Haha,I walk everywhere I go, and 15 miles is alot of walking distance, my bike is not in working order,and I dont like public transport, one they are expensive and second you can find some dodgy people in there sometimes. So if I was going to go I'd walk it Lets see where life takes me

Based on your posts, you've been looking for a piano for at least three months. It won't take that long to go 15 miles to a piano dealer. If walking suits you, fine. If not, and you don't like public transport, then aren't taxicabs available?

Nonsense, James, they both share a similar vowel sound at the end!

shokz, folks here just don't want you to suffer buyer's remorse. Most of us have been there, and I don't recommend it. Only you can be the judge of whether a 30 mile round trip is too much for you.

I have a feeling that the problems with the MP10's has to do with rough handling during shipping.

My CN43 was put together and pre-tested before being delivered by a piano moving company.

She's perfect.

One single positive vote for Kawai Ca63 - awesome DP so far. Obviously no statistics to argue the op's point, but I fully agree with the general observation that far more negative comments are posted to forums than positive supportive ones regardless of the subject.

As the guy who posted the "Received my second damaged Kawai" post I should probably mention that despite of this I'm still looking for a MP10/CA93/CS6. Only this time I'll try getting one from a local dealer rather than ordering online, in an attempt to minimize the shipping-damage factor.

Seeing these trucks come and go throwing that big MP10 all over the place I'm 87.56% sure the damage on these instruments was a resulted of shipping, not an inherent production issue.

Although damaged I did get to play around with the first MP10 and I did get a very favourable impression. The issue with that particular instrument was the one of the "piano" buttons not working, everything else was fine.

In fact, when I eventually receive a working Kawai I will post the news here, hopefully contributing to restoring the somewhat bad rap Kawai is getting around here.

By the way, I ordrered from Thomann. I've found their custommer service to be excellent. But as I said, I'll try a local dealer since I suspect that door-to-door shipping of heavy instruments is not a great idea.

In terms of Kawai statistics on this forum, we should bear in mind that finding a Kawai dealer is probably harder than finding a Roland/Yamaha dealer ( I guess), meaning more people will have to resort to online ordering, again increasing the chances of shipping damage. At least that's my theory, partly based on my own diffculties in finding a local Kawai dealer.

Now, if I could only get to learn in detail the difference between the MP10 and CA93 and CS6...

Anders

Thanks Anders, Im having doubts ordering internationally, And Im glad you mentioned that you ordered from Thomann!! Because that is one of the main place I was considering ordering from. I think International might be too risky, Im going to try and buy one from the UK

30 miles in a taxi? Not a viable option for most people, perhaps. Shokz, why don't you fix your bike? I couldn't be without mine for a day. And you really would benefit from trying these keyboards out first, if only to confirm our opinions here - or to refute them.....

If I were you, I'd get over my fear of public transportation and take a dang bus, or get a ride from a friend. When I lived in Chicago and had similar circumstances to what it sounds like you have, I did both of those in order to get to piano stores.

Arrive in style: get a Segway!

Just stay away from the edge of cliffs (easy enough in Sheffield).

+1

To the OP's question... YES. Back when they launched I went through four of them before I got one that worked and then I ended up selling it a few months later because I felt that the action was a bit too heavy for me. Wicked seller's remorse set in and 6 months later I got another one - this one was shipped from Sweetwater and was out-of-box PERFECT - and I swear that I'm going to bolt it into my studio so it can't ever be removed again!!

The internal piano sounds are VERY usable with the exception of the looping that is very evidient in the lower keys (almost a deal killer for solo pianists) but I'm using it as a controller for Ivory II in my recordings. I would say that they are grand enough (pun intended) for any live gig you might play though!

Yes, a Kawai is worth getting.

Curt

You went through 4 of them Wow , I think I've decided now if it gets to nearabouts 1000 pounds and its from the UK I will consider the Kawai cn43, If International Im not risking it

Sorry James. Meant no disrespect. Just meant that both companies went through quality issues. But you're right, Kurzweil died completely and is trying to be reborn. Kawai, at least here in the states, used to be everywhere, but started to lose a lot of the retailers and musicians at some point. I haven't seen a Kawai in a while. Hard to find one to get your hands on it unless it's used. I don't think I even saw one in all the stores here in Nashville I went to looking for a new keyboard.

Shuff's Music in Franklin, TN?

http://www.shuffsmusic.com

I have had good experience with Kawai brand. My first CA63 had two problematic keys, but Kawai Europe took care of all and problems are gone now. The spanish dealer said me that order from Kawai Europe was caring about my happines, so I went to their workshop to talk with technician about subtle problems that I had found and he didn't see.

Thumbs to Kawai!!

Now I have bought a CA93 and I am very happy with the brand and with my "little" pianos. Great quality and, over the rest, great care for customer.

Greets.

Bear in mind that Thomann's price is converted from € to £, that exchange rate is approximate and is volatile, also, unless you have a bank/credit card with zero foreign transaction charges you'll pay approx. 3% in charges. I have a Santander Zero card which doesn't charge. I bought my Kawai CN33 from Thomann and had, or have, no problems with either of them.

NICE PICTURE.......James........

Cheers,
Johan B

I've had 3 Kawai CA-93's in the last year and all have had various key height / spacing issues. Kawai has sent out technicians or replaced the instrument as needed, so the warranty has been very good. I'm not sure if I would buy another Kawai digital though, I probably would buy an acoustic upright if I had the money for a new one. The digital is nice so that I can turn the volume down/use headphones as needed.

Hi All, I've been lurking quite a bit over here and this is my first post. I'm a 45-year-old absolute beginner (I do have a percussion background, however) and thanks to all the useful information here, I just placed a deposit on a CN43. I found a local dealer and the two owners were true gentlemen to deal with.

As I was getting ready to leave, I happened to see the polished ebony finish of a CS3. Despite the beauty of this model, I think its lack of a USB connectivity would be a potential hindrance down the road.

It's encouraging to hear so many people have had positive experiences with Kawai, Moreover, the sense of community in this little corning of the web is gratifying. I promise to check in and let you all know how things are progressing. My search for a qualified instructor is next on the agenda. Thanks again.

Welcome and congrats Jerseydevil. A Kawai CN43 is a good DP and will take you far.

Congrats indeed, and welcome to the forum!

James
x

I too have been a lurker for a couple of weeks now but have been learning a lot specially with regards to Kawai CN series.And yesterday, our KawaiCN43 was delivered from Thomann.de. This DP is actually a replacement to our old Hopkinsons (London) upright which was about several handme downs. We loved the piano but the keys were pretty hard and our son who just turned 10 is fast progressing with his learnings and needs to have a lighter-normal keys. His piano teacher can see that his technique is getting affected by the hardness (of key touch) of the old unit. Our son (now working on Gr5 Theory and Gr6 practical) is so up in the moon playing with the KawaiCN43 last night. When asked about it, he did say he loved the touch and tone of the piano, although he somehow misses the extra-vibration that he feels from the old upright. I was wondering if it is just the set up that we have to work on- cause when he tried the CN33 at the local shop he remembers that he didn't noticed nor missed it then.

Kawai James, I really wanted to get the unit locally (Norwich), specially thinking about future need for service or assistance but the price I paid for at Thomann would get us a CN33 locally-that's without chair and headphones; (bluebilly, I used the Post Office CC, so it's 0% on charges). But since they are the local/official distributor here would you think they would be the people to handle Kawai warranty for the 1st year? Is there an Eu agreement on aftersales assistance. Just wondering (but praying hard I would never need to get intouch with anyone for any problems).

Hello StaccatoMum, congratulations on your new piano... your son's a lucky chap!

I've just checked the current CN43 price at Thomann - it's very competitive. With the greatest respect to Cookes, your local dealer, I don't believe the store would be able to match the price, unfortunately.

Regarding warranty, I will have to double-check this on Monday, however I believe Thomann (in Germany) will be responsible for any servicing or after-sales assistance - I gather they have contracts with a handful of service agents dotted around the UK. Fortunately, the CN43 was not damaged in transit, so I doubt you should experience any issues with the instrument.

I hope this helps - best of luck to your son too!

Kind regards,
James
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Thank you all for the welcome.

I just asked the vendor who's selling me the CN43 about a price quote for a CA63. He seems a little reluctant to do so and seems to think I'd enjoy the features on the CN43 a bit more, especially the substantial number of sounds available as opposed to the ones on the CA63. (There's nothing suspect about his reluctance; I believe he's genuine in his opinion). However, I hear so many good things about the RM3 key action on the CA63 that's it's tempting to see if I can afford it.

Since I'm a true beginner I wonder if it'll make a difference. Also, the owner of the shop was really advocating the RH let-off feature on the CN43. I'd be grateful for anyone's informed opinion. Thanks!

Hmmm...that's a little tricky.

The let-off feature on the CN43's RH action is a nice addition, however the RM3 Grand action in the CA63 (even without let-off) is definitely more realistic overall.

The additional sounds (over 300), Rhythm Section, and 16-track MIDI recording features of the CN43 can be pretty good fun, however if you're primarily interested in learning the piano, I believe you would benefit from the superior keyboard action and piano sound of the CA63.

Cheers,
James
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You see what I mean about a dilemma? If you think it's tricky...

Seriously though... thank you, James, for your opinion. Ultimately it'll boil down to a price issue unless the difference is closer than I anticipate. However, as a former drummer the extensive rhythm section of the CN43 has a lot of appeal to me. (I didn't know the CA63 was sans rhythm section). Further, I think I'd ultimately like to focus on learning to play some pop and jazz and am less inclined to concentrate on classical works. Thanks again; I'll let you know how this works out.

Kind regards...
Dennis

Well, it's tricky because some folks may prefer the additional features of one instrument over another. However, it's also tricky for me because I don't wish to tread on the toes of the dealer!



The CA63 doesn't feature the CN43's dedicated 'Rhythm Section' mode (100 accompaniment styles with drums, bass, guitar, other instruments), however it does still include 100 drum patterns (without the other accompaniment parts) accessible via the metronome function.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
James
x

Thank you so much for the clarification. And yes, it helps quite a bit. Thanks again...