Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards OK, I admit it, I made a mistake...

...when I sold my Kawai MP6.

Having been through a succession of stage DPs over the last few years, desperately seeking the best combination of action, sound and portability, and hoping for a truly immersive piano experience, I let the MP6 come and go. I was expecting something revelatory at NAMM this year, and... zilch.

Taken all round, the MP6 is a compromise. It's AP sounds are nice but not very special, lagging behind Roland and Nord in player/sound connection, and having a somewhat harsh, brittle quality. EPs are good, and arguably quite a bit better than Roland's current offerings. The tonewheel organs will not put Nord out of business, and the other sounds are good to meh. Weight is above my comfort zone, but below my 50lbs cutoff. Outputting mono does not do the MP6's sounds any favors. If that was it, I wouldn't be posting this, but it's not. That RH action is a great piece of engineering! I am sick of playing seriously suboptimal actions. I feel I can now forgive a multitude of other sins, as long as I can play with expression and dynamics, and produce sound that doesn't make me wince. I've stopped expecting DP manufacturers to produce an all-round grand piano experience in a <50lbs package.

At first glance, when compared to the Nord Piano, the MP falls short. The Nord is lighter, looks smarter longer (the MP scratches very easily), and has a wonderful variety of piano samples. It plays better in mono, has a slightly better player/sound connection, and doesn't sound harsh. But the action and dynamics are just not as good. To me, the Fatar action feels fine when you first sit down to play, but when pushed, reveals its limitations much more readily than the RH action.

So I'm probably going to repurchase either the MP6 or the Nord. I'm leaning towards the MP simply because of that action, but I am, of course, beguiled by the Nord's library of sounds. I didn't "love" either board when I had them, but then there have been very few boards over the years that I've bonded with. Oh, decisions.

That's a sad story. Seller's remorse is almost as bad as buyer's remorse. Good luck!

Best actions in the business.

http://grooveshark.com/s/I+Made+A+Mistake/38SaC5?src=5

Do you normally play through some sort of PA arrangement? And with other players in the mix? If so, I'd think it's going to sound so-so a lot of nights anyway and seldom are you going to get every last subtlety of the sound.

So in that case, go with the best action and don't worry about woulda, coulda, shoulda sound 10% better with a different DP. On the other hand if you're playing solo through a great sound system it's a dilemma...

Yes, I normally play with a five-piece band, and we do have a nice sound system that the piano is fed into. There are quite a few subtle moments when it's just piano and vocals, but I take your point about things getting lost in the overall mix. I never did get around to gigging with the MP6 - just used it for rehearsals - but the band had only good things to say about the piano/EP sound.

There's another one to add to our repertoire! Thanks, James.

I've also been going back and forth over the months, balancing features vs. sound vs. feel. I've often been gigging with an older Casio (PX-310), just because I like its action better than anything else that doesn't at least approach 40 lbs, and I'm thinking that one good possibility could be to mate it with a Nord Stage 2 compact, using the Nord's board for organ/synth and letting the Casio trigger its piano... this would be a very lightweight way to get a sound and an action that I'd really enjoy. (I like the Yamaha MOX piano sound too... but I prefer the Nord, and the Nord also gives me the clonewheel functionality.)

If you love the MP6 action but prefer the Nord's sounds, you could similarly get both... it wouldn't have to be a Stage, it could be the far less expensive (and even lighter) Electro 3 (61 keys), which could possibly replace your Numa organ. The limitation is that you can't play the E3's piano and organ at the same time. But you can play its piano from the Kawai and its organ from its own board, and on those times where you indeed do need to have both sounds at the same time, you still have a perfectly serviceable additional piano sound in the Kawai to fall back on. (Heck, with a little MIDI shenanigans, you should be able to set it up so that you could even simultaneously play the Nord's piano from the Kawai action while playing the Kawai's organ from the Nord's action, if you wanted to!)

Anyway, the point is, if you can't fully bond with one board, maybe the right combination of two can do it for you.

That's really not a bad idea. I used to have the NE3 and thought about controlling the pianos from a weighted board, but didn't want to have to switch back and forth between piano and organ for every song that utilized both. So, yes, the Stage Compact solves that problem ...at a price. But given that the MP6 isn't bad in the AP/EP department, the NE3 might suffice for just those numbers which demand something a little more than the MP6 can produce on its own.

I think that if I get the MP6 again, I'll keep a lookout for a used Nord

I assume you have seller's remorse because the FP-7F is not hitting the spot for you? Explain why, if this is so Vox. Being an ex-FP-7F owner, I'm interested in your thoughts.

Steve

Steve, the FP-7F is fine for me as a home piano, and I have no intention of getting rid of it. However, it is too bulky for me to move on a regular basis, and I don't rate the EP sounds highly. I've said before that I don't think it's perfect with its slightly dull SN tonal quality, but it plays beautifully for me.

I thought about staying in the Roland family with the RD-300NX for gigging, but it's unnecessarily long, and I don't want a sluggish action (although I have not had a chance to test it for myself). For really lightweight work I still have the FP-4 as well as the Numa Piano, although I actually find the FP's action more consistent and easier to control than the Numa's, and I don't think the RD would add much to the equation.

Both boards are great. I've said over and over, if I didn't have the NP1, I'd get the MP6. Let me know which way you go. It's kind of nice to have owned both, so no real surprises.

I certainly will, Zach. For once, it will be nice to know what I'm getting myself into in advance. Since there's nowhere around here to try anything but the mass-market boards, I'm usually flying blind on these purchases.

Ok, I see. I agree the RDs are too long - thanks to Roland's stubborn insistence on the crazy placement of the pitch bend/mod control. I can also see that the FP-7F is too heavy to slog around with.

I agree with Zachary - either NP or MP are the choice boards for quality/portability. I think the variety and character of the Nord shines through - it's a class act.

Steve, out of the NP and MP, which board do you find yourself gravitating to, and why?

Vox, I may be selling my NE3 61 w/ matching Nord Gig Bag. I'll keep you posted.

To sort of answer the question you asked Steve, I would say for the, the quality and variety of sounds, action/sound connection, the dynamic Nord Triple Pedal, the string and sympathetic resonance, the weight and portability with its short-for-88 key size, the commitment from Nord on the system and software updates and overall product support, oh and did I mention it's red so it stands out nicely on stage! just a short list of reasons to love the Nord Piano for a gigging piano player.

Thanks, Zach. Not sure I can fund both at the moment, but we'll see!

As I said in another thread, I played a Kawai MP6 yesterday and quite liked it. And you can envy me guys because the owner of the Kawai shop here in Sofia said many people went to buy Kawai digital pianos by reading my posts on a bulgarian music forum and mentioned my name to him, so he was extremely happy with that and offered me some dirty cheap discounts specially to me on whatever gear I like, including MP6! I will not quote his price but it is nothing short of stunning!

Gosh, there's a question. For action the MP, for sounds the NP88. But that is something of an over-simplification. On some level I can enjoy the Nord's action and it connects uncannily well with the onboard sounds. By the same token I like the MP's sounds too although there is a very slightly abrasive or unrefined quality to them - I think we both agree on that.

If Nord would release a rack version of the the NP88 I would be a very happy chap playing it with the Kawai's keys. If someone told me I'd got to get rid of one of them I would find that an agonising decision because there is no clear-cut winner out of the two of them. Neither is perfect but both have some very enjoyable characteristics and features.

If I really had a gun to my head and had to choose I'd probably keep the Kawai simply because the action is so nice. But that's what my mood this evening tells me. Ask me tomorrow and you'd probably get a different answer!

Cheers,

Steve

I know the feeling, Steve! Thanks for your thoughts.

You know, I felt that remorse strongly enough to contact the people who purchased the MP6 from me, and asked them if they would consider selling it back to me. They like it way too much...

Thanks for the good wishes!