I have an MP7SE and its the best stage piano I ever had, I love the action and sound. The key action RHIII helps me to play better, faster, with more detail and expression. I had Yamaha CP4 as a second piano and sold it after 1 week because I didn't got used to the key action. I have tried in shops the CP88, and same thing, both are great pianos but I prefer much more the MP7SE key action and sound. I think if you try MP7SE, its difficult you may like any other piano more than this one. And the price is very cheap for what you get, that's an important point.
César: we each have our favourite actions. I like the RHIII action as found on the MP7SE, though the same action (?) seems lighter (too light) on the ES920. (I also like the balanced action on the CP-73) If, however, you play mainly piano patches, I'm surprised that you don't prefer the CP-88 action, which has wood keys. In any case it seems the CP-73 is lighter to carry than the MP7SE, partly because it's shorter. Indeed, having 88 sucks when you're loading your car.
Mike, I have not tried the ES920, but I expect that the RHIII action from Kawai should be the same in any piano they implement it, including the Nord Grand Piano who is using RHIII from Kawai. I don't use patches as you said, I use normally the piano as a piano by itself, and sometimes I use a second arrangement keyboard to play styles in real time, but the piano for me is just a piano. I don't need to play midis, or anything else in the piano.
I own the Kawai , it is alot better than what most negative reviews say. MY CHURCH i play for has a yahama YC88, i prefer to play the kawai over the yahama. I don’t like GHS honestly. It’s nice but the kawai is more appealing and has a more natural realism. The kawai is not a single user keyboard like most, it has a hidden midi menu that has like 64 extra sounds if you use a cable to midi to yourself, you’ll get sounds like laughter, applause bright grand, helicopter ect, additional pads, which i find very usable. The kawai should be worth more than what they’re retailing it at. You get more than what you pay for. The yahama does not have a very good setting for virtual tech, while the Kawai you can adjust all the parameters and it’s packed with many more piano sounds in the sk series sample set. The sound on the kawai is much RICHER,i feel the yahama CFX IS NOWHERE NEAR as beautiful as the kawai sk set. It has additional drums for recording. You can use all 4 sliders and literally layer 4 sounds together. If you get the Kawai, you’ll be happy. I feel i prefer it over nord. I’m not a fan of fatar. I tried the roland RD88, sorry roland, not my thing. Tried Casio psx 3000, i keep coming back to the Kawai. I have built a special relationship with it. Some sounds aren’t usable, but more sounds are. You can use the mod wheel on the lesli, and drawbars. Use the assignable switches, it’s packed with quite alot for a 2000 dollar keyboard. My only complaint is the FX simulators. You have to set the parameters and save the power on presets prior to arriving to a gig or church then your good. You can’t adjust it on the fly if you need it quickly. Id recommend the Kawai over the yahama any day. Great video What keyboard in this pricerange has this many features?
I owned an MP7SE for a year. Loved the action, despite it failing and needing new key contacts (this problem isn't found on newer units). Liked the piano sound, the first rhodes sample set and the surprisingly flexible synth capabilities. You can layer 4 sounds from any category and thus take simple synth waveforms and turn them into lush pads or fat leads. I ultimately sold it because of lack luster sounds, a glitch in the damper resonance effect and very strange velocity layer behavior for some sample sets. The sounds, apart from the pianos and first rhodes sample set, are quite poor, to say the least. The other EP sounds are almost 20 years old, coming from as early as the MP4. The DX patch for instance, has only 2 velocity layers and sounds almost toy like. Some of the other rhodes sample sets have 3 to 4 velocity layers on some keys while adjacent keys might only have 2 to 3. That became really frustrating when trying to play dynamically. The first rhodes sample set is really very good though! Very dynamic, well sampled and tweakable. The damper resonance, when turned to max, has a nasty glitch when you do lots of half pedaling or re-pedaling. The chassis on the MP7SE is really nice. It oozes quality and I love the reflection of the keys on the "fallboard". If you get the Kawai for the piano sound, key action and midi controller capabilities, I think you'll be very happy. Just don't expect high quality auxiliary sounds.
@@jofoley8773 The short answer is no, I didn't. The long answer is that I realized I don't care as much about key actions as I thought I would. I play just as well on a simple Yamaha GHS, maybe even a bit faster. So basically, my criteria for a keyboard have changed quite a bit since owning the MP7SE.
Your post is the reason why no one should just purchase a gear by reading random posts on youtube. Regarding the sound sets, calling them lack luster just demonstrates lack of knowledge about the keyboard itself, poor monitoring peripherals and many other reasons. Your claim about DX sound also demonstrates that you were unable to verify the number of layers correctly. The DX patch has at least 4 velocity layers. How many layers were you expecting? 16 layers? This is not a synthesizer and there is simply no other stage instrment to offer what you are complaning about. MP7SE and MP11SE are still relatable keyboard even after so many years off of their release. Get your facts checked before you post and spread random and false information.
The MP7SE action is very good having played it for a musical for the last 3 months. The weighting is nice, including triple sensors. It isn't a full key-stick length MP11SE though for the action purists, but for the heft I don't think you can justify it as an actual stage piano. I'm 115kg and 6"1' and I sometimes struggle with manouvreing the MP7SE around. That's where the much smaller and lighter board a'la Nord Electros come in - but the actions are complete trash for anything close to acoustic piano playing.
LOVE the Kawai. Used to have a Nord Piano 2, and it never felt great to play. Awful spongy action. Was considering getting the Nord Grand, and after talking to a tech, discovered the Nord Grand feels so good because it uses the Kawai MP7SE action! Auditioned the MP7SE and not only did it feel better than the Nord Piano, it sounded better too. Haven't even plumbed the depths of the sound library, but it's great for live use, and fantastic in the studio on its own and also for controlling Pianoteq and sample-based piano libraries.
No, Nord Grand has the keys from MP7SE, but feels very different, lighter in a way. And it makes more noice. But I like the feel on the Nord Grand bether. :-)@@malekkinos
MP7 to me looks like the Kawai Productplanners didn’t know where to go with their product and positioning… less would have been more (focus) and with that also higher sales numbers… MP11 shows that very well.
Guys, great review. I am very keen to buy either the MP11SE or MP7SE. The only thing stopping me is the prospect of a new model being introduced. Do you have any information that suggests if and when new models will be released by KAWAI?
Thanks for all critics, it helps me a bit. Also one point that is important I think about how it sounds: Kawai: Polyphony: 250voices / CP-88: 125voices That could change the sound quality effect when playing. I'm looking for a "piano" sensation, I think I'll go for the Kawai MP-7, instead it hasn't wood touches. I think the Kawai key system sensation is good like that...
I doubt that the main sound on the MP7SE is an EX grand. That was probably the case with the first edition, but the Shigeru SK-EX grand is now the number one voice/patch/sound on most of Kawai's digital pianos. The EX is usually included too, and I kind of prefer it. The Yamaha CP-73 is great, but of the two, I would probably choose the MP7SE, because it is a lot of stage piano for the price. More likely, however, I'd pick the Studiologic Numa 73, because it is lighter, more up-to-date and cheaper, and because I do fancy having a shorter keyboard for band gigs. But getting to try one is no easy thing. Regarding sound, it's funny how we fuss a lot over small differences, but often we are careless about amplification. Having the right amp and speakers makes a huge difference. I played on an old Yamaha recently, which sounded fantastic, due to the mighty inbuilt speakers.
Great job guys. Have always love the Kawai mp series. I wanna buy an mp7se but I’m not sure if it’s due for a new one since it’s been out for few years. Any inside if Kawai is cooking up something new? Thanks.
I have the Yamaha YC-73 which has good pianos and an excellent organ engine...but in saying that the Kawai pianos eat the Yamaha samples alive in my opinion. The Mp7 se sounds amazing!
Could you customize and or choose your favorite presets and store them into a performance bank like on a Roland? If so the MP7SE would be a serious contender for me. I do like the acoustic pianos and EP’s in the Kawai. Great presentation. Ty
@@Zoco101 yes. it doesnt have string resonance and your p255 has. only the p515 have the full Piano on the Yamaha Portable Pianos today. Not the CP and not the YC series do not include string resonance or piano engine except simple samples engine. your more then welcome to check. Even the p125 (in the Yamaha website they are claiming that is but i played on the p125 and it doesn't have string resonance. not even fixed one. i use to have modx8 and also the modx8 & even the Montage pianos doesn't have string resonance . good samples Heavy Key action and no piano engine on all of Yamaha Portable Pianos except the P515. i was amazed also when discovering this fact. that why i passed on the cp88 / yc88. No Piano Engine!
For acoustic piano, the Kawai has a lot of modeling parameters, I think the CP doesnt even do string resonance or any modeling parameters at all, right? Still sounds great, for sure, but the Kawai comes alive. The Yamaha Wurli might be the best of any hardware stock Wurli. The Yamaha is missing a few keyboard sounds, like it doesnt have all clav pickup settings, is lacking either the celeste or glockenspiel, doesnt have toy piano. I forget if the Kawai has all those.
I don't see how you are claiming that the layout is intuitive. The MP7SE's lay out is far more intuitive than something like CP4 and yet the settings are not baked into the interface. So you can use the knobs and sliders for controlling organs as well... Although piano voice preference varies between musicians, one thing for sure is that the organ sounds on CP series are all terrible since the beginning including CP88. MP7SE has decent organ emulator which actually sounds fine. Not the best, but overall it is a jack of all trades stage instrument.
The Kawai MP7SE default piano (SK) is to my ears...one of the best piano sounds from any manufacturer. Add the superior action, and if you're primarily a purist pianist, the Kawai is the home run. Too bad it isn't 10 lbs. lighter or so.
I am getting the Kawai this christmas.
I have an MP7SE and its the best stage piano I ever had, I love the action and sound. The key action RHIII helps me to play better, faster, with more detail and expression. I had Yamaha CP4 as a second piano and sold it after 1 week because I didn't got used to the key action. I have tried in shops the CP88, and same thing, both are great pianos but I prefer much more the MP7SE key action and sound. I think if you try MP7SE, its difficult you may like any other piano more than this one. And the price is very cheap for what you get, that's an important point.
César: we each have our favourite actions. I like the RHIII action as found on the MP7SE, though the same action (?) seems lighter (too light) on the ES920. (I also like the balanced action on the CP-73) If, however, you play mainly piano patches, I'm surprised that you don't prefer the CP-88 action, which has wood keys. In any case it seems the CP-73 is lighter to carry than the MP7SE, partly because it's shorter. Indeed, having 88 sucks when you're loading your car.
Mike, I have not tried the ES920, but I expect that the RHIII action from Kawai should be the same in any piano they implement it, including the Nord Grand Piano who is using RHIII from Kawai. I don't use patches as you said, I use normally the piano as a piano by itself, and sometimes I use a second arrangement keyboard to play styles in real time, but the piano for me is just a piano. I don't need to play midis, or anything else in the piano.
I own the Kawai , it is alot better than what most negative reviews say. MY CHURCH i play for has a yahama YC88, i prefer to play the kawai over the yahama. I don’t like GHS honestly. It’s nice but the kawai is more appealing and has a more natural realism. The kawai is not a single user keyboard like most, it has a hidden midi menu that has like 64 extra sounds if you use a cable to midi to yourself, you’ll get sounds like laughter, applause bright grand, helicopter ect, additional pads, which i find very usable. The kawai should be worth more than what they’re retailing it at. You get more than what you pay for. The yahama does not have a very good setting for virtual tech, while the Kawai you can adjust all the parameters and it’s packed with many more piano sounds in the sk series sample set. The sound on the kawai is much RICHER,i feel the yahama CFX IS NOWHERE NEAR as beautiful as the kawai sk set. It has additional drums for recording. You can use all 4 sliders and literally layer 4 sounds together. If you get the Kawai, you’ll be happy. I feel i prefer it over nord. I’m not a fan of fatar. I tried the roland RD88, sorry roland, not my thing. Tried Casio psx 3000, i keep coming back to the Kawai. I have built a special relationship with it. Some sounds aren’t usable, but more sounds are. You can use the mod wheel on the lesli, and drawbars. Use the assignable switches, it’s packed with quite alot for a 2000 dollar keyboard. My only complaint is the FX simulators. You have to set the parameters and save the power on presets prior to arriving to a gig or church then your good. You can’t adjust it on the fly if you need it quickly.
Id recommend the Kawai over the yahama any day. Great video
What keyboard in this pricerange has this many features?
I owned an MP7SE for a year. Loved the action, despite it failing and needing new key contacts (this problem isn't found on newer units). Liked the piano sound, the first rhodes sample set and the surprisingly flexible synth capabilities. You can layer 4 sounds from any category and thus take simple synth waveforms and turn them into lush pads or fat leads.
I ultimately sold it because of lack luster sounds, a glitch in the damper resonance effect and very strange velocity layer behavior for some sample sets.
The sounds, apart from the pianos and first rhodes sample set, are quite poor, to say the least. The other EP sounds are almost 20 years old, coming from as early as the MP4. The DX patch for instance, has only 2 velocity layers and sounds almost toy like. Some of the other rhodes sample sets have 3 to 4 velocity layers on some keys while adjacent keys might only have 2 to 3. That became really frustrating when trying to play dynamically. The first rhodes sample set is really very good though! Very dynamic, well sampled and tweakable.
The damper resonance, when turned to max, has a nasty glitch when you do lots of half pedaling or re-pedaling.
The chassis on the MP7SE is really nice. It oozes quality and I love the reflection of the keys on the "fallboard".
If you get the Kawai for the piano sound, key action and midi controller capabilities, I think you'll be very happy. Just don't expect high quality auxiliary sounds.
Thanks for the info! Did you ever find a piano you liked better with similar key action?
@@jofoley8773 The short answer is no, I didn't.
The long answer is that I realized I don't care as much about key actions as I thought I would. I play just as well on a simple Yamaha GHS, maybe even a bit faster.
So basically, my criteria for a keyboard have changed quite a bit since owning the MP7SE.
have they fixed this key problem ?
@@peaceandluvbwithu Yes! All the newer ones have very good key contacts.
Your post is the reason why no one should just purchase a gear by reading random posts on youtube.
Regarding the sound sets, calling them lack luster just demonstrates lack of knowledge about the keyboard itself, poor monitoring peripherals and many other reasons.
Your claim about DX sound also demonstrates that you were unable to verify the number of layers correctly. The DX patch has at least 4 velocity layers.
How many layers were you expecting? 16 layers? This is not a synthesizer and there is simply no other stage instrment to offer what you are complaning about.
MP7SE and MP11SE are still relatable keyboard even after so many years off of their release.
Get your facts checked before you post and spread random and false information.
Excellent review, love the playing, definitely getting the CP 73 or 88 so hard to decide.
The MP7SE action is very good having played it for a musical for the last 3 months. The weighting is nice, including triple sensors. It isn't a full key-stick length MP11SE though for the action purists, but for the heft I don't think you can justify it as an actual stage piano. I'm 115kg and 6"1' and I sometimes struggle with manouvreing the MP7SE around. That's where the much smaller and lighter board a'la Nord Electros come in - but the actions are complete trash for anything close to acoustic piano playing.
LOVE the Kawai. Used to have a Nord Piano 2, and it never felt great to play. Awful spongy action. Was considering getting the Nord Grand, and after talking to a tech, discovered the Nord Grand feels so good because it uses the Kawai MP7SE action! Auditioned the MP7SE and not only did it feel better than the Nord Piano, it sounded better too. Haven't even plumbed the depths of the sound library, but it's great for live use, and fantastic in the studio on its own and also for controlling Pianoteq and sample-based piano libraries.
I think the Nor Grand has the MP11SE piano (real wood) action not the (real plastic) MP7SE piano action.
No, Nord Grand has the keys from MP7SE, but feels very different, lighter in a way. And it makes more noice. But I like the feel on the Nord Grand bether. :-)@@malekkinos
@@tomolesvendsen8236 I apologize, my fault, the Nord Grand has the Hammer Action III (plastic). Thank you for the correction!
MP7 to me looks like the Kawai Productplanners didn’t know where to go with their product and positioning… less would have been more (focus) and with that also higher sales numbers… MP11 shows that very well.
Guys, great review. I am very keen to buy either the MP11SE or MP7SE. The only thing stopping me is the prospect of a new model being introduced. Do you have any information that suggests if and when new models will be released by KAWAI?
Thanks for all critics, it helps me a bit. Also one point that is important I think about how it sounds: Kawai: Polyphony: 250voices / CP-88: 125voices That could change the sound quality effect when playing. I'm looking for a "piano" sensation, I think I'll go for the Kawai MP-7, instead it hasn't wood touches. I think the Kawai key system sensation is good like that...
I doubt that the main sound on the MP7SE is an EX grand. That was probably the case with the first edition, but the Shigeru SK-EX grand is now the number one voice/patch/sound on most of Kawai's digital pianos. The EX is usually included too, and I kind of prefer it.
The Yamaha CP-73 is great, but of the two, I would probably choose the MP7SE, because it is a lot of stage piano for the price. More likely, however, I'd pick the Studiologic Numa 73, because it is lighter, more up-to-date and cheaper, and because I do fancy having a shorter keyboard for band gigs. But getting to try one is no easy thing.
Regarding sound, it's funny how we fuss a lot over small differences, but often we are careless about amplification. Having the right amp and speakers makes a huge difference. I played on an old Yamaha recently, which sounded fantastic, due to the mighty inbuilt speakers.
unfortunately the mp7se isn't available in a 73/76 key version. btw great demo and presentation.
Great job guys. Have always love the Kawai mp series. I wanna buy an mp7se but I’m not sure if it’s due for a new one since it’s been out for few years. Any inside if Kawai is cooking up something new? Thanks.
I am still holding off I imagine a new model isn't far away. Wish there was some info.
What about the action and keybeds? CP73 is similar to?
I have the Yamaha YC-73 which has good pianos and an excellent organ engine...but in saying that the Kawai pianos eat the Yamaha samples alive in my opinion. The Mp7 se sounds amazing!
Could you customize and or choose your favorite presets and store them into a performance bank like on a Roland? If so the MP7SE would be a serious contender for me. I do like the acoustic pianos and EP’s in the Kawai. Great presentation. Ty
The Kawai Have Piano Engine! (String resonance) Yamaha yc, cp88 Dont! (Only the p515 and the clavinova series clp and so)
I doubt that the CP-73 lacks adjustable sympathetic string resonance. Even my P-255 has that! Or do you refer to something else?
@@Zoco101 yes. it doesnt have string resonance and your p255 has.
only the p515 have the full Piano on the Yamaha Portable Pianos today.
Not the CP and not the YC series do not include string resonance or piano engine except simple samples engine.
your more then welcome to check.
Even the p125 (in the Yamaha website they are claiming that is but i played on the p125 and it doesn't have string resonance. not even fixed one.
i use to have modx8 and also the modx8 & even the Montage pianos doesn't have string resonance .
good samples Heavy Key action and no piano engine on all of Yamaha Portable Pianos except the P515.
i was amazed also when discovering this fact.
that why i passed on the cp88 / yc88. No Piano Engine!
For acoustic piano, the Kawai has a lot of modeling parameters, I think the CP doesnt even do string resonance or any modeling parameters at all, right? Still sounds great, for sure, but the Kawai comes alive. The Yamaha Wurli might be the best of any hardware stock Wurli. The Yamaha is missing a few keyboard sounds, like it doesnt have all clav pickup settings, is lacking either the celeste or glockenspiel, doesnt have toy piano. I forget if the Kawai has all those.
i don't think is possible to really compare a 88 vs. a 73 keys....
He's like a wholesome cousin of George Carlin. Oh my... THANKS, piano George!
演奏中に切り替えて、なぜ音が途切れる？ 途切れないのがＣＰなのだけど。
Kawai mp7 vs korg sv1
I don't see how you are claiming that the layout is intuitive. The MP7SE's lay out is far more intuitive than something like CP4 and yet the settings are not baked into the interface. So you can use the knobs and sliders for controlling organs as well...
Although piano voice preference varies between musicians, one thing for sure is that the organ sounds on CP series are all terrible since the beginning including CP88. MP7SE has decent organ emulator which actually sounds fine. Not the best, but overall it is a jack of all trades stage instrument.
So Yamaha wins for layout. To my ears, the demos weren't even a competition. The Yamaha looked and sounded like a toy compared to the Kawai.
The Kawai MP7SE default piano (SK) is to my ears...one of the best piano sounds from any manufacturer. Add the superior action, and if you're primarily a purist pianist, the Kawai is the home run. Too bad it isn't 10 lbs. lighter or so.