earphone.org
a professional user
from Boston
writes:
I am using the K5m as a sound design tool, rather than a traditional instrument. With the amount of harmonic variations it really can create some deep and oddly resonating sounds. Any 'coldness' that is perceived is part of the charm for me. It is nothing like a VA or Analogue synth, so it is not worth comparing them. For very experimental sounds it is a great palette to work with, except for the odd interface. I did replace the backlight with some LED's and replaced a few OpAmps to clean up some noise, but I am kind of nerdy about synths. :)
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Thursday-May-31-07 at 22:18
Bryn
a professional user
from UK
writes:
This is a complex beast. It is a sod to program. It always seems to sound the same..flutes/strings etc. I'm sure that there is potential..it's just that you really haven't the time to find out. There are better synths out there for less money...that are reliable. Buy a microKorg..it cost the same and sounds 10x better. It's like a dull DX7 ...worse sounding and harder to extract decent sounds from. All that harminics stuff is a waste of time..it all sounds the same. The filter is also tame. The crazy sounds sound like you're trying to tune a radio. The build is great. The display backlite always fails. It often starts by flashing on and off..then dies. Keyboard contacts can be cleaned. I spent ages reading the book and trying to realise the potential people spoke about. It didn't happen for me. I swapped mine for a DX7 which sounded better and was easier to program. I'm sure that, with patience, there are good sounds to be had...accoustic stuff mostly. Don't expect analogue or 'Ice Castles'. More so, a decent French horn. Yes, it's that type of synth. It has its place.
Rating: 3 out of 5
posted Friday-Feb-02-07 at 04:29
Gastón Ruggero
a part-time user
from Argentina
writes:
Hard to beat, I think it´s the more abstract-sounding vintage synth in market. It can´t sound even as a flute; awful pianos and ripped strings, it´s the best synth to bring to life strange and noisy patches to your arsenal... Erratic editing (only if you were a rocket scientist you´d know what are you doing with those harmonics). I love it. The five separated outputs bring more possibilities to add FX to the signal and collapse!!!. If you don´t have one yet, don´t buy it, it´s a hell of time-demanding learning. Ideal for Radioheaded electric pianos and Wakemaned cheap-trumpet-pads
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Nov-08-05 at 07:59
writes:
This may be the coolest synth ever. Not for anything useable. But possibly because if one can learn to understand it, you could actually get it to do things no other available synth can. It is not like a DX7 imo. Its more like a strange living organism. One word of advise, use with caution, it may turn you into a synth nerd.
Rating: 0 out of 5
posted Friday-Jul-08-05 at 09:29
Anonymous
a hobbyist user
from none
writes:
The K5 is a very solid synthesizer with one extremely glaring flaw. Programming it is nigh-on impossible without a computer (which, until kfuenf.com releases the wave editor part of their excellent library, requires an Atari ST or emulator) or an immense amount of patience.
Key action is excellent, velocity seems to waver between soft, medium, and extremely hard, and aftertouch is ever-present. I've never had the problem others seem to have with the noise, but I tend to play it at lower volumes. The real problems arise when you try to use it as anything but a glorified piano. I've owned mine for two years and I've still not gotten it to sound like anything I want.
Unless you have some real waveform knowledge and the patience to sit down with the manual and climb the learning curve, you'll never use it as anything but a well-built (but crummy sounding) preset synth or a very, very good controller keyboard.
However, I would recommend taking this review with a grain of salt. I am obviously not the target market for the K5, I prefer knobs to displays and I love my Korg Polysix. If you are interested in some complex synth technology that has a great deal of potential, the K5 may well be the synth for you. If you are interested in a live instrument or a simple beginner's synth, the K5 is most certainly not for you.
2 for Extreme Niche.
Rating: 2 out of 5
posted Monday-Feb-21-05 at 03:36
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