Kawai Synthesizers

--- In kawaisynths@yahoogroups.com, "dantalianalysis" 
<dantalianalysis@...> wrote:
>
> i have experience of an xs-1/kc-10 and a k1m
> and looked at the module of a k4
> it looks as if kawai constantly use pretty much the same samples
> as these models don't generate sounds as such

The K1 series was an 'enhanced' additive synthesis device similar to 
the Roland D-series.  It used samples for attack and additive 
synthesis for the rest of the envelope.  The K4, on the other hand, 
it entirely PCM sample-based (which is why I was able to exploit 75 
circuit-bending points from the three ROM chips in the K4r, rather 
than the 25 points I was able to exploit on the K1m's sample ROM 
containing only attacks)

> are the samples literally taken from oberheim, korg etc, synths
> this seems to be the implication of the soundfont that can be 
> downloaded freely of k4 source waves which are explicitly named
> after other manufacturers models
> i am curious about the copyright issues here...if these samples
> were taken from other manufacturers synth was there no objection to 
> it?
>

They definitely were not taken from other manufacturers synths.  Korg 
and Yamaha may have shared samples for a time when Korg was owned by 
Yamaha, but Kawai has always been its own company, and these 
companies are very protective of their sample banks.  Even Roland 
won't allow the obsolete and long-out-of-production MT-32's ROM to be 
used in a software emulation project by a programmer who wanted to 
make an MT-32 emulator.