Electronics & Music Maker reviewed the M&A K-1 and K-1B in May 1983. The period article calls them M&A’s first excursion into instruments after its mixer business and distinguishes the cheaper K-1’s small mounted bass pad from the K-1B’s larger free-standing pad. It quotes £598 including VAT for the K-1 and £658 for the K-1B.
Two variants, one visual argument
The M&A K-1 and K-1B arrived as a pair. The review separates them by the bass end of the kit: the K-1 uses a small mounted bass pad, while the K-1B takes a larger free-standing version operated with a conventional bass-drum pedal. Above that difference, they shared the same visual proposition — rounded triangular pads with red beneath their transparent polycarbonate playing surfaces, set against black wood and metal. M&A wanted its first instrument to look like its own thing, not a copy of its rivals.
Period press
M&A K-1 / K-1B in Electronics & Music Maker
Printed p. 82 of the May 1983 M&A K-1/B review, with the exact product title, kit photography and detailed text distinguishing the K-1 and K-1B.
A compact kit built around hardware
The K-1’s pads came in two groups of three on a Premier dual-tom stand, with the snare on the upright and a dedicated hi-hat pedal. The review calls the system compact and relatively lightweight, and says the electronics could sit on a single microphone stand. That is a practical account of a kit built to move: break it down, carry it in one flightcase, then set it back up without converting a stage into an equipment room.
A foot-operated hi-hat that actually speaks
The hi-hat pedal did two jobs. It shortened a held sound for a closed-hi-hat effect, but its own piezo also triggered the hi-hat voice from a foot movement. A separate monitor output made headphone adjustment possible before the kit reached an amplifier or PA. These are small details, but they show M&A thinking about what a drummer’s body actually does: feet as well as hands, setup as well as performance, a quiet tuning check before the loud bit begins.
Analogue by design
The period reviewer describes bass, tom and snare generated from simple oscillator frequencies, with white noise mixed into the snare; cymbals and hi-hat were noise-based. That is not an apology for what the K-1 was not. It is the shape of its sound world: strong electronic attacks, direct controls and a look that advertised circuitry rather than hiding it behind a pretend acoustic shell.
£598 or £658, including VAT
The commercial choice was explicit. The K-1 carried a £598 including-VAT RRP, and the K-1B £658. The price gap maps directly to the different bass-pad arrangement, not to two unrelated machines. It leaves a useful period picture of M&A’s opening move: a visually distinct electronic kit meant to compete beneath the Simmons price point while still offering a complete drummer’s setup.
Sources
The visual archive