Although already more than 10 years on the market, and thus well beyond its electronic teens, the KS-synthesizer family is still good for a lot of surprises. Novation KS4, KS5, KSrack ans the little K-Station are high-class sound- and performance-tools. Released in 2003, they were ment to be a good alternative to the Clavia NordLead and Access Virus. But in fact the concepts of these instruments are quite different. To be specific, the Novation KS-synthesizer is a comprehensive performance tool, containing a 4-part synth engine, an arpeggiator and drum sounds! The character of the synth sounds is typical for the late 90s and early years of the new millenium: Techno!
That certainly is not negative. Nice pads, pulsing arpeggios, useful drum-sounds, strong lead-sounds, etc. – everything at your fingertips! The keyboard’s panel is well layed out, although the are a few (tiny little) quirks … for instance the envelope compartment, which is a little bizarre, as one envelope has knobs and the other faders … quite unusual! Still, all in all, using the KS-synthesizers is a joy.
Taking the risc of being redundand, we’d like to describe working on the KS-synthesizers as FUN! The instruments are easy to use, yield quick and dependable results and some very good music besides. Definitely a tip for insiders!
3 oscilllators, tons of waveforms, multi-mode filter, many sync possibilities, 16-voice polyphony, 4-part multi mode, internal effects, arpeggiator … there are lots of creative possibilities there.
Aside from high quality factory presets and a myriad of musical features, the KS-family is especially recommendable as well-crafted instruments. Even the fact that the casing is silver has its advantages: often KS-synthesizers look smart, neat and clean even today.
On the market, KS-synthesizers are priced as follows:
- Novation KS4: approx. 250 – 350 Euros
- Novation KS5: approx. 300 – 400 Euros
- Novation KSrack: approx. 400 Euros
Links / further KS-info:
- Vintage Synths:
www.vintagesynth.com/novation/ks45r.php - SoundOnSound:
www.soundonsound.com
We have also attached 20 minutes of audio material, all created with the KS4. Enjoy!