K1m
Desktop digital synthesizer module
| A variant of the popular K1 in a space-saving desktop form. The K1's were offered as a low-cost option for musicians to get the (back then) must-have Roland D-50 and Korg M1 sounds --- The starting portion of a sound was sampled (very short, low-fi samples), and the remaining "bulk" of the waveform was supplied by standard digital waves. This was the new way of designing synthesizers in the late '80s and early '90s. The K1m is a great-sounding little synthesizer that can fill many roles even in a modern studio. From haunting pads, to '80s FM style bass, to "DigitalNativeDance-style" combis, the K1m delivers those types of sounds. |
Kawai K1m audio demos in mp3
| Preset name with audio demo | My comments |
| "I" internal preset banks | |
| IA-1 Ahh | Typical early sampled choir. This would benefit from a good dosage of hall reverb (available in Kawai's K1 MkII...). Reminds of the Korg M1. |
| IA-2 6 String | Warm acoustic guitar. The tone is not bad. |
| IA-3 String Pad | Beautiful, haunting analog string pad. |
| IA-4 Al'sRhodes | Who's Al - maybe Al Jarreau? Anyway, this is his Rhodes. |
| IA-5 Visitors | Outstanding preset - typically in the Korg M1 vein! A nice sci-fi choir, with bells in the distance, and spaceship landings in the background. |
| IA-6 Pan Flute | Typical Roland D-50 sound. |
| IA-7 Trumpet | Realistic if not particularly expressive. |
| IA-8 1 Key Beat | Showing off the on-board PCM samples. |
| IB-1 Sitar | Very nice emulation of the famous Indian string instrument. |
| IB-2 Piano 1 | Back then, this was OK, I suppose. Like D-50 and M1, these types of synthesizers are not noted for their acoustic piano sounds. |
| IB-3 Jazz Harp | Cool and interesting harp sound. |
| IB-4 Fuzz Clav | Curiously analog-sounding Clavinet sound. |
| IB-5 Jazz Organ | Nice! This is a well-sampled jazz B-3 sound. |
| IB-6 Clarinet | Cool. |
| IB-7 Bowed Strg | The sampling technology of the era. |
| IB-8 Pizzicato | Ok but it's synthy. |
| IC-1 Stratocast | Nice Stratocaster sound - mellow and dark. |
| IC-2 StrutNstuf | Wow! An interesting amalgam of sounds. |
| IC-3 AnalogBras | Analog? Not really - but it's definitely late '80s digital! |
| IC-4 Crockett's | Clearly inspired by Jan Hammer's sounds in "Miami Vice". Great patch. |
| IC-5 Reflection | Sweet and gentle synth. |
| IC-6 HeavyHittr | Another "Miami Vice" sound. |
| IC-7 Terminator | And this one was of course inspired by the movie "Terminator". |
| IC-8 Nomads | Another typical LA / AI , classic sound. |
| ID-1 Kick Bass | Great! A powerful FM bass. |
| ID-2 Pull Bass | OK - very '80s. |
| ID-3 Vybes | I love the ensemble effect on this patch. |
| ID-4 Bellery | Bells a go-go |
| ID-5 Music Box | Beautiful!!! It seems like every synth has a haunting, dramatic bell percussion patch on board. |
| ID-6 Kick+E.Snr | More waves for you. These are typical mid/late '80s percussion sounds. |
| ID-7 ETom+HiHat | More of the above. |
| ID-8 Cymbals | And a little more. |
| "i" internal preset banks | |
| iA-1 Voice | Breathy digital vox. |
| iA-2 12 String | So-so.. |
| iA-3 String Ens | Nice ensemble. |
| iA-4 Digi Piano | DX piano. |
| iA-5 ReturnHome | Another filtered breathy vox pad. |
| iA-6 Flute | Nice flute with realistic vibrato. |
| iA-7 FrenchHorn | Nice and powerful brass combo. |
| iA-8 GongOfKngs | The Gong of the kings. |
| iB-1 Kimono | Japanese koto sound. |
| iB-2 Piano 2 | mmh... |
| iB-3 Saxy | Sounds more like an accordion. |
| iB-4 Harpsicord | Very nice and gentle. Useful for Vivaldian accompaniments. |
| iB-5 DeepPurple | "Rock" organ, drawbars all out, chorus. Similar to the D'50s "Rock Organ". |
| iB-6 Oboe | Bad. |
| iB-7 Cellos | Airy and delicate strings. |
| iB-8 Orchestra | Actually not a bad sound. |
| iC-1 Steel Keys | Like a Dulcimer. |
| iC-2 Club Piano | Tinny house piano. |
| iC-3 NastyBrass | Heavily chorused brass. |
| iC-4 Jan'sTheme | Beautiful synthesizer - this one also obviously inspired by Jan's Miami Vice soundtrack. |
| iC-5 Ole! | Flamenco guitar + string pad. |
| iC-6 Aftertouch | Reminds of many pads on the E-mu Proteus/1. |
| iC-7 DragonHall | Another breathy, long pad. This is actually very good. |
| iC-8 Arrangment | Cool "vectoring" style synth. |
| iD-1 Ac Bass | Ok. |
| iD-2 ElectrBass | Very short loops. |
| iD-3 Marimba | Very, very nice marimba tone. |
| iD-4 Glocken | Okay. |
| iD-5 SteelDrums | Bell-like. |
| iD-6 Kick+Snare | Standard rock drums. |
| iD-7 ATom+HiHat | Same as above. |
| iD-8 Rim+Snare | More of the same. |
| MULTI preset bank | |
| IA-1 VOICE+ORCH | Very beautiful mega-pad multi. |
| IA-4 SUSPENSE | Interesting use of the combination. |
| IA-5 EASY SONG | Two-finger performance. |
| From the ORIGINAL CARDS | |
| A101 | |
| IA-1 Peace | Nice soundtrack pad |
| iA-2 Nino Rota | One of my favorite Italian soundtrack masters |
| IB-6 Whistle | Yep |
| iD-1 KillTheFly | Awesome programming!!! |
| ID-1 Sky Writer | A fantastic WW1 airplane sound!!! |
| IA-7 ZORBA! | Greek ensemble! |
| ID-4 TOMITA | Great sound, inspired by the great Japanese new age master. |
| A102 | |
| IA-1 That Bass | Very nice Jaco Pastorius bass. |
| IA-4 Soundtrak | Inspired by the classic Roland D-50's preset |
| iA-7 Spielberg | Classic "Encounters" sci-fi sound. |
| iC-6 PPGee | Very beautiful and particular synth - obviously inspired by German classic, the PPG. |
| ID-3 W-DIAMONDS | Inspired by the Beatles's organ intro to "Lucy in the sky with diamonds". |
| ID-4 EMERSON & | Classic Emerson, Lake & Palmer split. |
| A103 | |
| iA-3 I'mFalling | Spook sci-fi effect |
| IA-6 RealRhodes | Nice and smooth electric piano |
| IA-8 Lil' Italy | Hearty accordion |
| A104 | |
| iA-1 InsectMask | Interesting loop-based waveforms. |
| IA-4 Contemplation | Ambient synth |
| ID-1 DREAMFORST | Gorgeous and hypnotic synth pad |
| ID-6 TONTO | Inspired by the great TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra) SUPER-MEGA modular synth |
| A105 | |
| iA-8 Vox Jaguar | Nice '60s combo organ sound - the Jaguar |
| ID-5 HEAVEN ENS | Beautiful ensemble. |
| A200 | |
| IA-8 Seagulls | Wonderful sound fx |
| IC-3 OB-Brass | Very powerful Oberheim OB-series synth brass. |
| E101 | |
| IA-1 K1 goes LA | Beautiful preset - obviously inspired by LA synthesis and Roland D-50's famous first preset, "Fantasia". |
| IB-8 JazzGuitar | Meaty hollow-body guitar. |
| IA-1 SANCTUARY | Gorgeous, powerful pipe organ. |
| E102 | |
| iD-1 Maultromml | Nice jew's harp sound (Maultrommel) |
| iD-6 Interstelr | Awesome "2001 - A space odyssey" sound. |
| J101 | |
| IA-3 GlassVoice | Another sound inspired by a Roland D-50 preset, "Glass Voices" |
| iC-1 Flex Solo | Interesting solo synth - reminds of the tones used by Yellow Magic Orchestra. |
| IC-8 Train 1 | Uncanny recreation! There's also a variant with the train whistle instead of the bell. |
| J102 | |
| IA-4 Gong | Powerful gong! |
| ID-2 REVERBELL | Beautiful and hypnotic digital bells |
| iD-5 N.9th | Weirdo ensemble. |
| J103 | |
| iA-4 Firefly | Beautiful synth pad with nocturnal insects flying by! |
| IA-7 ESNO | Eno maybe? Great atonal sounds |
| IB-1 Busker | Cute and usable breathy sound. |
Kawai K1m pictures
(click on thumbnails to enlarge them)
Kawai K1m
manual
PDF Manual at www.kawaius.com :
Resources:
- Review in "Keyboard magazine" Janfebmarch 198___
Features
- Light and portable;
- Classic late '80s/early 90s sounds;
- Gritty lo-fi 8-bit character (in a good way!);
- many sounds available on-line.
| Features at a glance | |
| Year of release: | |
| Polyphony: | |
| Sound generation method: | |
| Preset memories | |
| MIDI: | in, out, thru |
| Sound expansion capabilities: | cards |
| Sequencer | no |
| Arpeggiator | no |
| Effects | yes |
| Velocity | yes |
| Aftertouch | |
| Sample Memory: | |
| Display: | yes, backlit green |
Links
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |
| Home page | website. | |