Back in 1986, this synth kicked off Kawai's bold dive into additive synthesis, blending digital waveforms with analog warmth in a way that felt ahead of its time—think Ensoniq ESQ vibes but with a unique Japanese twist.
At its core, it's a 6-voice polyphonic beast with two DCO oscillators drawing from 32 wavetables—including acoustic samples like piano and percussion, plus one fully editable additive waveform for custom harmonic sculpting. Those feed into resonant SSM lowpass and highpass analog filters, each with dedicated ADSR envelopes, plus a versatile LFO offering saw, triangle, square, and random shapes routable to pitch, cutoff, or amplitude. Editing happens via membrane buttons and a big alpha dial for quick parameter tweaks, with velocity-sensitive cutoff/volume control, polyphonic aftertouch for osc balance, filter sweeps, and vibrato, plus flexible keytracking—even negative for wild expressive results. It's got 50 patch memories, 7 effects like chorus, tremolo, and delay, mono unison mode, portamento, and full MIDI in/out/thru on a sturdy 61-key metal-framed chassis measuring 964x373x118mm at 15kg, with stereo outs and headphone jack.
Players love its warm, JX-8P-like depth from the chorus and filters, calling it quick to program despite the membrane panel, and a hidden gem for everything from lush pads to punchy leads—Jan Hammer and Patrick O'Hearn put it on the map back in the day.
