Does anyone happen to know the announcement and release dates (in the US) of the MP4, MP5, MP8 and MP8II stage pianos?

Maybe I'm just search-incompetent today, but I can't seem to find this info

Aaron

I do not have my little green book in front of me, however off the top of my head (and referencing brochures/owner's manuals):

- MP4: Mid 2005
- MP8: Late 2005
- MP5: Mid 2007
- MP8II: Mid-late 2007

I hope this helps,

Cheers,
James
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Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

I realize this amount of data doesn't mean that much, but that does confirm what I thought. So while you obviously can't say how close we are to an update until it's actually announced, I'd guess we're probably getting close.

Aaron

Correct.

To be honest, I think we're overdue an update.

Cheers,
James
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Why update the hardware when you can update an already excellent product like the MP8II with new piano sounds???

Roland has done it with the SN Kit and it's a big seller, they updated an already great product like the RD 700GX to make it even better.

Kawai should do the same.

Just my opinion, I know I would be all over it if they did.

And the box mine came in hasn't even gotten dusty in the garage yet.

Being in the market for the kawai mp5, this topic interests me greatly. Seems like if they had an update, it might have shown up at NAMM summer 2010. I'm, as they say, burning the midnight oil already without a digital piano/midi controller, but in the pit of my stomach I fear buying and then regretting when a new model comes out.

...this is where the magical kawai fairy swoops in and tells me not to worry and hold out for __ more months.

Tommy T, I believe winter NAMM is usually the place where new products are launched - summer NAMM has a rather different atmosphere.

A few more months sounds about right.

Cheers,
James
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Cant wait for a new kawai mp!

If we're guessing winter, then I'm guessing it's already at the fab and it's too late for wish lists. But I do remember that Dewster wished for better sounds, and I have always wished that a few from my old Ensoniq piano might have been carried forward by some one:

(1) marimba, hard
(2) marimba, soft-mallet, chorused. Oh, that ghostly marimba; so interesting and useful!
(3) clavinet, hard
(4) clavinet, chorused. Such a great instrument for carrying a melody line, cutting through a mix, adding a good spank, or sustaining a harmony. Other people have their take on clavinets, but this one I really miss.

and from elsewhere:
(5) Balinese gamelan (I realize that this is not a single instrument).
(6) tamboura and
(7) sitar, from the buzzy-string family
(8) autoharp, from the twangy-glissando family
(9) the recorder family, neither really flute nor reed

Hmmm... the pedals, always skating out of reach. It would be nice to have ALL the pedals gathered together in a single pedal lyre: sustain, sostenuto, footswitch, expression.

Music rack: mp8ii has a good, sturdy one, but it is about a foot further away than I can read such small print, with either pair of glasses... so, it is pretty much useless. The computer screen is fine for DAW, etc., but nothing beats a score that you can mark with a pencil.

The flat top is ok for the computer keyboard, but I can't quite make the available space work with the mouse. So these appliances continue their 'marriage of inconvenience.' It is never quite comfortable, but a divorce is too expensive.

As the sage wrote: "If wishes were horses, then beggars would have golf courses."

And I've just noticed today that both Sam Ash and Sweetwater no longer have the MP5 or MP8II on their sites.

As always, that doesn't guarantee anything, but I thought it was interesting

Same story with Sweetwater--- MP8ii and MP5 are withdrawn from their site. I called to ask if their replacement has been announced or if they know when... wisely, they told me they couldn't say. However, it would seem that maybe it is imminent. So, we had a conversation about orchestral sound libraries instead.

If local dealers still have some on the floor, it could be a prime time to do some negotiating.

Interesting.

James
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Come on James, throw it out there. It's not like they can charge you with treason, lol.

All the clues are out!!!!

Spill the beans, sing like a canary, drop the dime on em, lol.

Well, here's what I'd like to see... something with the MP5 feature set, with improved piano/EP sounds... and weighing under 30 lbs. Bonus points for aftertouch and built-in speakers.

Mr Romance, MP fans have been waiting for new models with the latest action and piano sounds for some time now - a few extra weeks isn't going to hurt.

anotherscott, under 30 lbs.? That's asking quite a lot, I'm afraid. If you've ever seen a Kawai MP you'll know that they're solidly built to withstand a fair bit of torture. It would be great to produce a lighter stage piano, however I can't see how it would be possible without sacrificing some of the structural rigidity of the instrument.

That being said the current MP5 weighs just over 20 kg (around 45 lbs.), and while I'm not going to cycling to band practises with one strapped to my back (like I do with the Electro), I'd say that's still light enough to be considered portable - even with my skinny cyclist's arms.

Cheers,
James
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Yeah, I understand, the stuff is built like a tank. And it's great that that kind of build quality exists, and it's certainly the kind of build I'd look for if my equipment was being hauled around by a road crew or if I were in the equipment rental business or providing the backline for a club or probably a whole bunch of other scenarios. But for a guy who gingerly carries his own gear from place to place (including up and down my stairs), I'd be willing to sacrifice some build quality to get the weight down. Something like the 24 pound Privia PX-3 clearly isn't as ruggedly put together as the better Yamahas, but for my kind of use, Privias have held up fine. I'm not saying not to make the rugged stuff, but it would be great to have some light-duty versions too.

PIcking up from what I just said above (and referred to in another thread), besides Casio, there are also sub-30 pound 88-key weighted models from Yamaha and Korg. There's also a 33 pound model from Roland. Unlike Casio, these other companies also make much heavier models which are presumably more ruggedly built and/or use a better keyboard mechanism that adds a bunch of weight, but at least they do have some lower weight options, which I'd love to see from Kawai.

One thing I find frustrating in the Roland/Korg/Yamaha approaches is that, if you want their better sounds and better features, you also have to get a model that weighs a lot more. Circuit boards don't weigh that much, I don't see any reason they can't offer the better sound and feature set in the lighter weight package. I wish these companies would make something with the sounds and features of their higher end models, but with the lesser keyboard action and/or ruggedness of their lower end models. I'm usually willing to pay more to get the sound and features I want, but just can't deal with the weight and wish they would let me "sacrifice" having their better action and ruggedness to get what I want in a package I can more easily carry up and down the stairs. Maybe they don't have stairs in Japan? ;-)

I think the first company to address that market will have a winner. Though if they were so inclined, it would probably be easier for one of those other companies to do it than it would be for Kawai, because at least they already have some lower weight chassis models to use as a foundation.

Well, I do appreciate having a case well-made enough that I don't crunch through it if I lean my elbows on it (for example, to look into that mysterious, upside-down world of connectors on the back panel. Kawai's case is sturdy enough that I can put a computer monitor on top (they're light these days, though).

Besides stiffness and sturdiness, there's also shielding to think of. It's pesky to have devices leak EM radiation (studio monitors are especially shielded for it, and they're no featherweights), and it's illegal for them to leak RF radiation.

I'll bet the designers do, indeed, have their eye on some kind of carbon-fiber/resin honeycomb for things like case bottoms, but just haven't figured out how to get consumers to pay the price. Hmmm, maybe they could use recycled composite panels, sawed from retired aircraft wings.

Let's see: Musician's Friend says that they are out of stock on the MP5, and expect more stuff available on 9/3/10. Hmmm...wonder if it will be MP5's or something else. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge...)

Also, looks like Roland is rolling out some new stuff along about there. Surely Kawai isn't planning to release something about the same time to steal their thunder, would they? LOL Yes, I know that any corporation has to be a little cagey about announcing upcoming releases to avoid the dreaded Osborne effect.

I've promised myself a new keyboard as a reward for working my way through Practica Musica (I'm getting there...), and the keyboard I really like so far is the MP5. Hope whatever Kawai has in store for us is a step in the right direction. I really like the action and a couple of other things like different temperaments...I expect, though, that by the time I finish that course there will be some new choices.

James, I know you're restrained from saying anything just yet, so this isn't fishing for a statement. Still, the stars do seem in alignment for something happening.

"...I know that any corporation has to be a little cagey about announcing upcoming releases to avoid the dreaded Osborne effect."

Thank you for this interesting look-up--- I needed more things to dread, and I had never heard of this one.

Excerpted from Wiki:

"...In 1983, inventor Adam Osborne pre-announced several next-generation computer models (the "Executive" and "Vixen" models), which had not yet been built, highlighting the fact that they would outperform the existing model. A widely held belief was that sales of the Osborne 1 fell sharply as customers anticipated those more advanced systems, leading to a sales decline from which Osborne Computer was unable to recover...while competitor Kaypro produced a computer...for $400 less. The Kaypro computer had already begun to cut into sales of the Osborne 1 ...but inventories of the Osborne 1 cleared out, and customers switched almost entirely to the Kaypro.

"...Apparently, while sales dipped after the initial announcement, they eventually began to pick up, and cash started flowing into the company. Then a vice president discovered some fully equipped motherboards for the older models, worth $150,000. Some time and a few bad decisions later, a staggering $2 million...were spent for the CRTs, RAM, floppy disk drives, and to restore production of molded cases. It was then that the company folded due to debt."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

It is uncommon, in my experience, for a company to withdraw a model from the market in advance of a new release, leaving vendors nothing to sell and no word of a new product line. Osborne Effect or not, it is more common for a manufacturer to announce a new release in advance to gin up media attention and consumer excitement, keeping the present line in release and on sale. The previous line is typically offered at clearance-sale prices after it's replaced in the sales line-up.

I wonder how this new 'strategy' is working out for sales? Do they expect that it will do anything more than annoy both customers and vendors? I wonder.

What about an MP5 MKII and MP8 MKIII hahaha, that's a little bit like what Roland did with their series (LX10 -> LX10F, DP990 -> DP990F etc). Put in the tiny bit better sound of their top series and the latest keybed and ...tada , 'new' product ;-)

Just joking - I don't expect that to happen to the new Kawai, or is it ...James ...James ?? Let's just wait and see...

JFP, that was the case for the MP8 --> MP8II (upgraded keyboard action, slightly improved sounds), however the next MPs will be quite a bit different.

By the way, did nobody notice my new avatar?

Cheers,
James
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What's an avatar ?

Edit: I have to amplify it a lot to see it..., maybe if I import it in Photoshop I can drive up the resolution for more depth..

Ctrl + Mousewheel?

Cheers,
James
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If we're going to go there, James, you know, you can include a bigger (or at least wider) picture in your sig line.

Jeff Clef, I think some of the folks here would take exception to my posting product images in the signature line. However, an avatar is just about small enough for most people not to notice.

I used to have an MP8II knob shot (unfortunate choice of words, I know...), but noticed that the forum now allows slightly larger avatar images, so decided to update it with something a little more modern.

Cheers,
James
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MP10 eh? I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what all is going to be updated.

Where did you see this at?

The file name for James' new avatar, "mp10buttonsmall2copy.png"