Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai MP11 Thread

Originally Posted By: PatrickBl.

Quote from MP7 thread page 20.

"Anyway, it occurred to me while browsing the "Kawai MP11. Can't get sound right" thread (must look up how to link to threads) that although lots of helpful people were posting lists of their various settings, no-one suggested sharing setup/sound files that had been dumped from their MP11.

Am I missing something? With all the tweaks and changes you can make with the MP7/11, I would have thought there would be a lot of enthusiastic file swapping going on."


Great idea from PatrickBI.

BTW. How would one go about dumping,sharing or uploading Setup/Sound files on this site?

Use a third party audio file distribution site like Box , Source Audio, Sound Cloud or go on youtube if you have a nice video to go with the music or audio track.

If it's other types of files like set up data, I suppose you can use wetransfer if you're sending to a few people only. If you want files publically available, use a site like MediaFire.

Started this thread in order to hear from other MP11 owners about their personal experiences with the Instrument. I figured that since the Instrument has been in circulation for a few months already, there would many more MP11 owners out there who may want to share their experiences, whether positive or negative.
For example, I was reading the MP7 thread and saw that some owners had trouble with the menu changing parameters by itself. Without being touched.

But there was also positive feedback from others about their overall satisfaction with their board. I feel it would be helpful to other owners, as well as to those considering buying this Instrument.

I for one am getting more satisfied with the MP11 as the days go by. The feel of this keybed is truly phenomenal. I had issues with the sound, but that too has improved very much with tweaking the virtual technician. It took some time but got better as I followed the very helpful tips and suggestions that others contributed on this forum.

So I thought our very own MP11 specific thread would be useful to have for a while.

I am seriously considering upgrading to the MP11. I am a still learning to play, so I want the best action going forward. Sound is less important to me (for the most part, I use Pianoteq). I have considered the VPC1, but I think I want the onboard sounds. I keep going back and forth wondering if the extra cost for the MP11 is worth it. In any case, these threads have been helpful to me as a potential buyer. Thanks!

Scorpio,
You might want to check out Roland's RD-800 which has a phenomenal action and a lot of versatility. Also, I haven't played Yamaha's CP4, but it seems to get really good reviews in terms of the quality of the action. If you like the yamaha sound it might be an ideal choice. And from kawai, it might be worth checking out the MP7 or ES7. Though the MP11 has the top of the line action, the MP7 and ES7 are reported to have excellent actions as well. Just because the MP11's action is newer and more expensive doesn't mean you'll like it better. From reading reviews my impression is that the MP/ES-7s have lighter actions than the MP11. You might find you just like the feel of that better. The only way to know for sure is to try it out. Try them all if you can. After doing so, you may in fact fall in love with the MP11's action and go for it anyway. But then you'll really know it's the best for you.

Sadly, beginners looking for the best action in a portable form have to choose between emptiness of the VPC1 and 999 knobs of the MP11. (I tend to believe that any wooden action is better than any plastic one.)

rpw, I completely agree.

I have had my P155 for 18 months - I truly love it (as my first). But I am ready to move away from the plastic keys. I made great progress last year with a teacher and feel it is time to move up.

All things equal I would stick with Yamaha (I really prefer the Yamaha sound). I do like the bulkiness of the MP11, and the longer keys. Unfortunately, finding any of these to try (CP4, MP11, RD800) in my area is not easy.

rpw: I tend to believe that any wooden action is better than any plastic one.

scorpio: rpw, I completely agree.

I am on the search for my first real DP and I would like to know if the above statements are true.

Please advice
Thanks

From a point of view of being able to feel better because you know you're playing a wooden key rather than a plastic one, yes definitely. Wooden is better. From a practical point of view, I doubt it makes any difference except that plastic may possibly be more subject to fatigue than wood, in which case wood is better because the plastic could sheer at a weak point.

Both are simply parts in a lever mechanism and both are always covered in plastic anyway, so I would have thought it's a very minor point indeed in the make up on the piano. Other specifications of the action are much more important. But of course, this opinion might be wrong - I'm not an engineer to be able to really discern the difference.

LarryMan, the reason Kawai wooden-key actions are so highly regarded is not just the material of the keys. Of course this is important, however the overall action design, including key length, pivot length, movement/motion, hammer placement, counterweight, etc. all contribute to a realistic touch feeling.

Simply adding wood to a plastic-key action will not automatically improve its realism.

Kind regards,
James
x

Kawai James
True, and in fact I think those things are vastly more important than simply having wooden keys. Although one might argue that if a DP manufacturer is going to the trouble to add wooden keys to the action of a DP, then they are more likely to focus on those things as well for that model. Since DP's that have wooden keys tend to have more thought put into the design of those actions, they probably tend to be better over all. I don't really know if the wooden keys part really makes that much difference to be honest. Most of those DP's have some sort of faux ivory key top so it's not like you're actually getting some tactile benefit from the wood itself. The only feeling that I can see is in the inertia of moving the key itself. I'm not convinced (though I haven't really done any personal testing that the wood part really makes a noticeable difference. I suspect wooden keys is more about marketing, it's sort of a broadcast to the world (Hey, we care about the action on this piano!). It might become a sort of "Must Have" for high end digital pianos, more due to marketing than actual considerations.

Although maybe there is a tangible benefit beyond the psychological (maybe it's hard to match the inertia of the wood to the plastic or whatever). Maybe kawaii did some research and found that it really did matter to players? I know, even if they did you probably couldn't share the results. Those darned corporate secrets! *Grin*

Like James said, it's not just about adding wood. You have to look at the whole picture. It's about the entire mechanism.

Maybe I am over exaggerating the plastic key issue. But when I practice at home (P155), sometimes I tend to slip on the keys. I do not experience the same during my lessons on an acoustic. I suppose I could be doing something wrong.

That has to do with the key surfaces which are always, always plastic, anyway. Whether you're playing an acoustic or a digital, the key surface will be plastic, unless it is so old that real ivory was used, but that's very unlikely, I think.

However, some plastic is better than other plastic: some acrylics seem to grip better than others and modern pianos - especially digitals (not so much real pianos) tend to have special imitation ivory keys.

But it's all plastic. You never would actually feel the wood part of a wooden key.....except for the black keys, perhaps, which would have a lighter laminate or painted surface, rather than plastic covering.

It may not be about wood, however there seem to be direct relation between key material and action mechanism. All wooden actions, whether it's kawai or yamaha, share exactly same design - longer keys with hammers above them.

thank you

rpw, with respect, the design of Kawai's wooden-key action and Yamaha's wooden-key action is very different.

Kawai 'Grand Feel' action:



Yamaha 'Natural Wood Stage' action:



Kind regards,
James
x

I apologize. I jumped to conclusions after seeing pictures of the CLP-990.

You slip on basic plastic because it does not absorb sweat from your fingers.
The likewise porous plastic imitations are pretty decent nowadays, I haven't noticed any issues with my MP11 for example.