Kawai K1m

Piece of cake. Very logical interface and relatively low learning curve.

This review is on the K1m as used in a particular and unusual way - as a sound module for a midi guitar controller. I've used the K1m (and K1r) with keyboard controllers and they are great, but for now I'm talking about it in relation to guitar synthesis. I've had this module sitting around for a while and use it with a keyboard from time to time as a layer in recording projects. Having a number of other more "sophisticated" synths like Kurzweil K2000 and others from Korg, Roland, etc. I hadn't used the Kawai as much as I used to. However, I recently got the idea to midi it into my Roland GR33 guitar synth and see how it sounded. I was truly amazed at the results - it sounded awesome.

I do need to state here that I have done extensive editing to the internal patches and some 3rd party sounds, so that practically everything in there has been tweaked for use on atmospheric electronic music. In addition, and this is a big one, as other reviews have noted, the use of an external stereo effects processor is essential for bringing out the best in this synth, as it has no internal effects. So I've added a lot of reverb, delay, and echo to get these sounds.

Many users agree that this is one of the most overlooked and underrated synths around for pad, strings, and atmospheres. I've always loved it in use with a keyboard, but with a guitar controller, I couldn't believe how many patches were incredible, both for chords and single note phrases. One of the best categories for the K1 is the airy voice and choir sounds. None of my other synths seems to be able to nail these sounds like the K1. Also glassy pads, bells, and synth flutes are particularly nice with guitar.

Of course,tracking is always an issue with guitar synths, but for the kind of music I'm using this for, it's not as much of a problem since it's more about textures and washes of sound than fast leads.

Please keep in mind that this is an 8 bit synth from the D-50 era (which it actually sounds similar to), so you can't compare it to the latest models. But there is tremendous potential lurking under the hood of this little thing. However, as I said, sound editing is absolutely necessary, as the stock presets, with some exceptions, are not that impressive.

No problems

Excellent!

For this application, I'm using the K1m with a Fender Stratocaster with built-in Roland Synth pickup and Lace Sensor pickups, a Roland GR33 guitar synth, and a variety of stereo effects processors. I usually go direct into the mixing board, but sometimes go out in stereo to a Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ and a Fender Blues Jr.

I really didn't expect to get the results I did when I plugged the K1m into my guitar synth set up, especially after having used a number of newer and more expensive synth modules. The K1m is the one I will use when I do live shows, mostly because of it's sound, but also because it is so portable and easy to get around on. For live performances, I especially like the "link" function, where you can store 8 of your favorite sounds (including Single, Multi, or external) in a bank and access them with the push of a button.

I've been a musician for over 30 years and have owned a lot of different equipment. Some gear quickly becomes obsolete, and some go on to become classics. I'm not saying that the K1 is the next Mini Moog, but it's still as functional and relevant in my set up as it ever was. You can find them really cheap these days and are definitely worth considering for anyone who is in need of great pads, strings, voices, etc. Just to be "fair and balanced", I should point out that I wouldn't rely on it for things like pianos or real instrument sounds. But for purely synthetic sounds it's a winner.

FORGET ALL SOUNDS.THIS IS A PAD MACHINE.KILLER FOR SYNTH NEW AND CLASSIC PADS.SYNTH PADS WITH BREATH.MAGIC BREATH.LIKE A KORG
WAVESTATION.PRICE IS 150 EURO FOR USED KAWAI K1M.
AND STRINGS.STRINGS ARE BRILLIANT.SO CLOSE TO OLD MELOTRON.

4 WARM OSCILLATOR SYNTH ARHITECTURE.NO SEQ ,NO ARPEGGIATOR,NO EFFECTS

10 FOR PADS
10 FOR CHOIR
10 FOR STRINGS

Easy to use.Sounds have 4 oscilators like my ROLAND D-50.

8 POLYPHONY I THINK WITH 4 OSCILATOR PER VOICE.NO EFFECTS BUT SOUND
IS SUPER WITHOUT IT.NO SEQUENCER NO ARPEGGIATOR .MULTI MODE FOR
SPLIT SOUNDS AND DUAL MODE.EXPANSION-KAWAI CARDS.

I AM PAD MAN AND I READ COMMENTS FROM THIS ULTRA COOL SITE AND I DECIDED TO BOUGHT KAWAI K1-M.KAWAI HAVE 64 PATCHES .QUALITY OF SOUND
IS 10 FOR PAD TYPE SOUNDS.I CREATED SOME DARK CLASSIC PAD LIKE MEMORY
MOOG .TIME AFTER TIME SONG CYNDI LAUPER.MY FAVORITE WAVEFORM IS 75.
SO SO SO MAGIC BREATH CHOIR 238 WAVEFORM LIKE KAWAI PH-50.

I LOVE IT ITS BREATH LIKE EMULATOR 2 AND WARMTH.

Extremely easy to use. One of the most user-friendly synths I have worked with. The manual is basic but is ok. Potential K1m buyers should also read the user reviews for the K1 keyboard as it has the same synth engine and features.

See other reviews for features.
The fact that it has a joystick is cool, but it is limited in it's application. It lacks filters, effects, and some other features that would have improved it, but it was a relatively inexpensive synth that would have cost more with those features. However, it is programable and can be expanded with ram/rom cards and sys ex. dump.

This is where the K1m shines, in my humble opinion. This is the third product of the K1 line that I've owned since they came out. First I had the keyboard,which I sold to buy a K4. Later I got a K1r which I had for a few years. Although I have some very sophisticated synths such as Korg Karma, Wavestation, Prophecy, Roland JD800, Emu Morpheus,I keep coming back to the K1 for certain sounds that I really like. It has the most exceptional what I call "air pads" as well as bell pads,strings, breathy and glassy tones, and cool sci-fi effects. There are also a few nice percussive sounds that work well with an arpeggiator.

It was a direct competitor to the Roland D50 and to the Korg M1, and has some similiar characteristics, but has it's own unique sounds as well. There are some decent presets (as well as some junk), but getting in there and tweaking the sounds can produce some wonderful and unexpected results.
As others have said, it's not a great synth for piano, organ, or other realistic sounds, but for ambient, electronic music which I do, it is great. I would HIGHLY recommend using a reverb/delay or multi fx unit with it to really bring the sounds to life. I use it at different times with a Yamaha FX500, Lexicon Vortex, or Korg Chaos Pad and it sounds fantastic. I'm currently using it midi'ed to my new microKorg to add some extra dimension and to create an incredibly portable rig that sounds huge.
I'm giving it a high rating for this category, however that is relative to it's age and 8 bit status. It sounds great for what it is, but it's not going to sound like a Triton, etc.

Very reliable. I've been using K1's since they came out and have never had any problems.

I've always liked Kawai as a company, even though they keep discontinuing great product lines. I've owned the K1, K4, and K5000S, and they've always been friendly, helpful, and responsive to my questions. Their website also has a huge library of sounds you can download for free.

Like I said, I keep coming back to this synth, even though I own a lot of other equipment. Of course, I got a great deal on this one, but if it were lost or stolen, I would seek out another one. I do wish it had internal effects, but an external effects processor works fine, and is probably better than the effects from that vintage would have been anyway. To get the most out of this synth, run it in stereo through a stereo fx box. It's not the ultimate all in one synth but is an excellent addition for more etherial, ambient sounds.

I don't own the manual but I do own Sounddiver. With Sounddiver it's very easy to make patches. I never really tried without.

The features on this thing are very limited for today's standard I think. I think the midi implemetation is a bit buggy and the K1 gets buffer overflows when receiving to many data.

I'm doing mainly electronic/industrial stuff and don't need no strings (where the K1 is not that bad I think) but I created a lot of other breathing, metallic, machine-like sounds on it that I use quite often. The problem for me are the static waveforms, so that the patches sometimes sound very similar to each other when using the same basic waveforms.

Only problem for me is the midi implementation. Somtimes it simply stops to react on midi and doesn't react to program change messages anymore.

I asked them for the manual (as text or pdf file) and they were only able to offer me to buy the manual. Better than not to react at all ;) and the guy was really nice.

I maybe would buy it again for the same price but I wouldn't spend much more. The other gear I own is very different from this one so I can't compare it.

I DONT THINK, THERE WAS ANY SOFT OR HARD WARE ON THE K1 BUT THE K1 WAS SO GREAT AS A SYNTH MODULE WARE HAD NO REASON TO BE THERE, PRESETS WERE GREAT BUT MY OWN PROGRAMED VOICES WHICH WERE GOD GIVEN AND VERY OBSELETE I WAS VERY IMPRESSED AT HOW WELL IT SOUNDED SO FM AND ANALOG STRINGS GREAT BEST OF ALL TIME ,EDITING WAS SO EASY I BOUGHT CARDS TO STORE ALL MY OWN SPECIALY PROGRAMED VOICES ,THIS SYNTH HAD IT RIGHT ALL THE WAY KAWAI'S BEST SYNTH I BELEIVE

NOTE RANGE WAS SUPER 16 NO BUILT IN EFFECTS JUST GREAT BUILT SYNTHESISER CARDS FOR RAM AND ROM GOOD AND VERY USEFUL MIDI WAS SOUND AND VERY MUCH USED FOR THE MODULE ALSO AFTER TOUCH WOW! USE TO MIDI WITH A ROLAND D-20 IT WAS BETTER OF WITHOUT A SEQUENCER . I OWNED IT IN 3 DIFERENT VERSIONS NEW.K1M ,USED K1R.USED K1M ,POWERFUL NEW THOUGH

VERY GOOD INSTRUMENTS VOICES WERE GRAND BASSES WERE OUTRAGEOUES I LIKED SYNTH SOUNDS MORE STRINGED UP THAN ALL THE REST WHEN I PLAY GOSPEL LIVE GOSPEL THIS SYNTH WAS THE CENTER STAGE OF THE MUSIC AND IA WAS NEVER ASHAMED TO SING WITH IT,

VERY DEPENABLE UNTIL IT GOT FRIED WITH A WRONG AC ADAPTOR IT WAS OUT GOT IT FIXED THANK YOU LORD JESUS! AND IT NEVER WENT OUT SINCE. IT WAS ALL I NEEDED TO USE HAD SPLITS MULTIS AND SINGLE VOICES IT ALWAYS SEEMED TO COME TOGETHER REAL NICELY NEVER ASHAMED!

????????????????????? GOT IT REPAIRED AT A MUSIC STORE AFTER IT WAS FRIED. GUY SAYS IT WAS A DIODE GONE NEVER ANY TROUBLE WITH KAWAI SEEMS LIKE A GOOD CO, ????????????? DONT KNOW.

LIKE STATED EARLIER GREAT SYNTH WORTH IT IN EVERY WAY .IF I COULD GET THIS ONE SPECIALY MADE AGAIN NEW TO BE MY VERY OWN DESIGNED SYNTH FROM THE DIGITAL DAYS GONE BY THERE IS NO ? THE K1M WOULD BE MY CHOICE OVER THE WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER DIGITAL SYNTHS.

Easy to use for a 1980's era synth.

Surprisingly powerful editing features.
This is a primitive additive synth.
It's unique.

I disagree with the previous reviewer.
I love the strings and pads so much on this synth,
that I bought a second one. My first one I bought in 1989.
I am utterly dependent on the string pad sound. But there
are at least 8-10 great pads on this synth - classic pads.
If you want to the wonders of the K-1 string pad, go to: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/66/pont_mirabeau.html
and play "The Fantomas Waltz" or "Shanghai to Seattle".
There are a lot of big time producers who still have
K-1's in their gear. (Check out KEYBOARD 7/01, Dallas Austin).
Or Rick Wakeman, Ian Babylon. The K-1 string sound is
getting the recognition it deserves. You cannot find it
anywhere else. Rating - 10 for the pads and what someone
called 'space invasion' patches.
The other voices mainly suck.

Are you kidding?
I have owned my first K-1 for 12 years!
It still lights up every time I turn it on.

I own synths more recent synths by Roland, Korg, Yamaha
and Kawai. All of them have given me more trouble than
the trusty old K-1. My first synth!

The guys at Kawai tech support are available,
perhaps because Kawai doesn't make synths anymore.
Go to http://www.kawaius.com and say hello.
They will email you back.

I already have bought another one.
I'll keep buying them as long as they are cheap.
The string pad is my only irreplaceable sound.
None of my other synths strings sound nearly
as good for my music.
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/66/pont_mirabeau.html

A classic. An under-rated little masterpiece.
And I just bought one for ninety bucks!