KAWAI K3 - Synthesizer Review, Sounds & Demo

video upload by synth4ever

"The Kawai K3 is a 6-voice digital analog hybrid synthesizer. It has 33 waveforms, including one additive waveform that can be edited and saved. It also features 2 oscillators, noise, an SSM filter and envelope, VCA and envelope, an LFO with multiple waveshapes (routable to oscillator, filter or VCA) and it has a velocity and aftertouch sensitive keyboard. It unfortunately does not have oscillator sync, PWM, ring modulation or a mod wheel.

The Kawai K3 synth has 7 different types of effects (6 chorus, 1 delay), keyboard tracking, portamento, mono mode (unison), and MIDI in/out/thru. Despite the membrane panel buttons, it is fairly quick to edit with the jogwheel. The build quality is substantial thanks to the metal frame.

The Kawai K3 is somewhat obscure and is great for dark pads, icy tones, PPG-style timbres, bell sounds, basses and related wavetable types of sounds. It was competing with the Korg DW-8000 but also other synths including the Yamaha DX7, Roland Alpha Juno and Roland JX-8P. It has its own distinct sonic character and can also be expanded up to 12 voices by poly-chaining it to the K3M rack (spillover mode).

The Kawai K3 is a great 80s hybrid synthesizer and can still be found on the 2nd hand market. With more recent 3rd party controllers, you can also add knobs to the synth for enhanced real-time control. If you have the chance to try a Kawai K3 I would recommend it, especially if you like PPG Wave types of sounds."

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00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Overview
03:24 - Oscillators
06:28 - Portamento
06:49 - Mono / Unison
07:04 - Filter
08:17 - VCA
08:43 - LFO
11:11 - Touch Sensitivity
12:46 - Chorus / Delay
15:03 - Additive Waveform
15:36 - Sound Profile
16:30 - Sounds & Patches
29:58 - Likes
33:20 - Dislikes
35:53 - Final Thoughts