Kawai SX240

This is the most awesome synth I've ever heard. It's like a Korg Polysix, though much fatter and sweeter. Easy to use, just program up some nice analog basses, leads, pads, whatever. The knobs is great and the bender is assignable. I had someone program mine and it sounds the dog's balls.

8 voices! 8 analog voices that don't scream, they are lush, soft and beautiful, the way it's supposed to sound. Infinite drones, unlike the Juno 1, they sounds really nice and sweet. MIDI is great and an onboard sequencer to boot. It's a spilt board, like the AX-60 or Split 8...the Kawai SX240 is infinitely better. Take it from me, I've owned them all and this is better.

It's a dream of amazing proportion. I've been looking for something this versatile. Maybe the bass could be a little better. Overall, I'm giving it a 10 for the pure lush factor. The hold function is excellent (drone heaven)The leads corrupt young children!

Everything you'd expect. It' gig friendly!

I'm not sure. Kawai has consistently made crappy product; the K-1 to the K-5 were some of the worst synths ever produced. I had little faith this would sound better until I got it. As Depeche Mode would say, "now I believe."

This is sticking around unless someone is dropping serious money. I wouldn't sell this for less that a Poly6 or a Jupiter 6.

It's quite easy. There's one big knob to change the parameters and some selection buttons to choose the functions, lik eresonance and cutoff. Storing a patch desires some skill.

Mono and poly. nice chorus. It's analog and you can hear that it is!

If you love the 80's....it's got a lot of those famous sounds. But when you get creative you can make some convincing 70's bass sounds. The thing I like the most about this synth is that it's pretty versatile. Nice pads, strings bass sounds, leads. They're all very distinctive sounds.

Used it live, but mostly in the studio. Didn't fail me yet.

............yeah right

If it were stolen I would steal one back. I love it and have used it on a lot of productions for myself and others.

Very easy to use.everything is laid out right on the top right of the synth with led's.just spin the dial.

two DCO's can be stacked the funk up.very nice ensamble.sub osc,and a very nice VCF filter.

keys are crap but this monster has HUGE SOUND.From werid leads,to sapce styled fx.Good brass,some decient 80's styled bass.Where the sx240 shines at is strings and pads.I dont think i ever heard nicer strings on a synth then on this one.the pads are simply devine as well.even better in dual mode.very nice analog sound here.

now here is the deal.The sx240 along with the sx210 use the dreaded NICd Battery to store your programs.well after time the NIcd battery will leak gas and realy screw up parts of the board.So if you find one of these in working order do not delay change the battery ASAP its a ticking time bomb ready to **** up your synth.I got mine moded with a ion battery so ill never have to worry about it again.A cheap mod i suggest anyone with this synth should so.Whats the point of putting another NIcd in just to have to worry about it agian? If you find one of these half working chances are its the battery vs the chips.Ohter then that the bender seems a little weak but the synth is solid as a tank.I love my sx240 and it does not leave my house i would use a backup if gigged.

kawai does not service these.get a new battery if not done already.

I love my sx240.It fits great in a mix with other gear.its powerfull it wonderfull its analog.If anything ever happened yea i would want another but i baby my sx anyway so i dont think I have to worry about it.I own alot gear and this is the only one i actually had to name(never nammed any gear!!ever)the sx240 has huge personality

this synth is very easy to use with the manual at first. the sequencer is not realy easy to get going with out it but programing its sounds are very easy right out of the gate.
it has a neat led display wich will remind you of kitt from night rider.

hey its a eight voice analog synth.
last time i checked the andromeda was only a six voice synth so its pretty damn cool.
you can layer sounds if you split the board. it has a rudementary sequencer but it is still usable.
the chorus sounds good but makes the board quiter.
the bender is dodgy. there is a lfo button wich kind of works like rolands lfo trigger.
it is a very well rounded synth with seperate volume controls for the upper and lower patches.

the jacks on this boards are very good and well made.

now here is where i disagree with some of the reveiws.
this doesent sound anything like a jupiter6.
it is not the sonic equivelent of anything. it is its own animal. it can get pretty moogy sounding at times and the filter in it is very nice.
it could be very static but i like electronic music with static sounds. you can also use the pitch bend to sweep the filter but its not overly reactive to how it is being played. this synths is a programers board. spend some time coming up with a patch and well you are laughing. theres something about how the lfo hits the filter on this synth wich is cool. i mean it is very musical and if you program it well you can make some realy cool evolving pads wich sound almost more fm in nature than analog. theres some noise on the outputs but who cares.
synths like this make some noise.
i could see this being used for all kinds of electronic music. i also think it has a good place in ambient music and other droney styles.

just got it

amazing for the price.
i mean a moog little phatty sounds great but costs over six times of what this does. will it do everything a moog does well most of it.
and for that matter for what it wont do i can get a bunch of other synths wich can fill in the gaps.
its a cult synth and there is not many cult synths you can get for under three hundred bucks.
i mean if i had to choose between this or a nord lead i would choose this.
it sounds like a synth from the radio phonic lab in the bbc.
would fit in good there.

No dedicated knobs, but editing is done by menu's with an alpha dial data wheel: sounds complicated but it isn't since the whole layout of the synth is printed on top, with leds signifying which parameter you're editing - easy as anything!
Most of the parameters speak for themselves - anyone half experienced with analog synthesis should find his way in a matter of seconds.

Eight voice polyphony, limited to four voices when you use the 'double' mode, which fattens the sound considerably. Excellent 'ensemble' effect, which is actually a chorus. One LFO. PWM is fine but doesn't go very 'deep'. No velocity, no aftertouch, no memory cards or other expansions. Small sequencer on board but I've never used it...
Midi is basic to the point of awfull: the SX receives on all midi channels only unless you let your sequencer transmit an 'omni off' message. Then it switches itself to channel 1. There is no (repeat: NO) way to set the SX on any other channel - you will need an external Anatek box to do that. (BTW: Roland's JX3P has exactly the same thing...)
You can split the keyboard in two sections and use it bi-timbral.
And you just got to love the big led display...

Realism, no way. The SX is best at lush string and pad sounds - here, the ensemble effect and the sub oscillator make a big difference. Slow enveloppes make is less usable for shorter clicks and klangs and there's not even a hint of osc sync, FM or cross mod. With no velocity or aftertouch, it's possibilities for modulating sounds are limited. However, you can set the bend wheel on filter intensity/cutoff, which makes all the difference in the world. Also, good for 80's style electro bass as long as you don't expect the biting sound of a Korg filter...

Mine is definitly not 100 %: there's something wrong with one of the VCA enveloppes, so one in every four/eight notes has a ramp structure - another reason to use this thing mostly in the background!

Construction (all metal and wooden sides) seems very sturdy however.

Naaaaah!

It's a very sweet sounding synth - outside an eminent solina, I've never heard such fat strings as on this one. I do see it's limitations but I would grant this older beast a lot of credit for it's character. Compared to a Juno 6/60/106 and Korg Polysix - it's main competitors in the day - it's got considerably less features but compensates by sheer. I've never regretted paying what I payed for it but having bought a Oberheim Matrix 6 since, I now realise that synth offers a lot more (three LFO's, osc sync, lots more routing) at about the same price.
So concluding: its a good addition to my set, but not the main board.

Without the manual the sequencer is a bit hard to operate but editing patches is easy. Every parameter is adjusted by a giant wheel-knob thingy and it has a billion little lights on it. The programming possibilities are pretty endless for a synth in this price range.

The keyboard action is kind of springy but at least they don't click like a bunch of old Ensoniq keyboards do. It has the best on board chorus I've heard. I wish they made a stompbox with that chorus. Basic midi and the sequencer is pretty extensive for such an old beast. No arpeggiator so I use the sequencer to act as an arpeggiator just like on the Roland SH101 the so called sequencer is just a programmable arpeggiator. It has a hold button! Gotta love a hold button! I wish modern keyboards had something as simple as a hold button.

The sounds rule. This is THE most under rated synth period. You can program some wicked things on this beast. It blows a Jupiter 6 or other comparable boards out of the water and it costs a lot less, that is if you can find one. You can at least find a Jupiter 6, these are a lot harder to find. This is my favorite synth to program. The filter is creamy and can self oscillate. I have moogs arps all that shit and this thing holds up. All other keyboards sound shitty in a mix with the Minimoog because a Mini sounds so good. This thing complements it well. Sick leads Jan Hammer Mahavishnu style, weird fx and really cool pads and farfisa sounding organs. Can do a cool arp string ensemble. I've gotten mad blow jobs for how rad this thing sounds.

I've never had it shit on me.

Kawai probably doesn't remember they made this synth because it's like the opposite of everything they have ever done.

If it were lost or stolen I'd probably have to kill myself. This is the one keyboard I have that I actually think I'd have a really hard time replacing if anything ever happened to it. I'm not sure how many are actually out there, you never see them for sale. I saw one in 1988 in a music store in sacramento when I was in fourth grade and remembered how trippy it looked especially with the weird display that said: MUSHROOM. I though what kind of keyboard makes a sound called mushroom? I saw this one in 1998 and I just had to nab it. It was 250 and was the best 250 I have ever spent. Get rid of all your Roland and Korg crap and get a real synth like this one. No Roland or Korg has the balls this thing does. No one knows about it too! They all go what's a Kawai SX240? If they only knew.

after few hours it became a 2nd nature.
Too many parameter to remember so Tiesco/kawai
made it easy with colored LED's on every parameter.

Too many to list.
Read Below

Unbelivable!!!
Read below

So far so good.
Some contact problem on patches select buttons.
The 1st owner really abused it.

needed a new key and found it.

I've heard many times that it should be compared with the Roland Jupiter-6.
I can compare the Jupiter 6 to the Sx-240 because I do own both.
However, It is not fair to compare the 2 at all -The Jupiter 6 is only a 6 voice synth
and does not have this SX240 big fat sound at all.
Jp-6 is an ACID machine in my book. (killer Multimod filter)
I will also ad that the JP-6 is Thiner than the SX-20.
So, I will try to compare it a little to the Roland Jupiter 8 instead.
The SX-240 Is a Big fat "sleeping" monster.
When I got to play with it for the 1st time,
I was in shock.
I thought it will be like the "Juno" synths...
NOT AT ALL !!!
ALL The Juno's are a "toy" by comparison.
Think about this for a sec:
********************************************************
Take the 2 DCO's ( they do sounds like VCO's)
Sawtooth,Pw,PWM, and the Width control.
Range 16-8-4 feet.
Add another Sub Octav to the party,( allready 3 osc)
Now, How about Detuning them or maby a Ring mod? AH?
Ok, Make a nice ADSR envelope for the VCA
Bent it auto or/and manual up or down, want lfo -sure thing.
It's time to start the filter going.
( Cut off, Res, Vcf-Eg, Kvc, Lfo-mod and Auto bender )
and how about a HP filter to add some acid flavor here? Ah? Sure thing.
(no res just like the JUP-8)
Now you are ready for another ADSR Envelope - for the VCF.
Got a nice sound going? Check the cool LFO -
3 waveforms, Delay, Speed and...Reverse !!!
You can route it almost everywhere and in the same time.
Than, there is a 2 knobs to "start" the LFO on your request.
People, I've programed from the extreme FM analog sounds to the most Slower Lush
Sweeps you can imagine...
Oh yeah, I've almost forget something here,
It can do both (- ) and (+) detuning in the same time on the Ring Mod
and also you can mute the 2nd DCO while its still Ring modulating the 1st one.
There is a seq - Who needs it these days?
Basic MIDI ( Jp-8 doesn't )
and the coolest feature are coming up:
1. the most unbelivable Ensamble effect.
I could swear that the sound spreads more to the "left and right" than my speakers..
2. make 2 different speed sweeps and play in Dual mode ( like the Jup-8)
Now youv'e got it going. Now It Shines.
3. 8 voice/4 voice/Mono modes.
4. Glissando and Portament with speed controls.
5. Itis built like a real Tank. ( and also weighs as much...)
Please Write it down:
***There is nothing out there like the sound of the Jupiter 8 ( that is why I own 2 )
- It is impossible to duplicate its sound because of the VCO boards**
***There is nothing out there like the sound of the SX-240 either!!!**
If i had to choose between the 2 ( I hope i never have to)
I will surely go with the Jupiter 8, After all it's got the coolest ARP and it is made
With "REAL" VCO - Discrete Boards.( It also costed me 5 times more!!!)
also, There is no way to make a BAD sound on the Jupiter-8
But the Jup-6 and the SX-240 can be programed to suck...
Things I hate about it:
Even with the cool LED's on every parameter,
They used Buttons insread of faders. (but You get use to it)
also, Kawai did not design it at all, It was designed by Tiesco company.
When it comes down to it,
Both are amazing synths and it is up to you to make them sound great
by Programing and Playing it.

Somewhat difficult to program patches due to the digital interface. You have to cursor over to the setting you want and then from one universal knob you can adjust the settings. Not that bad but kind of annoying after owning more "hands on" analog synths.

It does have its bonus sides. It can store 48 patches which is a lot considering it was made in 1984. You can also back up all your patches on tape. The sounds may be on the thin side, but it is a very dynamic synth that offers TONS of sounds due to its somewhat complex architecture.
Its MIDI inplementation is absolutely terrible. I had to send an OMNI MODE off signal to it whenever I wanted to use it because it defaults to OMNI MODE whenever you turn it on. When you finally get it working right, it will only respond to midi channel 1.

IMHO, it sounds are kind of thin for analog...almost FM sounding. I never used it for bass applications due to the fact that it was so wimpy.
Another thing is the thing is noisy!! AND if you want to use the built in "ensemble" chorus effect, expect to hear more noise than signal coming from your synth. Although I suppose you could pretend it's the gentle sound of the beach.
It does make some good sounds for techno. Gret blippy sounds and some wet lead lines, also can do a cheesy Van Halen "Jump" lead.

I would never have sold mine but unfortunately it flat out died on me! First synth I've ever owned that took a dump right before a gig.
I had a friend in high school who had one too and his died after a couple years of owning it. Unfortunately, these synths weren't built to last it seems.

They don't even know the thing exists!

I don't think I would ever buy another one. I know I sound pretty harsh, but I'm just speaking about it from an objective standpoint. I feel that it really isn't that great of a synth.
I loved its diversity of sounds. I loved that you could use the keys like a keyboard when naming patches.
I hated everything else.

Typical to programmable analog synths, this one only comes with 48 patches; however they are easily manipulated to great effect.

Very simple MIDI from the early days of the revolution.

The bass sounds are very phat! Actually, this machine gets great FM sounding patches, especially the vibes and pianos. The ability to split the keyboard, play in dual mode (two patches at one time), and to effect an "ensemble" mode makes this a really cool late model digitally controlled analog synth.

This thing is built like a tank...makes the Poly-800 look like the piece of plastic crap that it is.

NA

I bought this from a music store that had never sold it; therefore, it was in absolute mint condition. A great buy!

very simple if you have an understanding of analog synthesis

great features...3 oscilators with 8 voices of poly...can be stacked for 24 osc mono sounds !!!
the VCF can self osc. and can be tweaked to the point of feedback
just a very paht sounding analog synth...sounds what you expect analog to sound like

very nice full sounds....can be tweaked to all hell !!
this is real analog !!!

15 years and going strong

never had a problem

this is the sonic eqivilant to the roland jupiter 6!!
enough said