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  K4 Synthesizer At a Glance
Click for larger view arrowReleased: dunno (late 80's)  Specifications
arrowUser rating: 4.0/5 |  Read reviews (42)
arrowKawai News(3)  
moron writes:
I personally have a lot of fun with this puppy. It is pretty cheap 2nd hand so it is worth considering. I would not recommend it if you are say, with a country band and looking for realistic sounds. However, if you are into industrial or weird ass sounds (like I am) then this unit can quite useful. The OS is fairly simple to get around, has lots of dedicated buttons and and works OK as a controller (minus the concerns above). I like thatyou can intentionally stick notes whereas some synths (i.e. Korg WS for instance) automatically send out NOTE OFF messages when you switch a channel. The sound quality can be gritty at times (I like that) and sounds "click" when you switch between them if you are using effects (I guess from switching in the new effect algorithm). The effects available are delay, reverb, distorion, chorus (I think) and some multi versions of the above. All in all, definitely worth the money if you put in some time to make your own sounds.

GilesW
Used with a sequencer everything seemed sloppy. This is confirmed in Multi mode when you start playing stacked sounds. The K4 takes about 1.5 secs to stop.I sold mine because the processor was obviously under-powered.

Comments About the Sounds:
This a strange little beast. It does a mediocre job of instrument emulation if you aren't trying to do a professional score. The sample set tries to cover all bases at once but just doesn't cut it for most "realistic" sounds. That is not to say that this unot sounds terrible, not by far. It is just way better as a strange sound machine. The digital resonant filters are very very cool (if somewhat coarse) and the effects section helps somewhat (especially the distortion). The AM capability is kind of weak (unfortunately) and doesn't make that much difference normally. However, this machine does really excel at making weird noises, analog like bleeps and basses and strange percussive sounds. It has the most retarded envelope structure (i.e. way too fast so no pads) I have seen but otherwise is set up ok. Only other gripe is that the MOD and PB wheels ignore the local off command so when you use this keyboard to control something else, it will follow the MOD and PB settings locally as well.

(Thanks to moron for this info.)
and Ellsworth Hall for the pic

Links for the Kawai K4 Synthesizer
 More Synth Gear  Best US prices on many current models
Kawai K4 - factory.syx Specifications, MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART, wavelist, syx, sounds, zip.
Kawai K group yahoo group for Kawai K4, XD-5 and K1.
MNX2010 KAWAI K4 Site lots of soundbanks, editors for Atari & PC. Links and Info.
K4 synth mp3 demos Hear the mighty K4!
midi midi k 4 Servicio técnico especializado para músicos
easy home financing
Free sounds for the K4 and more Programmed by Patrick Fridh
K4r info @ Planet-Zero.org my K4r review/comments, pics, MP3 sounds, and links
Brillman's "Fatbeat" includes a manic K4 synth. Listen to song "Fatbeat" to hear the K4's resonant filters in action!!!
MNX2010 KAWAI K4 Site Lots of soundbanks, editors for Atari & PC. Links and Info.
MNX2010 KAWAI K4 Site lots of soundbanks, editors for Atari & PC. Links and Info.
Kawai K4r Review
The Patch King The Best Sounds @ The Best Prices. Thousands of new sounds for over 100 Synths and Samplers. Check us out!
Patch repository for this and other synths Stormtrooper Studios patches and useful files
The Cyco - Music Website Cyco progressive CyberCoreMusic using the Kawai K4 also
The Kawai room at Synthmuseum.com History and technical information about kawai instruments.
JSynthLib - free Librarian / Editor Supports K4 and other synths
Patrick Fridhs FREE fresh K4 sounds! Great analogue-types, basses, pads, fx, more!
K4r raw waves Archive of all (eventually) raw waveforms
K4r raw waves Archive of all (eventually) raw waveforms
The Kawai K4/K4r Mailing List Subscribe Today!
K4 Resources Review, Editor/Librarian for Logic (free) at MEMI

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