Kawai K5000S

this synth is definitely not an easy one to learn. the manual is cryptic at best but with the help of the after market book Wizoo Guide the the K5000 it is possible. the book is out of print but can be found floating around on the new in pdf format. most complain about how difficult it is but i didnt find it that bad, with the wizoo book that is.

features can be found on the web so i wont get into that. what i will say is the keybed on this synth is the best i have ever played! no exaggeration. i have played i have played many synths you name it. from vintage to modern and no other synth touches it. if you would want to use it as a master controller alone its worth the money you pay for one.

this is where this synth shines. the sounds that can be created are out of this world (at least they sound like they are). i have created sound scapes that sound like they are straight out of a Hollywood movie. No Joke! it can do good bass sounds and great leads but the pads are strange and beautiful. the only thing i have owned that sounds similar to the k5k pads is the jd800. but the jd is strictly a romper so the k5k blows it out the water. this kawai is half rompler and have additive synth. this is where the ability of the programmer comes into play on how "warm" you can get the patches. if you use more additive layers it will become cold. more sample based layers tends to be warm but flat. if you can get the right balance your patches come out sounding amazingly organic. TURN DOWN THE EFFECTS! alot of patches that i download have so many effects on them that it is unusable. this seems to be the problem people have writing patches with this beast. the effects are not the best but when used in moderation you can pull it off. i created some demos that can be found if you search google for "marsholie k5000s" without the quotoations.

no problems

i have read where poeple have ordered a new encoder wheel from kawai so i guess its still being supported.

for the money this synth is a steal. dont know why but you can pick up this synth for anywhere from $450 to $650. i have not encountered another synth that can create the same type of sounds. ive read the wavestation comes close. if you want to add a strange evolving sound to your tracks i would highly recommend this synth.

ok, let's dispense with the few negatives. the manual is bizarre: it says precious little about the additive functions but goes into painstaking detail about the effects section (chorus, delay...yeah thanks).
i didn't care much for the presets but within a few hours spent with the k5000 (just fiddling, not having read the manual) - i started tweaking my own patches from the presets.
it may be hard to program, but it is easy to come up with musical, beautiful sounds just by messing around - and this isn't something i would say about a dx7 or a korg z1, where i have found the learning curve steeper.
maybe it's just me - but i find it intuitive.

keyboard action is the BEST, every other synth i own feels cheap after this. the effects (delays particularly and room ambiences are surprisingly good, better than on the korg z1).
polyphony is 16 on average - depending on the sources used. but with this synth you can arrive at highly complex evolving patches with just TWO sources (out of 6 possible) already.
aftertouch is superb - everything about this boards oozes quality.

very dynamic, the knob tweaking is fun because it results in musically useful changes (exception: resonance, which is a killer acid sound in ints own right).
the sounds that i managed to program are so beautiful and inspiring. they seem to creep up on you out of nowhere (the unit is 100% noise-free with mindblowing dynamic range). the sounds are rich, well balanced over the frequency range and just playable and musical.
whoever says that this board sounds digital and cold doesn't know about programming.
it has this rare quality that sounds seem to be right there in front of the speakers, that only very high quality synths have.

don't know yet.

don't know

absolutely one of the best, and play or have played about 40 synths, from analogues such as yamaha cs-60, jupiter, moogs, matrix-1000, to digital such as the korg z-1.

has an absolutely beautiful tone to it. should have been a huge success.
ALL kawai gear had cutting edge sound quality for its time.

what i don't get is why these can be bought cheaply nowadays: there hasn't been any newer synth that is halfway in its league.
if anyone from kawai reads this, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

i updated the operating system from the kawai website to the latest (4.04). presets came with this O.S. are very good. i haven't get into the sounddiver yet. programming could be easy or difficult depending on what you're trying to achieve. it is important to listen the sound as you go since some parameters make very subtle changes to your sound.Manual is nothing special.(like yamaha manuals) wizoo book is somewhat better but not great.

polypony is sufficient (32 i think). Some effects are very good. it is a good exercise to strip the patches from the effects first and build up the sound from there. sometimes outboard effects improves the sound tremendously. there's a memory expansion card available( altough it's very hard to find one)but not essential.Midi capabilities are very good. keyboard action is (like everyone agreed upon)superb. market is oversaturated with mediocre to bad keyboards. compared to current roland/korg keys , kawai's keyboard feel just right.
i think it has many features and most of them are well implemented. it's not a workstation.it is rather an instrument, and stands out fine (like an old fender jazz bass, or selmer tenor sax).

sound is wonderful.a lot of people mentioned that it's cold and digital. i don't know what are they referring to. (in my mother language you don't describe the sound with those terms.) it could sound very "warm"(what i mean is analog like i guess).if not use an outboard unit. i got great results with just the sherman filterbank.you can get hairy organ sounds like fela-kuti albums.or oberheim sounds like peter gabriel albums. it is very expressive (due to excellent keyboard action and modulation capabilities.) i think it could outperform most of the "analog" and "virtual analog" crop.

i could depend on it. building quality is just the way it should be. it looks very classy too. i like the lcd, and whells are responsive. i would use it on a gig without a backup. i also would use it to control other synths without hesitation.

this keyboard is out of production for almost 6-7 years now. obviously i got mine second hand. i contacted kawai about original sounds i deleted when i was loading bunch of patches from the net. Mr. Troy Reigleman not only send me the original factory patches and supplemental material also send me a four diskettes full of sound library. he was extremely responsive and pleasant.

i think it's well worth what i paid for. it seems everybody is going to software synth route. all i would say is that with all that pirate copies wondering around, whole software instrument thing is leaving a bad taste in the mouth. they're only capable if your processor/analog digital convertors/sound card is capable. and upgrades every other month is a big distraction. people can't sit down and make music because of this. they download and load and unload software. i don't use any software synths, and i don't find it limiting. only software i consider is Kyma and it comes with an ultimate dongle!,its own hardware.kawai k5000s is fine istrument and great addition to my rig

It really says something when I keep throwing my K5000S out of my live rig, replace it with something else (Emu VK-6, Yamaha SY-77 and W-7), and I end up bringing the Kawai back in. Nothing sounds like it is the bottom line! Take preset #1 "Rock Pad" - I have tried to duplicate that patch on every keyboard I have attempted to replace the K5000S with, and failed to get the nuances and playability, yet it is an insanely simple patch. It just boils down to what's in the Kawai, both from the additive and sample playback sound generation system. I am using only a few patches on the K5000S live (Rock Pad preset- suitably tweaked - and a couple of others I programmed), but they are critical to the my sound in the arrangements. The Kawai sounds blend when they're supposed, and step out when they're supposed to -and sound wonderful doing all of it. So much for the initial rave. Programming this thing is not easy as additive synthesis simply requires dealing with a lot of harmonic parameters. (Yes I have extensive experience with patch programming, and am also a rocket scientist!) Kawai learned from their K5 ancestor and make additive synthesis about as easy as possible, but it still takes a lot of button-pushing. I use Soundquest these days (threw SoundDiver out the window!) and it is certainly a lot nicer to not have to crawl thru pages on the K5000S, although the display and page organization is more than adequate. However easier an editor program can be though, it just isn't the same as leaning over the 'board and tweaking away sometimes! The Kawai also sits in the mix very nicely, and is capable of surprising warmth, and live it's low end can rattle the rafters. OS is the latest/last off Kawai's web site, the manual is adequate at explaining what each button does (I never use it), and I was lucky enough to find the rare memory expander....

I don't recall the polyphony, but I have yet to run out of voices in any situation, but I must admit I haven't tried to stress it out with dense midi streams. The keyboard action is wonderful: firm, solid, smooth - it is a joy to play and easily on the same level as my beloved Yamaha EX-5. The performance controls are great and work exactly as they should. Others have commented on the aftertouch, and I'll add to that choir - this keyboard has the finest, most playable aftertouch of any keyboard I've encountered! It works when you want it to, and responds smoothly and quite musically. It's a damn shame Kawai chickened out on this keyboard as it's probably the best thing they've ever produced. It has defects (limited multitimberal capabilities, front panel control changes don't get saved properly, etc.) but they are fairly minor, and a next-generation version would have been killer. The on-board effects are standard but flexible, although the reverbs are sub-par. First clue on the pre-sets: turn the bloody effects down! (Must've learned that trick from Roland!) The patch bank system is laughable in it's numbering system, but can be ignored easily. I have the ME-1 memory expander installed, and have built a "best of" all Kawai and third party patches in the extra banks. The K5000S is not the 'board for acoustic emulations, and the emulation pre-sets show that, even with tweaking. But as a synthesizer, it is outstanding. The PCM samples range from adequate to "what the hell were you thinking, Kawai?", and there are a few surprisingly versitile and harmonically-impressive samples buried in the pile. The additive synthesis engine excells at breathy, sweet tones, but beware! - this thing can nuke woofers and disintigrate tweeters! Also be careful with the resonance control, as it can transform the most plain sound into a speaker-destroying sonic assault! All patches I am using use a blend of the additive and PCM sounds, using the PCM as a basic "foundation" while the additive part is the gorgeous icing on the cake. It speaks midi well, and the only complaint I can come up with is that I wish it could be set to ignore selected midi messages like "Local Off" (which bloody Cakewalk always sends out on boot-up!). All I can say about it's arpeggiator is that I don't use it, and it seems rather incompletely thought out. (Best arp I have/use is the one on my Korg Z1 - Yow!)

My K5000S is part of my live rig, along with the Z1 and Yamaha EX-5 & W-5. I play in a rock/pop/alternative/prog rock band with the typical pair of howling guitarists. The K5000S is used mostly for left-hand bass lines, pads, and effects (long, evolving beautiful pads - which this thing absolutely excels at!). The touch is - to me - perfect, and is a joy to play: very controllable, very reliable. Even our bass player prefers the bass synth sounds of the K5000S compared to the other keyboards I have tried to replace it with, as it's tones fit better with what he's doing. Why do I keep trying to replace it? Well, originally I was concerned with it's versitility: it has a few GREAT sounds, but not a very broad palette compared to the Yamahas. However, those sounds I can't live without, and I give up - it's in the rig and no longer threatened with replacement! (And I've finally managed to get a good string sound out of it!)

Built solid! However, the end caps are a little fragile. But it has been gigged hard and has never given me the slightest problem. I don't use the floppy drive much, so I can't comment on the reliability. But after having to dance with my Yamahas over their cheap crap floppy drives, I have no problem with diving in to fix it if it gives me trouble. I use four keyboards live so I have back-up at hand if necessary, and the W-5 is the K5000S's back-up.

No reason to bother them so far, which is really the true test of reliability, isn't it? Sadly, Kawai barely acknoledges it's existance. Guys, you really missed an opprtunity to become a player here.......

If it was lost or stolen, I'd track the bastard down and beat him with it! I would immediately go find another. In the meantime, I'd make due with some controller keyboard (probably the W-7) running my K5000R module!

Bottom line is this is not a beginner's synth, folks. The programming is OK but additive synthesis - like FM sybthesis - requires some real understanding of sound design and science, and is not for the impatient or short attention span crowd. There is little instant gratification, and it is a more specialized item - you won't use it as a standalone workstation unless you are doing ambient snooze music. But nothing else sounds like it (I can testify to that!), and if you take a little time with it (like anything!) it will be very rewarding.

An excellent, horribly overlooked keyboard - I love it!

Well I've had the k5000 for about 2 months now. So i'm starting to think i'm ready to make an opinion. This is my first keyboard though so I've got a biased wow this thing is really cool type of attitude. I'm running version 1.01. For what i've been doing thats been fine. There r some good presets and there r some blah presets. But editing the patchs r a breeze. There r long corridors of menus to dabble in so that can get annoying but if u take the time of taking a whole session to sit down and just find some fun sounds u can come up with some really good stuff. I don't use a patch editor at all so i can't say how that goes. I'm not even really interested in one right now. Right now I just run my keyboard through sonar xl. As far as the manuals go u got me I don't have one. Like I said this is my first keyboard and i'm not having much of a problem figuring it out. I'm giving it an 8 on ease of use because i imagine there r things out there that r easier to use but for me this is great.

Think this bugger has 32 voice poly. Which is pretty good but if u go to deep sometimes u'll end up with a sound that is barely audible. I'm working on finding my ways around that. I could always save as audio files and layer things on my computer but what fun is that. I enjoy the keyboard action. The keys r velocity sensitive and that makes for a good time. Especially considering one of the 16 knobs can adjust the sensitivity of the velocity. So if u r a lead finger u can make adjustments with a knob. The rest of the knobs make for a good time also. nothing like taking one of those dreamy bass pads and holding a key down and playing with the knobs. Or better yet put on one of the arp settings and then play around with the knobs. There r tons of arp settings which is nice. If there was only the up, updown, down arps i'd get bored of that feature pretty quick. but lucky me there r like 12 arp settings and some of them have multiple options. On top of that u can also customize the arp. I haven't delved into that too much yet though. But that alone is a nice feature. fun fun. Now I haven't even begun to mention the additive synth properties of this thing. Probably cause i haven't fully figured them out considering i'm a newbie. But i have come up with some fun sounds though i can't say that they were what i was aiming for. More of a smoke a joint sit and mess with the add settings of a blank sound till u come up with something that just too good to be true. No onboard sequencer which is a bummer but hey thats what a computer is for.
I have to give a 10 for the features. Even though it doesn't have "everything" aka a sequencer. It has some things u can't readily find anywhere else. The arp is good the additive synth is better. plus u can still use pcm files. woohoo. This thing is a beast.

The sounds. Where the hell can u begin with that. Realism whats that. if u want a flute. get a flute. if u want a flutelike sound that comes in with a fast attack and slowly decays into a nice wavy organ sound. Well then the k5000 is your synth. Being new and all i was really hoping i'd have at least a 10 dollar casio level piano sound. Well there isn't one. grin. So i made one.
As far as deciding what styles of music this works for. I think thats a moot point. This think is pretty much limited to what u want to do with it. It is lacking in percussion sounds but that may just be because i haven't either a. taken the time to make them or b. haven't figured out how to make them.
I have to admit that i feel like this thing is alive sometimes. It'll follow your concepts pretty well as u play. if that makes sense. guess i'm saying its very versitile and the sounds r very alive. the velocity touch is pretty good. i think u can adjust the velocity somewhere in the menus but i haven't messed with that much. but there is definite differences in sound if u push the a key quickly vs a slow soft touch.
Well let me give a few examples of sounds i've found. theres a nice preset called k-philes. grin. That'll do a good rendition of the x-files theme song. I found another sound in there that is all about the oldschool startrek theme. I just created a sound that is perfect for dreamy celtic stuff. lots of good pads i guess. some good dancy stuff if u work it right. I haven't done that yet. all in all i'll give a 9 and that could be a judgement based on human error since i can't get drum beats out of it.

It seems pretty good. I haven't ever gigged. It's just in a home studio. I've had it freeze up a few times. Only once did it piss me off though. usually it freezes if sonar gets messed up. So it's not the synths fault. i did freeze it up once while navigating through the menus. i was working on a sound doing the make an adjustment push a key type of thing and it stuck a note. had to turn it off.
other than that it seems great. and considering its already 5 or so years old and i'm running it on the original version of the software i shouldn't be complaining. I'll give an 8 cause of the freeze ups.

i hope i never have to use it. I've heard they r good. but charge alot for parts. so go figure. I can't form an opinion on this cause i haven't used it

If it were lost or stolen i would feel hopelessly lost cause its my only piece of equipment. I'd be mad and probably turn into a serial killer. this is a great synth. I was after something with lots of programmability at a reasonable price. I imagine a triton studio or a fantom or something like that is better in a lot of ways but they don't cost 500 dollars. U can literally sit around for way to many hours twiddling knobs searching through menus and creating killer original sounds. Just remember that after u spend a day making a sound. U have to spend a day using the sound. It's only fair. All I've used before this synth r loop factory type of programs and this is by far on a whole different level. It's great. This thing is just limited to what u can do. Enjoy.

well i'll be brief.You know what this does....

it odes stuff nothing ive found will

This is really where its at.I zoned in on one thing it does well , its harmonic shower like waves and stuff.....its actaully capable of some sounds that are simply beautifull.I didnt warm to it in the mix for leads or stuff but i probably didnt push it or try hard enough.I just sampled so many 30-60 second waves and washes and stuff and then re-synthesised these.....its really another world in this synth.Anyone doing abstarct or chilled soundscapes and electronica should try this synth....its very wonderfull.

seems solid.The knobs not remembering settings i found odd.

think there now based in another star system?

amazing , along with a korg z1 , a korg wavetstation , nord modular anda few other synthesis systems this is a must try as it does sounds you cant get elsewhere....its quite odvious at times or can be spotted a mile away.......ina word?chromium / silvery / metaliness and clouds of liquid mercury !harmonically richer than ive ever found.......

Recently updated to v4.03, which actually overwrote all the patches I had stored in RAM. Really glad I did a complete backup before I upgraded the OS.

The v3.0 and v4.03 presets range from the silly to the sublime, but it's quite simply the most flexible synth I've come across (no offense to you VAST owners). The leads, basses, and pads are exceptional although, as stated in other reviews, the "replica" sounds can be a bit lacking. Still, there are some amazing electric piano and Hammond patches within the presets.

Thank God for SoundDiver - I can't imagine doing all the editing from the front panel. Although the interface reminds me of the Korg O1-series, Kawai didn't include either an increment/decrement button or value slider. Somewhat minor omissions, but they do take some shine off the apple.

The factory manual is simply awful.

I believe that there are 32 voices lurking under the hood, but I've been unsucessful in determining how many elements per voice that leads to - a six-section patch is nowhere near 32 voices.

This keyboard has the most pleasant unweighted action I have ever played. It has substance greater than plastic and switches. The only keyboard I prefer is the weighed hammer action in my MIDIBoard.

The effects are on par with the workstations and synths that were available during the production cycle. The addition of a dedicated eq helps.

I'm still looking for the memory expansion. Oh, almost forgot - this relates back to the manual. The concept of the "A" and "D" banks is a bit wierd, until you read the factory manual. It proudly explains that the "B" and "C" banks are only present in the K5000W. Looks like crack was readily available in Japan sometime in the mid-90's.

The MIDI and modulation capabilities are extensive. The assignable switches, pots, footswitches... The mod matrix is similarly equipped. The Kawai folks really did this area proudly.

The arpeggiator is completely over the top. I'd guess that there are as many programming options with the arpeggiator as there are within a complex additive voice.

There's a whole pile of gemstones on the control surface - realtime control macro knobs that work on the additive harmonic mix, formant filter, HP/LP filter, envelopes, arpeggiator and portamento. There are also a bank of four assignable controls that have dual destinations. Maybe mine has a glitch, but the portamento rate control seems to invert the values, as do the envelopes. Turn the knob fully CW, and the glide/env time goes to 127, but that seems to equate to zero glide and zero attack/decay/release. Rotating the knob fully CCW sets the glide to 0, but gives you the full portamento time (go get coffee between keystrokes). Maybe it's just me.

This is the most difficult part of the review. The sounds are simply incredible. This is as good as you can hope for from a synthesizer. Assuming you use sparing amounts of the PCM waves and jump into the additive and morph with both feet(feat), there are very few things the mind can imagine that the unit can't deliver. And that's where the few flaws show up. I've found the unit more difficult to place into a mix than other synths, even when bypassing the effects. There's a truly distinct sound to this synth, one that sternly refuses to lay flat within the mix without some work on the sound. Maybe it's the way I listen to it, but it seems to be a bunch harder to blend into the canvas. The only other gripe I can come up with is the filter resonance. It is an 8-count from zero to mind-blowing feedback. This becomes more apparent when tweaking a patch from the realtime controls - beware excessive twist on the reso control. It kinda sneaks up on you... However, a little feedback never hurt anyone, when you know how to use it. This synth can get into the gutter and roll around with the dirt whenever you need it. So - the 10 rating (Pristine sound quality) is kind of subjective.

Don't assume that it's on par with more recent samplers and ROMplers when realistic acoustic instruments are required. This isn't the pony for that trick.

The onboard efx are more than up to the task, and are flexible enough. I'd rather keep some of the onboard effects, if for nothing other than the mod routings that are available. Admittedly, the efx are possibly above average - but that's nothing to sneeze at.

The mod routings - I've stressed this before. The beast is expressive. Whether it's velocity, aftertouch, the mod wheel (made me want to remove the spring from my controller), the performance pots & switches... Too many possibilities to consider all at once.

As far as construction goes, this thing is built like a tank. I've read reviews that consider this heavy (when compared to what?). It's not an unreasonable weight, probably a few pounds porkier than an 01/W.

When I gigged, I never let anything run without a backup - this is not a slight to any piece of gear. It's better to be prepared, if possible.

I spoke with Kawai recently (to purchase a manual) and they were extremely helpful. This board seems to remain a really sore topic with the support staff - it's pretty obvious that they believed in the product and were very opposed to its death. Factory manual only cost me $13. Not bad, although it's barely worth the paper its printed on. My biggest complaint about this synth - the manual is totally, completely, thoroughly, absolutely useless. Keeps the drinks off the table, however.

I bought this beast used, and it did have a very funky shaft encoder (dial). Got it fixed under an extended warranty - really glad about that as the part alone went for $170. I'm sure that I will be faced with the dead backlight syndrome in the next few years, but that particular fate probably awaits the majority of my rig as time progresses.

Assuming this board went missing for any reason, I would look to pick up another. I'll probably keep my eye out for a K5000R, assuming I can get it for a similar price. I'd say I got a pretty good deal on this.

One note of caution to any prospective buyers - the "W" version does not have the bank of realtime control knobs. Make sure you can live without these before you grab a K5000W.

If you just want to stick to the preset sounds, then it is very easy to use. However, if you want to create your own sounds then it is a f'kn bitch! I owned this thing for about 2 years before I finally made myself sit down and learn how to use all it's features. This synth is designed to be powerful, not idiot-proof.

Presets suck...

The manual sucks...

More features than you can poke a stick at!!!

I won't list them all because I would only be repeating what everyone else has said.

One thing it is missing is a MIDI sync LFO. You can use the arpeggiator to do gating and stuff, but you can't control any of the effect parameters with BPM. EG: It would be nice to be able to beat-sync cutoff, or phaser, or panning, etc...

FAT FAT FAT... Yes, this keyboard is fat as long as you learn how to program it yourself. All the presets suck big time and sound thin and weak. Do not be put off by this because it is possible to create those huge DnB basslines you always wanted... :)

Onboard effects are excellent.

Never failed on me yet... Playing it live for the first time in a couple of days so touch wood :)

Nup. As I said before, I have never had a problem with it.

If it was stolen/lost I would not be able to buy another one because they are out of production. But, if it was possible I would strongly consider getting another one.

One thing I wish it had was an audio input for using the FX on an input signal.

Running OS 4.03, most bugs are gone except one (or is it just mine) when editing a sound with the knobs and then presses WRITE the sound changes into something else (#?%@!?!).

Presets sucks with a few exceptions but there is plenty with sounds to download on the net.

It's not so hard to program, just take looong time to experiment because of the huge number of parameters. The additive synthesis is quite simple to understand until you get to the 128-band formant filter. The formant filter is the key to the strange but wonderful sounds/textures this beast is capable of.

Didn't get the owners manual, got me the Wizoo book instead of buing the manual from Kawai.

32 voices to play with, not a problem when it's limited to 4 channel multi timbral.

FX is good and often needed to give life to some stiff sounds. 4 separate FX + master reverb/delay + EQ is quite enought for me.

There is a memory expantion but it seems quite hard to get nowdays.

Realistic sounds, nooo! this synth gives you the sounds you can't find elsewhere (well, maby if buy a Fairlight) I love the cold, digital sound it produces. It can be warm also with lots of help from the FX but it's those cold, harsh Kraftwerk like sounds I like most

Reliability is good as far as I know. It hung once but that was with a earlier OS.

Never have to dealt with support so I have no opinion

If it were lost or stolen? I would replace it at once!!

I wish I could find the memory expantion to it.

Software V4.03
The manual isn't very good. It pretty much just describes what the
parameters do, but not how to use them. The description for the
arpeggiator is a joke. The Wizoo book is quite helpful for programming, I recommend it. Editing patches isn't that hard, but
can be quite time-consuming (there are a LOT of parameters).

The polyphony can be up to 32 voices, but in normal use is probably
more like 16. For me that's fine, since I have other instruments
and my music isn't densely sequenced.
The keys feel really good and have velocity/aftertouch. In fact, these keys are probably the best ever on an unweighted keyboard.
The effects aren't as good as dedicated units, but quite useful
nonetheless. I don't have a lot of outboard gear, so they're
definitely good for me.

I think this machine does many things well. Just don't expect realistic instrument emulations. That's not what this machine is for. My favorite sounds are the pads - they're lush, yet transparent.
Absolutely fabulous for spacemusic, new age, ambient and even trance.
On the other end of the scale, this synth can sound harsh, grating and totally obnoxious, so it's also great for industrial, experimental applications and special efx/weirdness. It even makes
some decent analog-ish noises. Just watch your filter settings, this thing will eat your speakers for lunch if you're not careful.
This is one of the most expressive synths I've ever played. It reacts quite well to velocity and aftertouch, but my favorite is the mod wheel. Depending on the patch and how it is programmed, it can change the sound radically. Play some of the presets and see what I mean.

My unit has been rock solid. It is built like a tank and I would definitely use it on a gig without backup.

The people at Kawai are nice, but there isn't alot of help from them since the machine was discontinued a few years ago. However, there are quite a number of patches available online and help with the arpeggiator (thank you Jens Groh) and programming too.

If it were lost or stolen, I would replace it IMMEDIATELY!! I don't think I could be without it. It's definitely worth more than I paid for it. I think it's the best digital synth ever made and complements my analogs (Juno 106, Matrix 6) perfectly, but would definitely go well alongside something like like a Microwave XT or one of the many VA's out there. Some of my friends have Wavestations
(which I quite like), but I prefer the K5k. The only unit similar to this one is the Yamaha FS1r, but that one is even harder to get.
IF I HAD TO PARE DOWN MY RIG TO ONE SYNTH, THIS ONE WOULD BE IT!!!

OS 4.3.
The presets its great!
Ease to use, but not same for programing. The manual its ok, but I bought a book for Additive Synthesis

Polyphony Its 32 and Keyboard Action its wonderful.

This is the board. I love vintage synthsizers, and I was looking for a Module or a keyboard for this when I professional keyboard player tell me about this machine. It's unbelieveble. You emulate Oberheim, Moogs, Arps, Mellotrons, etc...better than my monophonic Korg Prophecy. For expresiveness you have 16 knobs and modulation. If you like vintage sounds, buy one!!!!!!

There's no problem

It's one the better synths have made. Only a few people knew that. If you need vintage synthsizer sounds, you must to have one. Better than Yamaha AN1x and Korg MS2000 and don't use Physical Modelling.

This synth is fairly easy to use as long as you're not trying to develop your own sounds. This can certainly be done (made much easier with the included Sounddiver patch editor) but it's not all that much fun to do. HOWEVER, the presets are quite wonderful and you can modify the existing sounds with ease, so that is another avenue to explore rather than making sounds from scratch. I do love what this synth does thus far, but I haven't really discovered what it CAN do yet.

This synth really has a lot to offer in regards to features, which is why it also makes and excellent controller for any additional sound modules, or software you might be using. Plenty of polyphony (24 I think... can't remember right now) The keyboard is exceptional... like the Novation VAs the keyboard is apparently made by Fatar. Feels great. Touch sensitivity is nice. Great MIDI implementation. Has MIDI-through.

The built-in sounds are quite beautiful. Depending on the velocity of the hit, the sounds morph and evolve for some time. The extra knobs on the 'S' model enable you to change some parameters in real-time similar to a VA synth (though this is NOT a VA synth)

If you are looking for sampled sounds, this is not the synth for you. The sounds don't emulate real sampled sounds. Any of them. For that, go to the Roland section. But it does make a vast array of digital electronic sounds from sweeping pads to simple bleeps (at times you may want to turn the effects section off to get a less cheesy sound in cases like this... ) and it will make a fine complement to many types of recordings.

Oh... then there's the arpeggiator... one of its finest features! Fun! So many options! And it will sync to an external clock.

It seems to be built like a tank. You'll know when you see it. Its a solid piece of work. As I said, the keys themselves are of high quality. The knobs don't wiggle. Everything seems very solid.

Haven't needed it yet.

I checked out lots of other synths in this price range and this seemed to be a good choice. It felt daring, as I didn't know much about it when I bought it, but I am very pleased. It's capabilities as a controller will keep me happy long into the future when I want to expand with additional rack modules (I already have a couple and they work great with the Kawai). I also like the fact that they aren't too common so the sounds will bring some added uniqueness to your compositions.

This is no easy synthesiser to use. Ok, it is easy to play sounds and adjust sounds with the
16 performance knobs, which provides an amazing range of sound variations of a single patch.
However, the K5000s is a synthesiser and a true owner must make his own sounds from scratch, and that is
much more complicated. It is complicated because there are endless parameters to set, and most parameters
depend on each other and there are to few macro-parameters that changes a group of other parameters. On the other hand, it is probably the easiest-to-edit additive synth ever built. Prepare to spend time with it if you buy one.

One thing I must point out about the knobs is that they are knobbs for performace and not for programming like on most VA's these days, so it's kind of a menu-synth when you edit patches even if it has lots of knobbs.

The manual I got with the synth is for an early OS and Kawai doesen't seem to have manuals for the latest OS on their site. That is not good, because I know there
are lots of good features hiding in the synth I will never find out (for examples, one of the function-buttons sometimes act as effect-bypass switch). Also, like
most manuals, it explains the architecture and parameters from a technical point of view and ignores the musial point of view.

This synth has 16 voice polyphony (I think), anyway, it is too little to be
useful in multitimbral mode. I have often wished for another K5000s when
I have had more than two patches from it that I've wanted to use. The
multitimbral set-up can be a little limiting sometimes because effects
are assigned globally, not on patch level so if the two patches you want to use
haven't got compatible effects, you're out of luck.

The sound of the K5000s is unique and you need to here it to know if it suits you.
The properties of the sound of the K5000s I like the most is its evolving
character, its radical and subtle responses to modulation that leave most other synthesiser behind
and its wicked filter. The filter can distort heavily and blow your speakers.
Most of the time I use this synth, I have it connected to my mixer through a compressor (the RNC 1773 works well) because this synth has an almost disturbing dynamic range, especially with the resonance turned up.

The effects are good and got a certain character they too that I identify with the overall sound of the K5000s,
the only exception being the reverbs that is really bad. A big bonus is that the effects are organised as four independent effects, one global reverb and one global eq (I can't understand why almost every other synth misses the eq - it's essential).

Using this synthesiser you will sooner or later discover the performance-knob problem. You find a patch that doesen't
sound exactly the way you need, so you turn the knobs and woohaa you got the sound. The problem is now, that the synth cannot
remember this configuration of the knobbs, so the next time you need to use the sound, you must remember
the exact position of each knobb, and given the variety of sound these knobs can create,
you will not find the sound by guessing. I have lost a lot of cool sounds this way.

The synth is well built and the latest OS is stable. If you plan to gig with it,
your biggest problem will be to recover sounds you obtained just by turning the performance knobs.

My experience of this synth is that it sometimes a have trouble receiving too much MIDI information. The MIDI
implementation seems to be such, that note on and off have higher priority than control change messages,
so what has happened to me is that I've managed to stay within the polyphony limit, but
overloaded the synth with volume- and filter- change messages resulting in audible timing problems.
However, this will probably only happen if you try to record and playback the gated-arpeggiator in high speed in multimimbral mode.

This synth like many other these days loads OS from disc. It works fine.

The K5000s is a synth in its own category. It is hard to handle and it
never sounds the way you intend, but as a synthesiser for explorers
like me, it is a beloved source of new sounds.

There are many synthesiser today and there are big overlaps between how theses can sound,
but the K5000s (as well as a few other synthesiser) should not be
judged for what it can or cannot do, but for what it can do that no other synth can do.
You should only consider a K5000s if you need that. I own one because I do.

folks say its hard to use. ba!

there is a memory card. very hard to find. i found one. cost a bunch

nothing sounds like real stuff. its best feature.

kinda heavy. the best synth keys bar none. i have two. one dont work?

company is good. very quick emails. pricy manuals

it is my main controller. so i guess i would buy another one. in a heart beat

At first I thought it sounded kind'a edgy and digital but the more I play with it the more I find how deep and powerful it is... it can still be edgy and digital but in a cool, organic way. The sounds I come up with amaze me at the least!!!
The arpeggiator is sooooo cool too!

I tried to program the synth but soon abandoned the idea as futile due to its complexity... a lot easier to create new patches just by messing with knobs.

Would give 10 if it had more sounds...

Look and feels very sturdy.

I have not delved deep into patch editing but the big LCD screen is great for getting around. Accessing patches is easy, and the bank of knobs, switches, and mod/pitch bend wheels are a hands-on delight.

I won't go deep into the features of this synth as many people have already blown off lots of steam about the K5000s. What I will say in general is that I am a gear junkie and this is one of the best keyboards I have bought in a long time. The keyboard action is absolutely superb. The LCD screen and menus are clear and easy to follow. The knobs, switches & wheels are great for live performance and for plain-old sound tweaking. The 3.5" disk drive reads DOS and tons of resources are available on the net. The arpeggiator is a blast to fool around with. Overall, this is a really fun hands-on synth, even if you don't have a clue about "formants" and "n-th harmonics"...like me!

As stated in all these other reviews, this is not a synth for cut and dried piano, horns, etc. This is an extremely powerful synthesizer which really got me excited about synthesizers again. To beat the point to death, this is a synthesizer which actually puts meaning to the term "synthesis" -- in my opinion, this is one of the most important keyboards to come along in a long time, and it's a shame it's been discontinued.

The sounds range from gutteral woofer-blowing bass, to shimmering ethereal dreamscapes, to sounds that defy description. At times, depending on the patch, the sound is brittle, but the 16-bit nature of the beast is more than made up by how amazing the various patches shift, scream, and subside depending on their configuration, the mod wheel, and your own technique and aftertouch.

At times, some of the patches almost remind me of the PPG Wave, that funky blue mid-1980's digital analog synth hybrid. If you're familiar with recordings made using that synth, or with the PPG soft synth currently available, it's sort of like that. But in my opinion, the k5000s is better because of the extreme spectrum of sounds it can manufacture.

This would be a great synth for people involved in electronica, for people who compose for film, for people who do electro-acoustic music, or for people who would just like to add a really original sounding synth to their collection.

Mine was bought used and has worked fine since I bought it. The keyboard itself seems very solid and durable. This isn't like a light plasticky Roland keyboard -- it's got the semi-weighted feel of a digital piano. The entire beast is a heavy mother, and seems really solid.

Have never tried to access Kawai Co., but have found lots of k5000s support and info from various sites on the net.

Let me tell you a story: after being a huge gear slut when I was a younger man, I found that synths got more and more boring from around 1990 onwards. Tiny 2-row LCD menus, esoteric commands, lack of real-time controls, etc. I gave up on keeping up with trends and returned to basics, using just a good weighted controller with a handful of sounds that I needed for live performance.

However, recently I've been buying keyboards and modules that I believe are worth collecting, either because of their uniqueness or usefulness. The k5000s satisfies both of these criteria. After reading the other k5000s reviews here, I find it shocking that they were being liquidated for under $500 US. This is a synth worth much more than that, and if you have the opportunity to pick one up for a reasonable price, do it.

Again, I'm not big on understanding the theory behind additive synthesis, and I don't have a lot of time to sit and figure out how all the concepts work together, so I'm limiting myself to tweaking already-existing patches on the board and ones I download off the net. Even in this limited fashion I've envisioned dozens of ways a person could use this synth. Sorry for sounding like such a religious zealot in the Cult of Kawai, but this synth is great!

OS 4.0. The presets are actually not bad for a modern synth. They do only offer a glimpse of what the 5000 is capable of, but synths are made to be programmed and tweaked, my friends. Otherwise, buy a sampler or home keyboard. Editing can be deep, but the screen provides a lot of info and even shows the shape of the envelopes as you tweak them. Not only are the macro knobs handy, but the buttons near the screen are helpful as well. A patch editor might be a good idea, but I'm doing just fine without one. The manual is decent, but as everyone has recommended, the guide from Wizoo is a little more readable.

32-note polyphony (quickly reduced depending upon the # of sources used in a patch). The keyboard action rules. Heavy and deep keys that make it my fave synth key action. Effects are of good quality and are easy to use and tweak. The Ensemble effect reminds me of the Korg Polysix I used to own. There is a memory expansion slot if you need extra memory. The onboard disk drive is extremely slow compared to the one I used to have on my XP-50 and you can't play while it is loading, which is a bummer. Has an onboard arp which can be fun, but the controls for the arp are sometimes hard to read unless you're directly on top of them. I think the 2 best features of the board are the macro knobs (20 and 4 of them are user programmable) and the 2 buttons above the wheels (1 for transposing an octave down, 1 for activating portamento, and 1 programmable). This synth was made for live performance. Splits and layers can be saved as multi/performance patches.

I'm not shooting for realistic sounds here, so I could care less about acoustical emulations. This synth not only specialzes in ethereal, shimmering, ambient textures, but can also put out some ripping leads and ballsy bass lines. I've emulated a few Polysix patches with relative ease. The sound overall, in a friend's words, are "deep and full." The effects do add a lot (just as they do in any other modern synth) and you can get very expressive w/ aftertouch, velocity, the performance buttons, and the macro knobs. Be careful when tweaking the resonance knob as you can easily burst a speaker. The filter can be extremely harsh and will shred anything within walking distance if not carefully applied. Overall, it's like adding a breath of fresh air to my other synths.

No problems so far and Kawai's support is amazing. I would and will be using this for gigs.

Very cool people here. Troy (Kawai rep) was very helpful and responsive even though I didn't buy it new. How rare is that?! I will definately give Kawai a close look in the future should they release another synth.

If it were stolen, I would buy another one pretty damn quick. Incredible sounds, great key action, and performance controls make this a keeper for me and I'm pretty fickle. It fits in well my setup and compliments my other synths very well. I'm using it along with an OB-8, AN1x, Juno-60, FS1r, and CZ-101. I chose the K5000s as I wanted to add a new type of synthesis to my setup. It was either this or the more expensive Microwave XT. I really like the XT, but I needed another MIDI keyboard synth and I'm not about to pay the outrageous sums of money the XTk fetches. I might pick up the rack if I sell my FS1r anyway. The only thing I wish the 5000 had is a quicker disk drive. Using it with my band has already inspired some new ideas for songs as it brings a different sonic personality to the table. It's not popular, not "phat", nor is it a groovemachine or ROMpler, but a unique, powerful, ethereal, sleek machine nothing else can duplicate nowadays. Nice.

Haven't had the board long. I can already see the architecture is complex, as promised :-) Still, the interface seems fairly well structured to me considering the depth of the synth engine involved. It seems great for experimentation. But you could spend years learning everything additive is capable of.

Excellent real time control features. Most options I've had on any of my digital synths. (which they all are now) Great to see a disk drive on a non-workstation synth... makes life easier for patch loading. The keyboard feels breat. Aftertouch is not so hard as to not be usable. The performance switches right above the pitch/mod are convenient. All in all... a lot of control.

This blew me away. Everyone always says this board is "thin and digital" I find the sound very full. The filter can sometimes bite a bit and give a thin sound... granted. But the board itself has a very full range sound and can do fabulous warm bass and baeutiful shimmering soundscapes. I did not expect this from the K5000 and was very pleasantly suprised. The wavestation is the only thing I've heard compare to the amount of morphing that can go on here. Gorgeous!

I haven't had the board long enough to judge reliability. Luckily, several trusted musician friends online have used it extensively. I've never heard of one breaking down personally. Not to say they don't... I've just never heard of it.

Kawai still offers decent support for this synth, although it's been oop for a couple of years now. Software upgrades, patches, docs, etc on their website.

This is a lot of synth for the money. A controller with all of these features would be worth the price you can find them for. It has many times been called a fabulous controller with a nice synth tacked on to boot. If you like the sound of it... fantastic value. If you don't... still highly decent.

I'm using the 4.04 OS version; it works fine. Some presets are great, some good... and some useless, as any synth. Editing a patch is hard but remember, this is advanced additive synthesis... the hard editing is compensed by the enormous range of sounds that you can get. The manual explains well the FX section, but the synth engine section is poor.

32 poliphony, GREAT keyboard action, the best I have seen in a synth of its class. Smooth aftertouch, a LOT of real-time control (16 knobs sending CC MIDI data -cool!-, special buttons for fast real-time access to important parameters as arpeggio, etc). It has no on-board sequencer (who needs it, really?).

This is the strongest point of the K5000S. ASTOUNDING sounds, very clean, a lot of possibilities to work on.

Built like a tank, with a metal-grey looking (really COOL) case.

EXCELLENT on-line support from Kawai, they answer your doubts in a question of minutes or hours! My unit has no defects (I think it will never has) so I can tell about repairings.

In a near future, this synth will be a classic one. Flexible, reliable, cool-looking and over all, GREAT sounding and original. Let all those people play with their analogue things and go for NEW sounds for your music!

I am using version 4 downloaded off of the Kawai Australia
website (the best of the Kawai sites in English). The DOS-format
floppy is a real big plus, allowing easy upgrade, backup, and
playback of midi files copied off a PC without having to have
a PC always around.

the realtime control knobs, and flexible arpeggiator and
beautiful feeling keyboard, and DOS format floppy drive,
and unique sound creation potential, are for me the best features.

this is where the instrument really shines, in my opinion.
i dont see, or cant imagine, synths getting any more complicated
than this one, as far as sound-generation architecture goes.
I mean, who needs, or who can even comprehend any *more* features?

So I think this synth will be among the few classics made at the
high-water mark of true synthesizer design. it seems the market
is now being 'dumbed down' to the level of interactive beat-boxes,
which of course are fun too!

But there is no point in 'improving' on this instrument. It deserves
to remain in production relatively unchanged just like any other
classic acoustic instrument, e.g. a Martin guitar etc. For what
it does, it cannot be beat, and should remain available. I am
pretty depressed at the fickleness of the keyboard market,
in which many great instruments like this one, disappear forever
as 'technology' mindlessly marches on.

This instrument is like an acoustic fractal explorer.
You can effortlessly discover sounds literally no one else has
ever heard before in all history, and *play* with them as they evolve
into textures and spaces you never dreamt of.

Granted, the 'Hearts of Space' type noodling gets quite
tedious when you are just passively listening, *but* if you
are the creator, then it is a whole different story!

This instrument gives you true
access to the 'Hearts of Space' in more ways than one!

online updates and patches are quite available.
email response has been prompt and helpful.
the only detraction i have is that the Kawai US website is
quite incomplete. The Kawai Australia website is quite good.
And the Japanese Kawai website has no English translation.

They should merge all their info, into one large comprehensive
website.

I cant believe it was actually blown out at 450$ US a few years ago!
Some heads must have rolled somewhere at Kawai HQ!
Kawai probably lost tons of money on this instrument.

But the sound designers and engineers and craftspeople who
made this instrument can be truly proud of it, even if the
market hasnt yet caught up to it.

It is a sad but familiar story - it doesnt always pay to
be truly innovative. The keyboard synth market is merciless.

But I think in the long run, Kawai's
musical reputation will benefit from this instrument.

I'm surrently using 4.03 but I believe they just updated that to 4.04. Kawai provides its various preset banks (dozens of patches) for free downloading. Overall the patches are very good, but there no bread and butter sounds. I've heard the manual is pretty weak, I just have the wizoo guide which is pretty good. The user interface is actually quite good, IMO. If you've ever navigated a Kawai interfacce the use of sources/patches/multi's is very familiar and fairly intuitive. The display does a good job at showing an immense number of parameters at once. The hard part is learning how to program an additive synth, which is pretty difficult at best.

Fairly good assortment of features, especially considering its release date. It has 32 voices, but that is somewhat misleading as the maximum polyphony depends on how many additive sources you use per patch (each patch can use up to 6 sources). For some source heavy patches the polyphony is closer to 6-8 voices. Fairly small memory, but there is an expansion available (hard to find though). Thankfully the unit comes with a disk drive so storing patches is no problem, and you can load an entire bank of patches in a few seconds. The Keyboard action is simply the best you'll find short of a dedicated controller or digital piano. It's a joy to play. It also has knobs for programming and real time control of parameters. There is no sequencer but it has a very powerful arpreggiator. It has a wide variety of effects which are quite useable.

This is the ultimate love it or hate it synth. Nothing on it sounds remotely realistic, but that's not what it's for. With additive synthesis you have control over the individual harmonics that constitute a sound. It also has a wonderful formant filter which is also extremely powerful and not quite as hard to use.

Back to the sound, the K5000 sounds very digital but hardly static or lifeless. To the contrary, the sounds on this synth have a liveliness that I've never heard on other synths. As weird as many of the sounds are, they are all quite musical and beautiful to listen to. Ambient pads and sounscapes just drip from this synth, play a patch and sustain a note and chances are you'll hear the sound morf into a completely different timbre. Wonderful! Although realistic sounds are few and far between, it does produce excellent organs and EP's, and does some surprisingly good analog emulations for a digital synth. For what it's worth, it also has the most over the top digital filter I've ever heard. It doesn't sound remotely analog, but when you turn its resonance up it can demolish a small town.

The only reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 is that it the K5000 doesn't always lend itself easily to a mix, all those harmonics can really fill up a track quickly.

In the end you've got to hear one yourself.

Unit itself is very robust. I've had some software glitches and have had to reboot the OS a few times. But generally it behaves properly. Construction of the unit is top notch. For what it's worth it's also one of the sharpest looking synths around.

Never had to deal with repairs but for general info and help Kawai US is great. Here's a synth that was discontinued a year or two ago, but they are still upgrading the OS and offering hundreds of free patches. I have emailed the customer service reps and have received a response the next day everytime. Are you listening EMU, Yamaha, Roland?

The rating is entirely subjective and this synth will not work for everyone, buts it's destined to be a classic synth. The retail on these was around $1700 but Sam Ash ended up selling them for $450 after they were discontinued. On the current used market you can expect to pay between $500 to $600 for one in good condition and it's still a bargain. If nothing else, the K5000 sounds like no other synth on the market, and it can create sounds that no other synth can readily produce. Beyond it's exotic synthesis capabilities you get a wonderful keyboard, 16 real time controllers, a large display, and a powerful arpreggiator; all of which are contained in a beautiful brushed aluminum case. Forget bargains, for what these are selling for it's a steal.

I found this unit VERY hard to use... but that's one of the reasons it's so popular. The manuals are very technical and unless you have quite some time to figure the beast out don't buy this. The preset patches are nice and the BIG knob bank makes for some sweet preset twiddling. I never got to creating my own patches, I simply didn't have time to explore this unit. But from poking around the interface there are enough options to kill a horse.

The keys feel wonderful. It has an disk drive to load patches and I believe there is a memory upgrade available. There are a ton of knobs which make things sound very cool. Many built in effects.

This is the unit you need for pads. I don't believe you can do much else with it. I was using it for noise and it worked pretty well.

YES. This unit is built ROCK solid and is very very heavy. I think the only thing that would kill it would be getting shot or run over.

It's good. I didn't use it much, but with time and patience this unit can be used to make any sound you want.

In my recent review of the K5000S (See this page!) I forgot to mention one very important thing- the Keyboard action is one of the best, if not the best that I have ever played when compared to other unweighted keyboards- it is not mushy and it has a nice weight to it. That is the last thing I have to say (Lenti Lenko 26 11 99).

I had software version 3 but was about to get version 4 just before I sold it. It is available at all of Kawai's websites (this is good service!) Some of the presets are great but much more interesting results can be achieved by editing- once you get your hands around Additive synthesis that is. Whilst it has a nic big LCD screen- good for people with bad eyesight (such as myself!) I would recommend using the supplied soundiver editing software with your PC or MAC. It's not that the operating system is bad, simply Additive synthesis is very complex (you build the sound from the ground up not the other way around). Everything you need to know is in the manual, but it is often hard to find. The effects guide is good. My rating is for editing from the front panel.

32 notes of polyphony- up to 6 sources per patch- cuts polyphony down. Up to 4 patches per multi. It has some great sounding built in effects- 4 seperate busses with a dedicated reverb and EQ block as well as a wide variety of other interesting effects- 37 in all. They sound warm and a highly programmable. You can expand the patch memeroy with the ME-1 memory expander as using many multi-sourced patches cuts down the patch storage area. It has a disk drive (THANK YOU KAWAI) for storage. It has a quick MIDI mode for setting up zones quickly and is able to recieve on up to 4 MIDI channels- plenty for this type of instrument. No onboard sequencer but a flexable arpeggiator with 40 preset patterns. 16 real time knobs (4 user assignable) transmit MIDI controller info (GREAT!). 3 switches for extra functions reside above the pitch bend/mod wheels.

DON'T BUY THIS THINKING THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PROGRAM THE ULTIMATE STEINWAY OR LONDON PHILLHARMONIC ORCHESTRAL PATCH!!!!!!! There are no real sounding guitars, basses, saxes, trumpets, drums, pianos etc- THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS SYNTHE IS ABOUT. It is an additive synthesizer and a great soudning one at that. It sounds like nothing else on the market- AND I MEAN NOTHING ELSE!! It's architecture allows you to create some really great moving/evolving sounds right through to trully rude souding lead sounds- I must mention that the 'rock guitar' patch is the most realistic lead guitar sound that I have ever heard from a synthe (play it thinking guitar, not piano or organ). On the subject of organs, some of the organ patches are very playable with a nice souding leslie emulation for a synthe. I wouldn't go so far to say that this synthe was as clean as my Korg and Roland gear- gritty is the best word to describe it. This does NOT imply that is sounds bad- the complete opposite in fact! I would not be afraid to use just this synthe for some kinds of soundtrack work- It almost sounds WAVESTATION! It's filters are not the smoothest sounding and the resonance is quiet course, not very controlled- but this is what adds to the sound. My rating is for what I know this synthe is capable of. Bye the way, there is no general MIDI bank in this synthe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(THANK GOD!).

Never had a problem with it!

Kawai Australia have been very helpful on the 2 times I have had to contact them.

I sold mine, not because I didn't like it (I LOVED IT!) but because I need some extra cash and it was not being used to it's full potential in our studio to justify keeping it. Obviously, you wouldn't buy this as your only workhorse synthe (unless you only wanted those sounds). Those who already have the 'meat and potatoes' sounds (JV1080,Trinity,EX5,Protesu2000 etc)should really take a look at something like the K5000S. It really has it's own character. When these origionally were released, they cost around $3,000.00 Australian- very expensive! I played one of the earlier versions and concluded that it sounded shithouse. However the newer operating system really improved many of the features and this, combined with the fact that they are now so cheap (AND THE FACT THAT I SUFFER FROM A TERRIBLE DISEASE CALLED TECHNOLUST!) prompted me to buy one. I have heard that Kawai did not market these synthes very well and that is why they have been so heavily discounted- I only hope Kawai do not give up building synthes- WE NEED ADDITIVE SYNTHESIS FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT! When considering a K5000S, just remember that it is an extremely powerful synthe not a workstation or S+S synthe. I might buy another K5000S one day as I have a very strong feeling that they will become collectors items one day!!

Version 3.0. I will be upgrading to 4.0 shortly.
The presets are good -- some are great. The ones that aren't as exciting are things I can do just as well on other synths, so it doesn't matter that they're just okay. This is a synthesizer with a personality. It's not a bread-and-butter unit. It's for NOT sounding like everyone else.
Patch editing is probably much easier if you have the physics background. If you know what a FFT is, you're ahead of the game. I do not have that background, and I find the additive section baffling. The manual is useless if you don't already understand how to build additive sounds. The wavetable portion of the unit is just fine; clear enough. A patch editor will probably make a difference, but Sound Diver, the free Emagic editor/librarian, is not at all well documented, and I have lost patches because I didn't understand how it was working.

I don't recall the polyphony, but it's only 4-part multitimbral and I haven't yet run out of voices.
The keyboard action is very good. I have experienced stuck notes when playing glissandos while controlling my Kurzweil Micro Piano, but I do not know whether that's a problem with the K5000S or the Micro Piano.
The built-in effects are fine and usable. I'd like a more flexible routing scheme -- all four singles in any multi are routed through a single EQ, for instance -- but I've not yet encountered anything that was a major problem.
There is a memory expansion, the ME-1. I do not need it because I store my patches in Sound Diver (now that I've more or less figured it out).
The MIDI capabilities are outstanding. Sixteen rotary knobs send MIDI controller data. That means that resonance changes, ADSR changes, filter changes, and so on can be recorded into your sequencer. It does global aftertouch, and there are three buttons just above the pitchwheel and modwheel. One is a portamento toggle, and the other two are assignable. In the factory presets, one is usually a transpose control, and the other is a minor timbre change.
There is no on-board sequencer. Instead, there is a very nice arpeggiator.

None of the sounds are even remotely realistic. The strings do not sound like strings, and the horns do not sound like horns. That is not what this unit is for. It is a very musical piece of equipment -- the sounds are beautiful, interesting, and usable, and they seem to sit very well in a mix.
It could work for any style of music that is not acoustically based.
The onboard effects are fine. Nothing special, but all usable.
Velocity and aftertouch are fine.
I bought it because of the sounds.

It's been very dependable, with two excepions.
1. I went through three units before I got one that worked. The third one has done me right for over a year, no trouble at all. Kawai's product support was very good about this.
2. I lost an entire bank of sounds when trying to back up to my Macintosh. Somewhere, there's a bad bit of data in the Sys-Ex dump, which screws up transmission of the bank from the computer to the K5000S. I do not know where the blame lies.
I have gigged with it. No problems.

Alan and Troy at Kawai US have been fantastic, helpful, friendly, great.

I would get another one if this one were stolen. I've been playing since I was 5, so that's 28 years. I have a lot of other keyboards. I love its personality. I have no use for a generic sample playback unit. I did not compare it to other products. It's not that kind of instrument; it's the kind you hear and fall in love with, or don't. I wish it had more multitimbral parts and a more flexible effects section. It helps make music. My own ignorance of additive synthesis gets in the way.
Despite the few drawbacks, it's my favorite piece.
If you're interested in what I do, my web site is at http://www.woollymammoth.com/keith