The Kawai K4 is a 61 key
synthesizer manufactured in 1989 by
Kawai
is a musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. It is best known for its grand pianos, upright pianos, digital pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was founded in Augus ...
. It contains several features beyond those offered on Kawai's K1, adding resonant filters and a
DAC PCM wavetable. The K4 incorporated a new type of synthesis called Digital Multi Spectrum.
Features
* 2 line LCD screen
* 256 16 bit, 32 kHz internal waveforms (96 Digital Cyclic waveforms and 160 PCM samples)
* Drum section (61 drum patches)
Interestingly, the K4 uses a system that splits 16 bit samples between two
read only memory
Read-only memory (ROM) is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only memory is useful for storing sof ...
(ROM) chips, while reserving a third chip for 8 bit sound samples that naturally have more noise (such as cymbals, snares, and other noisier percussion) in order to have more functionality for a cheaper manufacturing cost.
Kawai K4R
A 2U rack mounted module was also produced by Kawai.
It has six separate audio outputs in addition to standard left/right stereo outs and a headphone socket. The effects are removed in the rack mounted version as it is presumed outboard effects will be used with the unit.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Kawai K4 Owner's Manual
{{Kawai
Kawai synthesizers
Digital synthesizers
Polyphonic synthesizers