Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards KAWAI VPC1, YAMAHA CP4 or NUMA Concert, which one to choose?

Hi Tony,
I noticed that you thought CP4 feels the same as CP5 except that the latter one was not graded, so did you notice the let-off in CP4's action?
And how about trigger and re-trigger? As can be seem in the demo by Kraft Music, the third sensor functioned very well and re-trigger was applicable on CP4. Actually I can't help wondering if the additional sensor on the VPC1 function the same way as on CP4, which was exactly what I want.

Cheers!
David

Ballin'!

Congrats on your decision. I'm sure you will find the VPC1 an excellent controller. The doubt here in the thread was mainly about the circumstance in which you had to purchase the VPC (import / high price / warranty issue) , not the instrument itself.

Pity you can't accommodate the CA-15; would have saved you some trouble (and money perhaps).

Cheers, J

David, fingers crossed the VPC1 arrives undamaged - please keep us updated!

Kind regards,
James
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I have to say I liked the CP4's S6 piano, action, and even the EPs a lot more than the ES7, and oh yea, dont forget the weight! You cant beat the CP4 and CP5 actions. Its like when You play it you never forget it. Dont know about let off and re-trigger business etc. that someone else wanted to know , but I will maybe check on that soon, only after I figure out what it means. I have to give the RHs piano another listen anyways.

Please I need your here. What model should I purchase between the Kawai CA 65 vs CS 7?

Can you tell me which Japanese international dealer you purchased your VPC1 from? PM me if you would rather not say it publicly. Thanks!

Acca,
Just sent you a PM, might not be helpful though

David

Hi dear all,
My VPC1 arrived! After 1 month of waiting and having paid for $600 of shipment fee, it came to me finally, today!
Well to my knowledge my VPC1 works fawlessly, however it has cost me quite an effort before it could work the way it's been expected. The first time I placed it on my desk several keys just wouldn't return after being pressed down.
Anyway this issue is fixed and i think i know why.
The whole story and more thoughts are on the way.
Cheers!
David

David,
Glad your VPC1 arrived.
I just got mine a few weeks ago, here in the U.S. and it's a wonderful controller.
What software are you using? I have Ivory II and Pianoteq, but am mostly using Ivory.

Happy to hear that it came safely and you have it up and running successfully. I too would like to know what soft pianos you're using with it. Wishing you many years of productive use and enjoyment!

I'm glad to hear that you finally received your VPC1!

I wonder why the shipping cost was so high, though, and I'm also a little concerned that some of the keys are not playing correctly - suggesting the instrument may have been damaged during shipment.

Just out of curiosity, did your VPC1 have a strip of sticky plastic running across the length of the keyboard to hold all the keys in position?

Kind regards,
James
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Hi Psychonut,
Thank you very much for your kind wishes. I am now coupling my VPC1 with pianoteq 4.5 and am very happy with it so far.

Cheers
David

Hi EP,
Thank you!
I am using Pianoteq because that has been the only software piano that I can try on before purchase. Thankfully the sound is more than acceptable for me, and most importantly, the playability is superb of the pianoteq, which is vital for my practice.
If my hard drive had more space and faster speed, I would probably go for a KAWAY EX PRO sample libraies, so that I can have the KAWAI sound out of a KAWAI board:D
By the way, given that you have two softwares in hand, have you try mixing them together? I mean by assigning the same MIDI channel to them, you might get the two software singing synchronously. I never tried that before but still there's the possibility that you can enjoy the best playability and the best sound at the same time.
Cheers!
David

Hi James,
Thank you very much for your concern.
In response to your first question, I have to say I don't know either.However if I chose to ship this board directly from the US, the shipping fee alone will cost $849, and the price of VPC1 is about $200 higher than in Japan(transferred to CNY), so overall I still saved a little bit.
The key issues, as I believe, can not be attributed to transportation damages. The outer box was intact, and the unit itself with the fixation plastic strip were perfect upon arrival. However, this shouldn't be build quality or QC issues either, because I fixed the problem without having to open the chasis, which I almost did.
To make the long story short, I think the problem was caused by twisting of the board.
Here's how I make the judgement.
At first I tried to settle my VPC1 on my desk, but this board was too long and too wide that I had to use two smaller tables to support it. Since the height of the three tables were slightly different, with a variation of 2~3cm each, two rubber feet of the VPC1 were elevated. As this seemed to be a minor problem, I just ignored it and connceted it to my PC and then tested the unit key by key. Then I noticed several keys to the left of middle C(sorry I just don't know how to express this in English) wouldn't return after being pressed down, the felt was like they were stuck, and they made louder noise than their normal peers. At the beginning I was thinking about temperature or moisture(the board had been shipped to me via Hongkong), then I decieded I have to open it up to check by myself as there's no way to return it to its dealer.
But just as I moved it down to the floor and about to disassemble my VPC 1, I pressed the problematic keys again. This time ,all the keys return perfectly.
At that moment I was still thinking about that was due to temperature change, but as I lifted it on my desk again, the keys stuck again!!
So in my logic, the only variation had been the plane it rested on. To confirm my hypothesis, I put several note book under the elevated rubber foot of my VPC1, then press the keys again.
And the problem was solved.
The explanation I gave, is that since two of the four rubber feet were elevated, one higher than another, a very slight twisting of the chasis that cannot be perceived by fresh eye occured. And the unique structure of wooden action or its heavier-than usual self weight made this board more sensitive to deformation, condemning it to malfunction.
Now I am a happy owner of a flawless KAWAI VPC1!
As you konw I am a beginner so I don't know how to describe it touch or sound wise. But the touch and feel of VPC 1 are very close to the KAWAI RX-1 Baby grand I once tried. My roomate, who also plays piano, claims that VPC1 with pianoteq feels better than the vintage KAWAI upright that he is used to, however the vpc1 requires more effort to control as it is more sensitive to the changes of velocity. Anyway this unit have surpassed my wildest expectation, I'm pretty sure that I will continue to advance in piano skills with VPC1.
Thank you KAWAI for making this gorgeous product!
Best regards,
David

Hi David,
Sounds like you've made quite the effort to get up and running - I'm glad to hear you're getting it all worked out.
I did try Pianoteq and Alicia's Keys together, but now I'm just using Ivory II. I might try mixing it with pianoteq, but I'm pretty happy with Ivory the way it is, and I don't want to over-complicate things.
I think pianotteq has some advantages in playability over sampled pianos, but it's still not quite the same. It wasn't easy reconciling the cost of Ivory without being able to try it out, but I'm glad I did.
By the way, the way I used both sounds together was by using the USB midi input in one, and the midi input in the other. When I tried them both with the same midi input USB), I was getting some audio glitches.

Daivd, thank you for your explanation.

Yes, I strongly recommend placing the VPC1 on a flat, even surface.
I also recommend using a proper, strong keyboard stand rather than a computer desk or table.

Thank you once again for the positive feedback - I'm glad everything worked out!
Perhaps Kawai Shanghai should consider introducing the VPC1 into China?

Kind regards,
James
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I know that I am refloating and old thread... but I just wanted to say David that you saved me live here.

I just received today my brand new VPC1 and some keys on the center were not returning after being pressed. I was going to return the unit and get it changed by a new one but I've seen your history, and voila, every key is ok, it's just that my stand is not good enough for this keyboard.

You just saved me a lot of time and troubles...

Edit: Ops... my case is more complicated. The keyobard only works correctly if I leave it on the piano bench... but two keys are stuck if I leave it on the stand or on the floor (and the floor is leveled). But it is related to twisting of the chassis.

Edit2: Ok... I finally was able to leave it on a stand and all the keys working. It seems that the unit I have need to be supported by the center of the keyboard. If it is left on its four supports, then A4 and B4 keys stuck (specially A4). After stuffing some books under the center of keyboard (in between the support and the keyboard... yes, it is ugly) then the keys work, but they do more noise than the rest of keys... not nice for a brand new unit. I think I will return the unit as it seem damaged and do not work 'out of the box' as it was designed to be used, but at least now can I play all the keys while I wait for a new one.

Regards,
Kurt.-

Sorry to read of your experience Kurt.

You should definitely return the VPC1 for a unit that has not been damaged.

Kind regards,
James
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Hi,

Resolution was quicker than expected.

I already have a new unit that seems to work properly (I haven't had enough time to check it thoroughly but it looks very nice and all keys seem to work as expected and without strange noises or clicks).

Kawai supplier in Spain (Bilbao Trading, if I recall correctly) did an outstanding job here. In less than 24 hours they solved the issue... amazing!

Regards,
Kurt.-