Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Speaking of the VPC1

That's an interesting suggestion, however I believe OS X support should be the focus for the time being.

James
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James, any news on OS X support? I am about to purchase a VPC1 but this issue holds me back a little. Can we expect a firmware/software update in the not too distant future?

I was told by the sales engineer that they expect to get more in May.

I don't want to wait that long! Any suggestions?

This all makes me feel like Canada really is a backwater country.

You should see Australia!

maurus, again, the VPC1 works fine with Macs, it's just the editor software that's currently not available. This is not something related to the VPC1 firmware.

Kind regards,
James
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I can attest to the fact that the editor is not NEEDED to enjoy the VPC1. Granted, I've only had mine for two days but I don't see the need to edit ANYTHING about it in the foreseeable future, if at all. It's plug-n-play all the way!

Curt

P.S. James, any idea on my earlier question about the Ivory touch preset? Thanks!

Curt, I've asked the R&D chaps, and will let you know when I receive their response.

Cheers,
James
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I'm sure it does work fine with Macs. It would just be nice to know that a new editing software is in the works.

Maurus,
Given how prevalent macs are in the music industry, I was very surprised that kawai didn't have an OS X version of their editing software available at launch. Surely there must be a lot of inquiries and demand for it. So, one hopes that it is being worked on. But alas, many companies seem to keep such projects close to the vest until they're ready to launch, if they even exist at all. Personally I would wish for a definitive statement one way or the other. A simple "We have no plans to make an OS X version of our editing software" type statement would be very useful, if disappointing. Or even better, a "We are currently working on an OS X version of our editing software and expect to have it ready to go into beta testing next september" type statement would be wonderful to get from them. Maybe there have been such statements, but I've not seen them. If not, James maybe you could let the marketing folk know that we mac users would love to have a bone thrown our way.

Whilst lack of OSX support would probably not sway a decision to purchase the VPC1, I would have thought Kawai would've developed the editor software for both Windows and OSX. The vast majority of professional studios employ the use of Macs and seeing as the VPC1 seems to be a high-end professional product it would be a fantastic addition to a studio set-up. This is in no way a dig at Kawai as I am considering buying one myself later in the year.

Still, we shall wait and see!

We have received a number of enquiries from Mac users regarding a version of the VPC Editor software for OS X. Clearly the demand is there, so it's obviously something we're keen to develop. However, I cannot provide a concrete date on when it will be available.



Okay, I'll be sure to let the marketing guy know.

Cheers,
James
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James... Kawai needs to admit that this is a bad oversight on their part. Mac has always been king in music for computers. Kawai should be catering to Mac and allowing to settle for ms.


Also on music stand. Her is an absolutely beautiful piano with no music stand. To put it sarcastically....must be Kawai's fault.

Peugeot began to produce bicycles for more than a century ago.

Now we have Porsche Design Pianos, Peugeot Design Pianos - vote what comes next?

You can never know: Microsoft could have payed more for omitting it than Apple offered + some calculated losses with a few restrained Mac users.

Porsche design is a joke. Porsche should be ashamed of themselves. They have more class than that.
I really like this Peugeot Design. I would rather see all the outside black. The inside, perhaps a little deeper, little pearlish white. I can easily understand how the sound plays right in to the player. Must be awesome to play.

Perhaps Kawai can work with Toyota on something? I understand why the car companies. They have the engineering expertise to design a case differently and make it work. They know about strength in materials and so forth. From their racing divisions. They've tried out these materials already.

Maybe Kawai might be interested in smaller designs for DP's? Contemporary designs?
Basically, I think the VPC's design is beautiful. Can't be improved upon.

EDIT: And don't forget Kawai and the Yokohama Toy Company. The completely awesome Godzilla Metronome!

I would imagine Kawai opted for Windows first off because the majority of home users own windows PCs.

The majority of home users are not music students, or performers. Those people are by far, the majority, into Mac's.
A beginner won't buy a VPC. That is for someone who knows what they are doing. What they want. Someone already into music performance. These people, by far, work with Mac's. They always have.
Mac caters to music. The same should be returned.

rnaple
Actually that piano does have a very nice sheet music rest, but it folds down when not in use. It can be seen in the promotional video on their website.

Made up statistic #1:Made up statistic #2:Honestly, where do you get this information?

rnaple,
I also think it was a huge oversight not to release an OS X version of the editor. Mac users tend to be very devoted to their platform (almost cult-like in some circles), and I think many mac users would feel slighted by this and take their dollars elsewhere. And you're quite right, even when apple was 6 months away from being bankrupt, it still had a dominant presence in the music industry. Now that macs have become cool again, I think that's probably only gotten strong. However, Kawai may be anticipating that this thing will sell so well that they'll have trouble keeping up with demand for awhile If they're still selling more than they make, they may not care that mac users are passing them up. But eventually those sales will die down. At that point, if kawai then releases a mac version of the editor, it may spur sales from a lot of mac users who were sitting on the fence. I don't have any idea if that sort of thought process went into their decision or not (probably not) but the decision will probably work out for them financially, especially if they release an OS X editor a few months down the line.