SX-240
Analog/Digital synthesizer
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A very interesting analog/digital synth, the SX-240 offers powerful sounds.
One cool feature is the glissando effect, which allows to glide from note to
note in semitone steps. Another great feature on this synth is the super-warm, lush, on-board chorus, that contributes greatly to many of the best sounds it can produce.
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Kawai SX-240 audio demos
Stream all preset demos below:
| Preset name with audio demo | My comments |
| *MOVIN* | A solid, fat analog comp-synth sound. |
| *STRING* | The quintessential analog string patch. |
| HISTRING | Similar to the above (the chorus shines), but an octave higher |
| SLOSTRNG | Warm, mysterious string ensemble |
| BOWCELLO | Realistic cello sound. |
| BRASS-1 | Great synth brass sound. I have to say that this synth sounds almost as full as the Jupiter-8 and this sound reminds me of the latter. |
| BRASS-2 | Softer brass sound. Great emulation of French Horns. |
| T*DOLBY | Inspired by synth-pop hitmaker Thomas Dolby. |
| DIGIBASS | Killer synth bass! |
| DOGHOUSE | Subsonic, powerful synth bass (watch your woofies...) |
| PICKBASS | Great, typical '80s synth bass sound. |
| MEATY | Interesting, evolving "hollow" synth sound. |
| TRUMPET | Honest emulation. |
| MUSHROOM | Outstanding sound. The portamento effect is the king in this patch, where the filter opens up slowly to follow the portamento curve. |
| JUMP | Yet another version of the classic Van Halen patch. Yawn... |
| BIRDLAND | Inspired from the famous song by Weather Report. |
| CLAVINET | Very cool reproduction of the classic Hohner. |
| WAH-CLAV | Wah-wah version of the above, utilizing the filter to achieve that effect. |
| ELCPIANO | Very usable Wurlitzer sound, with awesome fast tremolo. A+!! |
| FLOOTE" | Nice flute reproduction, with lifelike vibrato. |
| VIBES | Gorgeous sound! It reminds me so much of the sound used by the french band "Air" for their song "Playground Love", from "The Vergin Suicides" soundtrack (awesome record, by the way, like all Air material). |
| VIBE-PT2 | A shorter, simpler vibe sound. The attack portion. |
| HARPSICD | Very medieval-sounding harpsichord - that is, the way it should sound. Perfect. |
| HARMONCA | Excellent reproduction! Where's the campfire?? |
| PIANO BR | Obviously it means "PIANO BRIGHT". Well, piano sounds are always a limitation in analog synths, but this one stands out. |
| PIANO ML | And of course this means "PIANO MELLOW". Basically the programmer closed the filter a bit. |
| RAGPIANO | Standard ragtime piano. I can visualize the smoky bar and the pianist getting it going. |
| ROSES | Mysterious electric piano sound... great for soundtrack work. |
| STEELDRM | I've heard much better steel drums on other analog synthesizers... |
| AUTOBEND | Cool analog synth. It bends the notes lightly at the beginning of the sound - thus the name. |
| FOREIGNR | Gorgeous pad!!!!!!! Classy, beautiful, evolving... they don't make them anymore like this! :D Does it take its name from the homonymous band? |
| CELESTE | Sounds more like a sick harpsichord... but OK. |
| LEADLINE | Standard solo mono-synth sound. Good for fusion and other '70s prog rock styles. |
| BEETHREE | Hammond B-3 naturally. Comes pretty close, actually!!! Thumbs up. |
| TREMOLO | Obviously refers to an organ with the Leslie set to "tremolo" (fast rotation) |
| JAZORGAN | with the polyphony reduced at four voices, only the lead line is possible, not the bass walk to keep it company |
| CATHEDRL | Solid pipe organ. With pseudo hall reverb included. But you add a proper reverb and you got a very respectable and intriguing sound. |
| CHIFPIPE | This chiff pipe sounds quite nice. Also called Puff Organ in other synths. Or pump organ. |
| CHOIR | Very interesting, moving analog choir sound. |
| CHIME | Did anybody reset the clock tower?? |
| PHASE-ST | Extra-gorgeous, haunting, hypnotic and evolving synth sound! |
| 2010 AD | Awesome! The SX-240 is just really good for special effect sounds. |
| SPACHIRP | Standard UFO sound. It was typical of the era to include such sounds in the last memory locations of synthesizers. |
| SPACE | Again, what a great sound! This synth is phenomenal for scoring Sci-Fi movies. |
| U F O ? | Great sci-fi effect. |
| SQUARES | Standard square wave pad. Or synth. |
| ECHO | Interesting programming - with slow tremolo. |
| MODULATE | Dulcis in fundo. A fantastic sound, that's still modern after many years after this synth's introduction. Warm |
Kawai SX-240 pictures
(click on thumbnails to enlarge)
Manual
Kawai SX-240 owner's manual.pdf - at www.kawaius.com
Factory presets
Here are the original factory presets in format - just connect the audio out from your computer to the synth, follow the instructions on the manual (tape interface - load) and load the original presets in the machine.
Features
- great analog sound;
- 8-character display;
- on-board sequencer;
- big knob to edit the synth parameters
A little-known and valid synthesizer.
| Features at a glance | |
| Year of release: | 1984 |
| Polyphony: | 8-voice |
| Sound generation method: | DCO (two oscillators per voice) |
| Preset memories | 48 |
| MIDI: | in, out, thru |
| Sound expansion capabilities: | cassette interface |
| Sequencer | yes |
| Arpeggiator | no |
| Effects | chorus |
| Velocity | no |
| Aftertouch | no |
| Sample Memory: | N/A |
| Display: | yes, 8-character |
Links
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |
| www.kawaius.com | Homepage | The piano / electronics giant |
| http://www.exodus2.se/mp3/gissa | link | a song composed entirely by SX-240 sounds (except drums) by Gunnar Loeb |