Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards My Kawai CA95 has arrived!

Yeah, the GF action may not be mind-blowing but I liked it better than PHAIII and what CLP470 or 480 has (NW?). I would like it a bit lighter and with quicker rebound, some people mentioned that the third sensor positioning may not be ideal (true that on Bosendorfer grand I can easily achieve higher repetition rate than on GF) but other than that, I was really happy. I especially like how quiet it is. Also, often overlooked fact of Kawai actions is that they send note-off velocities, which allows for more realism when using software (Pianoteq, TrueKeys, maybe others). In fact, if I worked in Kawai marketing, I would stress this fact way more than for example velocity curves in VPC1 but that's just me.


Are you listening to the same recording? The clicking is there, loud and clear. I understand that you want to help Kawai because you are their happy customer and that is all right, positive feedback is just as important as constructive criticism, but in this case you are actually hurting them - if such randomly occuring clicking on randomly selected keys were really a general characteristic of the GF keybed, few people would want a piano with this action.

see , Dammha ,

I do not want this be a controversy , but I think that sometimes this is the only opportunity to know about the problems of a product based on the opinion of your User forum and we know that in the vast majority of users are serious people who have knowledge and insight on the subject .
My situation is not different ... I have an acoustic piano 6,1 ' and Kawai ES6 ... like a lot of them , but I have spent much more time in DP because I have to study late at night , I intend to purchase a one that has the closest mechanism of acoustic piano and the sound of the speakers do not look like plastic and artificial sound. This requires a very expensive invertimento , then how to know if will be a good deal if not research the views? we know that the majority is satisfied - as I and my ES6 - but I am concerned about the report that transportation has brought frequent injury to the keyboard and the reports of the problems I 've seen , you know? These are important information for many people .

The colleague is trying to solve the problem, but it is always disappointing and not always so easy ... I hope you do not take my placements as personal.

Hello Hookxs,

What's broke or malfunctioning needs to be repared, that's obvious. But by the poor soundquality of that particular recording it's difficult to say what's really the case. At least this is not the clicking sound of keys touching one another, that's what I meant. And indeed every keyboard has it's own general characteristics, those of Kawai, Roland, Yamaha or any other brand. My experience with the Kawai GF keyboard is that in general the sound of keys knocking at the bottom is very soft and damped by the shockabsorbing material. However, sometimes few keys sounded a 'little bit different' while hitting the bottom. If that's due to a technical problem, again fix it. Otherwise accept the general characteristic of the keyboard. I don't see how this remark will damage the reputation of the Grand Feel keyboard. But ofcourse words are by nature the perfect tools for misunderstanding

Dhamma

Hello Marao,
No man, no problem at all !
Dhamma

Dhamma, it is true that I probably see it from a different perspective because I experienced the clicking myself so it is easy for me to recognize it in the recording. I realize that it may look barely noticable to you or others.



If you are referring to my earlier remark in this thread, please bear in mind that I was merely stating my opinion based on a few reports here on this forum (and a healthy dose of speculation). It is by no means a confirmed fact that GF keyboard is susceptible to problems after transfortation.

Hi iceporky,

I am looking for a good digital piano for my son who just turned to seven. I did some research online and was told that Kawai digital pianos are good choice, and priced a little lower than Yamaha. I went to a store about 10 days ago, sales representative recommended CN34. He also talked about CA65 and CA95. I tried CA95 AND CN34. It seems to me that CA95 has better action and sounds beautifully. I have not talked about price yet. Today, I found out Pianoworld and your post. May I ask how much you paid for your CA95?

Thanks for your help!

Hi spring13, I paid close to $5k USD.

The CA65 has the same action as the CA95 - and costs significantly less. However, the CN34 costs even less than the CA65 and would be perfectly fine for a 7 year old just starting out on the piano.

I really love my CA65 and the CA95 was incredible. But if you are really talking about a 7 years old who is approaching piano for the first time, I really wonder if spending that much money on a first piano is that wise. They are very good, but they are also quite expensive, you are paying real quality here.

Of course if you have a bottomless budget and don't mind to risk spending a lot of money just for the kid to get bored in a year or so, by all means I think that these are amazing digital pianos, just as are the CS series if you wish to spend even a bit more.

But I think it would be wiser to start with a beginner-intermediate level digital piano and then see about going for a real top of the range one, if needed.

Kawai does offer more for the price than Yamaha, and you might want to try the CL36, KDP90, CN24, CN34, CE200 or CA15. Please note that Kawai don't offer all models to all markets, so availability will depend on where do you live.

Check the different specs at www.kawai.de or http://www.kawaius.com/ There are more sites for other places, not sure where you are but you'll find links there. That way you can see which models are best for your needs.

Then do a research about price and you'll know where you stand, and remember that you can negotiate the price a bit.

That's only my humble opinion... too many pianos are left untouched and collecting dust because the kids (or adults) got bored.

The most reliable source for Kawai product information for those living outside of Europe, the US, or Australasia is the following page:

http://www.kawai.co.jp/worldwide/support/catalogue.html

Kind regards,
James
x

Yes , no , yes , no , yes , no ....I'm still undecided on that. My CA-95 arrives next week, so we'll see. What I DO know is that Kawai does everything needed to fix a problem if anything is wrong. Very coorparative , very efficient in my experience. Can't speak for overseas areas, but at least in my region Kawai does a great job. And the instruments in itself are very good ! Very nice to play.

That's my experience to. When after the exchange of my first CA 95, because of a humming transformer, the one in the new piano also proved not to be entirely silent. It made less noise then the first one, but still was audible. Now I'am sure there are people who absolutely don't bother about such a thing. But because I'am extremely sensitive, having very sharp ears and a really quiet home, I could not be totally happy with my new piano. Then, Kawai Europe presented this problem to their technical engineers in Japan. They came up with a simple but very adequate solution. They placed under the humming transformer four very soft shockabsorbing silicone rings. Now, after screwing the transformer tight to the wooden bottomplate, you can move the transformer by hand about 5 mm in every direction. Every little bit of vibration of the transformer is absorbed by those silicone rings. Then they did a final checkup with a real doctors stethoscope and examined the humming patient thoroughly. They listenend on every part of the wooden cabinet. Guesse what ? 100% SILENCE! Then they asked my: "are you happy now sir"? I wás and still am!

So JFP, sit back and relax, and enjoy those impatient feelings of still having to wait one more week before your CA 95 arrives. Please inform us about the ins and outs...
Dhamma

The same technician came this morning. The good news is that he can hear the clicky key this time and acknowledges that there's an issue.

It turns out that it has nothing to do with the felt or rail. It appears that the plastic hammer hitting the felt, the part that is sandwiched between two metal pieces, is a bit loose. This generates a plasticy knock/click whenever it hits the felt, as it rattles between the two metal pieces. At least, that's the hypothesis.

However, he couldn't fix it. He'll contact Kawai and see how we can proceed from here.

Like most things, taking the CA95 apart is easier than putting it back together. My sliding key cover is now misaligned and loose, and the screws at the back can't be tighten all the way in. But all these should be straighten out when they come over to fix it again.

Good thing about the problem being recognized and identified, bad thing about the poor craftsmanship of the technician. Hope it all sorts out without introducing other problems. BTW I played CA95 again yeaterday after almost a year and my statemant stands that GF is imho one of the best DP actions out there (when compared to RM3, RHII, PHAIII, NW stage, NW).

I'm quite happy that the technician can see the issue. To me, I'm just glad that we're inching towards a solution.

Yes, I think GF is quite an accomplishment. It's easy to play, yet allows fine control over tone and dynamics. I like RHII (on ES7) too, but the feel is quite different compared to GF.

By the way, given rnaple's love declaration for the VPC1, what are you waiting for?

Yeah yeah, I know. The thing is I got to play MP10 (as close to VPC as you can get) yesterday and the thing is, of the three - GF, RHII and RM3 (II) - RM3 is the hardest to play (for me at least). I could get used to it, no doubt, but I am a little reluctant to commit to something that will slow me down at least a little. I fully admit it's partly my fault for having mediocre technique at best but I play piano for fun and like getting 'positive feedback' from the piano - yeah, I am that shallow:-) Anyway, I plan to post my observations from yesterday's tryouts in some other more relevant thread. Action comparisons never get old, right?;-)

Absolutely! Looking forward to your comparisons!

The technician sent over to fix the clicky key on my CA95 is clearly clueless.

On his first visit, he couldn't even remove the lid to gain full access of the key-bed.

On his second visit (this week), he managed to remove the lid but was very hesitant to remove the screws to change the key. Instead, he superimposed a layer of felt so that the clicky sound is damped but resulting in that key having a heavier feel than the rest. He asked me if I'm okay with that. I say 'No!'. Then he asked me if I have any lubricant. I gave him a blank look, which he then proceed to scrap off lubricant from some of the good keys and patch it onto the clicky key.

Eventually he gave up and admitted that he's more of an electronic guy that fixes church organs. He said the only technician for digital pianos has recently quitted and he's just here to help out.

After the last visit, I wrote 2 emails to the company asking for the next step in rectifying the problem. Both my emails were ignored. I finally wrote a 3rd email asking for a full refund. This 3rd email was replied within an hour. The company said they have received info from Kawai on how to fix the key and will be sending the same technician over soon.

I requested for a Kawai certified technician in my email but that option seems highly unlikely.

So, here's the thing. The lid that the technician removed was not even properly put back. It now slides from side to side. Apparently that is the best that the technician can do for the lid. Now, I'm just worried that once he opens up the key-bed and messes around in his experimental mode, things are just going to get worst.

This must be a very annoying experience for you, especially considering this is not one of the cheapest digitals, we are talking about.

A clicky key is obivously a production fault, and you should demand a full refund. If the Kawai representatives in your country are not willing to oblige, tell them you will seek out your rights by contacting authorities that deal with consumer rights. Just offering to send an underqualified repairman, who doesn't even appear to know what he's doing, is totally unacceptable.

This is exactly the reason why I recommend always considering how the service for the pianos is, when buying a new instrument.

I would tell them you are happy to take a new CA95 and they can feel free to experiment on the returned one as much as they wish. Their tech has shown he's not knowledgable and you shouldn't have to deal with unacceptable work.