Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawaii ES100 Vs. Roland FP-30

So there should be a way to make it so that the speakers will stay on when you plug in the headphone? You could disable it on one of the outputs, say the 1/4 and leave that function on for the 1/8. I wonder if all it would involve is disconnecting a wire on one of the headphones sockets?

as a beginner, should I let the amount of sensors be the deciding factors when choosing a digital piano?

I'm deciding between kawai es100 and roland's fp-30- while I do like kawai's action better, on the other hand, roland's fp-30 does have 3 sensors and is overall a newer release.

But should i let the lack of 3 sensors be the deciding factor? how important is it for a beginner anyway?

I've watched the following youtube video explaining the difference between a 2 sensors and a 3 sensors piano, but if i'm a beginner, there probably wont be THAT many instances where i need to play repeated notes that fast anyway right?

https://youtu.be/2rZAPpHCjRo

Are there anyone here who has played both of these pianos? (kawai es100 & roland fp-30) ?

What are your opinions of them? :>

For a beginner, 3 sensors are not useful. I have only 2 sensors and have no utility for a 3rd one.

Hi uptick, I agree with Frederic L, 2 sensor is more than enough for a beginner, and Kawai keybeds are very accurate and responsive. Go for ES100, if you like key action more and please share with us your impressions about both boards and their keys. Cheers!.

uptick - Speaking as someone who tends to over-analyze about everything, I have to say that sometimes you have to try out both as close together as possible, go home, and see which one you keep thinking about and wish you could stay up all night playing. That's the one.

Hi,

Why did Roland take out the accompaniment features of the F20 for the FP30 and why did you reduce the number of rhythms.
I had a go on the Fp30 and whilst it sounds like an acoustic piano, I was disappointing by the severe lack of rhythms. I don't think the Fp30's piano sound is so superior to anything else that they can afford to take out really useful learning features like rhythms to play along to.

Alternatively are there any resources out there which you can buy which have loads of different rhythms as I think this is a really good way to improve.

Would the Fp30 be suitable for higher level ABRSM grades like 7,8 and diploma, or even conservatoire level playing?

(a) There are free rhythm composers that run on PC's. You can lay down a bunch of rhythm tracks, and play along to them. Or record them to an MP3, and play along with that. Google:

. . . free rhythm composer software

(b) You'll probably need an acoustic piano (or access to one) to develop the subtlety of touch, tone, and pedalling, that you'll need for the higher exam grades. The FP30 -- good as it is -- doesn't have as nice an action as some higher-priced DP's.

If you asked that question about (say) the LX-17, I wouldn't know the answer.

. . . How good a pianist are you?

Thanks for your help, but are there any pre recorded rhythms that you can play along with without having to create your own?

Is the ES100 good enough for higher grades 8 and diploma?
I am about grade 3/4 now, but as these digital pianos are so expensive I'd rather get one I can keep for 4/5 years or so.

I thought the whole point of the fp30 was that is was great at being a piano? Otherwise why not get something like the dgx which has loads of extra features if the fp30 piano isn't good enough for higher grades anyway.
Are there any very good digital pianos for less than £700? That is my absolute max budget, but ideally I wanted to pay about £400.

30 seconds of googling turned up with this: http://www.fivepinpress.com/drum_patterns.html I'm sure there's plenty more, but people generally expect to be paid for their time in producing them, e.g. http://drumtracks.com/

(this is no recommendation for or endorsement of either site - these are just examples of what's available).

Yes and no. Can you do your daily practice on a good quality digital for an ABRSM diploma? Of course you can; plenty of people do. Can you get "good enough" just on that? I doubt it. More importantly, I doubt you would enjoy playing only a (fairly basic) digital instrument at a high(ish) level if classical music is what makes you tick.

Horses for courses. Some people would rather have a better action and piano sound rather than a rhythm section or more voices and effects; others favour exactly the opposite. That doesn't automatically make the instrument with a relatively better action and piano sound adequate for all purposes involving a "classical" piano...

Yes, there are. Here are some: http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2167459/Comparison_of_Portable_Digital.html

However "very good" is relative; the best £500 keyboard is probably not as good as an average £1000 keyboard, never mind the best one, otherwise everybody would just buy the £500 one and the £1,000 one would not even get produced. There is a component of marketing, of course, but it's not just that. Then, there is the issue of purpose - see the comment above re: FP30 vs. DGX; another sense in which "very good" is relative.

If you use the Piano Partner 2 app, you get some pretty decent accompaniments. You can adjust the split point on the keyboard and the relative volume of the accompaniment -vs- your playing. It seems to restore some pretty obviously absent features and was perhaps the plan all along.

you must also convert the lo-impedance to high impedance , to get the signal undistorted (frequency uniformity). You can do this passively by some resistors.

Hi, I am trying to decide between these 2 models, and is very hard.
Roland fp30 has a lot of advantages (more volume power, better reseller in my country, a little cheaper, more beautiful, newer model, higher resell value), but I like the es100 sound and touch.

The problem is this: I am used to play on an old casio crappy keyboard, for the last 30 years. So I dont know if the lighter Kawai touch that I like is because I am used to a bad touch (the very light casio organ).

Also I dont think the Ivory feel keytops are important.

Thanks!
Mark

(ADD) I mean, it is better to have a heavier touch (roland)? The 3rd sensor is really worth it?

For the heavier touch, yes if you play piano (not organ).

I have only 2 sensors and feel comfortable with this. But this will depends of what you play : repeating really quickly a single not will be easier with 3 sensors : the key will have to come back less high to be played again.

Hi Mark!
I think that the choice is obvious. If you like a sound and touch of Kawai, don't think about other piano. Doesn't matter if something is newer, better for others like me - the most important is what YOU like!
Take ES100

You can adjust the "touch weight and "brilliance" on both the ES-100 and FP-30. Additionally, on the ES-100, you can also adjust the "voicing" (character) of the sound.

It might be worth it to download the user manuals and learn how to make those adjustments so you can better compare.

Hi Marcos X, as has been said countless times, key action is a very personal and subjective matter; therefore, you should try all your selected choices before you buy if possible... but IMHO, as usual Kawai key actions are more realistic than the competition, in this case, Kawai ES100 key action has a more quicker and realistic grand piano feel compared with the weird, sluggish and heavier Roland FP30 key action; also, this Roland key action has an unpleasant key action upweight, which very quickly fatigue my wrists and hands... of course I must admit that this Roland key action is a new one and has the tri-sensor technology, the same responsive key scanning also present in their top of the line older sisters and a more pronounced let-off effect. Ok... because the final decision, in my case is not taken by the specifications, but rather by how it feels in my hands; for this reason, you should try it by yourself, and finally let
your fingers (and ears) decide for you. Regards!.

Hi Marcos X, IMHO, a heavier key action is not necessarily a better choice over a lighter one, or viceversa... Cheers!.

Fer,

This MAY be your opinion, but it is entirely unfounded in reality. There's nothing sluggish or heavy about the PHA-4 Standard found on the FP-30. It is the same action found on several other instruments, and besides you, no one has uttered these words.

Conclusion: It is your Kawaii zealotry, as opposed to fact that this "opinion" in based on. Not reality.

Jay

That's because you don't know how to play.

You keep spouting an amazing load of rubbish, despite the fact that you know nothing. I suggest you get a teacher and practice to train your weak wrists and hands.