Synths ⇝ Kawai ⇝ Kawai K5000W

The K5000W is a hybrid synth - an additive synthesizer that also has a waveform ROM. It is similar to the K5000S, but without the 16 real-time control knobs and with the added General MIDI wave ROM. The K5000 is also available in rackmount form as the K5000R.

Because the K5000 series has individual control over each harmonic in a sound, there are so many parameters per patch that can be edited that editing patches with a software editor tends to be easier. An OEM K5000-only version of SoundDiver was included for just that purpose. While it was intended for use with Windows 9x, it also runs fine under Wine on Linux.

The K5000 series can be upgraded with the ME-1 expansion. It adds two additional banks of patches, E and F.

Specifications

Year Released: 1996

Keyboard: 61 keys with velocity and aftertouch

This synthesizer has controls for shifting the keyboard up or down an octave.

Polyphony: 32 notes

Multitimbral: 32 parts

User Patches: 512

ROM: 689 waveforms at 16-bit resolution

Sequencer Memory: 40,000 notes

Sequencer Resolution: 96 PPQN

Screen: 240 x 64 pixel LCD

Weight: 14 kg

This keyboard is MIDI-enabled.

MIDI Connections: Two sets of standard 5-Pin MIDI in, out, and thru connections.

User Demo Videos

Rating

Sound Samples

WAV samples are available on freewavesamples.com.

File Downloads

Kawai K5000W Manual

Kawai K5000 MIDI Implementation

Kawai K5000 Series Service Manual

Kawai K5000W Supplement Disk (demo songs, extra patches, factory preset backup)

SoundDiver Kawai K5000 OEM Version

Items for Sale on Reverb

Kawai K5000W Additive Digital Synthesizer 1996 from German collector ($1,444.72)

Kawai K5000W ($603.09)

Graphic Display Upgrade - KAWAI K5 / K5M / K5000 / K5000S / K5000W / K5000R ($168.85)

KAWAI K-5000W - Full Set of 64 Panel Switches - NEW K5000W ($23.90)

USB Floppy Drive Emulator for Kawai K5000 plus 100+ disks & OLED Display k5000w k5000s k5000r ($95)