Kawai MP5

I am using the latest software that I am aware of. Purchase date was 10/09. Overall the presets are great, but keep in mind that this is a stage piano, so the focus is really on pianos (and master keyboard functions, which it also excels in).
Editing patches overall is very limited, but you can add chorus and there are knobs that will allow for EFX, waveform changing (cutoff, etc), but that really is about it.
The manual is fine for me, but I am kind of technical in nature. I found myself going to it only a couple of times.

192 note polyphony. keyboard action is quite good, although multiple quick strikes on the same key does not respond like a real piano action would.
It has built in effects and they are good, and adjustable on the fly, which is nice.
Through the USB input, you can update the OS. NO other expansion capabilities (that I am aware of).
Excellent MIDI capabilities. This was designed as a MIDI controller just as much as a stage piano: very nice. You can have up to 4 zones at any given time, and each zone can control internal, external or both at any given time. They can also be switched on/off on the fly. Very cool stuff here.
No on-board sequencer, but it does have a metronome.

Since this is a stage piano, the pianos are quite good. You have to like the Kawai pianos though, and they are certainly world class. I have played on their acoustic pianos and the sound is amazingly close. I think that the only thing closer to a real piano is the Roland V-Piano, but we're talking major dollar differences too. I have played many different boards (Yamaha, Casio Privia series, Roland, and others) and to me, the Kawai is very good, if not better than the others. The sound is a little more deep and rich compared to the Yamaha (the Yamaha is brighter but not as full), the Roland (the Roland is clear, but not as deep), Korg (the Korg is inferior all the way around, to me anyway), Casio (their Privia is nice, but is not a serious pro board, and their customer service leaves much to be desired. Their techs only seem to know what is in the manual). you can brighten up the sound on the Kawai, but it sounds unnatural then. It sounds like a Kawai. When you really play it (you know, 'play it like you mean it' kind of playing, it really shines. I have only notice polyphony dropout when multiple zones are playing at once. The electric pianos are good too, as are the organs. The drums are good, the strings are good. The distorted guitar is not very good, and the violins are not as full as I would like (I still use old Ensoniq stuff, where the violin is so rich and full compared to the Kawai).
Since I play many styles of music, the Kawai certainly works for me.
This unit reacts well to what I play, but I have noticed when I have more than two zones going at once (internal sounds), there is some delay between when I actually strike the key and when the sounds generate. Not too bad, but enough to where I almost want to play ahead of the beat to make it completely on time.
It is a stage piano, so the touch and whatnot are good.

I have played solo with it and it works well, especially since you can have multiple sounds at once.
It is heavy, so protect it well with a good case (of which I have to buy still).
I use it all the time by itself and have no issues at all.

I've not dealt with the company yet, but hope to establish regular correspondence with them about different things, and I suspect that they will want to work with me. It seems as though they really want to work with you, since they are not one of the big 3 yet in that department. Too bad, really, because they really have a great product that compares or exceeds the competition.

If it were lost or stolen, it is pretty heavy and suspect that it would be very obvious when someone steals it. In the event that it does get stolen, watch out; I'll find you.
I have been playing for well over 30 years and have used just about everything. I have toured and have done studio work and just about anything else.
I love it for the piano sounds and how I really feel like I am playing an acoustic piano. I also own the following:

(2) Ensoniq VFX-SD
(2) Roland JV-880
Ensoniq SQ1+ 32-Voice
Roland PMA-5
Roland E-09
Yamaha QY10
Ensoniq SQ-R
Roland M-SE1

I compared it to many other products and they just seemed to have a truer sound even with stuff higher in price (except the Roland V-Piano). I like the sound better and it seems to resonate better than the Yamaha digital pianos do and are not as 'canned' as the others.
I wish it had speakers, but there is the MP8-II and the MP5 is the version without speakers. It sounds great and I love it. This is good because the last Kawai stuff I had was many years ago where I have a KC-10 (junk to me) and K3 (still wish I had it). The company as a whole are underrated when it comes to digital stuff, so consider them when looking for a piano.
It makes me a better player because of the action. It feels like a piano and after many years of playing 61-note synths (they are lighter), I really wanted to go back to my roots on piano. This was a good choice indeed.

Very easy to use - most functions you can do without thinking. Only change would be to simplify how the internal sounds in the setups are edited.

Great features too. 192 polyphony, MIDI, 4 zones (internal and external 2*4=8).
No aftertouch though, but never really had a need for it.

Most sounds are very realistic. Love the drawbar sounds. Love the EPs, though maybe a tad thin. The pianos are great too.

Had a few problems with the keybed of the MP5. Had clicky and rattly keys, some developing problems after only a few hours playing. Makes me double think the quality of the construction of the actual keys - will more keys develop rattling as time continues? The rattling makes quiet or classical playing quite annoying.
Would probably upgrade to MP8 if given a second chance. Don't have problems like this with Rolands or other brands.

Will find out, getting dicky keys fixed.

Think for the price, is the best in the field for a stage piano. Only qualms are with the quality of the keys. Would have saved for the MP8 if given another chance, or maybe bought the Roland RD 300 GX, a Kurzweil or something with a bit more reputation for quality construction.

Very easy to use...knew very little about splits/layers/zones etc..., but within no time could change any setting I needed.
The layout of sounds in three vertical banks makes finding and remembering the sound very easy - you can remember "where", visually, each sound is. Much easier than a menu based interface.

Awesome features...is a stage piano, so does not include a rhythm section (that I know of) or any inbuilt recording feature, as do the lower models (eg es4/es6). Wouldn't have minded the recording feature, just to listen an critique my playing, but really doesn't matter.
The built in effects and reverb are very professional, easy to use, and sound fantastic.
The control knobs are great, but they are velocity sensitive, so not extremely accurate (is commented on by others also). I prefer the way the Kurzweils use their analogue knobs better. Also, the pitch bend has a little to much freeplay for my liking, but is perhaps just my keyboard, and is just my opinion (I don't really use it anyway)

Most sounds are amazing. The piano (expletive) all over the Roland and others. Maybe not yamaha, probably just as good. The yamaha's sounded very realistic and bright though, even the cheaper models, but they just didn't have the features.
The electric piano with reverb and overdrive sounds great, and the drawbar organs are loads of fun.

The keys feel great. Sometimes I think it feels a tad lighter than a real piano, but with the touch curve, it makes up for it. It feels that much better than any of the competition.

Haven't needed a backup, but would rely on it. It feels very well made. Don't know about the ply wood underneath though...somebody else has commented on it. I don't know whether that will hold up, maybe, maybe not, not sure.

Fantastic piano, great sounds, great feel, great price. Extremely happy with the buy, and am sure it was the best in the price range.

It's very easy to combine sounds, change effects and edit patches.

192 voices is more than enough!!!
One of the main reasons that took me to try and buy this piano was the keyboard action. I'm a big roland and Korg fan but this one had better touch than everything else i tried (personal opinion).
It doesn't have aftertouch but than again...it's a digital piano not a workstation!

All sounds are good (overall). When i choose a digital piano i choose mainly because of the piano sounds. This little baby here has a couple of great piano sounds. E.Pianos are also very good. Strings and soft pads are warm and very usefull. Organs and Drawbars also sound pretty good to me. All sounds react pretty well to velocity changes. Onboard effects are also pretty good.

All i can say is that recently i did a little upgrade to version 1.14 and it was very easy to install. It did correct a few minor "bugs" so i'm happy about it.

Well, i can't give my personal about this one!

If it was stollen i would burn the dammmmmmmm thief lol.
I would buy another one!

This is and extremely simple interface, even with the smallish LCD screen.

This is the only category i really care to expound on. The piano sounds are top of the line, and the graded hammer action is just right, not too heavy or too light. The other sounds such as EP's are also high quality and very useable as stand alone voices or as a layer with other voices. The drawbar organs are really good, with a very convincing leslie effect. I only wish that these organs had a separate chorus effect, but you can't have it all i guess. Other voices are good, but this lacks portamento, but again, this is a stage piano.

Built for the long haul AND lightweight! A joy to move around!

I just purchase the MP5 and found it extremely easy to use out of the box. I quickly learned how to blend sounds. It's really just plug it in and go.

I was really looking for a great keyboard feel with an excellent piano sound - I was less worried about features. However, this has plenty of MIDI controller capability in case you want to expand your inventory of sounds with Reason or something similar. It has plenty of input / output jacks - very easy / convenience for moving from practing in headphones to playing through an amp or recording stereo tracks to a console.

I played quite a few keyboards, Yahama M08, S08, Casio P320, Yahama P85, Roland 300SX and the MP5 beat the cheaper models and more than held its own with more expensive models.

I mainly picked this one for the piano sounds but was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the strings blended with the main piano sounds. Fantastic!

Too early to know, but it looks, feels like a very well made unit.

Haven't had a need so far.

I'm very pleased with this purchase. It's perfect for my home studio and, given it's relative light weight, I can play out easily. The toughest part of this keyboard is negotiating price - they go so quickly sellers have very little incentive to bargin.

This is one of the most straight forward keyboards I've used - very easy to understand. Only needed to check the manual for details on a few parameters. Very easy to layer sounds on the fly.

Polyphony is 192 - that'll do. No problems layering a few things internally. The effects are quite usable - global reverb and then separate fx for each zone. MIDI features on this unit are the reason I bought it - they are deep. Being able to use its four zones internally or externally (or both simultaneously) is very powerful - and you can selectively turn off pedals and controllers per zone. Being able to turn zones on and off on the fly is why I like this unit so much - so easy to add a layer on the fly without affecting your other sounds. Note offs are managed so that you'll never get stuck notes when turing zones on and off. The built-in metronome feature is also quite handy. Another feature will let you use the mod wheel to scroll values when editing - nice time saver.

This is a subjective area, but I feel the piano sounds are excellent and quite usable live or in the sudio. Though I've started toying with VST pianos in the studio, for use in live performance the Kawai piano sounds easily keep pace - there's also are no latency issue to manage and no risk of a hard drive failure shutting me down at a gig. The quality of the remaining sounds are between average and excellent - very few 'fillers' in there. Though the drums kits and guitar sounds are nice, I don't have need for them in a full band setting.

Now, as far as the keyboard action, I find it to be very playable and responsive - even with the default velocity curve. The keys have a firm bottom and can absorb some pretty hard pounding without maxing out early. The MP-9000, with Kawai's wooden key technology, was even better, but I could no longer haul a 90lb keyboard to jobs - the MP-5 is around half the weight. I've recently played the Yamaha and Roland competitors, and while I like the feel their keybeds very much (as much or maybe even a little more), I think the responsiveness of the Kawai fit my tastes better - but this could be more about the way the sounds respond to my playing than the actual keyboard mechanism. It is one of the few pianos that, for me, sounds and responds acceptably playing a delicate classical tune and also when pounding out a rock tune.

I have no backup for this unit, but don't have any reliability concerns. I had used my Kawai MP-9000 for 10 years and never had a single problem.

From my experience, their customer support is outstanding. They are quite responsive and working to add some additional features in their upcoming OS upgrades. btw - the MP5 has an upgradedable OS - through simple MIDI file downloads.

I'm a big fan of this keyboard. I've used it at two jobs in the past few weeks, and it's been rock solid. If this one were stolen, I'd replace it immediately with another MP5. I think this unit offers best-in-class MIDI controller features, a very playable keybed, great piano sounds and a very usable expanded sound set.

let me say upfront that i am not impressed with the onboard sounds on stage pianos. i bought the MP5 as a good value midi controller to use with my soft pianos. digital piano manufacturers just cannot compete with the latest soft pianos from people like Ivory and the Bluthner Model One with 24 bit 40 gig sound libraries.

that said i was pleasantly surprised with all the piano patches. like others have mentioned i thought the Number Two patches to the Number One patches. so if you demo in the store listen the Grand 2 which has a more wood sound with upfront key action sound. incidentally you can dial in the key action sound to suit your tastes.

i think you could certainly use all the pianos in a live setting no problems at all. however be under no illusions they could be seriously used to record in a studio. when recorded on professional equipment and listened to on serious studio monitors the pianos all sound thin and a little flat IMHO.

apart from the pianos i thought the other patches/presets were mediocre at best. the EPs were ok but too clean to be convincing. none of the other sounds could compete with their software rivals. in particualr i thought the strings were brittle and very nasty.

the EQs and reverbs are clean and simple to use - again very useful in a live setting.

i use teh USB and that works very well. i really like the fact Kawai did not write separate drivers for the USB and you just use the windows drivers. nice, reliable and sensible.

the polyphony is great 192. no issues there.

i have already mentioned the built in effects are modest but clean and simple to use. no real issues there.

the key action: yes for plastic keys they are good. not as good as the MP8 wood keys that is for sure. the keys have a little sideways give and wobble - not too much just a little. they are also nicely weighted. defintely the best plastic keys i could find. much better than the CP33, Roland 300, etc.

if i could have found a better plastic key action i would have bought it as this was the manin reason for buying the MP5.

my only misgiving is how durable and long lasting the keys will be. i have had the MP5 for about three months and have noticed that the keys in the middle octaves may be becoming slightly spongey and soft. but it is too early to tell for certain.

my advice if it key action that is really important save the extra money and get the MP8. i wish i had. it is not that the MP5 action is bad it is that the MP8 is so much better.

i thin i have already covered this.

the key action is good for plastic under 2K piano. no complaints. it also allows you to altered the way the piano plays both manualy and also through an autmated function that matches your piano syle to the key settings.

the pianos are ok but the other sounds are very ordinary.

for plastic keys under 2K piano it is surprisingly expressive to play.

my main criticism is that for live use it is made of plastic unlike the MP8 that is made of metal. also the under side is just thick cardboard and would be easy to break.

if you were playing live on a regualr basis a hard gig case would be essential. the plastic shell body looks and feels too delicate to me.

also the plastic shell is impossible to clean and you cannot use sulfide based detergent on it. finger prints are very hard if not impossible to remove. maybe not such a big consideration for your live instrument but mine is in the living room and it is impossible to remove greasey finger prints.

my main criticism of this piano is the construction materials - cheap plastic that is a nightmare to clean.

if it was lost i would upgrade to the MP8 for the awesome wood keys and the metal body. otherwise i am happy with my purchase. however as i said i really do not use the on board patches and prefer to use high quality soft pianos. so as a fully weighted midi controller it is excellent. and

IMHO in this price range the MP5 is the way to go in terms of key actions and playability BUT seriosuly consider the MP8 for those features.

i only gave this an 8/10 because in australia the $2200 makes it much less value than in the USA where it reatails about $1100. the price in australia should be much closer to the USA. not twice the price!

Compared to my (departed) Yammy S80 the MP5 programs very easily. I can set up four different sounds, apply effects and various pedal controllers to each one, mix 'em in real time and instantly save any edits. For a gigging musician, this board is perfect. I know it isn't as "deep" as the 80 i.e. no arpeggiator, no sequence player, not as many parameters to edit; but in terms of keyboard feel, weight, sounds, support and looks...it's a winner!

As a classically trained pianist the touch is paramount, and the MP5 has a very responsive, graded hammer action. There's 192 notes/polyphony so that's not an issue. It has a full set of high quality effects that can be applied to each sound separately. The two rotary effects are really excellent and convincing with the drawbar settings. I'm especially impressed with the ease with which I can program splits and layers. It can't accept any expansion AFAIK but I easily uploaded the latest 1.11 OS via usb. I use midi only to control an outboard sound source but I understand the midi implementation is complete. The ease it offers when programming new setups and moving it (since it only weighs 45 lbs.) is really the #1 feature for me, a 55-year old jazz pianist.

It offers velocity but no aftertouch. I've found the various sounds to be very good to excellent with very few dogs. The vocal sounds, especially the jazz ensemble are really terrific. The female scat singer is implemented really well. The various pianos are generally excellent, especially when I layer two or three different sounds. The B3 emulations are particularly convincing using the rotary effect with gradual speed up/down. As Frank Zappa said, in a hockey rink nobody can tell the difference between a real string section and a keyboard string section. I agree as I've never found any keyboard to have a true orchestral sound.

Not sure. My first MP5, sold to me as a demo froze up after two days of programming. It wouldn't take a replacement OS and the dealer took it back at their expense. Its replacement, a new sample fresh from the (Indonesian) factory is perfect. I think, for the first few gigs I have this February I'll bring my 49-key Yamaha controller and QY100 just in case. The build appears robust and handsome with wood end caps and black metal case. Check back in six months!

Kawai's US rep, Troy R. is extremely responsive and supportive, even offering proactive suggestions based on my needs. Reachable via email or using their 800 number I was able to get my questions answered almost instantly. Compared to my poor Yamaha experience this has been a revelation...and Troy is a jazzer, too!

Anytime in the next three years I would immediately replace it with another copy. I've been gigging for +40 years and have played most keyboards i.e. suitcase reed orgen, Doric organ, Wurlitzer 200, Suitcase Rhodes, Kurzweil 76-key piano, Quadrasynth, Yamaha S80 etc. (Regrettably, I never owned a Vox Continental but I rejected the Farfisa as too cheesy! LOL!) I own a beautiful 1927 Steinway M baby grand that is my standard, of course. IMHO, there is no better gigging keyboard, especially at the bargain price ($1100) Since I play lh bass in my jazz quartet the easy programmability makes this board a no-brainer for me. Why isn't Kawai in the top ranks i.e. Yamaha, Korg, Roland?

I just got the updated MP-5 and am impressed with the piano sounds. After comparing R700SX, FP7, CP33 and some others- I concluder this is the only 'living' piano sound. After a while I experienced the MP as a Real piano. S-Reso, sample-off samples, etc prob. do the trick. After tweaking with velocity-switches etc, a nice F-Rhodes patch emerged. Not standard though. Not bad at all. The other sounds are medium Q. Some stand out like a few organ sounds and guitar sounds. The strings are not to good. But: if you are searching for a good digital piano, this is the best of the best in this pricerange.

Nice specs, check it out. 192 voices poly, 4 x multi FX, very, very nice keyboard.

Like I wrote; fantastic piano.

Some hassle about clicking keys on some models it seems. The ones made in Indonesia seem to have this problem, I did nogt notice it yet. Anyway I accept that artefact considering the Super Piano sounds and nice feel keyboard. The instrument feels like a qualty built instrument at this moment- better than Roland. Well, time will tell.