Year Released: 1988

Kawai K1m
Purchased: 1992
Cost: $175

Kawai K1r
Purchased: 2011
Cost: $65

A friend liked my Roland D-50, but didn’t want to spend a lot to get a similar sound, so when the Kawai K1 came out, we went and looked at it. The K1 has a nice feel to the keyboard, velocity and aftertouch, has a distinct sound, and it was only $800 or so.

So when the chance to buy a K1m desktop module came up, I got it. As I was trying to streamline my studio recently, I realized I could get a K1r rack module and save a bit of space and keep the sound of the K1m. I sold the K1m in 2012 to raise funds to help pay for my Fairlight CMI IIx.

Interestingly, the K1 has several samples that sound like they were taken from a Fairlight.