Kawai K1 II Synthesizer - Part 5 - K1 II vs. Nil's K1v

[@EgoShredder]

The reason the K1v sounds different to the original, is because rather than sampling the output of his real K1m, and capturing the sound of its DAC in the process, the VST developer instead desoldered the EPROM containing all the waveforms and extracted all the data to his PC. He then used his mathematics skills and programming knowledge, to recreate the K1 sound architecture using the raw waveforms from the EPROM. The difference is those raw waveforms were not being passed through the noisy DACs of the original K1m. So they are cleaner and clearer than before. If you want to know more, check out the blog on his site about his K1v development.

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yes indeed.

[@TheBoyCalledHedge]

The best benefit of the K1v: it's less noisy :-)

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yep, noise is a bit of an issue for quite a few of my synths.

[@sssyntax]

Great video!

[@RunningonairMusic]

Thanks!

[@williamtell1477]

Fun channel, thanks for the great content! #synthnerdsunite

[@RunningonairMusic]

Glad you like it. Thanks.

[@ceed3d396]

After using instrument plugin for a while, a creator has to get use to bouncing a idea sound or track of the midi notes to audio just incase you come back to the project and the VSTi didn’t recall the patch used. Everything I create that sounds like a decent idea sound I bounce to audio, and sometimes even export to desktop even just being a track idea.

[@RunningonairMusic]

I find most plugins will remember their patch or even an unsaved edit, but some certainly don't. So yes i agree for archiving, having an audio track is a good backup. Also important to lable your tracks with the patch name.

[@thedonal]

This is great. My K1-II was my first proper synth as a teenager(after years of Yamaha Portasounds!). I sold it and sometimes miss the thing. It did have a certain 'sound'. If this is so close, I won't need to find a good used synth- also the K1 CC resolution was only about 1/4 (for example the mod wheel stepped in increments of 4), so having the keyboard is less of a necessity. Though I wouldn't mind having the sound source ROM sounds I had back then (one inspired an old favourite track of mine I've remade a few times over the years- I can probably recreate it).

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yes, it does sound very like the original.

[@thewesterj]

You can tell the vst has more air to it. It sounds good but on the MK2 you can hear the low sample rate. The VST is close but has more fidelity.

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yes it is very clean.

[@Acrimonious_Snake]

I hear a lot of differences. It would be great to hear no-talking A/B comparisons of sounds using short repetitive phrases (like Woody Piano Shack does his comparisons).

[@RunningonairMusic]

Good idea. Sadly i don't have the K1 at the moment.

[@Acrimonious_Snake]

@@RunningonairMusic Have you already sold it?

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yes, i sold it a few months back.

[@theaudioeng]

Love my Mkii!! Most peeps I think consider it’s basically cr@p compared to most synths of the time 😮 - ‘tis not, especially with the FX & better drum kits 😎👍🍻🎵🎹

[@RunningonairMusic]

Agreed. It can definitely hold it's own. Plus, still at a reasonable price!

[@nicolashunter4131]

Hi,this video is really helpful,in the last months i have been obsessed with the unique sounds of the Kawai K1,i have a good midi controller,do you recommend to download this vst and play it in that way? Or buying the Kawai K1r offers a better experience?

[@RunningonairMusic]

I'd start with the vst, as it's free and go from there. The original has all the grime of the old electronics, which does something for the sound. I guess it depends on how exposed it is in the mix as to whether it makes much difference.