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Kawai MP7 Stage Piano


jahfume

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Here's a review of this new kid on the block;

 

 

http://azpianonews.blogspot.fr/2014/04/K...under-2000.html

 

And here's my reaction to it - posted on Piano World;

 

 

Got the MP7 temporarily set up in my workshop and spent a few hours going through the presets and investigating the extensive editing a bit.

 

Got to say - Iv'e got a bit more money to spare these days - but I think I would be willing to part another £500 for this board.Its worth that much more over the old MP6 which I owned.

 

The overall physical look is classy, the user interface is easy to navigate without using the manual (so far)and lots of new features are inteligentely integrated.

 

Im finding the Grand pianos (the first four)to have a nice spacial feel with an airyness (sorry if Casio have trade-marked that word)to them.Play very well with the crisp and responsive action.(I wonder if Kawai have improved the "Ivory" surface - its good - but my MP6's keys became shiny after a year of playing.)

The Mono Pianos: I dont think they are same samples as the grands rendered to mono.There are noticable groups of notes that have a different sound quality to those adjasent.

 

The Upright sample is simply a joy to play - more so than the Petrof in the Nord Piano.Me Likey!

 

Im listerning through powered Opera PA speakers nothing to hi-fi but they are 15ins woofers with a 1 ins horns.

 

I dont play much classical music - more of a jazz fusion/ pop guy so Im looking for a good Rhodes sound and Wurly.

The main Rhodes (EP1)is good as out of the box but I very quickly

made it into something fonky just changing the amp sim to a Rotary on stop ( never before liked a leslie FX on a Rhodes)Then EFx2 to Overdrive+ (Dual with Tremolo)- mess with parameters to taste and still have the Mod wheel controlling Sterio-pan!

 

Im a happy Bunny - now I just need to shift that plastic keyboard with pretty good Rhodes sounds airless APs and an interface designed by a technocrat.

That would be the CP4.

 

You guys n gals gotta check this out!

 

Mr Dave Ferris - Ya hear!

 

 

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Sounds like it's one hell of a DP... I'm so in doubt if I should have waited for the MP7 instead of getting an RD800.

 

I played a Kawai MP10 and and a CA65. Both sound amazing. I think MP7 has same engine. Im not familiar with the RH action on it. I still think the RD800 is the superior digital piano over the MP7. However, I do think the RD800 is over priced. Kawai gives so much for a fair price. Both CP4 and RD800 should take a lesson from Kawai on pricing and quality based on the MP7 and MP11

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I played a Kawai MP10 and and a CA65. Both sound amazing. I think MP7 has same engine.

The MP7 shares the same sound engine as the MP11, which is an improvement over the MP10. So, not the same engine.

 

- Guru

This is really what MIDI was originally about encouraging cooperation between companies that make the world a more creative place." - Dave Smith
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Then it wouldn't good. It would just another run of the mill cheap DP that sacrificed quality in the name of weight.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Sounds like it's one hell of a DP... I'm so in doubt if I should have waited for the MP7 instead of getting an RD800.

 

I played a Kawai MP10 and and a CA65. Both sound amazing. I think MP7 has same engine. Im not familiar with the RH action on it. I still think the RD800 is the superior digital piano over the MP7. However, I do think the RD800 is over priced. Kawai gives so much for a fair price. Both CP4 and RD800 should take a lesson from Kawai on pricing and quality based on the MP7 and MP11

 

Totally agree.

Yamaha CP4 (Gigs) Kawai MP7 (home), Yamaha CP33(gigs), Yamaha P80(retired), 3 QSC K10's, Zed 10FX mixer, Sennheiser HD598, Bachendorff 45" acoustic
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To the OP -I would indeed like to check out. Unfortunately my Kawai connection - Pierre Julia @ "Pierre's Fine Pianos" in W. LA isn't stocking them.

 

I'd have to call Kawai I guess and find out who, if anyone has them.

 

Having a new sound engine, like advertised, does generate some interest for me. I did not care for the tone of the MP6 at all. I did think the MP10 was nice - but for home playing only. I didn't feel, for me at least, it would work well out in the band - in any musical context.

 

So I'll keep an open mind on it. I was pleasantly surprised when I played the RD-800.

 

I didn't get all the way through that review. I think it's the longest piece ever written on a DP that I've ever seen.

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Then it wouldn't good. It would just another run of the mill cheap DP that sacrificed quality in the name of weight.
They don't have to develop anorexia or be as light as Casios, but most older players probably agree that 40lbs (or less,) is the magic number that DP co's should strive for.

AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251

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Buy a Roland or a Yamaha.

 

The is the problem with modern consumerism is that is destroys variations between product lines. Everybody is selling the same stuff. LOL!

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Don't like to pour cold water on the enthusiasm here, but isn't the guy who originally 'reviewed' this actually a dealer? That does make some difference.

 

 

Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37

Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D

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I know that guy is a dealer but I can only concur with the content of his review. Maybe not his style :-)

To me this dose seem like a dream machine after all the DPs I've been through.

Ive dug deeper into the different EPs and they're extremely playable and sonicaly satisfying.The effects are top notch, dont mush the underlying sound - just seem to let it breathe.

 

I agree with the posts above that its real value for money.

 

Im tempted to get the three pedal unit to go with it (the internal pedal routing is extensive - can calibrate the expression ped.for eg.)If I get the right price for my CP4

I may also get the wheeled soft case and still be quids in.

 

Mr Ferris is right about the sounds on the MP6 but things have moved on. This is one musical musical instrument.

 

Not giving you lot too much GAS am I?

 

 

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I would indeed like to check out. Unfortunately my Kawai connection - Pierre Julia @ "Pierre's Fine Pianos" in W. LA isn't stocking them.

 

Hmmm...

 

'Isn't stocking them' or 'doesn't currently have one in stock'?

 

As far as I'm aware, Pierre's sold the previous generation MP10 and MP6 models, so I expect he will also be stocking the new MP11 and MP7.

 

Kind regards,

James

x

Employed by Kawai Japan, however the opinions I express are my own.
Nord Electro 3 & occasional rare groove player.

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I went to the Musician's Friend site to see if they had these and to check the price. A search there showed nothing.

 

There have been a lot of good reviews on then Piano World Forum on Kawai digitals. So it seems to be worth looking into.

 

On second listen I am a little less excited by the Yamaha CP4. Upon closer examination, I have a few issues with the way some of the notes in the lower register were sampled. I also don't think that then Wurlitzer sample is up to par.

 

As far as the Wurli goes, I don't get that Yamaha doesn't seem to see that having good Wurlitzer samples is one big reason that Nord has enjoyed the popularity they have over the past decade or more.

 

Wurli sounds are one of the sounds I NEED for recording. It can't be compromised.

 

 

Anyway back to Kawai..... these seems to be hard to find, if Ferris or whoever can't find one in L.A. Very few Kawai digital dealers seem to exist in the states.

 

Is the O.P. in Great Britain? If Musician's Friend doesn't have them, who does?

 

I would still like to see a giant killer emerge in the digital piano world. Hoping for good things from Kawai.

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Anyway back to Kawai..... these seems to be hard to find, if Ferris or whoever can't find one in L.A. Very few Kawai digital dealers seem to exist in the states.

 

The majority of Kawai's US dealers are geared more towards selling acoustic instruments or home-oriented (console) CA/CN/CP series digitals. Some Kawai dealers do also stock the pro-oriented MP/VPC models (such as Pierre's Fine Pianos and ER Music Gallery in LA), however due to their features and target user base, these instruments are typically purchased online.

 

If Musician's Friend doesn't have them, who does?

 

I believe the MP7 only started shipping this month. It's currently available from Kraft, and I expect other online retailers such as Musician's Friend, Sweetwater, Sam Ash etc. will add the instrument to their catalogue in the near future.

 

Kind regards,

James

x

Employed by Kawai Japan, however the opinions I express are my own.
Nord Electro 3 & occasional rare groove player.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I don't like the way those right hand piano notes sound in the demo. They sound plinky to me. I am listening with Sony MDR 7506 headphones. I sense a bit of hype. Also, the Rhodes is not the classic sound I would want.

 Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book."

 

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Yes, I hear it too.

The notes in the right hand tend to sound "keyboardy", at times, to me.

I hear it in the main Kawai demo and also in the demos by the Polish gentleman.

The sound seems to thin out considerably in the octaves one octave above middle "c".

 

Dont get me wrong, I like the Mp7(the middle and lower registers sound very good, imo) but the change of sound concerns me.

 

I wonder what it sounds like in a "Live" setting?

Does this "keyboardy", "plinky" sound become more pronounced?

 

 

I am interested in the MP7 but I am hoping someone will post videos of the MP7 played through a PA system, so I can be sure of my decision.

 

All of these DP's (RD800, CP4, MP7/MP11) sound good when recorded directly into a recording device.

What is important, imo, is how the instruments perform in a "LIVE" setting.

Yamaha CP4 (Gigs) Kawai MP7 (home), Yamaha CP33(gigs), Yamaha P80(retired), 3 QSC K10's, Zed 10FX mixer, Sennheiser HD598, Bachendorff 45" acoustic
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Got my MP7 yesterday. Have owned a PX-5S and a CP4 in the past year. Some impressions 36 hours later.

 

1. This is a lot of DP for the money. It is beautiful, classy, solidly built. Great first impression.

2. Editing is easy and extremely flexible. CP4 editing was clunky and archaic by comparison.

3. APs are pretty darn good right out of the box. Haven't edited them yet. But, enjoy them in a way I never did the CP4 APs (even with a lot of editing). They can't, of course, compare with Ravenscroft 275, but they are useable and enjoyable.

4. EPs are really good and there are countless efx that are easily accessed to shape them how you like.

5. Midi implementation is the best and most flexible I have used by far.

6. Haven't been very impressed with the tonewheel organs, but maybe I am missing something. Of course, I can't help but compare them with my Mojo.

7. Keyboard action is great. Different feel then I am used to, but I have gotten quickly used to to and playing fast and fluid. Quite fulfilling.

8. 46 pounds. 7.5 more than the CP4. But, having hated the cheap, hollow, plastic feel of the CP4, the extra weight is totally worth it to me. This thing is built like a

tank.

9. The PX-5S felt like a steal at the $850 I paid for it. The CP4 felt cheap and overpriced (especially after receiving the MP7). The MP7 looks and feels like a $3000 keyboard. I paid almost half that. Like the PX-5S it's a super deal.

 

Hope this helps.

Bryan

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Got my MP7 yesterday. Have owned a PX-5S and a CP4 in the past year. Some impressions 36 hours later.

 

Thank you for the report !

Seems the organ sim is the only you dislike.

 

I don´t care on organ sims in DPs anyway but maybe sometimes they are usable for some layered sounds and in the background.

 

A.C.

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Yeah... organ is usually a secondary sound to use on a weighted action board anyway. But if you do want some clonewheel function in your 88, at least it has it, and if you wanted to improve it, you could add a Mini Vent and still be below the cost of a RD800 (which also has some clonewheel function in it) or CP4 (which doesn't).

 

I'm looking forward to playing an MP7, though unfortunately, it's still too heavy for me to consider purchasing. But I remember a couple of years ago, looking at DPs up to about $2500, I thought the MP10 was the best sounding. Though I liked the Roland actions best.

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I want one of these for the 10 piece gig if the action isn't sluggish. I like Kawai piano editing and they have balls. They sound great in the meat of the piano, + - 2 octaves around middle C.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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