Just purchased a KN5000 in almost perfect condition with the intent of using it in live performance with my classic rock cover band. The sounds are fantastic with the possible exception of those for the piano and electric piano. Despite (or because of) reading the owner's manual I have a few questions which my search of the forum archives failed to answer:

How does one find and upload additional sounds/voices (i.e. piano and electric piano)? Is it by adding additional "styles"?

Is there any way to input data other than a floppy disc?

Someone on e-bay is selling Technics floppy discs with the latest version of the operating system (#10 I believe) and a styles conversion disc; do I need these?

Accoording to the manual, the panel memory is only good for one week if the keyboard isn't used in that time. As a more permanent medium, I assume/hope that my personal settings can be preserved on a floppy disc. Is this correct?

Finally (really), are there any other forum members using this kayboard for gigs? If so, any advice for the use of this keyboard in live performances would be appreciated.

My profound apologies if this information is, in fact, in the archives, and I didn't use the correct search terms to find it.

Max

Hi Max
I can answer some of your questions...
New sounds/voices usually come with additional styles as you suggest.
The only way to input data is via floppy disc.
Don't mess about with operating systems and style conversion at this stage.
Always preserve you settings on a floppy disc before switching off.
There may be some forum members using the KN5000 for gigs - good machine - but most of us have moved on to the KN7000 with its much faster SD Card memory loading system.

Hi Max,

the last known good version of the operating system of the KN 5000 is KN5000 Vers A (10).
You can free download of

http://www.ca-software.com/technics/downloads/index.htm


You'll find there under KN 5000 software for a range of additional rhythms and sounds.

Thanks for responding to my questions. I'll check out some of the available styles to see if I can hopefully find decent emulations of pianos and electric pianos. I currently have a Casio WK-7500 keyboard that has pretty good piano sounds, but the strings, brass and synth aren't great.

The KN7000 was strongly recommended to me, but the few that I found for sale were well outside my price range at $ 1,400-1,900. When this one came along for $ 500 in excellent condition, I grabbed it. If, in fact, it turns out that it's not a good fit for my needs, I'll keep it at home and try to find a more modern, used keyboard.

Thanks Harry; I'll check it out as soon as I locate some floppy discs. Looks like a long journey up the learning curve.

Not finding the information I'm looking for in the manual or online.

I've tried using everything in the manual to re-initialize back to factory default settings, but nothing seems to change, such as Panel Memory. Also, how does one get out of the Panel Memory mode? The only sure-fire way I've found is to turn the keyboard off and back on (trust me, I think I've tried everything else).

Is there a section of the discussion forum with archived files that address these types of issues? I reall don't want to be a PIA with posts.

Max

Max, I tried to send an email to the address in your profile. It bounced. Send me an email. My address is in my profile. I may be able to help.

Hi Max
Initialising back to factory settings includes a basic set of panel memories as standard from which point you replace them with your own panel memories and save those settings that you want to a floppy disk.
If you don't want your KN5000 to act as an Arranger Keyboard at all but as a piano or an organ, go to the auto play chord mode button and select pianist. The whole set of keys then becomes one keyboard rather than rhythms to the left and melody to the right.

Thanks for that information, Roger. I guess I assumed that initializing the panel memory would somehow those pre-set voice and rythm settings. I've alreay figured out using the "pianist" setting in the auto play chord mode. I hope to explore the arranger functions in the future, but my immediate need is for a keyboard that I can gig with.

Max

If you're gigging with other instrumentalists the arranger function is not a great deal of use to you as it is a bit strict on timing/tempo.. The drummers don't like it particularly...
Rog

That would certainly be the case with the drummer in my group!

Max

Max, just curious, what sort of music is your band playing?

We're a classic rock cover band which requires me to have some pretty authentic vintage keyboard sounds as well as strings, horns and synths. I purchased the KN5000 based on a recommendation from a forum member, but am finding it to be more of an arranger workstation than a peformance keyboard. That said, I'm still in the evaluation stage, which means climbint a fairly steep (for me) learning curve.

No matter what the outcome of that evalusaion, I plan to keep the keyboard; the various styles make it an excellent practice instrument.

Max

That's like the sort of band I play with I use a Yamaha Motif 6 but I could easily use a good quality arranger instead.

... great video, Nigel ...

Hi Nigel,

Really liked the video; very entertaining and the musicianship is excellent. My group has good musicianship and vocals, but the three front men might as well be cardboard cutouts in terms of entertainment value. And,unfotunately, I don't double on guitar. Out of curiosity, how was the audio recorded? Sounds pretty clear and balanced.

I'm currently using a Casio WK-7500 workstation in addition to my Hammond XK-3. The Casio isn't bad, but it has an awkward interface and a really small screen which isn't that legible at an angle (and then there's that pesky small type). The sounds, especially brass and strings, aren't great either. As soon as I struggle up the learning curve a little further, I plan to replace the Casio with the KN5000.

Regards,

Max

Thanks so much Tony and Max. I am so pleased you enjoyed it. It is a clip we put together to try to get more jobs. It very much represents the sort of classic rock band we are.

We have a Tascam 2488 digital recorder that we keep in the garage where we rehearse. It is a great recorder and perfect for recording tracks for youtube clips like this. We bought it for about $600 rather than spending that same money doing a cheap demo in a studio. It was a great investment. Now we can record anytime we want. It can record 8 inputs simultaneously at 24 bit quality. It even has a CD burner onboard though we haven't needed to use that. But nice in case we ever do.

It's amazing how good quality you can record on home gear now rather than handing over money to recording studios. I highly recommend the Tascam multitrack recorders.

And Sandra and Roger our vocalists are very entertaining for our audiences.

This is a song I wrote for the band to announce Last Call at the end of the night at the bars we play. Sure it's tacky but it's pretty funny too. No keyboard in this, I play lead guitar in this song.

... that's quite a 'last call' song, Nigel ...
... although I've had my share, I have never been in any of those situations fortunately ... although I've SEEN a few ...

Neat song, Nigel, and reminiscent of a few of our adventures playing in bars and clubs. Like the time the host of a private party came up on stage to make an announcemnet, fell backwards into the drum kit and microphones, then threw up on the snare and bass drum. Took a while to clean that on up!

Interesting information on the Tascam; I never would have believed that that level of sound quality was possible under the conditions you describe. We have a demo CD we're been circulating that was recorded in our rehearsal loft with a ZOOM recorder; sounds positively primitive next to yours. Something we need to look into. By the way, are you having any difficulty getting gigs due to the economy? Absolutely dismal in our area.

Regards,

Max

We close mic the guitar and bass amps and because the drummer is using an electronic Roland VDrums kit we simply get the stereo send directly from the drums. That really makes it really easy for us to record a produced sound not having to mic up an acoustic drum kit. Drum kits are the toughest thing to record well.

Agreed, and drummers themselves can be even more difficult! The only ones that are often worse are bass players that play WAY too loud; I'm about ready to kill ours.

Max

Hi all.

Speaking about KN5000
Bob's KN5000 "How to" pages still up and running HERE