Kawai K3

extremely intiutive and easy to use layout.
big patch editor knob and nice feeling keys. i hate synthesisers that try to make the keyboard feel like a piano.
plastic sterile keys of a cold and feelingless nature
perfect.

the six note polyphony is enough for me. the built in poly chorus is ver nice indeed.
midi in out and through very nice indeed. as well as the very routable pressure and aftertouch assignments are a feature some would like. allthough i prefer to use the keys to turn on or off a sound cold actions to produce music from the darkest synthetic paint.

i dont use the aftertouch and such.
this intstument is perfect for ambient as well as experimental electronica industrial electro clash. it can be very expressive but i prefer to allow the patch programing by expressive i am not a piano player a organ grinder nor do i desire the need to identify with people of that ilk. as a synthesiser it has a unique sound that you would not get in another unit.
very cool sounds and with some reverb delay or distortion if you are angry and depressed you can make some fantasticly out of this world noises. pristine sound quality what does that mean anyways

could use it to body surf on stage very strong and heavy. not for the weak or childish. a big synth wich relies upon steel to construct its casing. some plastic as well but not the paper thin kind the plastic from the era when mankind was less concerned with the enviroment and more concerned with making things wich would last a lifetime rather than making the same thing to break and be discarded every five years. will last a long long time

emailed them the emailed me back very polite and good to deal with. not like alot of other compnays who feel they are doing you a favouver by alowing you to buy thier products.

if it were stolen i would hunt down the person who took it and show him the meaning of pain.
i love the sounds it can make.
its monolithic structure and it girth.
it is one of the coolest cheapest hybrids you will ever come across.
i like it much more than the juno 106.
far more flexible.
and for the record the juno 106 is no more analog than this key board. a juno has dcos.
it may have sliders and prettyy colours on it but i would nor trade this kawai for one.

The Kawai K3 is a very straight forward synth, with a botton for each parameter that gives you imidiate access to the parameters. And this is great for fast and easy programming which in my opinion makes this synth very very easy to program. No menues or digit-number- combinations as an the Korg DW-6000 and DW-8000. And I even got around the user-waveform-generator without having the owners manual.

K3 has the common features for a polysynth and some extras. Two DCO (32 ditital-waveforms) are detuneable and DCO 2 can be tuned cromatically. A very nice feature for the DCOs is a additive-waveform-editor. Think of it as a hammond B-3 with 128 selectable drawbars of which you can use 32 drawbars simultanious to make your own user waveform. Sadly you can only store one of these waves in the user memory and one on the cartridge - but it is a very unique and nice feature.
There is only one LFO for pitch-mod, VCF-mod or VCA-mod which is limited, but it's still a very useful one. There are both envelopes for VCF and VCA and an extra Decay ENV for Autobend. The K3 is a 6-voice synth like many polysynths which is fine. The keyboard is nice but the aftertouch response is a bone-braker. For adding more animation into the sound Kawai buildt in a preset-chorus with 7 modes which is nice due to the lack of Pulse Width Modulation.

The K3 a dark kinda tone to ist sound - its not crystal clear, but ist pretty strong and solid - Maybe this dark sound gives the K3 a more analogue caracter. The 7 mode chorus is a life-saviour to pad-sounds because of the limited modulations of the DCOs (detune is simply not enough) But its fat-Moogish-basses do well without the chorus. It has a nice VCF with resonance self-oscillation which adds a lot to the analogue side of this synth.
In comparison with the Korg DW-8000 it lacks some soundpower, even though this two machines have very similar parameters. But still K3 got a lot of personallity - which in my opinion the most important feature of a synthesizer.
The sounds you can depend on are: Warm Analog Pads, Fat Analog Basses, Very Fat(24 DCO) Unison Basses and especially unique digital Bells.
This synth was undoubtely used by Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for "Black Rain" - bells and unison basses

K3 is strongly built in a metal casing. I havent had any problems with mine ever. Bought mine used!

I think the K3 is a great synth because of its userfriendlyness, and special-waveform-generator. For a beginner this synth might be the perfect gateway into the vast world analog and digital synthesizers and for the experienced user this synth has character. Easy to use interface - good warm sounds - and Midi(sysex and controlchanges.
BUT for the same kind of money you can get a Korg DW-8000 which in my opinion got that extra kick. But all in all its a matter of taste.

UPDATE! I have finally ordered a replacement control panel membrane, or "overlay" as they call it, from Kawai USA. Although it took a while to actually talk to Kent Smith, their tech support guy, he was very cool--he actually called ME back on my cell phone, got me the part number, took my order over the phone, everything...very helpful. Also amazing is that Kawai still cheerfully supports and stocks parts for a nearly 20 year old, obsolete product. They rock.

(Incidentally, as I understand it, that overlay is simply a self-adhesive sheet of heavy plastic. Replacement is just a matter of peeling off the old one, cleaning off the glue residue, and sticking the new one on. I do hope I don't misalign it or anything...that glue is really tough stuff.)

SHAMELESS PLUG! Hear my K3 in action on an honest-to-dog nationally released CD! "What The Buzzing" by Floorian, coming out September 14, 2004 on Bomp!/Committee To Keep Music Evil. Hear it mimic a throat singer! Hear it mingle with an Electro Harmonix Small Stone here and a ProCo Rat there! The K3/Small Stone patch can be heard at http://www.floorian.com/media/Descend (sample).mp3

It's very simple to use. This was my first synth, and I figured out how to use it in a few hours without an instruction manual.

While not loaded with bells and whistles, this synth does everything a synthesizer should do. All parameters are accessed through a touch-pad, and a single knob controls the level of the selected parameter. It does all the basic effects (ie. ADSR, portomento, LFO, etc.). It was two oscillators, each with 33 digital waveforms, which are syncable, and Osc.2 is detunable. It has a pitch wheel, but no modulation wheel. It has a polyphony of six, and and the keys are pressure-sensitive (although I find that the K3 is lacking in this department); there are 61 full-sized keys that have a nice, solid feel to them. It comes with a plug-in memory card to store patch information and has MIDI, but I don't use that feature, so I don't know how good it is. It has a built-in chorus effect with 7 variations in it. It has no sequencer, but I have never used one, so I can't miss it.

I personally wouldn't use a synthesizer to imitate a real instrument; if I wanted reality, I'd use the real thing. What I want is synthetic sounding-sounds. That being said, it doesn't do really convincing imitations of real instruments, except perhaps a couple of string sounds, but even they are synthy-sounding. It does do some excellent Hammondesque organ sounds though, especially when you use the chorus. What the K3 does very well is create classic analog sounds. The K3 is a digital/analog hybrid, and as such it has an analog filter that really does warm the sound nicely. Listening to it, I get the impression that its creators were trying to imitate the sounds of other, more expensive synths in that many of the patches sound familiar to what I've heard on records, and I think they have done an excellent job in doing so. I don't think that there's that much of a difference between analog and digital myself, but you can hear a difference, and the K3 is a nice, cheap way to get a sort-of alternative to the "digital sound".

This synth is nearly 20 years old, but I've had it for 10 months and I've never had a problem with it. Then again, I was lucky enough to find one that was in near-perfect condition. Maybe others aren't so reliable. Also, I don't gig with mine, and I don't play very hard, so that might increase its life as well.

Never had to deal with them.

The K3 is nothing if not an incredible bargain. I got mine for under $200 and, as I said before, it does everything a synth should do. People make such a big deal about how great analog synths sound. The problem is they're expensive, and I've found they don't really sound special enough to justify the price. This synth is analog-sounding and inexpensive to boot. It does, as far as I can tell, convincing imitations of many classic analog sounds (for example, the Moog bass), and does many other unique and interesting patches, which can be made to sound better through editing. Overall, the K3 is probably a better synth for beginners, as I was when I got it; but it sounds very good, AND IT'S CHEAP!

Very straightforward for a digital synth. It is essentially a standard two-oscillator analog polysynth architecture, but with digital wavetable oscillators. Each parameter has its own membrane button on the front panel, and parameter values are changed with a single data knob. Very quick and simple to edit patches, although the minimal LED display requires you to remember what certain values are, especially what waveforms. The K3 gets docked a point for making its user-definable additive waveform--potentially a really cool feature--so hard to figure out without a manual.

As I said, the architecture is basically straight analog polysynth: two wavetable DCOs routed through an analog VCF and VCA (based on SSM chips, so I've read) with fairly decent modulation capabilities. There is a built in stereo chorus/delay with six or seven presets. The K3's keyboard has only 6-note polyphony with no multitimbral or split capability, but it does have velocity and aftertouch for the filter, VCA, and modulation (there is no modulation wheel, just a pitch bender...a major shortcoming IMO). The keyboard has a very nice, solid-feeling action. I have heard that the MIDI capabilities of the K3 are still pretty good by today's standards, although I've never tried it myself. The K3 does have a slot for an expansion cartridge, but I've never seen one and don't know what it contains.

Gripes: 1) No independent noise source; the white noise waveform is included in the DCOs (which, admittedly, gives you two noise sources, but at the expense of one oscillator apiece...) 2) I really do wish the LFO had a greater speed range. 3) No mod wheel.

Hmm...well, the K3 is an interesting synth in the sounds department. Overall, I'd say the sound is classic '80s polysynth, something like an early Oberheim or Roland--wonderfully, creamily warm and fat--although it is also capable of producing some very glassy pseudo-DX7 sounds thanks to the digital waveforms. The K3's secret weapon is its nice, warm 4-pole analog filter, based on the SSM2044 chip. It doesn't really sound like a Moog, but that's okay, it's tone is quite nice anyway, and really helps bring those DCOs alive. Great for those phat "Jump"-style synth horns, string pads, and analog lead lines, sucky for realistic acoustic simulations. It doesn't have the kind of knob-twistiness need for serious analog sonic mayhem, but it is capable of a variety of weird effects.

Shere are some gripes: 1) There is a strange thing that happens as the oscillators go up in pitch, where it sounds as if something's "resetting" each time it passes a certain note on each octave. It sounds as if the tone gets progressively duller, and then suddenly the filter cutoff frequency jumps up and the tone is brighter...except it's not the filter doing it, but rather the oscillators, as if it's "stretching' a sample up in pitch and then switching to the next sample in its memory. It's very difficult to describe, but it is rather annoying if you get to notice it. 2) The envelope generators, depending on how particular you are, seem rather sluggish on the attack and release portions; it's impossible to get a really super-abrupt, "clicky" envelope. 3) The MONO mode is actually a unison mode that stacks all six voices together. While this is useful for giant, fat lead or bass lines, it introduces some grating, bell-like overtones that I don't care for. A true monophonic mode option would have been very nice to have. 4) The waveforms themselves have some annoying high overtones which can become audible when you open the filter up all the way; these are probably digital artifacts from the encoding of the waveforms (sampled? additive synthesis?) that they somehow failed to filter out.

The K3 has one major Achilles' heel when it comes to reliability: the membrane touch panel. It may have kept the cost down, but when those membrane buttons wear out and they start tearing and punching through... If you can find one with the panel reasonably intact: TAKE CARE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.

Otherwise this is one robustly built synthesizer. Very solid and heavy. You could pummel a heckler onstage with it if you're able to lift the thing in the first place.

I did contact Kawai once about getting a replacement membrane panel to replace my worn out one. They got right back to me with ordering info, but I never got around to ordering it. I tried again more recently. They never returned my email. Go figure.

I originally bought mine based on the appeal of a great-sounding old semianalog synth by an often overlooked manufacturer, for a measly price. It was heaven for a kid who couldn't dream of ever owning one of those overpriced classics by Moog, ARP, Korg, Roland, or Oberheim. Well: I eventually ended up owning a Multimoog, and resigned myself to the fact that the Kawai K3 is no substitute for the real thing. But it still is capable of making GREAT, distinctive sounds with some careful tweaking of patches, and it's still a bargain compared to the classics (and even some of the not-so-classics that the techno wankers are hyping up beyond their inherent worth IMO). The K3, despite its niggling quirks and limitations, is still an excellent, cheap way to add almost-analog sounds to your palette. I'd certainly buy another one.

Editing patches is quite easy since every parameter has its own dedicated button on the front panel. I managed to figure this out very quickly even without a manual. Some of the more complicated features, such as the user editable waveform, however, can take a little longer to get your head around.

I've used this synth mostly for live applications, so the only time that the relatively limited polyphony (6, I think) has been a problem is when I'm playing big chords. The keys also feel very nice and the synth responds to both velocity and aftertouch. For recording purposes, I've also used this as a master keyboard.

As far as features go, the K3 is pretty bare. There is only one onboard effect, which is a chorus with a handful of pre-defined variations. There is no sequencer built in and the only external memory (aside from sysex dumps, which I have not yet figured out) are the RC-2 memory cartridges that can hold another 50 user patches.

The first thing you should do with this synth is get rid of the factory patches and create your own! Only a few organs and electric pianos are worth keeping, the rest is garbage. Once you get the hang of programming your own sounds, however, the K3 can be a beast.

Anyone making electronic music can probably get some use out this keyboard, since its great for basses, organs, bizarre analogue blips and screechy leads. The resonant lowpass filter can do some really crazy things to your sounds, especially when you use it together with the aftertouch or the front panel's data dial, which doubles as an expression wheel for live use.

I can't afford a backup, so I just take the risk anyway and try not to show my nervousness while I'm playing. It's generally a pretty solid piece of gear, but if you have a tendency to get rough when you're playing live (like I do), you might want to be prepared for some repair bills. I've managed to break one of the higher F keys and one of my Bb keys can soemtimes be a little flaky. I had to do several shows where I worked around that F key all night.

You'll also want to make sure that you have a solid case for transportation, since the membrane panel on mine has already taken three little rips. Luckily, the buttons underneath still work perfectly.

The unit itself has never acted up while I was playing live. It's basically always been my own fault.

No complaints yet. I was able to get a replacement part for my broken F key and the Kawai site still has the original factory patches available.

The K3 is great for making analogue-ish electronic sounds both for studio or live use. I've owned mine for about two years and it has served me very well for both purposes.

It would be nice if it had a few more routing options, another LFO and some more useful onboard effects, but its sheer ability to make great synth sounds really makes those complaints seem very unimportant.

Stoopid-easy. While the presets aren't all solid hitters, it's simple
enough to start digging into the patches to get what you want.
Everything here is very straightforward, even things you wouldn't
expect such as the wavetable editor. Manual is clear, concise, and
offers good reference capabilities...when you need it, that is; the
K3 is SO simple that you could just as well do fine with a little
background knowledge and an hour of twiddling about.

8-voice. The synth reminds me of a somewhat less-portable Roland
Alpha-Juno, save that it offers the much nicer fixed wavetable method
of sound generation. Very nice internal stereo chorusing. Accepts
memory carts for extra patches, and has good SYSEX capabilities for
external editors. Keyboard has a good 'organ' feel to it, and very
nice velocity/aftertouch sensing that feels quite natural. The
synthesis architecture isn't the most complex you can get, but it's
potent enough to satisfy most keyboardists.

While not all of the factory presets are the best, editing something
useful up is a breeze. I use mine for all sorts of string, organ,
brass, and other washy pads, which are things it seems to excel at.
I also like mine as a master keyboard; all it seems to be missing
are complex functions like zones, etc, and poly-aftertouch. It's a
very _natural_ feeling keyboard, if that makes sense, with excellent
audio quality.

Built to stop a Buick! Steel and heavy plastic here, and mine's been
all over the place w/o a hitch. The only thing I fault it on is the
nonremovable powercord, which always is a worrisome point when I come
across it in a synth.

Kawai just doesn't legacy things out, period. Got an old Kawai?
They don't mind! One wishes other music instrument companies were
this concientious.

Would I get another one if something happened to this one? I think so.
It's proven useful on numerous occasions, both as a synth and as a
keyboard controller for various other synths I use. It's solid, it
sounds good, it's no-nonsense. Nothing eye-poppingly spectacular about
it, but if you want things that work and work consistently, this is
right on up there with the best. Its analog-like architecture, coupled
with the potent and good-sounding fixed wavetable generation, is a
real plus as it provides analog-like sound with digital reliability.
Again, its closest sibling are the Alpha-Junos...very similar synths...
but I never found them to be as warm-sounding as the K3. Definitely
one of the best Benjamins I've spent.

easy to follow manual.
editing patches is easier than most other synths
few great sounding presets but create your own if you want maximum use out of it. also very easy to use with cubase

no inbuilt sequencer is a let down but it has an awesome chorus effect.

good quality sounds mostly suited for dance music
easy to make great lead and string sounds
the sounds are purely analog except for the digital oscillators
a must have in any studio

I got it 8 years ago as my first synth and it's been a great help in making dance music.
i've lost the internal memory of the k3 a few times
I use it all the the time at nightclubs with no problem

poor customer support is a let down

i've got five synths including this one and I don't intend on selling it
at all great analog sounding synth a total must for dance music enthusiasts

software update 1.01 - this update VASTLY improves the velocity sensitvity of the K3 and improved the overall sound of the keyboard as well as created a bett store of internal factory patchs. patches are really easy to edit, basic anolog ASDR style synth, but digital! There are 2 or 3 patch editors that I know of, 1 for the old atari compter sytems, 1 for mac, and 1 for PC.

6 note poly - now much, but can be linked for poly "spillover" to one or more KSm rack mount versions of the K3. (I have 2 K3's and 3 K3m's and never really had any trouble here) There are 8 total chourus effects, one of which is a cool stereo echo effect, and a fairly good LFO section. GREAT Velocity Sensitivity! Piano wieghted/feel keys - the keys dont have that "cheap casio feel" although they dont have piano "action" feel they are pretty good for a board made in 1985~86 It has 1 ROM/RAM cartrige slot, uses RC-2 Eprom carts and also user purchasable ROM carts with new patches. No sequencer, but this isnt a big deal anymore in this day and age of PC's. The midi is quite good for a board this age, full 16 channel selectivity, can also be set for omni mode (recives on all channels at once). Also feature sys ex.! one of the 1st boards on the market with this capability, patches can be loaded/saved thru sys ex within cakewalk and other PC programs.

Although an early wavetable digital synth, the sounds realism is poor except for organ and elec. piano sounds which are fairly ok. The k3 is a great synth for "SYNTH" sounds (analouge sounds).. almost as good analouge-wise as the Kawai SX-240, or an older oberhiem. Works best for electronic/dance/techno sounds, GREAT floor shaking bass too. Great aftertouch but limited to channel aftertouch only.

I have had quite a few K3's and K3m's NONE have ever shown even a hint of trouble of any kind, and 2 of the K3's i own have seen 10 years of road and studio use, are scretched/banged up and still perform flawlessly, NEVER lost any memory and they are still on thier ORIGINAL internal back-up batterys!!!

Bought 2 full K3's BRAND NEW in 1985~6 AWESOME customer support! the software upgrade was FREE! and installed for FREE!!!!! a definate A+A+A+A+A+A+!

Would definatly buy more K3's and K3m's Contact me at mpeters@corral.net if you have one for sale! I own way too much gear to list here, been playing synths for 13 years. A definate help in making my style of music.

This is about as simple as it gets. Two DCOx, one VCF, one VCA and one LFO.

IT is a very strightforward synth. It has MIDI and although it is por level, it is no frills. It has 6 note polyphony, no sequencer, no effects other than 6 types of chorus. The key action is the normal spring (non weighted) type on all old synths. However, its action and feel for this type is quite good. It does have Aftertouch, and is velocity sensitive.

The sound is pure analog! It is not as in depth in its modulation area as I as say a Oberheim would be, but for the price it is very good.

So far so good. It is old and has seen A LOT of use. I have owned several Kawai pro boards adn all of them have been exceptional in this area.

If you are looking for clasic analog synths sounds, this is a great deal. While this big guns pull in top dollar, if you look at the less popular companies like Kawai and Korg (the old DS series for instance). It may not be a dripping with bells and whistles but it does what it is supposed to do. Sound great. And it does it for next to nothing! You couldn't buy a sound card or CD sampler for this price!