There are a few halmark sounds on this thing that can be used as a basis for creating sounds that weave in and out of a mix...it's a real ear candy sort of device in that regard.

However, getting those sounds to mix properly and musically into a dense mix is VERY difficult. Add to the fact that the k5000 has an annoying mid to mid-low end bump I find it very hard to constitute into a mix, even when using simple sounds. What I tend to work with musically has a lot of depth and clarity, and I realy don't think this synth is very good with clarity. The effects are also there in multi-mode, and they are pretty integral to the sound of this thing overall. In fact, if you drop them you find that they are playing much to big of a roll in the sound. Now, you could program everything from the ground up, not using effects, and that is ofcourse time consumming...

In short I love the k5000 and am not dissapointed with it overall...I just wish it did not have the low end bump and as washy a sound as it does.

Even the pcm waveforms themselves when resampled for use within the exs sampler have qualities that make them difficult to fit into a mix. In general I am not as big a fan of newer digital synths because they tend to take the entire frequency spectrum and not leave room for much else(which means more subtractive eq). The k5000 is a good example of that. It sound amazing just hitting one note by itself, but making a chord musical in a mix is another issue all together.

The keyboard rocks though...very good feel for a synth.

-E

There are a few halmark sounds on this thing that can be used as a basis for creating sounds that weave in and out of a mix...it's a real ear candy sort of device in that regard.

However, getting those sounds to mix properly and musically into a dense mix is VERY difficult. Add to the fact that the k5000 has an annoying mid to mid-low end bump I find it very hard to constitute into a mix, even when using simple sounds. What I tend to work with musically has a lot of depth and clarity, and I realy don't think this synth is very good with clarity. The effects are also there in multi-mode, and they are pretty integral to the sound of this thing overall. In fact, if you drop them you find that they are playing much to big of a roll in the sound. Now, you could program everything from the ground up, not using effects, and that is ofcourse time consumming...

In short I love the k5000 and am not dissapointed with it overall...I just wish it did not have the low end bump and as washy a sound as it does.

Even the pcm waveforms themselves when resampled for use within the exs sampler have qualities that make them difficult to fit into a mix. In general I am not as big a fan of newer digital synths because they tend to take the entire frequency spectrum and not leave room for much else(which means more subtractive eq). The k5000 is a good example of that. It sound amazing just hitting one note by itself, but making a chord musical in a mix is another issue all together.

The keyboard rocks though...very good feel for a synth.

-E

This board excels at heart breaking pads and leads. It's a wonderful marriage between a sample playback synth (which it is coupled with additive capabilities) and a more analog sounding organic synth. You can create some classic analog sounds with this board as well but you are probably better off with a real analog or maybe an MS-2000 if that's the sound you are going for. This synth is most likely a little too unique for most folks in the commercial hip-hop or techno markets as it sticks out too much and makes you think. For Depeche Mode style synth pop or soundscapes, experimental, or industrial you cannot beat this synth. I love the uniqueness of it so much that it has become the staple of much of my music.

Like most synths the presets don't do it justice...they're usually corny or just way too huge to use in the context of a song. If you've got an extra $500 laying around...yeah right...pick one up on E-Bay and play with it for a while. If it's not your thing putit back up for sale. There are some synths that software will never come close to replicating, the K5000S and Casio CZ-101 are good examples of this.

I got mine secondhand and have no idea what the original patches sounded like but most of the ones that were there when i got it were of dubious quality. As with all synths not every patch can be a gem, but there were very few that didn't need a ton of tweaking.

The great part about the synth is how much tweaking is available. Although i rarely go into the DCA and DFA modes or whatever, it effects screen and the built in knobs are pretty good at sculpting sound and make some good horse sense.

This thing creates a ton of hum if it's sitting it on top of a fender rhodes.