard, a K1 in 1989. After 10 years, and spendind all of 1998 in a closet, it still WORKS LIKE day 1!!!!!!! In 1990, I had the software chip replaced free where I purchased it. Apparently, when the K-1 II came out, a free upgrade was made available. I grabbed the opportunitity as it was free. The internal battery has held up 10 years now. Impressive. Editing patches has been a BREEZE. It has a very simple OS that has been so easy to use and the joystick helps. Another person wrote that only about 10 patches were good. I do not agree. I have come up with some great Basses and pianos, but there is a CATCH. Because the K-1 is a low end synth so far behind the K-4 of the time with only 8 bit resolution, I have used a lot of reverb on most sounds. A large room or medium hall will make a K-1 "pass" for a K-4. I'm glad I bought it. But I would always rather have had a K-4. Hat's off to Kawai for a great synth!!! As a controller it is fine. I have added rack mounts over the years and as far as a midi controler it could just as easily be a 10K dollar synth. The ease of sysex dumps and loading is great too. I give the K-1 a 5 thumbs up grade. Jonathan Cain of Journey endorsed and owned K-1(s). No patch editor was ever required or desired. The manual was very user freindly. 10 years in the future, I have it memorized. The K-1 OS is in my head.
Sincerely,
James Browning

This Synth belongs in the musical instrument hall of fame.

I own the rackmount version of K-1, model K1r. Editing is the simplest I've seen on a synth, which allows you to concentrate on the sound you want to create and not on the bottomless menus. Manual is adequate. The presets vary in quality but I think there are many that are useful. Some of them make use of the random modulation source to create sounds that are weird in an inspiring way.

No built-in effects is a major limitation in this unit. I solved the problem by buying a cheap reverb unit, and the slightly "wet" sound is much sweeter, although I have to say that many patches have simulated effects built in.
The synth is interesting because it's a PCM-based additive machine. The waveforms in ROM are of two kinds -- fundamental oscillator shapes with varying harmonic content, which allows you to sijulate sweeps in the absense of filters; and PCM samples of attack portions of real instruments sounds.
MIDI: fairly complete. I like the way it resonds to aftertouch and the flexibility with which it's set up. You can create some very expressive sounds by modulating vibrato and pitch from aftertouch and velocity.
Expansion: I have one Voice Crystal sound card which is excellent. There are more available.
No arpeggiator/sequencer.

Because of the ease of programming, there is little that stands in the way of creating a new patch. I used K1r as a lead instrument with auto pitch bend and it sounds quite distinct. In other cases, it makes a wonderful FX unit with bleeps, noises and hisses which offer a pretty good palette for techno, ambient etc.

If you don't count the battery-based expansion card, it seems to be pretty reliable. It never gave me problems and it looks like a tank. The MIDI connector works fine but it feels kind of loose because of the extensive use my unit has seen, so I give it a 9.

N/A

I bought it used at Sam Ash because I thought I would return it if it wasn't good. It turned out to be a good machine, and I effectively paid a bit too much, $200. I would try to buy another one for about $130 should mine get lost.
The unit lacks effects and filters, but it's definitely useful in certain applications. Look for it if you want something remotely similar to Korg M1, M3R but much cheaper.

i have used a variety of public domain patch editors for the k1. There are so many of them on the internet and free, some with very large librarys of patchs. (check some of the old atari 8 bit sites for 900 or more patch librarys!) You would do good to see what is on the internet or bbs in the way of patch editors and sound banks, and probably would not need to buy an editor. Some of the banks have patchs that sound like they were used in some of the space opera music, like 2001. Then there are some really strange patchs that sound like sci fi lazer zaps at one speaker, the sound moves from that speaker across the room, and splatters on the other speaker. This effect is done by making 8 patchs, and giving each of them a different pan position, and a different attack starting time, etc., and then set these 8 patchs so they can all be triggered on the same channel. The sounds of the k1 are great for sci fi, and some killer sounds, but do not sound much like real life instruments. I only liked a few of the presets, but loved what I was able to get in sound banks, and have replaced most of the presets with these patchs. It is fairly easy to edit patchs, but it has some odd options not on most synths that might confuse you at first, such as setting each patch to what channel it will respond to. A patch editor does make a big difference in how easy it is to edit, and allows better storage than carts. The manual is fairly good, it is just so different a synth, that you most likely will feel confused, and the manuel will seem unclear untill you understand the synths unusual options better.

No sequencer, can take a cartrige to store patchs, 8 voice multi timbral with multi sounds, and it is easy to use. Just remember to connect both a midi out and in cable to your computer when you use a patch editor, most need both cables connected.

K1 users will be happy to know about this trick that will let them get large patch librarys of about 900 patchs for free! First you will need to get a k1 editor program. You can easily find these on the internet, for your brand of computer or ask in the newsgroups. You most likely will get several banks of patchs with the editor. Now here is the trick. I found that I also could download K1 editors and or sound banks from other computer bbs, and internet sites that were not the same brand as mine. The editors will not work, but the sound banks will. Yes, I used Atari, amiga, ibm k1 sound banks. It did not matter if these sound banks and editors are archived in zip files, or lha or larc files. I just downloaded the file to floppy and decompressed it using the decompress program for my computer, and found that it works! This means you can get archives of patchs, sound banks, even midi files from many sources than just your type of computer. Mac files seem to do something different, but if I used a decompresser program called unsit, for my computer, I could get those mac files too, that were compressed with the .sit extension. Just remember to not try to run any of the programs, and delete them, and only save the banks, patchs, and midi or sample files.

It seems very reliable, and does not lose its patchs even with power failures of several days. I think it could be used with no backup, but anyone doing gigs should always plan for the worse case event.

I would get one again, but they sell now for about $200. They are very good for that price if you want some space and sci fi or growling synth sounds, and air vent type sounds, but they are a bum for traditional instrument sounds.

Non-General Midi. You create your own 8 part arrangements and save them. Therefore, this synth cannot be used as a live multi-timbral create your arrangements on-the-fly rig.

No effects. No General Midi. Keyboard action OK.

I've owned this synth for 10 years. I also own a Korg N-Series, a Roland Sound Canvas, a Yamaha DB-50 daughterboard and a Kawai K-11 synth. I am not kidding. THE STRING PAD ON THE K-1 IS THE FINEST I HAVE EVER HEARD. Better than Korg. Better than Roland. Better than Yamaha. I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THE STRING PAD VOICE ON THIS SYNTH. Therefore, I give this synth a 10 for sound (that 1 voice only).

I've owned it 10 years. Performed with it. Never a problem.

Kawai is the only synth company I've been able to actually talk to tech support whenever I needed to. I got to know the guys by name.

I cannot live without the string pad voice on the K-1. I use the bass (acoustic) voice a lot too.
It's not only me who feels this way. Ian Babylon said in KEYBOARD MAG. that he still uses a K-1R in his gigs with Elton John.

Pay attention: this concerns the rack version, which has 4 outputs and no keyboard (!) or joystick (for vector synthesis). Due to its idiotically small display there's a lot of scrolling to do. However, everything is clear and logically layed out.

It has a polyphony of 32 voices. Every patch either uses 2 or 4 at the same time. I especially like the following: -The rack version has 4 individual outputs. -The samples can amplitude-modulate each other (AM sounds a bit like ring modulation). -It has 8 (!) velocity curves which can be set for each individual voice and can be inverted also. -Though it lacks filters it has a lot of usefull parameters which you won't find on other synths. Like the velocity curves, extensive layering and splitting, also multitimbrally (8 channels)and 5 keyscale curves (normally this would be a straight line on up: e.g. the higher you play, the higher the pitch, but there are 4 other types available, and you can individually for each voice link different parameters (not only pitch, as in the example) to it). -2 poly-modes: new notes played on the same key can either stop the previous one (as with piano's)(even my $2500 SY85 doesn't have this indispensable function) or not (like playing the same note on 2 different guitar-strings).
It's a pity it doesn't have a pitch EG (only a "ramp", a straight line) and / or portamento (although the mono mode does suggest a fast portamento which is quite convincing).

I don't find the instruments realistic at all. It's great for really electronic music. Weird, atonal sounds. Especially percussive. It's very expressive, as you can link anything to (channel) aftertouch and velocity in extremely different ways within one patch. But you really have to work on it because the samples themselves are crap.

I haven't used it that long (yet). I previously owned the keyboard version, never had any problems.

Sorry, no experience here.

Especially for this price (about $200) it's the greatest piece of my gear and I would never sell it again (I sold the Keyboard version some years ago to an asshole). I use it with about 50% of the productions I make. Advice: get the rack version (as I did), you'll need the 4 individual outs!

-Not sure about the software Rev, although it was updated when a board was replaced a couple of years ago.
The stock sounds are pretty lame, only about 10 out of the original 64 are very useable. This is not a fault of the keyboard though, more the programmers. This keyboard was released back when the japanese were doing all their programming in house, so the presets kind of suffer. There are a million patches available for this thing, so don't let the sound of a stock one in the store color your thinking (mine only has about 5 of the original 64 sounds)
Editing patches is fairly simple, although sometimes the buttons take several pushes to engage. The programming interface is sort of like a Proteus with more buttons; you select a function and then scroll thru several pages of info. There is a graphic on the top panel that shows the structure of the pages - Very nice when you first get the synth and don't know it very well.
The manual was far better than a Roland manual (then again so is toilet paper). It actually explains some of of the concepts behind the parameters instead of just saying what they are.
I use Midi-Quest 4.0 for editing - it helps a lot, especially with the envelope editing. It's great for setting up multi-banks too. The synth is quite useable without an editor, but it really helps.

Quoted in ads as having 16 voice polyphony, but that's with using a two oscillator structure. The best sounds (usually) use 4 oscillators, so for all practical purposes, it's an 8 voice synth. At least you have a choice of two or four, unlike many other budget synths that only allow two oscillators to be layered. For it's vintage (1988/89) and price, the polyphony was actually very good.
One nice feature with the multi setup is that you have a choice of fixed voice allocation (0 to 8 voices) or variable (called VR in the screen). This way you can limit some patches in a multi to only a few notes, and make sure the extras are availabe for the patches that really need them.
No built in effects - those were added in the K-1 II version.
The only expansion option is a RAM card. The Kawai's were very expensive I bought a 3rd party card with sounds. Later on, using sysex dumps, I acquired three more sets of sounds from another guy's Kawai cards when I was doing a studio project for him. I took some of my own patches, and the best of the stock sounds, along with the best of his 3 cards and put them in the internal memory and on the card. This gave me 128 Good patches instead of the 10 or so that were decent to begin with.
One limitation of the multi setups is that you cannot mix patches from the internal memory and RAM card within a multipatch. Multipatches on the RAM card also cannot use internal sounds. I spent a little time with a sheet of paper planning around this so it wasn't a big deal. RAM cards are probably hard to come by now anyway, but if it comes with one, that would be an extra incentive to buy the Keyboard.
For a 1988 budget synth, the midi capabilities are very impressive. Unlike the Roland D-10, it has aftertouch. You can set it to send and receive on separate midi channels, and the multi-mode (multi-timbral) is very flexible. You can set any of 8 patches to receive via the keyboard, via midi, or both the keyboard and midi. You can also dump via sysex; single patches, banks, single multis, or banks of multis.
Very stable midi - I've only crashed it once with my computer editor.
No on board sequencer

This keyboard's big selling point when it was introduced was the ability to get that breathy 80's M-1 sound for a cheap price. It is very good for that kind of stuff, but other than some string stuff the "real sounds" are pretty bad. The piano is pitiful (except some of the Rhodes type pianos), and the brasses are pretty wheezy. You have to cut the thing a break though, it came out in 1988 for under $1000 (I paid $675 in 1989) and it only had 512k of 8 bit samples. The rest of the waveforms are single cycle waves. The programmers did a lot with a little. The mallet sounds are quite good too.
It's good for rock, or classical (not as an only keyboard), but would not be good for jazz (other than the Rhodes and mallet sounds). It does not have filters so forget dance music - it just won't get it.
One caveat though is it is kind of noisy. Especially if you use the sampled 8 bit waveforms it is VERY GRUNGY. These days though, that can be a plus. If you work with the oscillator levels a bit and turn down the worst offenders, then it isn't too bad. Just don't expect to patch it straight into an ADAT or DA-88 and get pristine sound.
No on board effects - apparently the ones on the K-1 II were pretty bad I don't know personally.
For a cheap synth it's fairly expressive - the pitch and mod wheels have a nice throw to them. Another cool feature is the joystick - you can pan around the four waves in a sound and get a different mix (kind of like a cheesy Korg Wavestation). Sometimes the effect is real subtle, sometimes it's bad - at least you have the option.
The velocity response is very good, and has different curves you can select. The aftertouch is not that great, but I don't care for the aftertouch on most synths. Unlike a lot of it's contemporary competitors AND some new stuff (Roland XP-10, Korg XD-5) AT LEAST IT HAS AFTERTOUCH!
This thing ain't no Kurzweill K2500, my rating is based on the vintage of the keyboard, it's original price, and it's street price now (around $200). Believe it or not, a lot of these things wound up on records (Bad English, Slaughter) - I wouldn't use this as my only keyboard, but for adding layers or a part in a sequence it's pretty good.
One last thing is the stock sounds - only about 10 are any good. There are probably 200,000 patches for K-1's floating around out there though so I would look for other sounds. After I reprogrammed my with the best of four different sound sets (mine, 3rd party, and 3 kawai alternate sound cards) it really came into it's own. A lot of people can't believe it's a K-1.
Also - most of the stock patches have their volume programmed WAY TOO LOW. The patch volume parameter goes from 0 to 100, and a lot of patches are set at like 30 or 40. When you turn these up, the sound gets a lot thicker, and can cut through a mix better. With some of the patches, turning up the volume brings a lot more noise though. More or less the best practice is the play with the setting and find a good compromise between output level and noise. Depending on the samples and/or waveforms used, this is usually between 70 and 90. Beware of turning it up too loud though, as this will clip the output.

A couple of years ago, I would have said great - However
Two years ago it just stopped working. I thought it was a power supply problem, but it turned out to be a major circuit board problem.
The repair cost me $229 with labor, which is kind of steep. I seriously considered putting the $$ into a new keyboard, or a used K-1, but I had put a lot of effort into programming it, and the tech pointed out that my K-1 was WAY nicer than any one he had seen in his shop.
I was lucky that I had all my original patches and multi's and custom sets in my computer - when the board was replaced all I had to do was load them. IF ANYONE OUT THERE IS READING THIS - GO SAVE ALL YOUR PATCHES TO A COMPUTER OR SOMETHING RIGHT NOW - YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO GO BACK TO SQUARE ONE!!!!!
In it's defense, it had been used almost daily for 6 or 7 years, so it had a lot of use. I didn't gig with it, so it might be kind of fragile for that.
From what I've heard they are pretty reliable.
I'm giving it a low score because it cost me a lot to get it fixed...

I only talked to them once, they were pretty helpful.
Kawai has had a sketchy past with "pro" keyboards though - they keep pulling out of the market every few years. I kind of wish they would either get out, or get serious. When you say Kawai, people think, oh yeah that little toy thing I saw down at the music store...
The circuit board I needed (a major assembly) was readily available ( took about a week).

I'm giving the K-1 a pretty high rating, but I'm not saying it's one of the greatest keyboards ever released - I don't think it will achieve classic status. I think that many people expect too much out of keyboards for the money - I mean a $200 guitar wouldn't be considered much of anything, why should a $200 used keyboard be compared to the latest stuff? For the age and current street price, I think the K-1 represents an excellent value, especially as a newbie board, or an extra synth. If it gets stolen or trashed, your'e not going to be out much.
The fact that I paid $229 to get it fixed says a lot. I think I would buy another one if the price and condition was right (Mint for $200!). This would be a good first keyboard for either someone just starting out with a $250 budget limit, or for someone who already had 2 or 3 boards and wanted to add another controller and sound source.
I almost bought a K1-II rack in 1995, but got a Proteus F/X instead.
I've been playing (dabbling really) with synths for about 11 years. The Kawai K-1 was my fifth synth, I replaced a Poly 800 (now that was a piece of crap!) with the K1. Before the K-1, a bought a DW-8000, then a Roland MKS-100 sampler (THAT was a mistake!), then an Oberheim Matrix 1000 (that was more like it!). I then wanted a second controller so I bought a used Poly 800. I couldn't stand it, so I sold it and bought the K-1. Since then I've entered the modern era (sort of), I also have a Roland JV-90 and a Proteus F/X, and an Alesis D-4.
No real loves or hates, but the wish list would include:
"Hates" - Wish it had more sample ROM (only 512k! - 8 mb is standard today) and 16 bit samples. Also resonant filters would have been nice.
More realistic (back in 1989 at least) wants would include adjustable contrast in the display and a controller pedal input, and larger buttons and a built in power supply (ever notice how companies tell you they put on a wall wart for "cost reasons" but never say how much more it would have cost with an internal power supply?).
The things I LIKE include: The easy programming interface, the joystick control over some parameters, the pitch bend wheel, the options available in multi mode, and the large amount of third party support for the K-1 (at one time, the pages of keyboard were filled with ads for K-1 sounds) It also has a strong output, PROVIDED you turn up the patch output volume in the programming page. There are some patches this DOES NOT work well for (it get's too noisy), but many of the patches are programmed way too low - turn them up and they sound a lot beefier. A value off 100 is usually too much( the output clips, but 70 to 90 works well most of the time.
I compared the K-1 to the Korg 707 (no Contest) and the Roland D-10. I passed on the D-10 since it didn't have aftertouch. A couple of years later, I had the opportunity to buy one used, and after listening to the D-10, I realized I liked my K-1 just as much.
I wish the K-1 had some basic built in effects (delay, chorus, reverb) Like I said they added these with the K-1 II, but I've heard they are real bad.
It's been a great keyboard for me music-wise - I wrote several songs just after I got it, because it inspired me. I use it now to add a little bell/sparkle to a track, and as a third layer for organ sounds.
K-1's have really been dissed over the years - don't get me wrong it's not a fantastic keyboard, but look at what you get for the price. There's really nothing short of an M-1 or D-50 (not counting Oberheims) from that era that is better. Like I said, I wouldn't use a K-1 as an only keyboard but for a newbie, or somebody with some other gear, it's a worthy addition. Just get on the net and get some other sounds for it, or roll up you sleeves and program it some. The stock sounds don't really do it justice.