Kawai R50 & R100 Series ROMs

While all three of the factory ROMs for the Kawai R50, R50e, and R100 are available for download, it should be noted that some EPROM programmers struggle with writing them, so a special adapter or other considerations may be necessary for any given EPROM burner.

All three ROMs are interchangeable with each other, so an R50 can be loaded with the R50e sound set, and so forth.

ROM Sound Editing

Unlike drum machines with standard PCM data sound ROMs (Casio RZ-1, et al), Kawai uses an unusual encoding scheme which must be decoded in a very specific manner or else noise will result. FMJ Software – Awave Studio is known to be uniquely capable of opening Kawai ROMs as wave files.

ROM Building

R100BuilderFree_v0_20.zip (ROM-builder software)

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EPROM Technical Information

The 27C400 is 4 Mbit (512Kb x8 or 256Kb x16 selectable by one pin) and the Kawai R-50/R-100 use the 256k x 16 arrangement.

Kit Information

R-100 stock ROM (KAA) is also known as CP1, or the standard/acoustic/classic kit
R-50e stock ROM (KAB) is also known as CP2, or the electronic kit
R-50 stock ROM (KAC) is also known as CP3, or the jazz/fusion kit

The R50iii has all three ROMS and is selectable with a keypress sequence:

pad 1 + power on = electric drum kit (R-50e mode)
pad 2 + power on = acoustic drum kit (R-100 mode)
pad 3 + power on = jazz drum kit (R-50 mode)

CP-1 (Acoustic)

Pad 1: BD1/BD2/BD3
Pad 2: SD1/SD2/SD3
Pad 3: TOM HI/COWBELL/AGOGO
Pad 4: TOM MID/CLAPS/CONGA
Pad 5: TOM LOW/SHAKER/TAMBORINE
Pad 6: HH CLOSE/HH OPEN/TIMBALE
Pad 7: RIDE 1/RIDE 2/CLAVES
Pad 8: CRASH 1/CRASH 2/CHINA

CP-2 (Electronic)

Pad 1: Atomic Kick/Room Kick/Acoustic Kick
Pad 2: Atomic Snare/Room Snare/Acoustic Snare
Pad 3: Electronic Tom Hi/Purple Rim Shot/Click
Pad 4: Electronic Tom Mid/Claps/Funk Bass
Pad 5: Electronic Tom Low/Mellow Bass/Electronic Snare
Pad 6: Closed Hi-Hat/Open Hi-Hat/Tympani
Pad 7: Orchestra Hit/Room Tom Hi/Finger Snap
Pad 8: Crash/Room Tom Low/Brass Hit

CP-3 (Jazz/Fusion)

Pad 1: Tight Kick/Brushes (Hit)/Fat Kick
Pad 2: Tight Snare/Brushes (Swirl)/Cross Stick
Pad 3: Guiro (Long)/Cowbell/Guiro (Short)
Pad 4: High Tom/Conga Slap/Conga
Pad 5: Low Tom/Cabasa/Bongo
Pad 6: Closed Hi-Hat/Open Hi-Hat/Pedal Hi-Hat
Pad 7: Edge Ride/Open Triangle/Closed Triangle
Pad 8: Soft Crash/Bell Ride/Mark Chimes