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meco73 ... have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM9QW64Lfpo Well, about the key action, it seems to be faulty as the ES100 was faulty also in some complaints I found on the web. The key action is very important to me, so I've just went with Roland Fp30 that is prooved to have more firm and sturdy key action, long lasting in time...plus much more superior piano sound and usb connection, usb saving recording data on, playing your favourite .wav songs from a usb stick, and in my country a better price. about other keybed problems with Kawai ES100 see this post also: https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2205900/Help:_Dying_keys_on_digital_pi.html
Congrats on your ES110, and thank you for sharing your thorough unboxing pics, always nice to see.
Originally Posted by squidbot
Kawai James, so here's the problem I'm encountering. For the most part, when I press the keys, they are quiet and all I hear is the key thump, which is what I expect. However, the A2 key as well as the E3, E4 and E5 all emit a slight rattle or buzz when pressed. If you watch this video, it's most obvious at around 19 seconds in. Is this normal and some keys are just going to make a little extra noise or is it something I need to engage the warranty on?
To be honest, I'm always a little weary about commenting on this kind of 'keyboard action noise' video - regardless of the manufacturer. The videos are usually recorded in a quiet environment, with just the sound of the keys being pressed (i.e. no piano sound produced by the instrument), and captured using a smartphone mic that automatically raises the recorder gain to boost low-levels. Watching such videos with headphones, one can easily get the impression that an action is incredibly noisy, when in reality - or at least in regular playing circumstances - this may not necessarily be the case.
That's not to say that the ES110 you have received is absolutely flawless. I have watched the keyboard noise video a few times, and can hear some slight rattle along with the key thump (which the iPhone mic emphasises). However, I'm afraid it's impossible for me to judge if this is normal or a problem that needs to be addressed.
My recommendation would be to raise this matter with my colleagues at Kawai America via the contact addresses listed at www.kawaius.com. I shall also forward them links to your forum post and YouTube video to ensure that everyone is kept in the loop.
In the meantime, may I kindly request that you change the status of the keyboard clip from 'Public' to 'Unlisted' in YouTube's video manager.
Thank you once again for your unboxing pics, and for querying the keyboard sound. I'm confident that my colleagues at Kawai America will do their best to assist you with this matter, and if necessary, resolve any issues with your instrument.
Korny, congrats on your FP-30, it's a great board.
Cheers, James x
Hi James, Thank you! Also, thank you for sharing a better sounding video presentation for ES110. This keyboard seems to be a good deal also, if the quality of fabrication for the keys will prove not to disappoint.
Thanks Kawai James. I understand not wanting to try to do tech support based on a bad video I will follow up with Kawai support as you suggest, it's actually much more audible than is evident on the recording and it can be heard clearly when the instrument has sound on. I also unlisted the video, but left it linkable, I don't want to come off as disparaging the instrument. Aside from the minor issue, I played with it for several hours last night and I'm really, really pleased with it. The action is fantastic and the piano sound is such a huge upgrade from what I had previously. I primarily use headphones as not to disturb the rest of my household and I noticed some really impressive "little things" like when you depress the sustain pedal they've actually sampled the noise of the dampers leaving the strings. Wow!
Now learning: Debussy Clar de Lune, Mozart Sonata in C K. 545, Joplin The Chrysanthemum Instruments: Yamaha N1X, Roland GO:PIANO, Piano de Voyage
How is the key length of the new RH-C action compared to the old AHA-IV-F?
This information is provided in the dealer sales manual, however it is not something that I can share publicly, I'm afraid. Sorry. ;(
So if I go to a Kawai dealer he can give me the answer - good or bad - if he so chooses? Or is he restricted from doing so? Or if not restricted, perhaps advised not to?
It seems to me, and I suspect would appear this way to others, that the only reason to "hide" this info if is the key length is shorter. Which does NOT necessarily mean the action is inferior - but it would likely be considered a negative by many folks. And perhaps the honest answer is that in order to lighten the keyboard weight, the new RH Compact action features a shorter key length.
The weight (and key travel) difference between the front and the back of the keys directly affects people with long fingers and short thumbs.
For example GHS keys are so short, that they are barely playable with the thumbs on the black keys, while the ES100 action is just fine, despite not being a concert grand action either.
I'm surprised, I expected some more or less specific answer, but not really "it's confidential".
So if I go to a Kawai dealer he can give me the answer - good or bad - if he so chooses? Or is he restricted from doing so? Or if not restricted, perhaps advised not to?
Sorry, I was mistaken. The information is indicated in our internal company materials (i.e. I am aware of the respective key lengths), however is not written in the dealer sales manuals.
I could have (and perhaps ought to have) simply responded "I'm sorry, I do not know", but prefer to be as honest with fellow PW users as possible.
Regardless of key length, the RH Compact action reproduces the touch (both static weight and dynamic weight) of an acoustic grand piano more closely than that of AHA IV-F. I believe this to be of greater importance than the keys of one being a few millimetres longer than the other.
For example GHS keys are so short, that they are barely playable with the thumbs on the black keys, while the ES100 action is just fine, despite not being a concert grand action either.
I appreciate your point, however I'm confident that you will not encounter this problem when playing the RH Compact action.
Originally Posted by JoeT
I'm surprised, I expected some more or less specific answer, but not really "it's confidential".
Digital piano keyboard action design is an important element of Kawai's IP. As such, I believe I can be forgiven for respecting the wishes of my engineering colleagues by not disclosing every specification in a public forum.
One of the most important improvements is the FLAT EQ. . .Why Why Why Kawai haven't you added that option to es100 right from the beginning.
Ok line outs are welcome as well, but as an audio engineer i know that a flat Frequency Response is very important. The es100 sounds rather muddy and dull when connected to a P.A. because of the inner EQ applied to make it sound better on its own speakers. The es110 will definately sound much better than my es100 just because of the flat eq feature. This simple feature could have been included on the es100 to simply change the sound of the headphone outputs to get a flat frequency response resulting in a more balanced sound when connected to an external Mixer/P.A system. . .
I will follow up with Kawai support as you suggest, it's actually much more audible than is evident on the recording and it can be heard clearly when the instrument has sound on. I also unlisted the video, but left it linkable, I don't want to come off as disparaging the instrument. Aside from the minor issue, I played with it for several hours last night and I'm really, really pleased with it. The action is fantastic and the piano sound is such a huge upgrade from what I had previously. I primarily use headphones as not to disturb the rest of my household and I noticed some really impressive "little things" like when you depress the sustain pedal they've actually sampled the noise of the dampers leaving the strings. Wow!
