VM: additive / PCM
K1's VM Synthesis is a hybrid combination of additive waves (called VM) and PCM samples with AM - Ring Modulation.
K1 is a 32-oscillator synthesizer with 256 waveforms. 4 oscillators can be layered in a SINGLE Patch.
It has no filter - everything is programmed by mixing VM/PCM waves.
Below is the block diagram of K1's SINGLE Patch.
KAWAI K1 SINGLE Patch Block Diagram
K1 has 204 additive waveforms made with 128 harmonics - each is made with up to 128 sine waves - that are mostly resynthesized by analyzing acoustic/synthetic sounds.
K1 has 30 PCM samples with 22 looping variation. The sample resolution is said to be 8bit.
PCM waves are useful to add attack transients and noises that are relatively difficult to synthesize with VM waves.
The pair of sources can be inter-modulated by AM (Ring Modulation). It's useful for adding inharmonic contents and timbre shift that are absent in VM waves.
K1 has one LFO for vibrato. The pitch can also be controlled by Auto Bend and Aftertouch Bend.
K1 is 8-part multi-timbral in the MULTI Mode.
The joystick can be used to mix the 4 oscillators like a Vector Synthesizer (see YAMAHA TG33 page), but it can be controlled only in realtime from the front panel - there is no MIDI control of the mixing balance.
K1
Deep Synthesis: Home1. 2. 2005