Kawai K5000W

Well its a very deep synth, so it can take time to set all the parameters, so no its not easy, just like baking an apple pie is harder than buying one from McDonalds.
Given whats under the hood its as easy as you can get with a push button menu system, fairly big screen with 8 choices of sub-menu, about 3-4 menus deep, some good visual information.
Much much easier with a graphic computer editor like Soundiver which I used before I went to OSX - sadly missed.
You also have to get into an additive frame of mind rather than subtractive with filters - you have to change your thinking
I dont have the presets but Ive easily found some astonishing patches on the web.

One of the best keyboard actions out there - solid, fantastic
The feature Im giving it 10 for is the unique sound
Sequencer is basic but usable, better for shorter patterns like any workstation.
I forget polyphony, I use it as a sound design machine so Im not trying to reproduce the London Symphony orchestra, just make mad patches mostly.
Effects are great
Lovely metal finish, feels solid and classy

Unique, astonishing what comes out of this sometimes. Overall, has a lovely complex digital sheen, easily frosty cool but be (almost) warm.
If you like designing sound its the bees knees, great for evolving sounds, can surprsingly do some mad moogy oberheim etc. "analog" bleepy, growly stuff too, but with its own digital edge.
Yes piano, organs, rhodes, guitar but as trippy as you like
Great for metallic, crashing, swirly, blippy, airy, sound effect type stuff
Good for variations on "realistic" sounds too, so with the GM friendly sample soundset you can add a bit of otherworldlyness you your pianos, organs, guitar, just like grandpa used to play whatever.
To try to reproduce original sounds of other instruments is missing the point here I feel, this thing is capable of much more.

So far so good, seven years of moderate studio use.
I probably wouldnt gig it as I dont want it covered in beer, vomit, flicked boogers, cigarette ash, crack, urine and faeces.
Then again if I changed personality and started playing venues like the Royal Albert instead of the usual seedy dives maybe I would venture out with it

Not an issue as Ive looked after it and its looked after me

Unique sound, its irreplacable. Ive had a K5000 of some sort for five years.
There have been periods where I couldnt use it - too specific and characteristic. Id always be hearing that "wacky K5000 sound" standing out in the mix, I couldnt integrate it into my sound. But mostly it has helped me to make music.
I couldnt recommend it as a one and only all round synth, better to expect it to broaden your sound spectrum. Ive got many other synths vintage ("real") and virtual and percussion thingys, all different in their own ways. This stands "out there" a bit next to your analog and sample based sound sources. Its hard to compare it to anything except some of the newer additive soft synths. Maybe the Waldorf XT is closest with the digital evolving sound thing, both do their own version of "analog" warmth too. Theres a bit of the "FM" clangy, metallic tinkly-bell thing there too.
Ideally, it would have a port to connect a 21 inch monitor where you could draw in all the envelopes with a mouse and sculpt parameters, some of the new virtual additive synths are heading this way, but with Soundiver youre 3/4 of the way there.
Unique classy sound, solid construction, excellent keyboard, I think the blowout prices these were going for made them a bargain.

I'm currently using 4.03.
As regarding the presets, I think they don't really show all the power this machine has to offer. It seems like the ones who programmed it never really got to understand it quite well. You can find some incredible patches on the web though. This is not a preset board anyway, I'd really encourage doing your own programming, even if it's only tweaking the presets a little bit, provided you use some kind of patch editor, you know, using the LCD as your only way of editing is boring and time consuming! Forget about the manual, there's a very good book by Wizoo, but I don't know if it's still available. There are some nice PCM waveforms, others are simply pathetic,like the string samples. I wouldn't recommend this machine if your looking for the typical ROMpler, "sax-and-piano" synth. Anyway, I bought it for the Advanced Additive stuff, I couldn't care less about the quality of its PCM!!!!!

It's got 64 voices. Well, not exactly, since there are actually 32 voices for the ADD generator and the other half for the PCM/GM synth. There was a time when I used to compose all my tracks and control my other synths using the k5k, and the "split" polyphony worked in my favor, because I used the GM sounds to cover all the basic parts, like drums and basses, allowing me to use all ADD's 32 voices for the crazy stuff!
Effects sound very good and are easy to use... I forgot that cheesy reverb! Well, it's not that bad after all, sometimes cheesy reverb is exactly what you're looking for...
The only expansion is the ME-1 memory exapansion. It adds two ADDitive banks. By the way, it is nearly impossible to find one these days. I was lucky enough to order one of the last ones, if not the very last one! There also exists the Macro Control Box, which is a knob box for the W/R models, used to control basic ADDitive parameters and other functions like cutoff, resonance, etc. I saw one selling on ebay for $100!(half of what some people are paying for the synth!!). This machine is so misunderstood and underrated!!!
The keyboard is fantastic, perhaps the best I've ever played on a synthesiser! The pressure sensitivity is excellent, as is the overall feel as well.
As for the sequencer,well...it's got enough tracks and note memory, but I think it's simply too slow to handle large or complex sequences. Try to "reach" bar 650 whilst holding the FWD button and you will start to get my meaning... On the other hand, it's got some fairly good editing functions, and yes, I don't like pattern-based sequencers, I'd rather play my parts in a "linear" fashion from the keyboard. For quite a while I managed to run my band's live show from my k5kW, triggering other synths, and with the only aid of a roland vs1680 playing some audio at the beggining of the songs whilst I loaded another song into the sequencer!!!! Nowadays I use Cubase for sequencing, however, I feel that, for all of its sofistication and editing functions, there's something I've been missing from the W's sequencer, and I don't know what it is! (nostalgia perhaps).

Realistic sounds?! Who cares! I didn't buy this synth to "emulate" banjos!!!I don't play churches or weddings!!!! This is one of the very few DREAM synths!! Endlessly evolving sounds, ethereal digital pads, crazy formant-filter leads, I even created strings you wouldn't believe could come out of this synth!!Yes, from an additive synth!!!!! From dark elektronik to out-of-this-world spatial romantic music!! (Well, I guess I'm getting into that Bladerunner mood again...)

I can definitely depend on it!!!! I've been on the road with it so many times, without a backup, and it's never failed on me. Keys, LCD and everything else works fine up to this day.

I've never had any problems. On the contrary, I bought this synth new and they gave me the Wizoo book with it for free! (I don't think that's a common policy, though. Perhaps I bought one of the last K5ks they made!).

If it were stolen I would sell all my other synths to buy another K5000!!!

I used factory installed v. 1.0 until switched to v. 4.03 recently. They are both OK, EXCEPT V. 4.03 has more choices for A-bank. Weird thing is that a few of the A-bank patches in V.4.03 do not show single patches they are comprised of, and, naturally, they don't produce any sound. Wondering if this is to be user-defined, or just an oversight? Anyway, the presets sound OK. Patch editor does make a difference, if you really want to spend time on it. The manual is so-so.

The keyboard action is as you'd expect from the touch-sensitive board. Pitch/Mod wheels are average, I prefer joystick (like Korgs have). The on-board sequencer is satisfactory. Have never experienced polyphony drop-outs, although cannot tell - I never wrote anything polyphony-consuming.

Guitars sound realistic. Strings - so-so. I like tenor sax. Other reeds and brass - mediocre. Pianos/el. pianos - OK. Organs - mediocre. I used my board in home studio, and it worked well for demos in various styles, but it is probably best suited for pop-rock.

Reliability - I used it only in home studio, don'y know how it behaves on stage.

Customer Support is OK: Kawai technicians responded to my questions by email in reasonably timely manner. Never had troubles, though.

OS 3.x (versions 4.x seem to require the extra memory card to work properly -- I had to drop back to 3.x to stabilize this). I bought this at half off when they were out of production. Having played pianos and many other keyboards most of my life, I like warm, sampled, authentic instrument sounds as a baseline, and this synth provides at least a few good pianos and a few good Hammond variations -- one very edgy overdriven one that all my younger musician friends love. It falls down hard on big guitar sounds like the Steps Ahed on the earlier Kawai K4, for no reason I can figure out. It just isn't there. The 12 string is lame compared to earlier issues by the same company, too. It does have a few decent lead guitar patches for you fans of covering guitar solos, and there are four or five of those.

I got this for stage performance and hoped to add a bunch of user patches to the existing ones, as I was able to do for the last Kawai I owned, the K4. Believe it or not, the memory is full up on this one. There are few vacant patches, and when I tried to create new Multis I rapidly ran out of available memory. So the only thing to do, unless you find and spring for the optional extra memory, is write over existing patches to make your new ones.

The presets vary in usefulness and quality. There are some pretty good saxes, a couple decent horn sections, the strings are not nearly as bad as somebody else thinks they are, and there are some other useful sounds. The main glory is in the provided additive patches and multi patches -- they are big, they morph, and they are fat enough to let you fill for the band. But using the singles to create new multis, while essential to get full use of the potential of this instrument, is seemingly impossible without gutting and overwriting the presets -- or getting the elusive additional memory card. This synth arrives full up, and that's not good when your point was to mix your own.

The manual is good in what it covers but it doesn't cover enough, certainly it does not make programming a no-brainer. Neither does it make addressing from another controller brand easy as it should be. Why can't every synth come with an Excel chart of universal addresses for changing patches from a controller? I use a Roland AX-7 with an Aquila midi wireless to get freed up on stage, and trying to address the patches in this has been a bear. I've settled for changing patches on the Kawai most of the time, then walking away.

The keyboard action is very good, and the synth is built strong. I like a very light touch, almost like a Hammond organ. I've only found two instruments ideal for me in that regard. One was indeed a Hammond, the other a particularly light-keyed Baldwin Acrosonic I used to write student film music in college. The heavier the piano action, the slower I have to play, like wading in molasses. So this is pretty good, but not quite the best I've ever had it. I don't see why aftertouch effects require heavy resistance as a necessity, and I would hope the engineers finally get us to the best of both worlds -- keys that don't resist you when you perform on them. There is really no need to have a "pretend piano" action on a great synth if you can accomplish the same things and keep the action as light and sure as possible.

This synth not only accepts an internal memory card for expanding its ROM, it really requires one, as I've said. I have no doubt it should have been standard equipment. And they should have made enough of them to go round, because now, finding one is a bear and you don't certainly want to pay a premium, so... it's inconvenient. A synth value that requires you to bid on an essential component is no bargain.

The internal effects are very easy to use. You can select resonance, attack, delay, and so on in the selected patch and add or subtract on the fly in performance if you want to. The display is large enough and bright enough to read. Occasionally my synth has locked up during performance -- the multi patches suddenly lose the lead instrument, for example -- and a quick off/on reset fixes the problem. Not fatal, since you don't have to wait 20 minutes to re-boot, but not perfect. There is no wall wart, just a standard AC cord.

The octave shift buttons are handy and I need them often. The wheels work well and have never failed. In fact, the synth has been on the road for a couple years now without maintenance -- a vital feature for any keyboard. It's expansion capabilities are hobbled by the fact that it does not seamlessly integrate with other MIDI instruments -- it wants to be primary, and it does not work well as a controller of, say, a sound module. That is a shortcoming in ANY MIDI instrument.

If you need a keyboard that will give you a decent sounding piano (unlike the thinner patches used by more popular brands), and a couple decent organs, and some very filling multi patches to fatten up your band's sound, this may fill the bill. But you must be selective. The other drawback is that I have yet to find a rich source of aftermarket banks for this. The best thing about my old Kawai K4 (besides the high quality of the sample-based sounds) is that after a while I had accumulated about 1.5 meg of really worthwhile patches to choose from when filling up the little synth for the road in the 90s. I stopped doing searches a while back, but there was nothing new or amazing popping up for the K5000 series when last I looked.

Some instruments are quite nice and fulfilled my expectations based on my previous enjoyment of the Kawai K4 sounds. Others can sound thin, particularly if played through just any amplifier. I found right away that I would need something like a Marshall 4x12 bottom and at least a 200W head to drive this synth, and using a set-up along those lines I've attained a sound that surprises a lot of my musician friends -- they say I have a guitarist's dream system for my keyboard. Maybe so, but the piano sounds certainly benefit from all that mid-range drive and a touch of extra gain. There's also enough speaker and amp to push those thick environments and effects in the preset multi section. And of course the guitar patches sound like they are supposed to.

It has been dependable for me. As I said, it has been maintenance-free for a couple years now, and I have used it at plenty of gigs with no other synth on the stage. That was also true of my Kawai K4, so I have come to expect it from these products. This does weigh 30-35 pounds, so it is heavier than it really needs to be. For the weight, I'd rather have at least 76 keys.... ;^D

It does, however, "hang" occasionally, and have to be reset on the fly. I suspect a software glitch.

The web site has minimal downloads -- the various versions of the Operating System and the two basic sound banks issued with this model.

It was worth what I paid, but it is time to do better. I'm already thinking of selling and moving to something that can make a one man power trio out of me. I miss a longer keyboard so I can reach into the bass calibers, I don't like the RAM memory restriction, and I'd like a sequencer that was handier to use in live performance. I want good, authentic sound banks, but I need to be able to combine them into multis and sound environments, and be able to play simultaneous leads on stage. The sequencer has gone to waste on me, and I lost interest in creating new patches when I ran into the RAM logjam. So the synth still has pretty much the same presets as when it arrived.

I chose this for its value at $700 and for the great reviews it got at the time. It probably is a synth unique in certain of its sound capabilities. It just needs a higher ceiling in the workspace, and more automation in its combinations.

www.stevetowsley.com

The presets sound are bad. If there are some reasonable or useful patches, then its piano presets and warm pads. Editing patches is not easy at the begining, but for advanced users is good.

Big force is needed to use bend pithbend

I borrowed this Synth from our vocalist for couple of days. He said it costed 130 thousand CZK!!! I thought it must be a good synth... Its the worst sounding synth I ever heard. The weakest point are orchestral and string patches. It sounds very synthetic, you cannot imagine real orchestra when listening them. I own SY-77. It costed 12000 CZK. It has much better orchestral sounds than this "workstation".The organ are bad, again SY-77 has better. Much sounds are same quality as SY-77, but much of them worse. If I would use this synth for something, thats, if some presets are better than my SY-77, its great piano and warm pads. That I really enjoy.

Dont buy it!!!!

For a hobbyist, this keyboard was surprisingly easy to learn on and utilize all the functions. I found myself to be surprisingly comfortable with all its features even without a manual

The piano effect was a bit disappointing, but such is the case with almost every electronic keyboard out there. I have never played on a better unweighted keyboard. The built in effects are great, and with a little work they can all be modulated in countless ways. The people at KawaiUS were more than helpful in getting me updates.

The sounds, with the exception of the piano sounds were amazing. I would think they were all great, but coming from playing on the real thing, I tend to hear the difference more than others I suppose. The synth sounds are easy to use, and fun to edit.

I bought this keyboard used, I have taken this thing to countless gigs, played with it in my college dorm, and transported it through many states. It still looks like new. Enough said.

I have only spoken to two people at Kawai but they responded very quickly and helped me with things I wasn't even asking for. Great experiences with them.

If this keyboard were damaged or lost, I would seriously consider buying it again. For the avid keyboard player with a deep pocket, sure you can get something better. But for the intermediate player who needs to get the most bang for their buck I have not seen a better keyboard

OS 4.3 I got this synth without the manual and have found it to be great in terms of finding your way around the parameters and different modulation options. If your a newbie to the synth world I wouldn't reccomend it unless you had someone guide you, or if your set on exploring something different and challenging. Everythings pretty straight forward on it and the interface makes things a little easier for you. Editing patches isn't hard at all once you LEARN how. At first it will seem very daunting and almost overwhelming but I highly reccomend sitting and babying it for a good 2 weeks, then you will have a pretty good idea of what sounds like what...The additive engine (especially the harmonic part) can be quite tedious depending on what your used to. Why the made the K5000W with buttons instead of knobs like the K5000S is beyond me, decent drawback for the W if you ask me. This is definetly not Subtractive synthesis here so be careful before you buy one, this is definetly a synth that needs attention!

64 notes of polyphony divided into the PCM and addtive engine= 32 notes respectively. Plenty of EXCELLENT sounding built in effects. Some are better than others but I was really surprised with how much a single effect can alter or really enhance a sound, thumbs up for the effects. Onboard sequencer is 40 tracks, 40,000 notes, fully editable and pretty easy to compose on it as well... I wouldn't reccomend it for sequencing as a computer sequencer or something much simpler like an RM1X or Kawai Q-80 can be had and at very cheap prices. Its great for just putting ideas together and recording in REAL time is really really simple. Editing is a pain in the ASS, especially if you dont know what your doing...over all sequencer is adequate. Filters are strong and can resonate beyond your eardrums capacity, so be careful...Filters are definetly NICE,very NICE, but toooooo Digital for me...If your looking for warm filters you wont find them here unless you really like spending a few hours programming. Keyboard action is a ten, no questions asked...Velocity sensitive with aftertouch and the playing, the feeling of the keys makes it feel like a real instrument, they did a beautiful job with the action.

This will be divided into to parts...
part 1. PCM sample set is surprisingly useful and pretty good. Grand pianos are great, couldnt ask for much more with them. Some of the samples sound very real. None of them are bad considering this is an additive synth, but some are just a little too cheesy for analog music.

2. Additive engine is WOW! Certainly a 10...Weird wacky sounds, long EVOLVING darkwave pads, Strange incoherent vivid soundscapes, soft lonely sentimental sounds.... If you spend some time learning additve, or even if you dont want to learn and just tweak the parameters to hell you can get some really authentic, original, mind blowing sounds...Its great for any type of music, but I would NEVER reccomend this as my only synth. Its probably best suited for pads, long evolving dark pads, definetly a sound designers synth. Definetly a synth for film usage, can be used along with some VA's for good industrial/hard trance sounds. Effects are great as I mentioned above. by the way....Dont buy this to emulate real sounds or for analog, you will be dissapointed!

built like a tank,very heavy (30 pounds) Excellent construction.

Haven't had any experience with this yet.

If this were lost I would NOT, buy it again, instead I would immediately get a K5000s. Its a badass for strange sounds and pads but honestly the sounds for the analogish music im making really dont fit the bill...a little too digital. If you like digital then this is definetly the one. I sold one because it was too tedious to edit patches. But take my word for it, the sounds alone are really worth it. FOR DIGITAL SOUND DESIGNING ONLY!

Not easy to use at all, will take you a long while to fully figure out patch editing, unless you're a full-time musician with not much work going on. Manual sucks in many aspects.

Processing ain't good at all. Polyphony fails a lot. Sequencer gets stuck every now and then when loading/saving. The dial doesn't match the speed at the display AT ALL, not even close and this is annoying. The screws on the bottom plate get loose with time and make noise so you have to tighten them up.

Might work for some analog emulations and making noise. Sucks in natural sounds, sucks big time. Drum sounds suck, and can't be sequenced easily, they just don't sound good. Strings are the worst, ever, even an old PSR510 from Yamaha has better strings than this thing. Modulation wheel makes clicks sometimes. Only Additive Synth freaks might enjoy some of the sounds and go crazy with some noises.

No chance of even using this on a gig. I cannot depend on it, and don't see how anyone could.

THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH, EVER. These synths were made with crappy materials, the buttons will fail in no time, the dial too, and who knows what else. Display dimms out too.
The main board failed on this synth (generates some trashy noise in one channel, then on both sometimes, pretty cool in the sense that the mod effects affect the noise..right?) and the reseller along with Kawai Japan helped me get it replaced, we also replaced the preamp board and some other components, and they also worked on every single welding inside the synth. Then it failed again. We had the main board replaced once again. Didn't fix the problem. Then I contacted Kawai USA, Kawai's Headquarters in Japan and Kawai Australia, for several weeks....NO REPLY. And the reseller recommended using a compressor...ROFLMFAO! DO NOT BUY KAWAI, don't screw your investment up, buying a synth ain't like buying shoes, so trust me on this one, get a Yamaha, Access, Kurzweil, Korg, whatever, take a look around, but NEVER BUY KAWAI. This synth is out of the market, but they still have some digital pianos out there and other crap, so just forget it, don't waste your time and money. PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I MADE. Kawai should close for good, they're f*ck*ng up all of their customers, I hope this remains on their concience for years to come.

If it were stolen I'd be sorry for the burglar to have been through all the hassle of breaking into my apt. just to get this piece of crap. I've been playing for over 10 years and have a project studio full of good stuff, this is the only regret I have in that room. It definitely gets in the way of making music. A lot of songs that have been stuck in this ugly sequencer for a long time because I currently have no budget to get a good working synth, this is really a shame, a musician's life ain't easy, specially if budget's in the way, so this has really hit me hard, I think it has gone beyond any negative expectative anyone could have. I cry in anger and sadness that someone did this to me. This can't be good.

OS 4.02
I'm sure these presets are not all factory sounds, as I have an old review of this board, and they mention some that are not on the machine I purchased. I have downloaded more from Kawai, and others, and they are uniformly good. The additive sounds are excellent, very expressive, and the overall sound fits into the types of music I compose (everything from new-agey space music to experimental underground, to prog-rock and psyche). Editing these sounds is a longtime dream come true! Ever since I first tasted the power of additive (on an old Mac running Turbosynth), I've longed for a synth like this. When it came out I couldn't afford it, but I found this one used, and have been losing sleep noodling about with the harmonics since! Unfortunately, this one did not come with either the manual or the Sound Diver software (what on Earth the owner kept it for is a mystery!), so I can't venture an opinion. I downloaded the K5000 Cuisinart program, but have been unable to get it working. I probably WILL purchase the full Sound Diver from Emagic, as soon as I can afford it.

The K5000W sports 64 voice polyphony, though it's implented in a VERY archaic way, split evenly between the additive engine and the PCM engine (reminds me of the old Casio stuff). The keyboard is FANTASTIC! I'm not a pianist, but I long ago fell in love with the action of the Chroma Polaris (sort of somewhere in between piano and synth) and it's a joy to find another board with a similar spring in it's step. That damn Yamaha keyboard that's in every second synth on the market ket too stiff after a bit. This board makes me play a lot better. The effects sound good to my ears, but not great. On a par with other built-ins. Nice long delays, though. Reverbs remind me of the 'verbs in my Yamaha ProMix 01. They're relatively artifact-free, but not a patch on a Lex or T.C. Good EQ and the Enhancer's a bit more at home than I would have thought. There was an optional memory expansion that would be most useful, as well as a little knob controller. If only I could find them! The memory only expands the amount of onboard additive sounds you can store, and you can put those on disc, so no matter. You can't add any PCM waves (without resampling as an additive patch via software) to the machine, but I bought this as a SYNTHESIZER, not a sample-playback device (already got a sampler, and rarely use it)! I've heard a lot of derision about the PCM stuff, though I think it is quite useful, and no better or worse than some other more highly regarded synths. This is an esoteric board, and should be viewed as unique, not compared to the endless Roland or Korg rehashes. Haven't delved into the MIDI side of things too much yet, the quick MIDI button is a nice touch, and one I wouldn't mind on my Wavestation (yes, I HAVE set a mark button for that). I really dig that aftertouch! Kinda like the Prophecy, with that little extra push on the bottom eighth inch. As for the sequencer, hard to say as of yet. There are some really nice things about it that are already apparent. First off, it supports odd time signatures (you'd be amazed at the sequencers that don't), a must for me. It also reads SMF files and Q-80 files off a DOS disc, and can play them straight from the disc drive, which is good, because the load times are looooooong, and the memory only holds 2 songs. I have also seen a lot of derision about the sequencer in the press and online. I can only assume that this is the product of our instant music mentality of late. No, it is NOT pattern based (neither is my old reel-to-reel), and yes, it encourages you TO PLAY your parts. This machine was never intended to be an Groovebox, and for that I'm glad! This is a fine instrument, that like a violin or an oboe, requires WORK to master. The payoff will be rich. Contrarywise, the step editing is a breeze, and the quantize functions adequate, if you like that sort of thing (and too many people do).

Ahh, the sounds! Rich, evolving and very (gasp) DIGITAL. One thing I've seen no mention of is the amazing PUNCH this board has in the bottom end. Those envelopes must be blindingly fast. Yeah, yeah, the PCM stuff is fine, but that's not what makes this synth sing. The additive engine has more parameters than the rest of my (considerable) collection of synths combined. Does it out Wavestation the Wavestation, as I've seen in another one of these reviews? Well, if you can make this thing wavesequence like my WS, call me up! No, of course not. But the sound it DOES make is TOTALLY UNIQUE. I love my Wavestation EX, but it will never, no never make sounds like this, and vice versa. This is a pocket- protected-tweek-geeks dream (yes, that would be me). Can it sound like an analog? Of course it can, you fool! You can theoretically sound like ANYTHING if you're willing to work. But do you REALLY want it to sound like an analog? Yeesh. I've already touched on the onboard effects, above. As for the responsiveness, I've already talked about the aftertouch and the keyboard itself, and all of those and more can be routed to a number of useful destinations, which is cool, because I like a filter I can really lean into!

The K5000W feels like a tank. I've already had it opened up (I've only had it three days), because one of the outputs was shorting when I got it. This was a simple repair, and gave me the opportunity to check out the internal construction. Good and sturdy, lots of metal. The only thing is, like so many other synths out there, the inputs and outputs are all mounted on the circuit boards, and therefore too easy to break the solder joints with repeated plugging and unplugging. Fortunately on this machine, this is easy to access, if necessary. Would I use it on a gig without backup? Sure, but then I largely improvise on stage. I hope I can depend on the sequencer live, but it's too early to tell (though it's already proven more stable than some of my Ensoniq gear). If it goes down, well, I've got plenty of power up there with me in the Wavestation and a Nord Micromodular. I've been playing live for over a decade, so I don't really sweat this stuff too much!

What customer support? I was able to download the latest OS and some sounds for free, which is always a bonus, but can see no way of getting ahold of the options that were sold. As I've stated previously, I've been able to repair the only thing I have found wrong with it myself. Might look for another as a backup, to stick in the closet on the off chance that this one goes kaput!

Obviously, I'd buy another if something happened. As for it being worth what was paid for it, here's a story: This, as I said was a dream synth of mine (there have been only five synths that are worthy of that title, Wavestation, Prophecy, Tassmann, Nord Modular, K5000, four of which I now have). I was eating lunch with my bassist and closest friend, Frater Locust, when we decided to look in on a music store we don't usually frequent (the sales staff are MORONS). We hadn't been there for a year or two. When we did, we spotted this K5000W. Now I had just blown my once and future wad on the new RODE NTK (great mic, by the way) and a DAT machine for archiving, so I was B-R-O-K-E! Well, knowing this was one of those rare "dream-synths", my dear old Frater Locust went home and got his dusty old ASR-10 and traded it in so that I could have this machine. So you see, both the K5000W and my friendship with Frater Locust are quite priceless! I've been making music for about fifteen years, and my stuff is released under the name Christus And The Cosmonaughts on Beta-lactam Ring Records. I have a wealth of gear, including many analog synths, among them Yamaha CS-60 and CS-40M, Prophet 6000, Arp Omni 2, Emu-ESI 32, three Hammond organs, one Lowrey, Wavestation EX and Nord Micromodular, DX-100, homemade Theremins, homemade fretless guitar, and lots of eastern acoustic instruments, including a Sarangi (tibetan violin). These are recorded to Cakewalk SONAR XL (finally ditched the tape!), as well as Sound Forge 5.0 and ReCycle 2.0, where they are mangled and manipulated into my music via a variety of plug-ins and softsynths, favorites among which are Reason, PPG 2.V, Tassman, Model-E, Pro-5, and effects from T.C. and Waves. Outboard includes the previously mentioned RODE NTK tube mic, and a CAD E-200 running through pre-amps from ART, and M Audio, then through either Yamaha ProMix 01, or DSP Factory. Sometimes processing is done en-route with my Lexicon MPX-1, as well as a number of other effects devices. As for comparing the K5000W to anything else, I can't. In fact, I found that to be a source of difficulty behind the public response to this synth, everyonce wants to compare it to something else, and there's naught like it. What do I wish it had? Hmmm. The ability to read and resynthesize waveforms without the editing software would be nice, but not practical. All operating systems get in the way, occasionaly, barring maybe Propellerhead's excellent Reason program! Anything else to share? Anybody care to lend me hand getting down from this high-horse?

I currently have software version 2.something, though I understand you can to now upgrade to 4.0. As for preset sounds, see below. Editing is tough, but the additive synth engine can create some wonderful things that are totally unique. Using an editor, like SoundDiver is the best solution. The manual is vague in some important areas, & loquacious in some unimportant areas. It is pretty bad, but functional.

I own (& have owned) many synths - Korg, Roland, Kurzweil Yamaha, Moog, Arp, Clavia, Kawai so I know what they sound like. I have no bang for the $$ issues like some people seem to have about this keyboard. Let's face it: I saw its unveiling at NAMM several years ago & it was marketed as a "workstation". It's not. It's not a Triton, or Roland XP or a Kurzweil. However, this is an excellent sounding unit w/ a really unique personality. People who think the sample-playback sounds are crap have not really checked them out, or don't really play music. They are the kind of people who want a keyboard to make music FOR them. I was a little suspicious of the sounds at first as well. Indeed, some things, like strings, are just pure shit. But if you're reading this, don't you already have 3 other synths that have killer string sounds? I know I do. Why would you want all your keyboards to do the same things? How boring.

I use this keyboard on gigs A LOT because I love the action, aftertouch & the sounds. The synth sounds, especially leads & pads, are fat, sustain beautifully & are very expressive - they are set up to work well w/ aftertouch/wheel/exp pedal, etc. My only complaint here is pitchbend - on some sounds you can hear it stepping. UGH! Poor Kawai.... I even use the piano. I have a PC88 which I like, but I have found that it works better in a loud full stage mix than it does alone w/ a small amp for a small, quiet, short gig. I think the best you can hope for anyway w/ most sampled pianos is to be UNOFFENSIVE, kind of inert. The K5000W piano samples are pleasant & musical, w/o being harsh, even if they are sampled a little bit out of tune in a few spots. :)

There are a couple of pads that I could never, ever replace w/ any other synth. There is one mystery elec piano sample which I have grown to love, & it has been used on several recording sessions. I like the drum sounds, though percussion stuff is a little lacking. The bass sounds are great if you use the bandpass filter in the effects section to shape them. The electric guitar lead & crunch (which is not a sample, but an AA synth patch) is (I am embarrassed to say it) the BEST on any keyboard I have ever heard. Last but not least, some of those "cheesy samples" are cheesy because the instruments they are samples of are cheesy. I use the accordian sounds in this thing, & they are unbelieveably convincing for Brazilian baon music, tango, Klezmer & Americana type stuff. Also, BANJO & SLIDE GUITAR! If it only had a dobro sample... [sigh]

I also use the organs. The stops they chose to sample are great, the percussion sounds good, & even the Leslie (when used in stereo) is pretty decent, though tame. The other effects are good as well. I have made some very nice sounding, on the fly seq demos w/ this thing. All the sounds really work TOGETHER in the sequences, which is NOT something you can say about most other "workstation" type keyboards.

I have had 3 or 4 different recording engineers, guys who are real pros & who have great ears (who lots of times HATE synthesizers, & especially SAMPLE PLAYBACK gear) ask me what kind of keyboard it was when I was on sessions or gigs, because they could not believe they liked its sounds. You just have to know how to use it!

Hmm.... Be gentle w/ the buttons. They are VERY poorly made, & I have already had BOTH sets (circuit boards) replaced. Because it is software based (& because it is made by Kawai...) sometimes it just does really, really, weird things. I have used it on over a hundred gigs easily, so I definitely have depended on it. The body itself is good & sturdy. That is not to say I haven't had a few panic moments w/ it, like when there was NO AUDIO coming out of it! Oh well, it keeps you on your toes.

I think Kawai America has 2 (yes, 2...) customer support guys. They take VERY long lunch breaks. I have spoken w/ them on the phone & exchanged email w/ them. They are weirdos. Your best bet is to find the BEST local service guy in your area (sometimes found at the hippest music store if they have a service dept - I am NOT talking about freakin' Guitar Center....) Those guys usually have a relationship w/ someone at all the companies. Let your service guy deal w/ Kawai. Also, their website & download scheme is pathetic.

I would definitely replace it. In fact when they got really cheap, I went out & bought another so I would have a spare when mine crapped out. I have been playing seriously for about 15 yrs. I don't wish that it was anything other than what it is, so I like it, but I do think Kawai REALLY could have had something amazing if they had gone all the way w/ it.

I'm not sure off-hand which O.S. mine has, but I kknow it isn't the latest. Still, all of the features seem to respond without fail. Although I haven't tried it, I can definitely see a patch-editor making this easier. The Wizoo guide strongly suggests using Sound Diver, and with it, you can apparently do stuff like taking an audio waveform sample, analyzing it, and use it as a base waveform for you additive editing. Which sounds pretty damn cool, and something I'll probably try when I get around to buying a Mac. The manual sucks at explaining what you can really do with this machine (unless you want to know about the should-be-common-sense use of the effects section)... definitely get the Wizoo guide if you buy this synth, it explains the principles thoroughly and provides lots of "example" exercises. Most of the presets in mine were wiped by the previous user, but the ones left were pretty lame for the most part. This synth really excells at making other-worldly sounds, and can go from smooth/clean digital spaciness to nasty/gritty and/or downright weird, all with a move of the pitch/mod wheels if they're assigned to the right parameters. It's pretty tedious, or rather, time consuming, to edit from the board itself, though, so be warned: it's definitely a programmer/tweaker's machine. That said, it's still easy to figure out with minimal reference to print guides if you know how to navigate menus and aren't afraid to push some buttons and see what happens.

I'm not sure of the exact polyphony, but it's more than enough for using pads, etc. Built in effects section is quite thorough and easy to use, parameters can even be assigned to controllers. No expansion slots anywhere on the outside - since I haven't looked at the manual too thoroughly, I'm not sure if it can take internal upgrades. O.S. updates can be downloaded, copied to DOS-formatted disks and installed from the disk drive. There's a sequencer on this version though as yet, I haven't used it. However, this thing makes a great controller... I should explain my set-up to preface my comments, though: I use my synths and samplers purely for sound-design - any beats I write to accompany the sounds are usually done from scratch or by chopping up loops with computer software, then imported to multi-track wave editors and layered with the synths sounds, which I create and record individually and mix digitally. That said, this synth has two sets of MIDI ports, allowing 32 external MIDI channels (the sequencer has 40 tracks, 40,000 notes). Which is perfect for me... I have the A port feeding a MIDI-patchbay, which goes to all of the synth modules (most of which I use monotimbrally)... the B port is shared by the two samplers, 16 MIDI channels between the two of them being more than adequate for my purposes. I realize my set-up is pretty idiosyncratic, but the K5000W is perfect as a controller for my needs.

The keyboard itself is quite nice as well... keys are semi-weighted - we aren't talking a digital piano here, but it's a step up from the cheap plastic keys found on a lot of other synths. Even though I don't really play keyboard (except for very simplistic monophonic melodies), it has a great feel.

As I mentioned, little left of the presets when I got this and it's way better suited to creating intersting/evolving sounds anyway. Which it does very well.

As for the sounds, well, as I've hinted, they are great for what I do. Without (hopefully) being too long winded, here's a summary of how you can program this thing:

Up to 6 PCM or Additive sources can be layered in a patch. I've yet to even touch the PCM - since I'm a tweak freak, I go straight for the Additive, so that's what I'll cover. Each source can have either the first or last 64 (of 128) harmonics under your control. And I do mean CONTROL... overall harmonic levels can be adjusted either individually or in "group" modes (bright, dark, odd, even, octave, fifth, each or all). Each harmonic gets it's own four-stage envelope (with two different envelope looping modes, also adjustable individually) - these envelopes can be adjusted individually, or in any of the "groups" mentioned above. Then there's the formant filter. It has 128 bands, each of which is editable in much the same way, for level, as the harmonics, except that it's "groups" are: GEQ, 20-band, 15-band, 10-band, 5-band and each. The formant filter, however, has a single envelope with the same looping features. This envelope can also be modulated by a dedicated LFO. There is also the Bias parameter: at 0 bias, the center band of the filter is fixed at A440, if I remember correctly. So setting positive or negative Bias values essentially moves the entire filter, in your defined "shape", up or down the frequency spectrum. AND Bias (among many many other things) can be assigned to various controllers for real-time movement. The formant filter is only available on Additive sources.

Leaving the Additive section, we come to the more straight-ahead synth basics (which can also be applied to PCM sources). DCO has the pitch envelope (which is in the same place on both Additive and PCM sources), DCF has basic resonant high or low-pass filter and DCA is the overall envelope, independent of any already tweaked on an Additive source.

Effects Matrix has four different algorithms to which the sources can be fed in any combination. Effects include reverb, early reflections, various delay types, chorus (including "ensemble" and "celeste" varieties), flanger, phaser, exciter, distortion, etc). They aren't Lexicon, but they're pretty damn good for on-board synth effects.

And control: LFO goes to all the basics (this LFO is seperate from the one that modulates the formant filter, I believe). Then pitch/mod wheels and expression pedal can each be assigned to one of the myriad available destinations (too extensive to mention here, but you can probably extrapolate from above). You also get two assignable controllers (which can be MIDI CC's, if I'm not mistaken) with two destinations each.

OK, so I've summarized the Wizoo guide (minus the cheesy humor) - but that should give you an idea what you can do with the sounds on this beast.

Mine is studio-stationary, but it's a heavy board weight wise and I'd certainly trust it if I gigged with it. Not quite a tank... well, maybe a small tank.

No need.

I would be lost without this thing in my studio if I didn't have it. I think I've probably already covered what's great about it, but suffice to say, if I lost this somehow, I would search long and hard for another one. I considered buying a Roland XP-series workstation and getting a rack version of this - until I found out about the Workstation version and found someone who was selling one. Already knowing the programming capabilities of this machine, when I found out it would double as a controller, Roland went out the window faster than an opportunistic indoor cat (ah ha! Some Wizoo humor!)... Wish list? Nah... sure there's stuff you can't do with this that you can with others, but that's why I own more than one synth. Each has it's specialty and I wouldn't want it any other way. Pack too much into a machine and you start to wonder what to use it for, I find.

I've used several versions and am currently using 4.02. All of them are quite easy, specially the current one, takes no time to manage sequencer and sound editing.

All features are just great, there's much bigger sequencers around now but 40 000 notes' still nice.

Effects and sounds are good enough. Very realistic, but it can get spacey, moody, electronic, prog if needed, just a matter of playing around with the patches and their parameters.

I'd use it on a gig without backup, very reliable, never failed.

I've communicated with Kawai US and Kawai Germany and I've received answer from Germany only.

I just love it, plan to keep it for a long time.

Well let's see. It's pretty easy to use as long as it doesn't have to get along with a large set up. But it can't be your only board either.
I use it for those strange combis and that's about it.

Features are great for the $ 799 I paid, nothing comes close. but as with most Kawai stuff they always seem to have such great potential but never quite get it right.

Of course this is why I bought it. I wanted something different. Some say the K5000s is better but if you want to layer the sound
I think this is the ticket. This is because usually a sound has a foundation or background that's fairly conventional. We even say " well it sounds like a piano/bell sound but different" to describe weird noises. On the 5000s you'd have to get good sounding
background patches first - not an easy think.Now the GM / PCM sounds aren't great but when layered with the add section look out!And no, it doesn't have all the controllers but I can't twist 9 knobs and play anyway. I'm doing good using the Mod wheel and pressure so
I don't see that as a limitation. I agree with someone who said it can " out wavestation the wavestation " and I've owned both. Nothing sounds like the K5KW!

so far so good

They sent the new sound diver right away.

Not sure I could afford one again but I don't ever want to seel mine.

Using version 4.03 which seems to be a minor improvement on 3.0 in a couple of areas.
The patches don't seems to take quite as long to settle down after changing,
and there's not quite as much inherent distortion in the resonance filter.
The presents sound, well, much like they always did.
Some good ones, some very mediocre PCM samples, and of course the ADD is the best part of the synth.
Editing on the "W" can be tireseome. The manual isn't totally useless, but it's not the best I've read.
I'd imagine editing on the "S" to be a more satisfactory experience. Things aren't always laid out very intuitively on the edit menu.
Terminology is a bit different to most other synths.

NICE keyboard action! One of the quickest I have played on a synth. A bit "bouncy", but not too bad.
I like a heavier action, so this one feels OK. The black keys are a bit smaller than I'm used to (I play a lot of Korg stuff),
but that only helps the speed on those chromatic runs!! The note-stealing when the polyphony runs out is not subtle at all,
in fact it just sucks! The on-boards sequencer is a bit pedestrian. 40 tracks - big deal. Only 2 songs - Damn!! And it's SLOW!!
It's got to be the slowest load from a disk I've ever expereinced. It's just a joke. Worse than the old Yamaha SY series.
The effects are fairly easy to get around for a keyboard. They're not a touch on, say, the Trinity for example, but they're certainly adequate for
the bandwidth of the rest of this keyboard. Pretty flexible. Quick MIDI seems a handy function, but I don't know that I'll use it that much.
MIDI transmission is fair, but those bloody bouncing keys mean you need to set a low PPQ on your sequencer, or you'll have notes hanging all over the place.
This is REALLY annoying. On top of that, the engine occasionally when it's busy, and sends spurious crap out the port. Also very annoying! The engine in this machine
in this machine just doesn't seem to keep up.

No doubt about the ADD part of the machine. A great concept, even if a bit dated,
and a great way to create new and unheard-of sounds. The PCM and GM parts of the machine are pretty "Ho-Hum".
I don't think you'd bother with it as a GM device of any kind. Some of the PCMs are quite useable with a bit of work,
and most of them work well in conjunction with the ADD generated sounds. There's no doubt that you can get really creative
sound-wise on this board. Responds pretty well to nuances in playing as well. Generally gives you satisfactory connection between
the sound being played, and how you're expressing it on the board.

Hmmm..... I don't really trust it yet. I don't think I'd take it to a gig without my trusty 01W as a backup.

Only had it a few days. Can't comment.

If I lost it, I wouldn't be too concerned. The operating system really does need a bit of work. The engine is as slow as a wet week,
and the display has had little consideration aesthetically. The display, in short, looks like crap. I've seen $200 Casios with a better looking display.
I've been playing various keys from old Korg MS-20s to Kurzweil K-2500s for the past 20 years. I've owned samples of just about every manufacturer,
but find I've always owned a fair percentage of Korg stuff. M series, O series, Trinity, that sort of thing. The Kawai feels like a bit of a toy.
Great concept, poorly executed. I do like the feel of the keyboard, and some of the sounds, and I love the sound creation possibilities.
I hate the display layout, the fonts, the menus. Looks like it was done by a 6 year old. I hate the glitches. It's just not a professional package.
It's not "finished". I'd like to see it with some real development, particularly in it's processing power and speed. At it's current sell out price, it's OK,
but not a "bargain". I'd suggest saving some more. Let's be real, if you're into sound creation, it's hard to beat the Kurzweil.

My K5000W has software version 3.0, which all seems to work. There are three sets of sounds - a GM set, which is OK, another set of sample- based sounds which are pretty good (on a par with most mid-priced workstation synths) and a set of sounds which use the special additive sources available in the K5000. The presets in this latter set are variable, but mostly unusable for anything much. The additive synthesis engine is clearly capable of producing really good imitations of real sounds, in some cases better than most physical modelling techniques (the factory "Pyper" and "Shakkiri" presets are good examples), but sadly nearly all the presets are dubious fantasy-type noises and New Age guff. A few nice synth basses though. As regards programming, the additive stuff is so complex that it's pretty daunting. Apparently some K5000s come bundled with a version of the Sound Diver editor which probably improves matters. The onboard editing facilities are probably as good as they could be, it's just that there's an awful lot to take into account - 64 harmonics per source, each with its own individual envelope, not to mention the formant filter and other stuff like effects. Two major gripes: the manual is dreadful, and it's a pain using the K5000W with an external sequencer as there doesn't appear to be any way to tell it not to respond on all MIDI channels. Contrary to what the other review on this database says, however, it will transmit and receive aftertouch - mine will, at least.

64 note poly, 32 part multitimbral (though some patches use more than one note of polyphony per note played). Good and flexible effects, with some cool stuff like distortion and rotary speaker simulation. Two sets of MIDI ports. Apparently you can get a "knob box" for real-time controllers and an extra memory card. I wouldn't count on these being easy to find though. Nice action for a non-weighted keyboard. Haven't used the onboard sequencer, but it looks very well specified, and includes some quite sophisticated compositional aids like auto-arrangement.

At its current knockdown price, I reckon this beats everything else on the market. Basically you get a decent sample-based synth, and also one of the most sophisticated sound design sources around. The additive synthesis is incredibly flexible, and good both for real instrument emulations (you can get some great electric pianos, for instance) and weird stuff. The only limiting factor seems to be that it's hard to produce untuned sounds, or sounds that have a large enharmonic component to them. The effects are good too. It's all very clean and quite digital sounding, but not cold or harsh.

Seems pretty stable, though it can occasionally crash if you try hard enough (eg. by changing modes while it's receiving lots of MIDI data). Slight whine from the power supply (I think), not serious though.

I've tried emailing them about turning off response on MIDI channels, but got no reply.

If I lost this one and could get another at the same price, I'd do it. I feel quite lucky cos I bought it completely blind in Turnkey's sale - it was reduced to such an extent I thought I'd just sell it again if I didn't like it - and it turned out to be pretty cool. The sample-based sounds are just as good as in the other synths I was considering (QS7, N5, etc.) and you get the huge additive power on top. However, programming the additive sounds really does require a lot of time and effort. I find that you can program an entire arrangement - say 7 or 8 parts - using the K5000W alone, and it doesn't sound dull or samey. The sampled sounds are perfect for bread and butter drums and basses, and the additive sounds add sparkle on top.

This is the best synth for the money. Version software 3.0, the presets are exhilarating. You have PCM sounds and Advanced Addititve synthesis (Sound Harmonic editing with formant filters!) the synth comes with a program to convert pcms (like a piano) to a additive! that means MAJOR editing capabilites (once connected to a computer! increadible

64 note polyphone with a 32 track sequencer. The sequencer has realtime, step, event editing, and the disk drive save feature remembers all info such as effects editing, start volumes etc. Interesting, the k5000w does not transmit or receive aftertouch information. Well, I never used it anyway. the keyboard itself is incredible. very piano like. the effects are many and various! Exciters to true stereo phasing etc. In addition to upto 4 effects simulataneous, you get a reverb setting and an EQ setting for each patch! If you owned a korg N5 (like I did until I saw this thing) you'd know a Eq and reverb would take up all the space you'd have for effects! I don't know what to do with the luxury honestly.

OK! string sounds right now suck. and bad. the rest are great I don't know what's going on with those strings but I'll have to get to work, they're better than most keyboards, but for some reason sounds like they're lfo-ing resonance when they're not. maybe that's my inexperience. the effects as mentioned are great as is the keyboard. the keyboard expressive overall lends itself to experimentation for whatever music from prog-rock to go-go to disco to eighties to drum and bass to hip-hop to jazz to...

the sequencer has been known to mysteriously delete notes. I don't know why again, maybe inexpereince. gigging is another thing, this thing is heavy!

Haven't had to talk to them, a good sign. I think I will but just to congratulate them on a great product.

THEY STOPPED MAKING THESE! RIGHT NOW THEY ARE ON BLOWOUT! I got mine for 900 dollars and list price is 2400. The company is taking a loss, because it wants to move on. Why? I don't know. If you're interesting in making truly progressive music, I recommend this, although if you are truly progressive you might not need it. I know this will help me like NO OTHER synth will or could definitely not the old Korg N5! HAHAHAHA! For my price I feel like i stole this thing. Let me put it this way. I saw it one friday, and had it into my waiting bedroom by tuesday of the next week. 3 days! I sold everything I had (well not everything, but just about.) a keyboard, sequencer, pedals, the works, just to get one of the 5 they had left in the store. my paranoia worked to my advantage. one of the clerks sold 3 to his friends that same week I bought it (By Monday!) Find one and buy it. Only good can come of it.