Kawai MP9000

I purchased a demo-model of the MP9000 for a reduced price... unfortunately the store had misplaced the manual. While there may be a few features I'm unaware of, I think everything is intuitive enough. It is also a terrific MIDI controller with volume adjusts for two external sounds and two internal sounds.

The MP9000 has the most realistic piano feel of any of the other brands (Yamaha, Roland,...) by far. There are real wooden hammers inside this machine... not a mere spring simulation like on other digital pianos. I would go so far as to say the action is as enjoyable as the professional Renner action on my previosly-owned Altenburg baby-grand.

The piano sounds are remarkable in that they do not get tiresome even after long periods of playing. Sometimes I have felt the need to remove the reverb effect however. A good pair of headphones (Sennheiser)is probably the most objective test. Compare the sound to a favorite CD recording of a Steinway, and I think the sound measures up quite well. There is an equalizer on board to quickly fine tune... though I've rarely felt the need to adjust the standard settings. For recording I have tweaked the treble a little higher for a little more clarity and punch. The kind of music I tend to improvise and play is of the baroque era...and sometimes as 'modern' as Mozart. The trills and ornate passagework of this era flow effortlessly under the fingers and can have infinite nuance like that of a real piano. I will also say that the Chopin I've played sounds excellent. This is as much a function of the expressiveness of the keyboard that is simply unmatched by other digital brands.

Can't say much here as I've only had the keyboard for two months now.

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This is one fantastic keyboard that truly can replace a piano for serious classical music nuance and expressiveness. It is a pleasure to play and the sounds are indistinguishable from any 'recorded' piano I've heard on CD. That it is also a versatile Midi controller is an added bonus. The only possible negative to the MP9000 is that it is a heavy piece of equipment...probably due to the wooden keys and hammers.

Extremely user friendly.

Great polyphony... Great effects...1/4 inch and XLR (mic)outputs. Easy to adjust small sound details. Straight forward setup.

I have played the Roland RD-500 and RD-600 a few kurzwiel and a few high end yamaha's . They are really great keyboards, but on key reaction and overall feel when your playing, they just don't quite measure up to the MP9000. I have not heard a piano sample yet, that I thought was as good in quality. I am sure the MP9500 is probably better, but you would have a hard time trading keyboards with me for anything less.

around 70lbs. It's no feather weight for gigs, but it's held up well for me. It's made very well. (Not alot of plastic)

If you find a good deal on one, don't pass it up. With the MP9500 out, it's likely there will be a few good, used ones with bargain price tags.

Everything is pretty simple to understand and use

Keyboard action is the best of any digital piano I've ever seen, however, it is NOT exactly like the real thing. There's just something that all digital pianos lack compared to accoustics or the hybrid pianos (like the Yamaha Grantouch). The Grantouch (and I know Kawai has a hyrbid as well) are definitely more like playing a real piano, but they cost more and are even less portable (they're just like real pianos)

99% of the time I just use the basic preset pianos sounds since I play blues/boogie/rock piano. I switch between the #1 grand piano sound and the mellow grand sound depending on my mood and normally I'm quite happy. Sometimes it sounds a bit 'digital' to me though and I have to turn down/off all the reverb and effects; but that could have something to do with the fact that I play through headphones. It's hard to expect the piano sounds to sound like a real piano when they're coming from headphones that are directly up against your ears

Never had any problems with it, though I'm not a professional performer or anything

I bought the MP9000 without playing it or hearing it because I wasn't able to find it anywhere in town (had to order it from Japan and wait a few months to get it). I bought it because I had heard from people and reviews that its action was the very closest to a real piano of any digital piano. After playing it for over a year now, I would agree (Yamaha Clavinovas are definitely not as good in their action) but I am still slightly dissapointed. Even though the MP9000 is the best digital piano around, it's still not as good as the real thing or the hybrid pianos. If it was stolen, I'd probably investigate a bit more to see just how much more expensive a hybrid would cost and possibly get one of them instead. The Yamaha Grantouch's are very nice, and I know Kawai makes a hybrid that supposedly just as good or better.

If the MP9000 is already at the top of your price bracket and you can't afford anything more or if you desire portability, the MP9000 is the best instrument around - but if you can spend more and give up portability, a digital hybrid will perform better.

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i'm a home piano player. I wanted a digital piano. Of digital pianos, one things _most_ important to me is how the key-press feels. I choose kawai mp9000 because the key action feel is closest to real pianos. The MP9000 uses real hammer mechanism inside the keys. Still, the action is not comparable to acoustic pianos which employ elaborate hammer mechanics. But among about 5 other weighted keyboard from Yamaha and Korg and Alesis and Roland that i've sampled in 2000 before buy, the Kawai MP9000 is the only with realistic key-touch feel. Others are not even close. My second choice was Alesis QS8.1. The worse feel are Yamaha digital pianos such as those Clavinova series or P80 or P200.

I deem the sound from all digital pianos crappy. Perhaps in the future, sound from speakers may truly emulate real acoustic pianos. For now, i'd rather prefer purely sythnized piano-like tones as opposed to sampled piano sounds. As for the 8 preset tones in MP9000, to my ears they are TERRIBLE. -- much worse than Yamaha's. They are terribly sampled. The sound changes its tonal color abruptly at certain places if one runs a scale. The high pitches are irritating. As far as preset instrument or sampled sound goes, i like Yamaha's the best. Oh, one of my most favorite sound is the harpsichord. To my surprise, MP9000 does NOT have harpsichord! (but then i still bought it because i can just add a sound module in the future if i reall want, whereas i cannot change the key action)


had the keyboard for over 2 years. I'm no musician, but mathematician, and play for myself only. This keyboard is some 45 Kilograms. I don't like the fact that the keys are made of wood. I'd rather have them modern plastic. What's with the fascination with "wood"? Nature? Modern plastic has much better properties than wood.

a photo of my keyboard is here:
<a href="http://xahlee.org/ClassicalMusic_dir/classicalMusic.html">http://xahlee.org/ClassicalMusic_dir/classicalMusic.html</a>

I used a Sennheiser HD570 headphone to sample digital pianos. You should too.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004SD88/xahhome-20"> Sennheiser HD570 headphone</a>

I use Yamaha YST-MS50W speakers for my piano. I think that for amplified speakers under $300, this $100 speaker set is the best in quality!!
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004SD88/xahhome-20"> Yamaha YST-MS50W </a>

I was just looking for something that could fit in a dorm room that was smaller than a real piano but felt as close to one as possible.

the keyboard action is really nice... easy to be expressive....
HOWEVER... repeated notes are sometimes hard to build velocity on and so are some runs if your fingers are touching farther up on the keys... the keys don't spring back fast enough it seems. i rate this a 10 in this category because i haven't tried to figure out any other features just yet because i'm having too much fun having a "piano" in my small room.

i spoke about the expressiveness above... the sounds are good.... i have this little Yamaha speaker set up with a woofer and it's impressive.... if i had more money i'm sure that it'd sound more lifelike but for now... i'm just having too much fun having a "piano" in my small room.

i've only had it a month and so far it hasnt broken down.
if i was doing a gig i'd hope i could get someone to help me lug that heavy thing!

so far, in this department, i have no opinion whatsoever

this is such a crazy bargain for anyone that appreciates the nuances of playing on a good piano. although i personally think that the touch can be too responsive at times (even though you can tweak the touch level, it seems if you put it at heavy... you dont have as many dynamic levels and with the normal touch setting it seems that the response level jumps exponentially (my 50 cent word.. actually that may be reaching... but i couldnt think of a better word). i've already mentioned about playing fast passages when your fingers can't always be at the edge of the keys and how this keyboard can actually slow you down and how repeated notes just don't spring back fast enough ... but overall, this is a great value... if someone stole it i'd probably want another but not buy one seeing that i'm poor but i'd definitely recommend it to advanced players. i'd consider myself advanced but not professional so i can only speak for us who are good enough to impress but not good enough to be performing live.

I have had my MP9000 about three years now. I have already submitted a review here. I'm posting again to respond to some of the comments about the "sounds" on the unit--and to ask if anybody has seen the sequel--the MP9500?? Apparently, the MP9500 will phase out the MP9000. It has additional onboard sounds, 4 zones, an improved action, and other new features.

As far as any problems with the MP9000 onboard "sounds"--my experience is that they keep getting better and better as you upgrade the quality of your amp, cable, and speakers. I started off with some fine little Yamaha MSP5 powered speakers and some off-the-shelf cable. OK--but, as the old saying goes, I hadn't heard nuthin' yet. Over time, I upgraded to the point now where my MP9000 runs to a Mackie 1202 VLZPro mixer, then to a little EV7100 amp, then to a pair of EV S80 speakers--in my home music studio. Everything is connected with the best StudioPro Monster Cable. And the quality of the "sounds" is just not comparable to that original setup. It is fabulous. Everything I use is "tweaked" to my taste, of course. I'll wager that if anybody is dissatisfied with the sound they are getting from their unit, upgrading a weak link in their downstream equipment and customizing the sound will cure the problem.

But I fear the MP9000 may become a dinosaur--the MP9500 is here. And Kawai has told me that due to new system parameters, you can't transfer your custom presets from a MP9000 to a MP9500 using the SYSX function on your PC music software. Bummer. Got to start all over again when I get that MP9500.

I really love my kawai mp 9000. I've had it for over a year now, and I
wasn't always so sure, but I'm starting to come around. The presets are fine.
For Piano, i usually just use the Grand piano. I mean, all this business about
"rock" piano, or "classical" piano makes me laugh. With a real piano, all
you got is the piano. They don't manufacture "honky tonk" pianos, at least not
to my knowledge. Even if you wanna go for a certain sound, you can tweak it
yourself, which is better in my opinion. The rock organ is a
little disappointing; it's so chunky. It's very overpowering, hard to
make subtle even with the adjustments that can be made. Elec. piano 2 sucks the big one; it's
that cheezy "doogie houser" sounding present (DX7 i think?) But it's
not so bad if you adjust the cutoff rate. Editing the patches is easy as can be, as i'm sure you
all know, I'm really developing a feel for it. However, i HATE the manual. Would
it hurt to make the darn thing a little more reader friendy. You shouldn't have
to read things two, three times just to get the knack of it. I agree with
a past reviewer who says that there should be an advanced guide for users,
so that all us broke musicians can maximize the keyboards capabilities and
get our money's worth. So, overall, the board is very easy to use, but if
you want to get a little more sophisticated with the thang, you're on your
own.

64 voice polyphony. The action is great, BUT, there's some bar beneath
the keys to help prevent wear, i was told, so, there's this annoying feeling,
like, you want to go to the bottom of the keys and you're stopped short.
Also, the keys make this annoying "thud" when they hit bottom. BUT, it's
about the best action i've felt on a keyboard, extremely sensitive,
unless you want to get into
the 4-5 thousand$ range. I'm not sure about the expansion capabilities, haven't
tried them yet. I have toyed with the idea of getting one of those cool
e-mu b3 emulators. BUT, i will say, though most everything is onboard,
I likeit that way. I don't want drum machine, sequencer, and all the
bells and whistles. This is a classy joint, it does what it does well.
Furthermore, you can really get crazy with it's effects (3 choruses, 2
phasers, wha, 2 delay, tremelo, autopan, and a bunch more, all adjustable,
as well as different types of reverb) You can also layer sounds to varying
degrees, but, you can't use more than one effect at a time.
i'm amazed that people haven't gone on about the way you can customize the sound,
in real time, or save your own homemade presets, 64 of 'em. You can do all
sorts of sick things like adjust the transposition for one layer, not the other,
and be playing atonal clusters just by hitting one note!

The piano sounds great BUT, the notes in the upper register really BITE.
It can sound classy if you control you touch, but should you get carried
away in the moment, you might hurt someone. Also, the upper notes ring
for a while, but the full tone of each note dies off pretty quick, so you're
left with an annoying trail. BUT, some REAL pianos sustain in the upper register.
Main complaint: those upper notes just don't sing. Hopefully something
repaired in the new operating system.
The effects are very good, i particulary like the trem when i bust out my
wannabe fender rhodes, and the clavi sounds nice with the wha or phaser. But, some
of the effects, are subtler, and you have to really compare how it sounds with and w/o the
effect. You can adjust the effects depth and rate, but when turn them up all the
way, things can get ugly; however, i recently player a fender rhodes mark I suitcase, which has
the adjustable tremelo, and the same thing happens. So, perhaps the kawai is TOO authentic.

I've lugged it around; heavy as a mother, but worth it. Need a case, just
waiting to win the lottery on the one. If you want one with handles, you'll
need to have it custom made.
I would use it without a backup for sure, which is good, becuase the only
"backup" i can afford is the cheezy 3 octave honda, I mean yamaha, keyboard
i got for christmas in eighth grade!
But certainly, it is very sturdy.

Yeah, i got into it with them once because when i bought the thing, i
brought it home and the pedals didn't work. After having paid all that
cash, i was fuming. The support was okay - perhaps it would've been better
had i not ripped the guy a new @#*$(#)%! They didn't even have someone on staff,
they had to contract some keyboard repair company, and THAT guy had a total 'tude -
had to rearrange my schedule so this guy could come from East bumble-#$*% to fix the thing.
Other complaint, a squeaky key; seems i'm not the only one who's had this problem.
Haven't ventured to fix it yet, i may have been black-listed...
Still, gotta say, the guy tried his best to be nice.

I'd have to say, i've really come to love my MP. I'm still saving to fine
an amp worthy of it. If it were lost or stolen, i'd shop around before i
got another, but i'd prob get another MP. I love it's ferocity when you play loud,
and the feel. Sounds are darn good too. Elec. piano has just the right buzz when you adjust the
attack. Wish there was a stand MADE for it, and a
music stand, but i love the look. I played other keyboards, but nothing
measured up in my mind.

I agree with the others about a too simplistic manuel. I stumbled upon most of the feature by playing around. Haven't quite mastered it's capacity but have used it on stage a number of times. I appreciate it's real piano feel and throught the right system, a real piano sound. I run mine through a 500 watt pa accompanied by two other keyboards. a Kawai K-1 and Yamaha PSR - 225.(Basically crap but works for my application) I would like a better explanation of the midi feature cause I am a rookie there. I'm plugin and go guy and for that I Love my Kawai

It took a while to figure out how to access the features and I have'nt mastered them yet. I love the action, the weighted keys, it overall weight. I learned that there is no internal battery and the sounds can never be lost because it is RAM memory or ROM something like that. I lost all me tones in my K-1 and took forever to get back on track cause I had no card and they stopped MFG. I am happy to know if I take care of my Kawai, It'll take care of me

Excellent tones and combination of tones. I love the Leslie but wish I could controll the speed of that feature on individual settings. This unit totally enhances my playing and the overall sound of the band

I can depend on it. I use a three tear stack of units. The Kawai being my base. My rythym and bass line instrument. The others only enhancers. I still need to figure out what those other two pedal holes do in the back

Freindly to answer questions. No upgrades for this model. Factory set for ever

If it were stolen I would die. I can't afford much being a starving musician. Been playing 30 years now. I shopped for a while and the MP caught my eye right away. We callit the Hal 9000 after 2001 a space oddessy. The Kawai Mp 9000 Kicks ass over all the competition. It's a bout somebody made an electric that feels acts and sounds like a real piano

We've had the piano for 3 months and have had no difficulty in customizing sounds or using the midi out into our computer. We have not attempted the more involved midi functions. What is lacking is an instructive manual to encourage a little more exploration for the inexperienced owner.

Great keyboard. One key has a little bit of friction. Wish I knew whether working a slightly rough key is a good or bad idea. Overall a nice blend of features for young (and old) players. There is just enough knobs and sounds to keep our 8 year old happy between lessons. A drum kit would be a reasonable addition.

Piano sounds are not quite as impressive as the keyboard. The piano has a noticeable "ringing" on the higher notes (octave above middle C and up). Reminds me a bit of the Star Trek transporter sound. I say noticeable but it does require a quiet room (shut off the computer)to pick it up and the ear seems to tune it out after a while. Might contribute to ear fatigue. There are adjustments to minimize this artefact but at some cost in realism...make the sound bloopy and chiming vanishes.
The other sounds, and there are plenty, are very good. I should mention that we use Hafler M5's and the Alessis RA-100 for output. Seems a reasonable match although good headphones sound richer.

Well built. That one key is hardly noticeable and will probably improve with time.

It is well worth the money and I'd definitely buy another one. I tried a Yamaha P200 but the keyboard was not as good. The Yamaha piano sound was perhaps better.

1.5x. The Kawai presets are, in my opinion, just there for starters, not intended to be used, unless by coincidence. The setups are TOTALLY customizable, and should be viewed and used as such. Editing isn't hard, once you get the knack of it--what makes what happen. The manual is bare-bones, but probably should be. What they need is an advanced-users guide, with tips and tricks beyond the manual.

64 poly--near perfect concert grand action--incomparable in any thing else of this type.. No sequencer, no aftertouch, but full MIDI control capability. This is unmatched as a standalone performance instrument, though.

Yes, yes.

Yes, very. Yes--quite cooperative.

Yes--actually I'm thinking of buying a second one. Played piano for 45 years--wish something like this had been available in 1956 when I started. Love everything I know about it. I used to hate that it had no music stand--but I invented one for it, and now have a woodworker making a custon stand.