@@brianhintze6440 Thanx! Played them early 90's and always remember that that where placed quite low in ranking but I always found that I like their sound a lot 🤗
I just picked one up for $12.99 at a thrift store a couple weeks ago. It was priced so cheap bc it was untested and without a power supply. And bc it was a bit of an oddball power supply (12V center negative)…there was no other power supply in the store that would work with it. No problem for me…SOLD! To the man in the blue Detroit Tigers hat!!! So I took it home, and dumped my giant bin of old random power supplies out on my bed and found one that was suitable volts and amps…which also fit in the power input…and proceeded to cut the end off, strip back the 4 wires (+&- on both ends), flip them, and reconnect them to switch the power supply to the center negative. Turn on the synth and it worked like a charm! 1 or 2 keys weren’t working properly and the buttons need to be pressed hard sometimes… but that’s to be expected from a synth from 1989. I opened it up, cleaned it out (belonged to a cat owner somewhere in it history), and now all the keys work great and the buttons (although not perfect) are much better. I was thinking about selling it as I’ve seen them go for $250-$350, which Is a good price for this synth, but also $200+ profit for me having only spent $13 on it…but the more videos I watch on it…the more I feel like maybe I’ll just keep it. After all…it’s the only synth of this type that I have and it’s got more keys than all of my other synths…not that I’m a keyboard player proficient enough that 37 or 49 keys has presented a problem…I mostly use a Novation LaunchPad or Ableton Push to play anything super complex on my synths…anyway, I feel like keeping this vintage synth around for a little bit can’t hurt!!!
I love the Kawaii sound. Back in 88 my friend bought a K1. It was so "new" sounding after the Juno 60 and Maplin "homemade" synth we had been playing with. Recently I found a K4r which was perfect for me as I prefer the keybed of another synth I own. Those 80's film sounds are all there. Still a great machine.
The fact that the K4's single cycle waveforms were derived from Kawais's additive synthesis gives it a unique sound profile, almost as if the raw sounds have been preprocessed. Add an early digital filter, some characterful samples and amplitude modularion and you have a distinctly interesting sound palette that atill holds up 30 years on. It's far more than a rompler. You can tell that Kawai know their stuff - they make world renowned grand pianos. I wish Kawai got back into the synth business as they had a lot to offer...
@@gustinian True. Kawais real synths have always been very good and carried their own character. I also have an K3m and K5000s and will never get rid of them.
I got it one year after it was released. After DX21 it was a jump comparable with buying a lexus after fiat seicento. It tried to compete with M1 and D50, but the egineers from Kawai avoided their first intention to build-in sequencer and a few advanced hardware solutions, concluding correctly it wouldn't match the price expected. Anyway, the machine was excellent, pleasant to play, full of sound, versatile and not too complicated to edit. It provided me a lot of satisfaction both on gigs and in studio. Even now it can compete with modern gear, as we can hear also from this demonsreation...
Thank you! Yes, it still stands up amongst the crowd as a synthesizer as I don't think the M1 does which more just has some famous presents that people are passionate about.
I bought a K4 when they came out and I still have it. And for good reason. They sound great, inexpensive, relatively speaking, and easy to edit and program. They have some great meat and potatoes sounds also. Some of the most realistic brass and string sounds. And check out the tympani. Very real and usable. I don't plan to ever get rid of it.
Very good machine, and nice demo! I owned one K4 in the 90-ies, it served me well both on gigs and in studio. It is excellent gear for making instrumental music in studio, it has wonderful pads, keyboard is very pleasant to use and sound architecture is a quality one, quite comparable with the best Korg, Yamaha and Rolands of the time. I would be glad to purchase one again today, although I posess SY77, GW7 and PA50.
@@No_Nag not expensive? Just went looking for one and they still go for close to 1000 bucks. Unless I looked in the wrong place of course, and I would love to get my hands on one. Thanks!
Excellent machine, I owned one once, very nice keybed, good drum samples too. I used it with sequencer, it's really a beast! Kawai came realy close to it's rivals...
bro we are so on the same wavelength with these. I have several of the synths you feature. gut notions and all of that. you are a talented sound designer!
@@No_Nag I don't know if the whole "I found one for $4" thing is just a meme but it's very hard to find any synth bargains in Australia. You have to pay $$$ on Reverb or eBay then ridiculous shipping costs on top! ;) But I will keep looking always. (Now I would like a Kawai K3 or K4)
@@No_Nag I bought a K4 for $130 and am still trying to get it to work. Audio in one ear only and sounds crappy, even after fully recapping the main board. This week I bought another K4 for $170 and it didnt work,, the display filled up with squares. I removed the main CPU chip, sprayed deoxit, replaced it with a chip that I knew worked and VIOLA! Works perfect, except for 1 key that sticks. Damn, have to unscrew everything again but hey thats the life. The K4 sounds fantastic. Better than anything else, and I sell off higher resolution gear, great amazing sounding synths if they dont speak to me.
I owned one during 90ties, excellent machine if one wants to create sounds. It offers a lot of athmospheric tones, but leads as well. Keybed is very comfortable and responsive, slightly weighted. Though there was an story about it was produced to present low entry replacement for Korg M1, the truth is that this machine has its originality and recognizable color. If someone is creative enough, he should know how to take advantage of this synth. I regret today that I got rid of it in the past, though today I own much newer keyboards.
@@No_Nag Exactly, i have a K4 and a K1 II, both in near mint condition. Do'nt use them often and they are mostly on their side against the wall, but it's great to know they are there for that grungy dirty Lo-fi sound when i need them :-))
It's amazing how little synth manufacturers give you today. 1-2-4 maybe 8 voice polyphony, sometimes just mono out, no aftertouch and 37 keys. And here we are 35 years ago and 16 voice, 61 keys, after touch velocity sensitive. People like me do realize how lame some of the offerings are today in comparison. My FA06 from 2015, 128 polyphony and 16 part multitimbral. Don't t see that much anymore except Motif, Fantom.
I had one with a Q-80 sequencer. Loved the Helicopter sound through an amp. Buddy crashed at house and early in the morning I cranked up that helicopter. He thought the police may have been in their copper looking for him. Think for mine I spent around 2k for amp, sequencer, and keyboard.
People generally seem to like the keys and I remember differently than tis example which is rather spoongy feeling and the aftertouch is quite firm. I think it's upp to the example you play...
I own one and I like it. The keys are OK, not weighted, but equally not too light or tacky. Better than say an Arturia KeyLab, in my opinion. It's actually a decent looking keyboard and I find it pleasant to play, even as a novice. Sounds are really good, and it's well enough built not to worry - it's only lightweight compared to older synths like the M1, which to be frank were over engineered for home studio use. You'd be more likely to end up with back problems with them due to their weight, which isn't a problem with the K4.
It's sounds fantastic by the feelings you play with and memories you shares.... I drink a beer with you. C-Dream and don't give up ;) bought this synth this summer caus of the soul
The sound reminds me of the Yamaha CS1x / CS2x, but I think the K4 sounds better i'd love to hear some crazy custom patches, to see what can be done with it! :)
Alex K4 is breathy, and the the CS1-2x are hazy. The K4 has totally lead worthy in your face hi rez sound, the CS1-2x are a different story, not as lead worthy. But they have more palette selection for sound generation, immediate knobs (K4 with none), and much more modulation / tweakability and you can get to new places (sonically) more quickly. There really is no overlap I enjoy owning both and am thankful at that. I can't let either of them go.
Hey Joakim, i just found your video here, watched and wanted to ask you if you might live in or around the NYC area? If so, i would like to talk more with you about the possibility of you playing synth on 3 full albums of new ambient, dance/rock music all with an 80s sound? And tell you about the other opportunities im offering also. Please let me know. Thank you
I live in Canton CT, have the K4, and can excel it way beyond this. The K4 is far better than EP tradicional 80s, it has a future sound. 5:31. Thats really nice for a start. The K4 is an amazing beaut, and dont surmise that a YT video can convey it. Because it cant. There's a lot of frequencies that dont get out when you place it on YT. It's best to play whatever you want on the keys live of course :)
Fantastic synth! A couple of weeks ago I put all the factory presets back in my K4 by the Kawai homepage. But in the piano preset sounds (for example Old piano , solo sound A2) I hear a clicking/ticking sound with every press on the key. Does anybody recognise this? How can I change this? thnxs for effort
Hello ! I've just bought the K4 and I'm watching your video in Moscow underground on my way home. Please, tell me, are the patches, you're showing, created by You? PEACE!
I'm in the minority of people who actually really like the late 80's rubbery Roland filter. My MKS50 sounds smooth AF for example. This sounds like a fun synth tbh, looks like programming is kind of a bitch though. Maybe there is a software editor?
@@kiko1935 @Joakim Floke It can be done. I programmed a Behringer BCR2000 (based on the CTRLR template) to control the Kawai XD-5, which is the same engine, but tuned for percussion, however you cannot hold the note and tweak, as the changes take place on the next played note, this may be a problem for sounds like pads and filter sweeps, but it is no problem when you are playing mono style sequences.
The funny thing is 8 bit digital was the norm in '88 and '89. The Roland D50 (1987) was 8 bit. I think the Korg M1 (1988) may have been one of the first 16 but synths. Roland samplers of this era were also 12 but, 16 but wasn't the norm until the 90s.
I had one of the rack versions of the K-series, but can't remember which one? The one I had, had some metallic loop sounds on it, that I've been searching for! Are there any on the K4?
Might have been. I dont know about the K1 more than that it is just 1 unit high. The K4 is 2 units. K3 and K5 is analog and addetive so they don't fit the bill 😁
I have both of them and can‘t tell which i like more. The 01/Wfd can sound very warm and has a great build quality. My K4r feels a lot cheaper with it’s dreadful plastic front but it has the better sounding filter and more (but not too much) flexibility in it‘s edit menu. I also have a mint K1r which i like to use because of it‘s well designed metal front. In 1988/89 I had the keyboard version on which I created many sounds of which I still use a few as my signature sounds.
I was so happy to upgrade back in the day from my K1II to the K4. The K4 was like a budget M1,but NOT an M1. I think of it as more of a toy these days. The K1 actually had better character not being 16bit.
Well, let's see, the M1 had 16 oscillators, but the K4 had 32. So you could make dual or quadruple oscillator layered patches with twice the polyphony on the K4. Oh, and the K4 had resonant filters, so you could do aggressive sweeps and stuff. A resonant filter is sort of a staple of good subtractive synth design. And the M1 doesn't have it. Also, deep filtering is accomplished by a deep slope, like 24 decibels per octave cutoff, which the K4 can do when in 4-oscillator Double mode with its filters in series. The M1? Not a chance. And it was neat that the still-beloved Roland D-50 had "structures" which allowed the oscillators to interact. Luckily, the K4 had something similar, allowing amplitude/ring modulation between oscillators to make more interesting sounds. But not the M1. Oh well, at least the M1 had a whopping 4MB ROM for all those super-realistic acoustic sounds, and slick effects to cover its deficiencies! All at a 50 percent premium price over the K4 (when new)! (BTW, the K4 had 16-bit waveforms, too, like the D-50, but who's counting?)
@@ShallRemainUnknown I upgraded from the K4 in '92 to an ensoniq SQ2 which had no resonant filters and I totally didn't miss them. It's because the K4 really wasn't that 16 bit "analog" they made it out to be. I started out with analogs and I really liked the filters on my digital Kawai K5 (I still have one), but the K4 was kinda "spongy" sounding. Now I still own an SQ2 (Has the sounds I used on a release in '94), but it also was no M1. The M1 had the sounds heard on the radio. The resonant filters did make the K4 more versitile and fun to play with at times when you forgot how crappy they were. It was mainly the fact that it was hyped as a sample playing synth on par with the M1, but cheaper made it attractive. No matter what though, it really didn't have those unmistakable sounds of the Korg M1 that you would hear on the radio and when tooling around with that Korg series at the music store. Also. Kawai nailed it for me with multi-timbral functions on their instruments. The more oscilators, the better, but... I wasn't getting the satisfaction of sounds that were that spectalular. It was kind of the master of no one thing, so I went for the ensoniq. Used it on stage and in the studio, but dang I always wanted one of those Korgs.
@@emilhach6264 The memory of M1 was huge back in the days.But today -the dated acoustic samples from 1988 are not interesting anymore (except legendary patches) . With bit of programming and its specific digital dirty waveforms can K4 sound still fresh, while M1 not so.
@@79yank D-50 waveforms are 16-bit, 31.4kHz approximately, 512kB. It says "16-bit" in Roland's original ads, magazine reviews at the time, and magazine articles/buyers guides. Plus , the ROMs have been dumped and analyzed as such.
However, I would like to know if someone has a good electric piano patch in the k4 that sounds the most similar to rhodes or wurly since the factory one that it brings, although it sounds very good as an electric piano, nothing to do with the original
btw.: the Init Sound is good for a melody like PPK - Resurrection, I played around with... and a K3 and a Korg 707 are still on my wishlist for the future
Kawai's keboards wore the worst to play on. I wonder why they didn't just buy Yamaha or Fatar keyboards. The sounds of the K4 are decent. The K4 only lacks a chorus effect.
I have one looking for a home. Low battery, lost it's presets. For someone with time and knowhow. Update 9/20/22: I still have the K4. If someone local is interested - SF Bay Area. I thought $ 200 would be fair, other than the low battery it is in nice condition. Shipping seems complicated. The K4's do have personality.
@@anonymous_friend yes Kawai was very helpful. You can still download the patches and use sysex. I bought a midi interface and that is a far as I have got. If I am correct it is a plain Ole 2032 battery, you would loose the patches when changing the battery any ways.
@@camerontrois Well, the keybed is not the best but OK-ish... Soundwise i adore the opsix. Perfect FM synth ! I never had a DX7 but i have a TG77 and two Volca FM, these sounded great but not easy to program. Thats axactly why i love the opsix, it's so easy to get inspiring sounds, you do'nt really need to know much about FM to achieve great results.
@@deauvillevrienden Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know you can easily start creating with it. I've been debating between getting that one or the Arturia Microfreak.
@@No_Nag yes for sure, sci Fi ambient, etc.. kawai is a go to for me. Cliche 80s sounds are cool but there is a lot more. Glad their engineers were forward thinkers..
Best example I've seen of this classic synth. I had one years ago, and like a fool...sold it.
@@brianhintze6440 Thanx! Played them early 90's and always remember that that where placed quite low in ranking but I always found that I like their sound a lot 🤗
I just picked one up for $12.99 at a thrift store a couple weeks ago. It was priced so cheap bc it was untested and without a power supply. And bc it was a bit of an oddball power supply (12V center negative)…there was no other power supply in the store that would work with it. No problem for me…SOLD! To the man in the blue Detroit Tigers hat!!! So I took it home, and dumped my giant bin of old random power supplies out on my bed and found one that was suitable volts and amps…which also fit in the power input…and proceeded to cut the end off, strip back the 4 wires (+&- on both ends), flip them, and reconnect them to switch the power supply to the center negative. Turn on the synth and it worked like a charm! 1 or 2 keys weren’t working properly and the buttons need to be pressed hard sometimes… but that’s to be expected from a synth from 1989. I opened it up, cleaned it out (belonged to a cat owner somewhere in it history), and now all the keys work great and the buttons (although not perfect) are much better. I was thinking about selling it as I’ve seen them go for $250-$350, which Is a good price for this synth, but also $200+ profit for me having only spent $13 on it…but the more videos I watch on it…the more I feel like maybe I’ll just keep it. After all…it’s the only synth of this type that I have and it’s got more keys than all of my other synths…not that I’m a keyboard player proficient enough that 37 or 49 keys has presented a problem…I mostly use a Novation LaunchPad or Ableton Push to play anything super complex on my synths…anyway, I feel like keeping this vintage synth around for a little bit can’t hurt!!!
I love the Kawaii sound. Back in 88 my friend bought a K1. It was so "new" sounding after the Juno 60 and Maplin "homemade" synth we had been playing with.
Recently I found a K4r which was perfect for me as I prefer the keybed of another synth I own. Those 80's film sounds are all there. Still a great machine.
The fact that the K4's single cycle waveforms were derived from Kawais's additive synthesis gives it a unique sound profile, almost as if the raw sounds have been preprocessed. Add an early digital filter, some characterful samples and amplitude modularion and you have a distinctly interesting sound palette that atill holds up 30 years on. It's far more than a rompler. You can tell that Kawai know their stuff - they make world renowned grand pianos. I wish Kawai got back into the synth business as they had a lot to offer...
@@gustinian True. Kawais real synths have always been very good and carried their own character. I also have an K3m and K5000s and will never get rid of them.
Is my dream! New KAWAI SINTH!!!!
Awsome , i love the Kawai K4 sounds , they can be very Dreamy and atmospheric.
Gawd it's so 80's. I have three of them.
I think this is more 90's. :P But this I got just a couple weeks ago, never had one before. Eventhough I always lusted for its sound.. ;D
It has this slightly dark depth that gives its character. Great for Depeche Mode stuff and Ambient.
Hard to describe, i'd say grainy...
I own the K4 too, it’s very powerful synth with a very unique sound that I never heard in other synths. Great demo! :))
Thank you. Yes, it does sound different, but you can hear what they where aming for too. But I like that you can get so Many qualities out of it.
I got it one year after it was released. After DX21 it was a jump comparable with buying a lexus after fiat seicento. It tried to compete with M1 and D50, but the egineers from Kawai avoided their first intention to build-in sequencer and a few advanced hardware solutions, concluding correctly it wouldn't match the price expected. Anyway, the machine was excellent, pleasant to play, full of sound, versatile and not too complicated to edit. It provided me a lot of satisfaction both on gigs and in studio. Even now it can compete with modern gear, as we can hear also from this demonsreation...
Thank you!
Yes, it still stands up amongst the crowd as a synthesizer as I don't think the M1 does which more just has some famous presents that people are passionate about.
The Kawai k4 Filter is awesome.
Always nice to watch a demo where the person can actually play.
Thank's , just trying my best! :P
Best demo of this Synth!
Thank you!!!
Yes, that‘s right.
I own this synth from 6 years ago, and It still keeps surprising me. Sounds wonderful.
It does. I think it hold its own little space in the world if synths.
@@No_Nag Totally agree.
I don't change it for any other modern (analog or digital) synth. I love it!!
Nice - very underrated synth. Bidded on a few on ebay in the past but never won lol! Like the pint in the background too.....
Got this really cheap some weeks ago. 50$ , so it was a steal.... I liked the pint too ;)
Found one for $50. Picking up shortly
I bought a K4 when they came out and I still have it. And for good reason. They sound great, inexpensive, relatively speaking, and easy to edit and program. They have some great meat and potatoes sounds also. Some of the most realistic brass and string sounds. And check out the tympani. Very real and usable. I don't plan to ever get rid of it.
Awesome!
Just GREAT! Need one of these. Had a Kawai K1 and Atari 1040 ST. :)
Never had a K1. But I still have 2 Ataris. Not hooked up at the moment.
I think it sounds great. I found one for $4 at Goodwill.
Full working and good condition? Best buy you had done in your life.
doubt it
😮😮😮
I owned one back in the days. I loved designing my own sounds with the 4 partials available per sound.
Well done man! Good demo of a great 80s synth. Beautyfull patches. I like it.
Thanks!
Very good machine, and nice demo! I owned one K4 in the 90-ies, it served me well both on gigs and in studio. It is excellent gear for making instrumental music in studio, it has wonderful pads, keyboard is very pleasant to use and sound architecture is a quality one, quite comparable with the best Korg, Yamaha and Rolands of the time. I would be glad to purchase one again today, although I posess SY77, GW7 and PA50.
They are dirt cheap nowadays so go for it.
Just keep in mind the internal battery needs to be changed for safety
Really great demonstration of the K4!
Thank you!!!
5:28 this is why I loved this synth. Had it, spilled coffee on it and no money to send it for repair... This video brings back memories
Sad to hear. But they are not that expensive so mabe catch one now?
@@No_Nag not expensive? Just went looking for one and they still go for close to 1000 bucks. Unless I looked in the wrong place of course, and I would love to get my hands on one. Thanks!
@@musician1971a 1000? Nooo
Got mine for 50 😁
@@No_Nag That is a very different story!!! I'll be looking for a good deal from now on! Thanks so much!
Just got a very clean looking K4r on ebay from the very first owner for 230€. Greetings from Germany!🇩🇪🤝
Excellent machine, I owned one once, very nice keybed, good drum samples too. I used it with sequencer, it's really a beast! Kawai came realy close to it's rivals...
Man, your beer did get warm.
Got carried away playing 🤪
Wonderfull Sounds! very underrated Device
Sounds awesome
Thank you!
Great demo! I just purchased a K4. I’m really excited for it to arrive!
Welcome to the club! 🤗
at min. 5.27 are wonderful
Shimmer verb helps alot. 😊
Would be very interesting your .Syx Dump file...
Had the pleasure of using one in the mid 90’s.......sounds good through the GP8 too.
bro we are so on the same wavelength with these. I have several of the synths you feature. gut notions and all of that. you are a talented sound designer!
Hey! Thank you.
Fantastic job. I'm looking forward to get my K4 back from repair. That 3:52 sound seems basic but hugely useful.
Thanx, well it's a usefull synth 😉
Great video man. Lovely sounds.
Thank you so very much!
@@No_Nag I don't know if the whole "I found one for $4" thing is just a meme but it's very hard to find any synth bargains in Australia. You have to pay $$$ on Reverb or eBay then ridiculous shipping costs on top! ;) But I will keep looking always. (Now I would like a Kawai K3 or K4)
@@l8bloomer a K4 should'nt be expensive at all. So I would keep calm and wait for a local deal to submerge.
@@No_Nag I bought a K4 for $130 and am still trying to get it to work. Audio in one ear only and sounds crappy, even after fully recapping the main board. This week I bought another K4 for $170 and it didnt work,, the display filled up with squares. I removed the main CPU chip, sprayed deoxit, replaced it with a chip that I knew worked and VIOLA! Works perfect, except for 1 key that sticks. Damn, have to unscrew everything again but hey thats the life. The K4 sounds fantastic. Better than anything else, and I sell off higher resolution gear, great amazing sounding synths if they dont speak to me.
@@mark12011972 it seems the are getting rare? Prices are going up here.
I owned one during 90ties, excellent machine if one wants to create sounds. It offers a lot of athmospheric tones, but leads as well. Keybed is very comfortable and responsive, slightly weighted. Though there was an story about it was produced to present low entry replacement for Korg M1, the truth is that this machine has its originality and recognizable color. If someone is creative enough, he should know how to take advantage of this synth. I regret today that I got rid of it in the past, though today I own much newer keyboards.
Well they are going dirt cheap, and don't weigh a ton, so easy to stove around :) No reason not to get one again!!!!
@@No_Nag Exactly, i have a K4 and a K1 II, both in near mint condition. Do'nt use them often and they are mostly on their side against the wall, but it's great to know they are there for that grungy dirty Lo-fi sound when i need them :-))
It's amazing how little synth manufacturers give you today. 1-2-4 maybe 8 voice polyphony, sometimes just mono out, no aftertouch and 37 keys. And here we are 35 years ago and 16 voice, 61 keys, after touch velocity sensitive. People like me do realize how lame some of the offerings are today in comparison. My FA06 from 2015, 128 polyphony and 16 part multitimbral. Don't t see that much anymore except Motif, Fantom.
This is true. For me it's out of whack that Korgs top synth doesn't have AT 😂
Heck, a few GM modules in the mid 1990s had dual MIDI inputs for 32 timbral!
Nothing beat a fresh beer and fat pads ;)
Sometimes that is all you need :)
Kawai made very good and fantastic sounding synths and modules,i was lucky to own a k1r.great sounds!
Yes, they had pretty good synths. I kind of miss their different thinking. 😁
Sounds incredible. I have a K1 but this is next level. Very nice playing.
Those digital resonant filters are amazing.
I bought K4 back I the day. Its still in the original box. Time to get it out. If I an find a patch manager that doesn't run I GEM!
I had one with a Q-80 sequencer. Loved the Helicopter sound through an amp. Buddy crashed at house and early in the morning I cranked up that helicopter. He thought the police may have been in their copper looking for him. Think for mine I spent around 2k for amp, sequencer, and keyboard.
I love K4, para ser el "sucio" suena muy limpio, thanks for this video, namaste
the A1 piano sound from the factory preset bank, sounds very similar to kurzweil k2600 pianos to me
There are some incredible sounds here... It makes me want to grab one! What can you tell me about the keybed feel, quality of aftertouch?
People generally seem to like the keys and I remember differently than tis example which is rather spoongy feeling and the aftertouch is quite firm. I think it's upp to the example you play...
I own one and I like it. The keys are OK, not weighted, but equally not too light or tacky. Better than say an Arturia KeyLab, in my opinion. It's actually a decent looking keyboard and I find it pleasant to play, even as a novice. Sounds are really good, and it's well enough built not to worry - it's only lightweight compared to older synths like the M1, which to be frank were over engineered for home studio use. You'd be more likely to end up with back problems with them due to their weight, which isn't a problem with the K4.
I had a k4 for a Short while and it came quite close to my dx7iid (which is great). K4 felt a Bit wobblier
@@2112jonr I refurbished this one and the keys have weights in them. But I don't know, mabe new springs are required?
@@konradhausmann6359 yamaha stuff is really well built.
It's sounds fantastic by the feelings you play with and memories you shares.... I drink a beer with you. C-Dream and don't give up ;) bought this synth this summer caus of the soul
Thanks mate! Cheer's and take care 😄
The sound reminds me of the Yamaha CS1x / CS2x, but I think the K4 sounds better
i'd love to hear some crazy custom patches, to see what can be done with it! :)
acctualy it can't be all that wild in my mind.. depends on what you're after of course
Alex K4 is breathy, and the the CS1-2x are hazy. The K4 has totally lead worthy in your face hi rez sound, the CS1-2x are a different story, not as lead worthy. But they have more palette selection for sound generation, immediate knobs (K4 with none), and much more modulation / tweakability and you can get to new places (sonically) more quickly. There really is no overlap I enjoy owning both and am thankful at that. I can't let either of them go.
Yamaha CS1X and CS2X sound more brilliant and modern to my ears (CS2X especially). K4 sounds darker, more vintage and lo-fi.
Just bought one for 70 euro's.
The overtones around the 7 minute mark are sounding so good
Got mine for 50 but no power supply do we are even 😁
How did you get it for that cheap? They cost around $400-500 USD on Reverb and eBay rn!
It would be great if you could list the patches above in the order you played them. Please!
Hey Joakim, i just found your video here, watched and wanted to ask you if you might live in or around the NYC area? If so, i would like to talk more with you about the possibility of you playing synth on 3 full albums of new ambient, dance/rock music all with an 80s sound? And tell you about the other opportunities im offering also. Please let me know. Thank you
I live in Canton CT, have the K4, and can excel it way beyond this. The K4 is far better than EP tradicional 80s, it has a future sound. 5:31. Thats really nice for a start. The K4 is an amazing beaut, and dont surmise that a YT video can convey it. Because it cant. There's a lot of frequencies that dont get out when you place it on YT. It's best to play whatever you want on the keys live of course :)
@@mark12011972 I wasnt asking about the keyboard! I was asking you!
7:15 wow
Heaven
Fantastic synth! A couple of weeks ago I put all the factory presets back in my K4 by the Kawai homepage. But in the piano preset sounds (for example Old piano , solo sound A2) I hear a clicking/ticking sound with every press on the key. Does anybody recognise this? How can I change this? thnxs for effort
Update the firmware ROM chips in the K4 to the last revision Kawai made, v1.4
Eprom OS update version 1.4 will solve your problem. is for sale on ebay
Hello ! I've just bought the K4 and I'm watching your video in Moscow underground on my way home. Please, tell me, are the patches, you're showing, created by You? PEACE!
Most of them, yes.
now I want a pint
You know you can get the synth for the same price as 10 pints... 😁
I'm in the minority of people who actually really like the late 80's rubbery Roland filter. My MKS50 sounds smooth AF for example.
This sounds like a fun synth tbh, looks like programming is kind of a bitch though. Maybe there is a software editor?
There are editors for it and it's not fun to program like this.
The filters, yes they have their charm, so does roland one. I think they great.
@@No_Nag that's a shame. Who knows, maybe if enough people request it one could be made for CTRLR
There is also a hardware controller from a company called stereoping!
@@IRONSILVER22 Do you by any chance know if a (VST) Plugin was ever released?
@@kiko1935 @Joakim Floke It can be done. I programmed a Behringer BCR2000 (based on the CTRLR template) to control the Kawai XD-5, which is the same engine, but tuned for percussion, however you cannot hold the note and tweak, as the changes take place on the next played note, this may be a problem for sounds like pads and filter sweeps, but it is no problem when you are playing mono style sequences.
from 6:23 to 7:24 is pure beauty, mmmmmm
The funny thing is 8 bit digital was the norm in '88 and '89. The Roland D50 (1987) was 8 bit. I think the Korg M1 (1988) may have been one of the first 16 but synths. Roland samplers of this era were also 12 but, 16 but wasn't the norm until the 90s.
Expensive technology in that time. Memory chips where like gold 😛
Let me know if you vill sälj it
It is a keeper. But there should be plenty around...
I had one of the rack versions of the K-series, but can't remember which one? The one I had, had some metallic loop sounds on it, that I've been searching for! Are there any on the K4?
Might have been. I dont know about the K1 more than that it is just 1 unit high. The K4 is 2 units. K3 and K5 is analog and addetive so they don't fit the bill 😁
Действительно классный ❤
Is it possible to buy this soundbank?
It's just some few patches. I will do a patchbank in the future. So you will have to be patient 🤗
@@No_Nag yes please...I know these tasty patches would make me use the k4 again!
@@neonrust I'll put my self to work.
@@No_Nag thank you I love your page ...great stuff ...very interesting and cool.
@@No_Nag did you ever make the soundbank? i just changed the battery in my k4 and need sounds!!
And how's that beer ?
Long gone 😂
5:27 Preset number please. Multi or Single patch? I found a brandnew, never touched K4 this week in a garage sale.
It's a custom patch.. Woohoo, that's cool. Hope the battery is still alive 😬😁
If already have an M1 and a D50 (well, a D-05) would one of these give me anything different?
I would say yes. Through they are in the same ballpark it has a different flavour. The filter sounds very different.
@@No_Nag Thanks, exactly what I wanted to know :)
Hello !! Do you share these patches or sell them?
I'm planing to make a whole bank of sounds for it and then sell them. But for right now, neither.
Best regards 🤗
Is it a good idea to own both a Kawai K4 and a Korg 01/WFD after a period of not owning any synths and mostly "producing" drone ambient "music"?
Yea!
I have both of them and can‘t tell which i like more. The 01/Wfd can sound very warm and has a great build quality. My K4r feels a lot cheaper with it’s dreadful plastic front but it has the better sounding filter and more (but not too much) flexibility in it‘s edit menu. I also have a mint K1r which i like to use because of it‘s well designed metal front. In 1988/89 I had the keyboard version on which I created many sounds of which I still use a few as my signature sounds.
I was so happy to upgrade back in the day from my K1II to the K4. The K4 was like a budget M1,but NOT an M1. I think of it as more of a toy these days. The K1 actually had better character not being 16bit.
Well, let's see, the M1 had 16 oscillators, but the K4 had 32. So you could make dual or quadruple oscillator layered patches with twice the polyphony on the K4. Oh, and the K4 had resonant filters, so you could do aggressive sweeps and stuff. A resonant filter is sort of a staple of good subtractive synth design. And the M1 doesn't have it. Also, deep filtering is accomplished by a deep slope, like 24 decibels per octave cutoff, which the K4 can do when in 4-oscillator Double mode with its filters in series. The M1? Not a chance. And it was neat that the still-beloved Roland D-50 had "structures" which allowed the oscillators to interact. Luckily, the K4 had something similar, allowing amplitude/ring modulation between oscillators to make more interesting sounds. But not the M1. Oh well, at least the M1 had a whopping 4MB ROM for all those super-realistic acoustic sounds, and slick effects to cover its deficiencies! All at a 50 percent premium price over the K4 (when new)!
(BTW, the K4 had 16-bit waveforms, too, like the D-50, but who's counting?)
@@ShallRemainUnknown I upgraded from the K4 in '92 to an ensoniq SQ2 which had no resonant filters and I totally didn't miss them. It's because the K4 really wasn't that 16 bit "analog" they made it out to be. I started out with analogs and I really liked the filters on my digital Kawai K5 (I still have one), but the K4 was kinda "spongy" sounding. Now I still own an SQ2 (Has the sounds I used on a release in '94), but it also was no M1. The M1 had the sounds heard on the radio.
The resonant filters did make the K4 more versitile and fun to play with at times when you forgot how crappy they were. It was mainly the fact that it was hyped as a sample playing synth on par with the M1, but cheaper made it attractive. No matter what though, it really didn't have those unmistakable sounds of the Korg M1 that you would hear on the radio and when tooling around with that Korg series at the music store. Also. Kawai nailed it for me with multi-timbral functions on their instruments. The more oscilators, the better, but... I wasn't getting the satisfaction of sounds that were that spectalular. It was kind of the master of no one thing, so I went for the ensoniq. Used it on stage and in the studio, but dang I always wanted one of those Korgs.
@@ShallRemainUnknown believe or not, the D50s waferoms are only 8bit.
@@emilhach6264 The memory of M1 was huge back in the days.But today -the dated acoustic samples from 1988 are not interesting anymore (except legendary patches) . With bit of programming and its specific digital dirty waveforms can K4 sound still fresh, while M1 not so.
@@79yank D-50 waveforms are 16-bit, 31.4kHz approximately, 512kB. It says "16-bit" in Roland's original ads, magazine reviews at the time, and magazine articles/buyers guides. Plus , the ROMs have been dumped and analyzed as such.
Just got the rack for $200 off Reverb. They run between $300 - $700. Get it while it’s still cheap.
Sounds great. Are these all factory presets?
Hi, no some I made myself and there are some that just where in it when I bought it.
However, I would like to know if someone has a good electric piano patch in the k4 that sounds the most similar to rhodes or wurly since the factory one that it brings, although it sounds very good as an electric piano, nothing to do with the original
some great patches there ! are they your own creations or a bank of some sort ? ...thanks Steve
Some are my own. I'm planing to do a bank, but i'm not there yet. Thanks!
@@No_Nag Let me know when you do !
@@2000stephenellis I will try and remember 🤗
btw.: the Init Sound is good for a melody like PPK - Resurrection, I played around with... and a K3 and a Korg 707 are still on my wishlist for the future
The 707 😛
Does Kaway have released its plugin ?
I didn't know they where. But I'm a hardware guy so I don't keep track of software 🙃😉🙃😉🎈
Turn off the internal reverbs and put it through an AMS !!!
Yeah, but the intention was to show how the synth sounds by it self. ;)
@@No_Nag this is the best K4 video by miles. thank you.
Are these all custom patches or from cards? I've never heard many of these sounds on my stock one.
I made all of the patches myself. So thats why. :)
@@No_Nag excellent. I need to dig in. The effects sound great!
@@SirMillz Do it! It's rewarding 🤗
2:42!
The K4 sounds great, but it misses a stereo chorus effect.
How do you mean? It has a chorus inbuilt and stereo output. 🤔 🙂
@@No_Nag The K4 doesn't have a chorus effect. It only has reverbs and delays.
@@doordedeur Then you are missing out on something. It has chorus, flanger... 🤔 Check the manual for it. 🙂
@@No_Nag I found out that it has chorus and flanger, but then you don't have reverb.
@@doordedeur hmm? I'll have to investigate 🤔😀
👍
i have 5 pieces at home...so great and better like D50 or M1....the peoples are stupid to not put 250 euros inside ...very great synthi
And they can be found even cheaper 🙃😊
I have a K1 II and a K4, great synths, but cannot compete with my D-50, D-550 and D-05 :-)) also have a M1r
@@deauvillevrienden I've got a D50, JV-1080, and DX7. Where do I go from there? 😊
are these the regular standard presets ? or own patches ?
Some might be, most of them I made.
@@No_Nag and would you sell those patches?
@@tukimono I will in some near future. I'll have to make a whole bank first.
@@No_Nag Looking forward to it ;)
Var köpte du denna för 500kr?
På Facebook marketplace. Det var lite fix på den innan den ville vara med.
Drinks near nice keyboards? ... Hmmm ... one day ... . ;)
Do worrie 🤗
It never get's out of hand 😀
Add me to that list, please!
Shoot mis-read this- thought this was about a Kardashian. Darn it.
Lucky for you it wasn't 🤣
yes the keybed is completely terrible 🙂
Swedish bärs ❤
Kawai's keboards wore the worst to play on. I wonder why they didn't just buy Yamaha or Fatar keyboards. The sounds of the K4 are decent. The K4 only lacks a chorus effect.
I loved the keyboard feel on my Kawai K5000W when I had it, so maybe they got better over time.
@@darwiniandude I still have mine and yes it has an awesome keybed !
@@darwiniandude I own that board and yes beautiful keys !
I dont think this is among the worst keyboards and it does have chorus.
cool basic play
I have one looking for a home. Low battery, lost it's presets. For someone with time and knowhow.
Update 9/20/22: I still have the K4. If someone local is interested - SF Bay Area. I thought $ 200 would be fair, other than the low battery it is in nice condition. Shipping seems complicated. The K4's do have personality.
how much sir ?
You still have the synth?
Can you send it sysex and reprogram it?
@@anonymous_friend yes Kawai was very helpful. You can still download the patches and use sysex. I bought a midi interface and that is a far as I have got. If I am correct it is a plain Ole 2032 battery, you would loose the patches when changing the battery any ways.
@@2visiondigital save the patches with sysex transfer: BomeSendSx or MidiOx, then you can safely replace the battery and put the patches back in :-))
yes the keybed sucks :-)
I hear the exact opposite, people swearing by it.
I like the keybed, my new Korg Wavestate, opsix, Krome EX are far worse
@@deauvillevrienden How do you like your opsix? That synth intrigues me a lot
@@camerontrois Well, the keybed is not the best but OK-ish... Soundwise i adore the opsix. Perfect FM synth ! I never had a DX7 but i have a TG77 and two Volca FM, these sounded great but not easy to program. Thats axactly why i love the opsix, it's so easy to get inspiring sounds, you do'nt really need to know much about FM to achieve great results.
@@deauvillevrienden Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know you can easily start creating with it. I've been debating between getting that one or the Arturia Microfreak.
You ought to learn to play some chords
Ok?
Frustration is a bad advisor.
Kawai is unique for sure still have my k1 rack.
They sure do have their milestones in synth history.
@@No_Nag yes for sure, sci Fi ambient, etc.. kawai is a go to for me. Cliche 80s sounds are cool but there is a lot more. Glad their engineers were forward thinkers..
@@vincebu6441 Tinkerish away on my K5000s... Seriously! What a synth.