Kawai K1


The Kawai K1 is a 61 key synthesizer manufactured in 1988 by Kawai. It is an entry-level and low fidelity synthesizer and not as feature rich as the Kawai K4 and was released to compete with the Roland D50 and Korg M1 synthesizers. The patch memory can be doubled with a DC-8 memory card which was available separately.

Features

The K1 features 256 8-bit PCM waveforms and a 16×2 lines LCD display.

Modes

The four modes of operation are:
The K1 includes drum kits and sounds, so can be used to create full rhythm backing when sequenced. The K1II model has 32 percussion sounds.

Mostly known for

Percussive sounds, organs, haunting pads, strings and FM bass sounds and acoustic bass.

Notable users

A 1U rackmount version of the K1 was produced called the K1r.
Also a module version called K1M was released. Both have the same synth engine as the keyboard version.