Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kwai ES7, MP6, Roland FP-80 or RD700NX

Hi 1st post here, I'm a beginner looking to take up the piano and would like to learn on a DP. Mostly interested in the models mentioned and this would be a long term investment also to be used by young relatives to learn on and have fun with.

Main requirements:
Key action that is closer to an AP
Great piano sound
Good selection of voices (particularly organs and strings)
Portable and not too heavy
On board speakers would be preferable

I'd be particularly interested to know if the RD700NX is worth paying extra for someone with my requirements.

Nothing there gives you everything you want, so I'll toss out a different way to go. For about the price of the 700NX you could get a Nord Electro 4D (or a 3, if you can still find one) and a Casio PX-350. The Casio gives you a nice action and on-board speakers. The Nord gives you superior piano and organ sounds. Run a MIDI cable from the Casio to the Nord, and audio cables from the Nord to the Casio, and you can play the Nord's piano sounds from the Casio keybed and hear it through the Casio speakers. The two keyboards combined weigh less than any of the single keyboards you mentioned, so the lightweight/portable aspect is addressed. And you'd have a wide range of other voices to choose from as well. For the requirements you listed, this combination will be better than any of those single boards, plus it gives you a bonus unweighted action better for playing organ from.

If you want to save some money, you could get the Roland VR-09 instead of the Nord Electro. You will be compromising a bit on the quality of the piano and organ sounds, but it will save you about $1000.

If by "Portable and not too heavy" you mean that you want to be able to move it between rooms in your house from time to time (and not take it to gigs), all of those models are fine.

The FP-80 has a decent Hammond organ simulator, and ok string sounds. I'm sure the ES7 would be fine too, altough I've never played one. I don't think you need the RD-700NX, that's more of an all-round gigging board. Same goes for the MP6, I suppose.

Some people, including me, don't like Roland's Supernatural acoustic piano sound. So going to the shop and trying it first is a good idea.

Requirement of onboard speakers leaves ES7 and Fp-80 in the race if you want some speakers that make enough noise and are of reasonable quality (for build-in speakers). Keybed's are quite alike. They both have some good EP's and Organs too, but the Roland has more sounds and options to tweak them (tone wheel simulation). The AP sound is a matter of taste. Some like Roland SN Piano, others like the Kawai Grand sound. Also there is a price difference (if you're not in the States) ; the ES7 is cheaper and by the way a tad lighter.

All-in-all I think you have to try both the ES and FP , but of you need a bigger palette of onboard sounds the Roland has more to offer , but at a higher price. The RD700NX has more AP SN sounds to choose from and is a real stage controller piano , whilst the others are NOT. Different design, different purpose. From your list, the FP80 might be a better fit, since you don't particularly list extensive master keyboard controls as a requirement.

I'm in the UK so I'll give the sort of prices I can get:
ES7 - £1130
MP6 - £1300
FP80 - £1500
RD700NX - £2000 or £1900 for an ex display model.

Yes built in speakers would be preferable but not essential. Torhu that's exactly what I meant, occasionally it might need to be moved including up the stairs so around 25kg or less would be better.

Another Scott that's a very interesting idea however I'm not very technically minded so wouldn't have the confidence to attempt that, I would think having 2 would take up more space too so would much rather get as much as I'm after in 1 fairly compact DP.

JFP yes I'm am leaning towards the FP80. Is the key action and sound quality very similar to the NX700? More voices, effects, customizations etc would be really nice to have but I'd put more emphasis on key action and sound that is closer to an AP.

If you live in Manchester I know somebody selling a RD700NX for 1600

I'm in London unfortunately.

One thing worth mentioning: the FP-80 (and probably ES7) has got some backing band and recording features that are both fun and useful for practice. The RD-700NX is more limited in that area.

If you're just playing one sound at a time, it really is as simple as I explained. Connect a MIDI cable and left/right audio cables, and you're done. 30 seconds tops. You can do more, but you don't need to do more.

Alternatively, though, if you really want everything in one, you could buy an Electro 4HP, and have the same excellent Nord piano and organ. The reason I suggested the two board approach was that you get (IMO) a better feeling action, a full 88 keys, extra sounds, an additional unweighted keybed for organ, and also the built in speakers you'd like to have. But if you're okay without the speakers, and with the feel of the 4HP keys, the 4HP will give you the basics in one box.


That's true. The Casio+Electro are both pretty compact for what they are, and don't take a ton of space, but would still take more space than a single board, depth-wise. (If space is an issue, note also that the RD700NX requires more width than anything else we're talking about, because of the control panel to the left of the 88 keys.)

Yes space is at a premium at the moment. It's one the reasons I haven't considered the Kwai MP10 which seems great but appears bigger and heavier than the others and lacks organ sounds.

The organ sounds are just something I'd like to play around with and am not as serious about. Something like whats on the Kurzweil SP4-8 would be fine for my needs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xK-DxPszbA#t=4m43s

That could be another reason to see whether the Nord Electro 4HP may be sufficient for you, it's very small (and light).


They make a version of that with speakers, the SPS4-8. It may lag your other choices in other ways, but it may still be worth consideration.

The main emphasis would be on good key action for learning on and sound quality, I would be taking piano lessons on this and would want something that lasts.

My nephew will also be learning on this and his parents will be contributing so it's something we have to agree on. All the extra sounds/effects/features that we can get too would add to the fun for us but wouldn't be the main priority. The pipe or church organ sound is something we both really like but the piano sound and feel come first.

Hi Enthusiast.

Just out of interest where did you get that price of £1300 for the MP6? That's very high my friend.

I just ordered an MP6 on Friday and didn't pay anywhere near that. I was sitting on the fence a bit and waiting to save more funds for my MP. However, the deal I got on friday was so good I couldn't miss out on this opportunity.

The fact that I phoned the shop and haggled with them is what got me my price. I also live in London and am in a similar predicament as you.

Took piano lessons as a child and now starting back again in my mid 40's.

Tinkered on the Roland FP7 and found the action a little too light for my liking. Found the MP6 action to be a little heavy but loved it as, to me, this is how an AP should feel.

Just my 2 cents (or 2 pence!)

Best feel (roughly within your price range) is generally considered Kawai MP10/VPC, Yamaha CP5, Roland FP-80/RD-700NX/FP-7F. Which isn't to say that everyone likes all of those. I'd also put the new Casios up there.

But when it comes to the sound of the MP10, CP5, or Roland SuperNatural, there's no consensus there. Just pick what you like.

Though I understand that size/weight constraints might rule out the MP10.

Would you consider using a laptop for its sounds? Then you could just pick the action you like.

In terms of Kawai, the ES7 has the superior keyboard action (3 sensor), and built-in speakers, however features a smaller number of sounds compared to the MP6.

I've yet to try the FP-80, however the FP-7F was a good board (albeit a little over-simplified). It offers more sounds than the ES7 too.

MP10 is heavier than the ES7 and MP6, largely due to the wooden keys. But, in terms of size it's not *that* much larger. However, it lacks speakers, and has a sound-set that emphasises quality over quantity, so may miss-out in terms the 'fun' factory.

Of course, there's also the VPC1 - arguably the most realistic keyboard action of all of the boards, but it lacks any built-in sounds, and I'm not sure if you'd be willing to complicate matters be using computer-based sound exclusively.

Cheers,
James
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Hi Dooq, I didn't really shop around much when putting those prices up. The MP6 price was from Rose Morris in Denmark street, however I've just now seen it at £1160 elsewhere. Not sure how that compares to what you got it for. I've only had keyboard lessons before for a year and that was when I was 12. I'm 33 next month and still have that old Yamaha keyboard to play on for now. I started violin last year so a piano would be my 2nd instrument.

anotherscott I don't have a laptop only a great big desktop PC which is upstairs whereas the DP would be downstairs in the living room. I am intrigued by the idea of using software to add to or improve sound but have no idea how it works. Is there a beginners guide somewhere? As for the MP10 I would probably put up with the weight issue (as it seems amazing) but ideally I'd like to have those organ sounds in which it seems to lack.

Kwai James I didn't realize there was any difference between the ES7 and MP6 in terms of key action, that with the speakers would put it above the MP6 for me. The ES7 does at least have the main sounds I'd want and is the cheapest. I also really like the way it looks on it's stand with 3 pedals. Hopefully it can be detached quickly and easily.

VPC1 is an interesting one I hadn't heard of before but saw an add for it just now.
http://www.thepianoman.ltd.uk/kawai-vpc1-digital-piano.php
Does it require a lot of know how to use it and is it possible to get all sorts of effects and instrument sounds in there?

Any chance you have an iPad? You can get some nice organ sounds on that, which you can trigger from whatever piano you get. Simple and cheap.

Yes, the MP6 uses the 'RH' action, the ES7 uses the 'RHII' action. In terms of mechanism they're more or less identical. However, the 'RHII' action is more modern and features triple-sensor key detection for improved responsiveness.



Yes, there are some thumbscrews underneath - it's pretty straight-forward.



It's essentially an MP10 with an improved action (again triple-sensor), but without any sound generating hardware. It's something of a niche board, but for folks that use piano software on their Mac/PC, there's nothing out there that can touch it.



Well, it requires a reasonably powerful computer, software, and a degree of knowledge. But once everything is up and running, it's reasonably easy to use and offers far greater flexibility than a hardware digital piano.

More info here: www.kawaivpc.com

Cheers,
James
x

My nephew who would be the other main user does. He uses it to play his favourite tracks from synthesia on our keyboard. How would it work in terms of getting extra sounds on a DP?

Kwai James thanks for that link. It might end up being too much inconvenience and work for someone not used to doing that sort of thing. I do have a powerful PC with an average soundcard but I guess it would need to be connected all the time which wouldn't be convenient.

I need to go into some more shops now and try them all out. I do wonder if the 700NX as mentioned in another thread is due a successor this year?

If you plan on recording it solo, then I'd recommend anything Roland with SN piano voices, particularly the "Studio Grand" in the RD-700NX. Almost everything else you might choose from is looped and probably also stretched to some degree. Roland PHAIII keys are pretty nice too.

The NX can layer 4 voices, so it can directly do the church organ voices described in this excellent FP-7F thread. But it will take some doing on your part, and the reverb isn't that great. The strings aren't anything to write home about, but the harpsichord is OK. Given the extra length, the weight, and the strange form factor it's not very portable. And it doesn't have a music rest or built-in speakers (I'd recommend you use a good pair of headphones with it, or any DP you get actually).

You might try a Yamaha P-105 and see if that's enough for you. It is stretched and looped and has lame sympathetic resonance, but it is quite portable and has a music rest and built-in speakers.