Novation KS-5

Version 2.0 as far as I can tell. Editing patches is a breeze - very simple, intuitive interface. There are menus, but mostly for the parameters you're not likely to want immediate access to all the time. Haven't used a patch editor with it - doesn't seem to be any reason to. The manual is pretty good, but they could use some proof-reading to catch all the terrible spelling...

16 voice poly, 4 part multi. The keyboard action isn't great, but I've come across worse. If you're looking for anything like a piano keyboard this is definitely *not* the keyboard to get.

It has seven built in effects - delay, chorus, reverb, distortion, eq, panning and a 16 band vocoder. They are very easy to use, and one of the nice things about this board is that you can apply 6 effects per part in multi-timbral (or "Performance") mode. So, even though the synth sounds great with no effects, the fact that if a sound is really good *because* of the effects, you get to keep those in Performance mode.

No expansion capabilities as far as I know, but it is upgradeable via OS updates from Novation, so I guess new features and enhancements could be added that way.

MIDI in/out/through - the usual stuff. Velocity sensitive, aftertouch (very sensitive, but I don't use it anyway - do a lot of people actually use aftertouch?)

No onboard sequencer, but their is an arpeggiator with all different flavours - up, down, chords, random, etc. There are also patterns for drums.

This isn't really the synth to look at for realisitic instrument sounds. It's a virtual analogue synth, and as such it emulates those sounds very well. I'd say it's a great board for anyone making any kind of electronic music in particular. It does have some fairly nice organ and electric piano emulations though. With the added effects you can get pretty much any sounds you want with a little tweaking and knob-twiddling. If you're looking for major modulation-matrix style programming though, you're out of luck, but in a sense that's the nice thing about this synth - it's very "hands-on" and you can get results quickly and intuitively without frigging around in menus for hours.

As I mentioned, the aftertouch is a bit jumpy. I also found initially that the velocity sensitivity was a little unresponsive, but found that if you tweak the velocity sensitivity in the envelope menu you can get the desired results. Maybe it's just the presets. As I'm more of a programmer than a "player" per se, I don't really mind too much that the aftertouch and keyboard action aren't 100%.

Just got it the other day, and it seems to be pretty solidly built to me. I wouldn't hesitate to take it to a gig - although it doesn't feel indestructible, I'd still want to take care with it. But then I try to be careful with all my gear - can't afford to replace it all... :-)

Haven't had to deal with them yet, but by all accounts they're pretty good.

If it was stolen or lost, I'd slap myself for being such a dumbass, then yes, I'd probably get another one. I use this in a minimal setup consisting of the KS4 (obviously), Waldorf Micro Q, Waldorf Pulse and a Juno 106 along with all sorts of software. I looked at several options - I was thinking of the Virus C, but found it to be really expensive. I saw the KS4 and figured for the price you can't go wrong. And so far, it's working out well. I like the fact that it's hands-on, with quick and easy editing, excellent sound quality, the filters sound great, effects are pretty good (although the delay and distortion are probably the strongest), the vocoder sounds great and it's really easy to get ideas going with it.

I was looking for an add-on for my Virus B, mainly to trigger fx for live use, so I looked at the Kstation. I tried one out, and immediately liked it, but decided to wait a couple of weeks for the ks. I've got mine for about a month now, and already have one os update (to fix the multiple arp's problem), and the second one is on the way.
The presets are good, but I bought this to make my own sounds. And that's a breeze : within hours I had those 50's scifi fx I love, and some leads emulating the Moog Prodigy. For those types of sounds, I've spent hours and days on my Virus, but never quite got what I wanted. In fact, I got my ks the same day I had to do a gig, and I programmed 8 sounds and two performances in two hours time. Worked just like I wanted.

The keyboard is pretty cheap, and the aftertouch isn't very expressive; it's like on/off, nothing in between. But for my live purposes, that is enough. I use a PK6 as a masterkeyboard in my homesetup anyway.
The hypersync is cool and easy. Easy is the keyword with this synth anyway. The fx are ok, especially the eq, reverb is ok in small doses, love the vocoder.

Comparing to my Virus B, the strings and pads sound thin, even with unison. But the leads and fx are great, and really cut through the thicker sounds of the B, so both complement each other perfectly.
I suggested a few more destinations for the modwheel to the Novationpeople, and they responded this could happen in a future os. Especially the FM amount is great for some purposes, and it's hidden in a menu (not very far, but for live, too far). So, I'm sure expressiveness will grow. The VCO glide (detune like the old analogues)is a cool feature and breathes extra life into the sounds.

Well, I've gigged with it twice now, and it hasn't let me down.

Great support. With the original os, one couldn't use multiple arps in one performance, and within a day of my mail, I got an answer, and a few days later a new os in my mailbox. The website needs some updating though.

Well, as an add-on for the Virus B, it's perfect. It does what I bought it for, and wouldn't want to miss it.

I finally got to play with one of these units the other day. 2 hours was all I had so here are some initial impressions. Hypersync is fairly cool and can be inspiring/take you in new directions. Creating your own templates doesn't seem like it should be too difficult.

Polyphony is 16 with 4 parts. Keyboard action is cheap, I would rather have it in a rack. Aftertouch way too sensitive and I couldn't find any way to tame it. Effects seemed adequate, but the EQ Filter was outstanding.

If you've heard a K-Station you've heard this thing. Novation filters have always been very neutral, and that's not a bad thing. Unlike the K-Station, you aren't stuck with just low pass now and bandpass sweeps with resonance tweaking were fantastic. Unfortunately the Nova kills this thing and you can get one used for less. I really don't know what Novation was thinking.

All plastic, cheap keyboard, cheap switches and jacks. Hey, they're trying to hit a price point and the did. But, I would guess it's stable so I would use it with a good master keyboard. Nova & SuperNova II build quality in a whole different league.

Novation has always been tops with listening to customers and being willing to help. The more specialized shops in the US are good, too. It makes me wonder who they were listening to when they designed this?

Like I said, I didn't buy it and I wouldn't. If you want that "jack-of-all-trades" neutral novation smoothness then poke around for a used Nova. Vastly superior. Also, the Alesis Ion is supposed to have very high resolution oscillators and filters - time will tell. But, you would certainly want to try it in comparison before buying.