Kawai MP9000

I purchased my MP9000 new when it first came to the market. I have seldom used the manual as the controls & settings are very intuitive.

I LOVE the keyboard action. Have been a concert pianist for over 40 years and due to lack of space in my home decided to switch to a digital keyboard when I tested the MP9000. The keyboard action is what sold me.

I love the Grand piano sound and also use the vibe & strings for layering effects when recording sound tracks.

The MP9000 has been very reliable - never had a problem with it.

Customer Service at the time of purchase was excellent, but have never needed to have any servicing or repairs.

I have it connected to two 12" powered Tannoy speakers - great sound! I'm hoping this keyboard lasts me the rest of my life as I can't imagine living without it.

This thing can be as simple as plugging in and playing. There are a couple of really great presets; 3 being mellow,studio and rock piano. One of the two organs are right off the bat, the Vibes are cool and the high notes of the bass sounds are really cool too! I was not frightened by this machine in the least, the first time I plugged her in... so plug her in!

I used the midi only a couple of times and everything seemed to work fine. The feel of the keys is unmatched in my opinion. Everything else that i tried felt cheap to me.
It has built in effects that you can apply to the pre-set sounds which has been pretty handy for me. Trial and error without a manual is nothing to be feared with the mp9000 either, just dig right in.
A plus for me, a negative for some... It is a high end digital piano so you must have an amp to play out of, it doesn't have some cheap korg quality with speakers on top. Sorry korg fans...

For a digital piano, i think some of these piano sounds are unrivaled. The organ is very strong and you can hear it being used on "in my place" the coldplay song if you don't believe me. They used this piano for a long time. It won awards for its sound and action! I didn't give it a 10 on this cause they don't have enough cool sounds. What you pay the pretty penny for is the quality of the few sounds that you know you can't get quite right from anything else and for those beloved wooden keys. straight up.

This piano has gigged with me for 5 years. It's been dropped, put in the back of an open bed truck on very very cold nights (with no case), it's been sweat upon, its had it's beautiful wooden keys slammed down by everyone in my band in an attempt to play the most beautiful song ever and never has anything gone out on me. I truly try to keep some rock band integrity and not treat everything like it's gold, so my piano has been through the ringer. With some of our shows i've had some of the outputs not respond do to the moist or freezing drive over there, but one output always kept on and so did the show! It's worth noting that that the outputs were always fine once I gave the piano a day to rest.

No opinion, never needed em (knock on wood)

I wanted to give the mp9000 a 10 because I have never played a digital piano better and trust me I looked for a long time, but it gets a nine cause of the lack of GREAT presets and because it is a heavy piano to be lugging around show after show.
Final note: This piano is top notch, if you can get a good deal on one i say buy it!
I'm sure no one cares, but if this thing came with like 76 keys or 61 it would take up less space for the live show and would get a 12! from me

Fairly easy, if you read the manual.

Didn't have any problems, except when playing a torrent of notes. And even then, I didn't notice anything dramatic. Pretty easy to use.

Average quality sounds (but, again, I am used to hearing 2GB+ sounds on the computer.) On the other hand, it "listens" quite well. I only wish its super lows were lower. But, still, it's action is pretty good, and reacts well to the differences in touch.

Definitely a no-go. I used it extensively, and, while its electronics where always fine, I had severe problems with the keyboard. And I mean severe. I am used to playing a Yamaha Grand Piano, and I crushed half the keys (especially the middle and upper section) in six months after I had bought it brand new! I had it repaired at least four times, and it usually was broken just before a gig or right on one! Personally, I love the touch of the keyboard, but my main thing is trust. And I have reached the point where I do not trust Kawai action ever again (at least not until I read that someone that usually plays on a real grand and has used it extensively finds it reliable - and even then, with a grain of salt.

The international support was pretty good. Support in my home country was hopeless. So I cannot form an opinion.

I have it in a friends home, with the keys broken once more. I am looking for a lightweight (let us not forget that ir weighs as much as two keyboards!), durable keyboard with a good touch. The sounds I will drive externally, but I want a few good sounds in case of emergency. No, I wouldn't buy it again. I had so many problems with the keys that make me not want to have a lot to do with this line of models again.

The mp 9000 is very easy to use, the only issue I had was the split keyboard, you need to have the correct layer activated before you can change the sound, but that took all of 5 mins to get used to.
The manual is very comprehensive and easy to read.

I think the best feature about this machine is the keys. They feel just like a piano and they are very touch sensitive (unlike most other digital pianos that I have tried). The sounds are also very good, there may only be a few of them, but you can do alot with the inbult effects and reverbs, and split keyboard without even using the midi function.

All of the instrument sounds are top quality, my only disappointment has been the piano, there are 5 great piano sounds, but none of them are quite what I am looking for, but then I am very fussy.

Had it for four years and it hasn't let me down once. I would take it with me everywhere I went if portability were slightly easier, but it is called a stage piano for a very good reason, that's what it is, it is not made to be dragged all over the place, hence the 50 or so Kgs that it weighs.

Never had to be in contact with Kawai as I have had no problems what so ever with it.

I love my keyboard, my only regret is that it is shut up in my small music room. It is not made for a small space (it works perfectly fine in one) but it is made for a large auditorium with it's sound pumping through a good quality speaker system.

When I was looking for a keyboard, I spent about 3months searching out for the best one that i could find. I tried all of the common names and models, the Roland's RD series, the Yamaha's P series, the korg, Kurzweil and others, but I found that the Kawai had the best piano feel and great quality sounds. It doesn't have some of the other features that others do have, but with midi and a computer, you don't really need all of those other features anyway.

Layout is logical and easy to use once you play with it a while. Lots of lighted pushbuttons. And I have to say this the best-looking and feeling digital piano I've found.(And that includes recent models from Yamaha and Roland). The slanted top with thick, brushed aluminum looks great and makes me feel like I'm playing a real instrument.
The finish on the aluminum slightly darkens it and looks better than the brighter aluminum on the MP9500. The keys are wooden and are about a foot long (into the piano) and pivot just at the same point as a real piano.

Instrument patches are easily edited for attack, sustain, decay, and resonance and effects are easily accessed from the front panel and a small but adequate LCD.

Polyphony is fine..never noticed any dropped notes. Midi is easy to use and has two zones. I use it with a M-Audio Uno adapter that connects to the usb port on my laptop. Effects aren't bad and can be very useful especially with the E-pianos and Clavinet.

The Piano sounds are good but not a satisfying as the current Yamaha and Roland pianos. Grand Piano 1 is a Kawai concert grand and is rich but a little bright for my taste. Piano #3 (Mellow Grand) is basically a filtered verison of GP1. It works better for jazz, etc. I use the mellow piano with the "dynamic touch" setting and find it OK but lacking a little dynamic range/tone. Electric Pianos are good though the velocity mappings make is hard to play loud notes and get that "overamplified" E-piano sound. Wurlizer sounds perfect and the Rhodes gets better when you add some effects like a small amount of distortion. Clavichord works well with the phaser effect. Stay away from bright headphones like the Sony MDR-V6 with this piano...especially the piano sounds work better with darker headphones like Sennheisers.

This is the best instrument for playing sampled pianos IMO.
I midi the mp9000 to my laptop through a M-audio UNO and use Kontakt2 to play the Old Lady piano from PMI. Sound comes out through an Echo Indigo sound card and Sennheiser HD580 headphones. Holy $#@!#$%# it sounds and feels good! I would say the action on the MP9000 is equivalent to a light grand. The keys are not graded from heavy to light so the lower octaves are a little lighter and upper octaves a little heavier. Overall I find the touch more solid and inspiring than on any other digital piano I have played. I like it even better than the MP9500 which I find too heavy for my taste in the lower octaves.
I've seen a review that calls the action too light and like a spinnet piano. Totally wrong. The key action has a much greater range of travel than a spinnet and the keys are heaver overall. Perfect in my opinion.

I bought the piano used a year ago and its worked without glitches. Haven't tried to gig with it.

Overall this is a gorgeous instrument that you will enjoy playing very much. The piano sounds are nice but not as satisfying as current Yamaha and Roland pianos. If you are thinking about playing sampled pianos on your computer, this would be the best controller you could get IMO. The marriage of the perfect Kawai action and amazing 24-bit quality from Gigastudio3 or Kontakt2 will put you in piano nirvana.

The mp9000 is extremely user-friendly. Switch it on and play it. The design, pots and sliders, is excellent - and pleasantly retro if you like that kind of thing. Quick EQ adjustments are a breeze; similarly, balancing the levels between zones is slider-controlled and nice'n'easy.
Editing patches is also straightforward, though no more so than one would expect.
As regards the manual, it's atypical. i.e. could be clearer, but basically usable. The thing is, the keyboard is pretty intuitive to begin with, so I've hardly ever had to refer to the manual anyway.

The polyphony is 64bit, which is fine, and pretty standard.
The built in effects are good, particularly the sympathetic resonance which is designed for the acoustic piano samples. A range of chorus, flange, delay, phaser, auto-wah and several reverbs. Also overdrive and distortion, which are quite good when used, (IN MODERATION) with the Rhodes sample in particular. These effects can be minimally edited using two of the 4 pots, (the other two are assigned for editing reverb).
The keyboard has two zones, which can run external patches alongside internal. An extra pair of sliders enable level control for 2 external sounds.
Th action is absolutely THE reason to have this keyboard. No other keyboard comes anywhere near it. Wooden keys and wooden hammers make it as close as you are going to get to an acoustic piano action. I own, and gig with this keyboard because it is as near as I can get to playing a real piano: nothing else will suffice. There is no aftertouch, (which doesn't bother me at all), because it really isn't that kind of keyboard. This is for pianists first and foremost. If you want aftertouch then buy something else, it will be cheaper and lighter.
There is no sequencer, no poxy drum samples, no metronome, no disco lights & no kitchen sink attachment. Praise the lord.

The piano sounds are good, particularly considering I bought this in 1999. They still stand up in 2005. All the sounds can be edited, (attack, decay etc.) but the piano samples generally don't need it. Depending on what you are using to amp it, (I use a small HK P.A. system), you will find the piano that works best for you. I always find digital piano samples are too bright, and thus use the mellow grand, which, if you have a decent rig, is bright enough for my taste.
The rhodes is ok, a bit lacking in growl; the E.P.2 is a DX-style affair. Ahem. The wurlitzer is the best of them in my opinion, with lovely warmth in the lower register and great attack. The organs are fine, nothing special; strings are average, and there's a choir too. (If you like that sort of thing.) The bass sounds are servicable and there's also a clav, which I guess is why they have an auto-wah in the effects bank.
The sensitivity is very good, far better than roland or yamaha. I would say though, that it is a heavy action, which is not great for some players. If you're used to a roland for instance, you will find this keyboard hard work. I like it, but that's just subjective.
I have used this keyboard on thousands of jazz gigs, and it has held up very well. It is acceptable for classical music, and I guess, in terms of playability, that means it will cover anything else.

Hmmm. I should mention that as of this week I am buying a new keyboard, since my mp9000 has had too many problems lately to be relied upon. HOWEVER, the new keyboard I'm getting is the mp9500 - so go figure.
I have used the mp9000 exclusively for nearly six years: it has done thousands of gigs; travelled tens of thousands of miles; taken a few knocks along the way; and it's behaved pretty well.
I had problems with the power supply, which I eventually had replaced. And the keys, despite the marvellous action etc., are basically held on with a pathetic bit of plastic at the back of the board. This has meant a few home repairs with glue and tape, when the keys have suddenly stopped springing up. (Painfully annoying in the middle of a gig.)

N.A.

This is beyond doubt the best keyboard I have ever owned. Despite it going wrong a few times, I have kept faith with it, and am replacing it with the mp9500 this week. This review is in honour of all the satisfaction the mp9000 has given me over the years. I recommend it to pianists everywhere who care about touch and sound. By the way, use stereo amplification, not just for this keyboard, but for any digital piano. It sounds SO much better.....

Switch it on, pick a sound and start playing. Normal operation, including split and layering is just easy. If you enter the setup mode where you make the thing act as a master keyboard, it get's more complicated and you need the manual.

Polyphony is 64.

The keyboard action is the best ever. I guess most people buying this product do it because of the 88 wooden keys with real hammers.

Effects: Some reverbs. The other FX are either the string resonance stuff or some more unusual like chorus, flanger, distortion, auto-wah etc.

You can assign each zone (which can be either left or right part of the keyboard or layered) an internal and one external sound. (Meaning each zone has it's own midi channel as well).

People argueing that this is far from enough should be the MP9500 which has 4 zones instead of two, 128 polyphony, different tunings and a lot of more things.

You can edit all your sounds. I didn't find out how to reset a single sound to the defaults.

There are 4 knobs that can control 4 different things: FX parameters, evenlope, equalizer, MIDI-controlers. This allows some live modification of sounds if you're of an experimental kind.

Also worth mentioning are the integrated DI boxes, the device has XLR outputs - and is the only keyboard I know that has this. If you're doing the equipment stuff within a band, you will enjoy this feature - and you will hate the thing for a weight of 51KGs including it's case.

Just keep in mind that by the time of writing this instrument is about 6 years old and 6 years ago, digital piano sounds where not as good as they are nowadays.

Then again for the price - you get NOTHING new in Germany for that price, concerning digital pianos. And what you get if you pay 200 Euros more is not as good as this device.

The excellent keyboard action allows (at least in my fingers) to play expressionate, one can tell something with velocity while in other devices it's more or less louder or not that loud and no feeling...

I had to repair it because on all keys, some little foam pads were worn out. Seems that the guy who owned it before played A LOT on it and also head it on some kind of world tour, causing some scratches.

Fixing this was half a day of work - but then again, the only alternative would have been buying the MP9500 (new) which is about 2000? here in Germany at the moment.

Never needed them.

My over all rating is good because I use this device every day and it just gives me pleasure when I'm playing. It could have some features improved and so on but the basic thing is perfect, it's good to play.

And for the price (which included a nice case, by the way) ist's just a great deal.

I've compared this to other products, in deed I did play every digital piano I came accross in every music shop for about one year. I found one that was better and this turned out to be a home digital piano by KAWAI having the keyboard action from the KAWAI mp9500 - which then again is the only dignified successor of the mp9000.

The interface is quite simple, although this is mostly due to the lack of features.

Somewhat under-featured, even for a digital piano. In particular, there is no way to change the tuning -- you are stuck with a "stretch" tuning.

Also, the number of MIDI zones is limited to two -- I believe this will be an issue for some people who want to use it as a controller.

There is also no aftertouch, it would have been really nice if Kawai could have figured out a way to add aftertouch without negatively affecting the action.

I got one of these when they first came out, and I still like the sound. If you listen through headphones at high amplification levels, there are some dissonant overtones that get annoying after awhile, but these can be largely EQed out. While the sound technology is dated, the concert grand patch on the MP9000 still sounds a lot better to me than any of the acoustic piano patches on my Motif Rack.

Also, the action is superb, in my opinion. I like it better than any other piano-type action I have tried, including Roland RD700 and
Yamaha P250. The action is the main reason to get this board.

The other sounds are mostly usable. The Wurli is decent. I can't stand the Rhodes unless I run it through the leslie sim, as it is all bell and no bark. I find the Hammond to be quite useable and a nice compliment to the Hammond patches on my Motif Rack, although I should note that I'm not a B3 buff. The clav is very unrealistic and digital sounding. Strings and basses are usable.

The effects are limited. You get 1 insert FX plus reverb. But the effects that are provided all sound pretty good, with exception of distortion and overdrive, which are kind of lame sounding.

Well, I can't remember exactly when I got mine, but it's been over 5 years, with no problems. But then I don't gig, and it doesn't get moved often, although it does get played every day I am in town.

When I first got my MP9000, I had some questions which Kawai promptly answered by E-mail. They also e-mailed me updates for the OS.

I still think this is a great board. Even if you don't like the sounds, the touch is superb, and it makes a good controller, if you can live with two MIDI zones and no aftertouch (obviously, I can). I don't forsee selling mine anytime soon. I still use the acoustic piano sound, and use a Motif Rack for the rest.

Very easy board to get around on. Manual is straightforward.

5 years ago, I bought a MP9000 new, and it's STILL the best action I've ever played for a digital. Recently, I took mine apart to isolate (and fix) some key noise. It took about 20 minutes to open it, 10 minutes to fix the noise (key was rubbing against the pin it was balanced on,so I just re-glued the felt), and 20 minutes to put it back together. I don't recommend doing this w/ a new instrument, but this is the first time I've ever been able to
fix a problem like this with NO complications, and no sending it off to someone that I hope can fix it without charging the proverbial arm and leg. It's heavy, but well worth lugging to whatever venue or gig where piano technique is a factor.

Piano sounds have certainly evolved from 5 years ago, which is why we have MIDI - I hardly ever use the on-board sounds, but when I have to, they're still usable. Since I originally bought the board for its action, the sounds haven't seen much service.

Any instrument that's still in my rig after 5 years, with only the key-fix occuring, is definitely reliable. Being the 78-80lb monster that it is, we've gotten the best results (i.e., stability) by parking it on top of a pair of sawhorses, which gives the whole rig a kind of "home improvement" look.

Don't know about customer support, especially for a discontinued model, but they were OK back then.

Overall, this is still my go-to instrument for playing digital piano.
I wish it was lighter, and wouldn't complain if they had a better upgradability path for sounds, but the action is still amazing - I own a Kawai grand, and while the MP isn't exactly like the acoustic's action, it's close enough for jazz or whatever.

With a bit of fiddling around,I have found it to be pretty directive,and simple to use,great midi-controller,my set up is a Motif 6 and now the MP9000,I had a P80 perviously,but you cannot compare the MP9000 to the P80,its like comparing a BMW to a Mini.

64 note polphony,seems ok ,I have not heard any note dropping yet,does not have any expansion capabilities,but then again its a digital piano,I also own a otto bach piano aucostic,and I reckon this is far better sounding.

Better than anuyhing I have ever played to date,I have used the P80,P120,Motif 8,S90 and P200 and nothing beats the sound of the MP9000.You can also set the attack,reverb and brightness,this is great for different styles of playing,I am more a classical pianist and this most definetly compliments my playing.

Look pretty robust.

N/A

Best Digital piano I have ever played,I have used many as mentioned above,its really in a class of it's own and will be for many more years to come,this piano is not going anywhere,it's staying with me.I would replace it if was stolen,but I will ensure this baby.I have been playing now for 25 years and know a good piano when I see one,and this is a must for the classical pianist on the move.

If you are looking for quality sound and feel,this is the way to go depsite the weight,a truely totally proffesional instrument.Coldplay(Chris Martin) and David Grey use it as well for performances.

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.

N/A

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.

n/a.

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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.

I have owned this instrument for c. 15 months now. This is the first 'digital piano' that is truly an instrument. All other attempts have been an assault to the ears and fingers, as well as an insult to my intelligence and wallet. Is the MP9000 exactly the same as a concert-class grand piano? No, but that is not a reasonable expectation. I love the way that the previous reviews compare an under $2,000 to purchase item with an item that costs over $30,000 to purchase and countless more to pay enough technicians to carry it around and keep it tuned for you to play any time night or day (as if this were an achievable feat outside of the necessary strictly controlled environment with proper humidity and temperature) let alone adjust the temperment (as would require more than your local 'tuner', but an actual person who earns their living doing just that, yet you can perform this operation yourself with the touch of a few buttons on the MP9000). Get real! What you would pay for the MP9000 itself is about the cost of moving a piano of the class that the MP9000 emulates on one of its presets! I believe this is its own instrument, the same as each model of grand piano (and some would argue each individual piano). One should consider this instrument as another category of piano/keyboard instrument. The touch is its own and very useful, but not exactly like a Kawai or any other make of piano. Why should it be? Who said the touch of a 'grand piano' (as if there exists one generic feel to which we all refer!) is the best way of entering data into an instrument? Buy the Kawai MP9000, make the minor adjustments in your playing style that is necessary with any switch in instrument (whether piccolo or tympani), enjoy the extremely musical overtones and harmonics in the presets, and then use it as a controller for all that follows. I think this instrument presents us with a new paradigm, for we no longer must search for "just like a real 'x' or 'y'..." gadgets, but have the choice of NEW instruments that retain just enough of the qualities from those bulky, unreliable, and expensive (and therefore esoteric to its logical extreme) instruments that we are able to bring our acquired finesse and playing style along for the journey. The next generation of musician won't even search for a keyboard with 'real' touch, for they won't understand the concept...nor do I after the MP9000!

At first glance ist may be a bit confusing because Kawai has its own way to arrange everything (yes those four sliders are just for volume control), but soon its very easy and intuitive to use. The manual is poor, but in this case it is not a big problem (I own a Kawai K5000 where that problem really matters)

The features as a masterkeyboard are very thought through, though they are not complete and there are other controllers with more features. (like my old Yamaha KX88)

The polyphony functions very properly. Even the Yamaha GT2 has more problems with fast tremolos and lots of notes (at least the one I tried started clicking when confronted with Liszt). The keyboard action feels like a mixture between piano and grandpiano action. It is built without any springs and works only with gravitation but one has to like the way the keys bounce back into position. Some real grandpianos also have that effect but not that strong.
I especially like the way the sustain pedal functions although works only as a on/off switch. Very subtle sounds emerge when you release it only a short time.The smooth variation the sound makes when played from pp to ff is impressive. As someone else commented the sound may be a bit "ringing", with lots of overtones. When I tried it first in the shop I just thought the same, but with good headphones and if you use an external amplifier/mixer and not the cheap built in phone jack it gets a lot better. And one can also reduce the cutoff a little or use the equalizer.
The Alesis Nanopiano I own sounds so bad in comparison... (not only the piano sounds)

The first one I had had some problems with the keyboard (one of the keys was shorter than the others) Usually something built as poor as that should not pass the quality control. But it was no problem to exchange it.

I would buy it again it is definitely worth its price. I play the piano 25 years now and the MP9000 is the first digital piano worth buying. Due to the good action one really can work on very subtle differences when playing classical music.Also I like the sound very much. I tried a lot of other digital pianos (Yamaha, Roland, Korg, General Music, Technics, Casio) and its far better than all of those. Using phones it is on par with the Yamaha GT2 or at least in the same category. And the GT2 costs four times as much. I just liked the MP9000 on the first try and after a month playing I like it even more.
It is exactly what I wanted so it gets a 10.

This keyboard was the most complicated of all the digital pianos I tried. It took me 3 visits to the store to fully figure out the buttons and menus. But once you understand it, it's intuitive.

Manual is well-organized but doesn't teach you anything new; you're better off experimenting on your own to figure it out.

Features: Keyboard - 10; Sounds - 5

Excellent keyboard; only the Yamaha P-200 is more realistic, but that has a more difficult and staccato touch and you really have to be a good pianist to play it, whereas the MP9000 has softer key touch and is easier to play.

Sounds: Not enough variety. Why'd they take the harpsichord away? That was one of my favorite sounds! I don't need 5 pianos and 3 electric pianos.

But the "choir" is nice, and the layering feature is fun.

8 - except that I wish there were more sound patches, it's beautiful.

I recently picked up one of these used. I feel its one of the best keyboard acquisitions I've ever made. After reading the preceding reviews, there's not much I can add. But I did want to note another possible solution to the problem of a case. A company called Kases makes soft cases with a rigid set of bars running underneath the case with wheels at one end and a handle at the other. The MP9000 will actually fit into the largest model. Its a tight fit, hardly a centimeter to spare, but it seems to work.

Now, this being a soft bag, it will not do much to protect the keyboard from collisions. But it will keep off the dust, moisture, and scratches, and it makes moving it around much easier. I'm a bit concerned that, given its construction, the case will not hold up under the weight of the MP9000, but it seems worth the gamble (at $150). I've checked out the aluminum case made by Kawai specifically for this keyboard. Its much more protective while still be reasonably light. But the additional weight and bulk with that case means you either need two people to move it or one person using a handtruck. And the Kawai case costs $300. The Kawai case isn't a flight case. For that, you'd need something specially made and more expensive.

Oh, yeah, portability aside, the MP9000 is very easy to use.

As others have said, the prime virtue of this keyboard is the action. It is head and shoulders about any other digital keyboard in terms of expressiveness allowed. The dynamic range is tremendous. The action is very comfortable and natural feeling, relative to any other digital keyboard.

There are controllers with much more to offer in terms of control options. But the MP9000 is adequate for my simple purposes, which is mainly to play piano-type sounds from a module.

I think the piano patches are very good. I don't know if they are the best around. I'm not one of these people who can hear a piano patch and right away tell notice a flaw in the loop below middle C, or whatever. My sense is that you can find piano sounds as good or better in other modules. But I don't have any concerns about playing the onboard piano sounds of the MP9000.

The rest of the sound set is good but not great. Electric pianos are OK, but there are better and if electric piano sounds are important to you, that will probably drive you to using a module. Like every other manufacturer, Kawai feels compelled to waste good memory space with a DX-7 type electric piano patch. I guess as horrible as that sound is to most ears, its enough a part of a musical history that it has to be repeated. What a shame.

Fortunately, the MP9000 is no less expressive when hooked up to a module. That is, you'll still be able to fully benefit from the great action.

Looks and feels like a quality piece of equipment. But you really should bring a back up. That's right, you should bring two MP9000's to any gig.

My great frustration with digital piano's has always been not with the sounds so much as the fact that they don't feel and play like musical instruments. They may sound great, but they don't feel that way in your hands. The MP9000 is a dramatic step forward in this respect. Its still doesn't feel like a piano, but its so much closer than anything else out there.

The main "price" for this realism is, its seems, a compromise in portability. Hauling this thing around will really put a strain on you physically (assuming you are, like most musicians, not the body-builder type). Whether its worth it will depend on how much you value being able to apply your piano technique when out on a gig.

Navigation of sounds, including layering and splitting, is quite simple.
I'm not a MIDI junkie, so I can't really comment on those capabilities.
The manual is straightforward, but rather simplistic -- there wasn't much
in there I couldn't have figured out by just pushing buttons. I also
suspect there is a fairly sizable amount of information it doesn't tell
you -- see my comments under Customer Support.

Between the other reviews and Kawai's Web site, there isn't going to
be much I can say here about the technical specs that hasn't been said.
I'll gush about the sounds & feel in the next section. I haven't
noticed any problems with the polyphony or voices disappearing. In
general, the piano seems pretty flexible wrt tweaking its settings --
attack/cutoff/etc. can be controlled through panel knobs; the OS is
updated through playing a MIDI file.

From a sound/feel perspective, this is an un-freaking-believable keyboard.
Enough can not be said about the feel -- it really does feel like a real
upright piano. The keys have excellent action, right down to the bounce-
back necessary to play quick chords. Most digital pianos/synths have a
"hard" stop when you press the key all the way down, which really causes
both speed & fatigue problems when you try to play really hard and fast
for a while -- no such issues with the MP9000.

The preset sounds are uniformly excellent as well -- five(!) different
piano sounds give you enough acoustic range for a variety of styles and
moods. Electric pianos 1 & 3 are good for most songs, and the rock organ
sounds pretty decent. I haven't played much with the other sounds, but
the basses sound pretty good. As a vibraphone player, I approve of the
vibes sound, but most digitals get that sounding pretty good. Anyway,
I play rock & blues when I gig/jam, classical & jazz at home, and I've
never had a problem finding an appropriate sound for the piece.

Haven't had any problems at all with this piano, but I've only had
it for a couple of months. I've taken it out to play several times,
and no issues (other than the size). I don't take and don't feel I
need to take a backup; however, I play fairly locally, so you can
take that with a grain of salt -- I can always *get* a backup within
an hour if I really needed to.

Customer support is ok. I've had a couple of dealings with them, neither
specifically relating to the quality of the instrument:

1) I bought the piano on a Friday evening. I knew from reading this forum
that older OSes were "out of tune", so I had already downloaded the patch.
Got it home, and wanted to update immediately. Unfortunately, the manual
doesn't discuss OS update at all, and the instructions in the README were
pretty brief. Furthermore, the patch didn't seem to be working, not that
I could really tell. I tried to contact Kawai, but they were already gone
for the weekend, and I couldn't get info until Monday. (To be fair, they
were pretty responsive once they got back.) Turns out, a) you can't play
the patch through Cakewalk, b) you can determine the version by holding
"Store" while powering on, and c) the display counts up in hexadecimal while
the update is in progress, so you can see that it's actually doing something.
Three pieces of info that I would have liked on Friday, and that I should
have been able to find. If they aren't going to put that kind of information
in the manual (and why they would not is beyond me), at least they could
have some kind of technical reference on the Web site. Odds are, you'll
have to deal with this, too, since my MP9000 came at v1.41, and 1.51 is
the latest available.

2) Finding a case is quite difficult -- Kawai "offers" them through a
separate company. The dealer from which I bought the piano couldn't
give me any specs, and when I called the company directly, it wasn't
quite what I was looking for -- I wanted a case with wheels (since the
piano weighs so much). Ended up having to get one custom made.
I realize that Kawai isn't Yamaha or Roland with their mass-distribution
channels, but you would think that for a "Professional Stage Piano", they
would have put a little more thought into the cases/stands/etc.

If this piano were lost or stolen, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat,
although certainly not from the pirates, er, dealer where I bought it --
Sweetwater.com was selling them for $1700 at the time of this review,
which is much more in line with what other people here paid.

I've seen a lot of digital pianos -- Rolands, Korgs, Yamahas, other
crap -- and nothing in this space comes remotely close to the sound
and feel of the MP9000. (Yamaha Clavinovas are probably comparable,
but they are "furniture" digital pianos, and a decent one costs at
least $4000. Sorry, the P80 & P200 just don't measure up.)

The only real beef I have is the incredible weight -- 73 lbs. is
a LOT to haul. Add a decent case & accessories, and it's like
carrying around my ex-girlfriend every time I go to play. I feel
it's worth it, but if you're the road crew, make sure you consider
what you're getting into there.

Overall, though, I strongly recommend checking this keyboard out
if you're looking for a digital piano. Does the MP9000 help me make
music? I couldn't make the quality of music that I do without it.

Plenty of lit buttons, sliders, 2 line text LCD. Manual is complete, including MIDI implementation specs. Operation is intuitive.

64 mono polyphony, 32 stereo. Action is similar to a light upright piano, with a little bounce-back after depressing/releasing a key. You can apply your acoustic piano technique - the volume is determined by how much momentum you put into the hammer. If you have acoustic piano technique, you will prefer the mp9000 action to Roland A90/RD600, Yamaha P200, or any other non-furniture digital piano. If you are an organist/bassist/never-played-an-instrument, it might be a matter of taste. No aftertouch, but who cares? Use a synth keyboard for that type of stuff. Good MIDI capabilities (16 channel multitimbral) and good simple MIDI-master-controller capability. OS is flashable (hold down some buttons when you power on, play a MIDI file from http://kawaius.com/downloads/MP151.zip, and you have a much improved instrument (most likely any model you find at a dealer will be an older OS). Newer OS improves voice-stealing algorithm, probably favoring louder/bass notes, but you'll still notice disappearing notes if you play big classical music. Pretty good reverb+other effects. Fixed PA outputs (independent of volume control and EQ), standard line output and headphone, comes with two-pedal (quiet and sustain, no middle hold-depressed-notes pedal, which is a shame, but I don't think even acoustic pianos have them in Japan).

No harpsichord (thank you)! Excellent, playable piano sounds. The default tuning is the mathematically exact each interval is the same frequency ratio variation, which for whatever reason (the overtones of piano strings sound better when they coincide with the other notes played?) does not sound good as the "stretch" tuning a good tuner will apply to your expensive grand (high notes are slightly higher pitched than the mathematically precise value, and lower notes are slightly lower). The "sympathetic resonance" or whatever they call it is just an effect that is applied when the pedal is down and you strike a note. I'm not sure if I like it - it is probably what people think is "buzzing" in the high notes. There are some beats/ringing if you play fifths/fourths in the highest octaves, probably from using the same sample and having unnaturally matching timbre combined with exact tuning ... the electric pianos are very nice, the basses are good, the organs are good (soft pedal = change rotary speaker rate), strings are more of a synthy-pad, and choir is okay. vibe is quite nice and i wouldn't know what to do with a clav so i'll just say it sounds like other synths' clav and goes okay with a phaser effect.

the acoustic piano sound is more playable and believable than any portable digital piano. if i couldn't get an mp9000, i would have settled for the yamaha p200, which sounds much better through good headphones than its (crappy IMO) built in speakers.

More moving parts than normal, but it looks great and seems to be built solid (it endured cross country UPS shipping - box had several gashes/skid marks, and is in perfect condition). Supposedly 70 lbs, but it's bulky enough that it will feel like more if you try and pick it up off the floor. I played a years-old floor model at Sam Ash and the action was still good.

Hard to find a dealer. Excellent support for an old keyboard (I doubt they will be releasing a new one any time soon either) - the new OS is amazing support as far as I'm concerned ... hopefully I'll never need anything further ;) Also, before the OS update was available on their website (before I purchased), I wrote an email to kawai asking about the newer versions, and I got a prompt reply on how to check the version at the store, and the update attached along with it.

Some guy has a web page showing how he opened up his mp9000, and it seems you can probably work on it yourself if you don't want to ship it to a Kawai service center.

Kawai dealers are far less common than Yamaha or Roland (because they have nothing of worth other than the mp9000, whereas Yamaha and Roland have lots of saleable synths/modules

I would have paid retail ($2200?) if I had to. You definitely want a 4-post stand if you play hard - putting this thing on one of those X or Z stands would be like playing on a boat. The sounds are better than any of the alternatives aside from ~$8000 furniture-style digital pianos that you REALLY couldn't move around. I wish the action were a little heavier, and that the counterbalances for the hammer returned the keys back to position - repeated note action isn't as fast as a good grand, but for trills or reasonable repeated-note tempo, it's fine.

This is the piano I bought to hold me over until I have a spare $25k for a good grand, and a house to keep it in (I love you too, babe!). It will always be useful as a MIDI controller/piano sound source. I don't know of any portable piano module or keyboard that would be better, except perhaps a computer with Gigapiano (haven't had a chance to try it to compare, I have the Gigasampler software, just not the sample CD - let me know if you want me to compare it for you ;)

I didn't find any Kawai dealers in San Diego; I was going to buy from Sam Ash in Los Angeles, although they were whining about going down to $1600+tax. I ended up getting it from http://www.pmblues.com/ who were apparently closing out their stock, at $1300+$100 UPS shipping (new). I actually bid $1500 on ebay, but the reserve was mistakenly set too high, and they gave it to me for what I would have won the auction for - amazing class, I was really surprised. Definitely check them out, although they mainly sell rare guitars, they also sell Akai samplers I think, and probably various other things.

The menu system is logical and self-explanatory. The internal presets provide excellent examples of different ways the internal sounds can be configured. Also, the external zones are easy to set up and use.

The keyboard action is very nice - the keys have the slight 'snap' I expect from a keyboard, and wish more had. In fact, the keyboard is the only reason I bought this piano - I figure, I can upgrade the sound of it a lot more easily than I can upgrade the feel of it...

The effects and MIDI capabilities are not mind-bogglingly spectacular, but they aren't bad at all. The built-in synth supports 64 notes (I think - I bought it quite a while ago, so I don't remember exactly - Anyway, I haven't come up against its limits yet)

The two external MIDI zones are nice, especially since they can be controlled in pretty much the same way as the internal ones, as well as through four control channels.

I've been using this with a Carvin acoustic guitar amp, and it sounds great. Of course, it's not the same as a real piano, organ, or orchestra, but from a distance it's hard to tell it's not really a grand piano.
The expression is a little difficult to get used to at first, but after tweaking the settings a bit (it allows a lot of control over the response to how it is played), I've found I can play more expressively on this piano than on many concert grands, and far more than any other keyboard I've used.
The effects are nice, though I generally prefer not to use the internal effects, since they are stored in memory with the performance settings, and the change when I change instruments is often sudden and harsh. So I usually avoid them except for small performances when I don't want to carry an effects rack with me.
As far as the style of music - It works well, for me, for rock, because of its relatively light touch and the assortment of piano sounds (all of which are very well-sampled) and its voicing adjustments, which basically allow you to bring out certain qualities of the tone based on how you play the keyboard. The organ and string sounds are also very nice - I haven't really even considered a rack synth for any of these, but of course everything depends on the performer's taste.
When I'm in quieter moods, it also works very nicely for classical music, since the action is so crisp and precise. The only problem is that the keys feel lighter than a piano, so it's hard to keep the tempo steady when I'm playing quick pieces.

I haven't had any reason yet not to trust this keyboard, but as far as I can recall, I've never had much trouble with any keyboard. At least, not to the point that I would doubt its reliability. So, I really have no opinion on this matter.

I have not had occasion to deal with Kawai, except on one occasion - When I was looking for a case. The experience was not particularly pleasant, but it was not by any fault of Kawai's - in fact, in the end it was Kawai that resolved the situation. Basically, the deal was that I needed the case within the next two weeks. All the retailers I contacted gave me a huge run-around, saying the case did not exist, or would not be in stock, or whatever else may have been the problem. In the end, after 3 calls to one particular retailer over the course of a week, I called the retailer and told them to call the Kawai rep (like they said they would do the last 3 times) while I was on hold. About 30 min later, I was told they couldn't get the case within 2 weeks - even though they had one in inventory... Anyway, I'll cut to the point - Kawai offered the case direct for the price the retailer quoted (even though they don't normally sell to end customers at all), and got it to me on time.

I would definitely buy another of these, and would recommend it to anyone else looking for a good keyboard with a nice sound. Because of the excellent feel of the keys, I think it is well worth the price I paid.
I don't know if I could remember how long I've been playing - I guess I could say I've played since my infancy - or at least banged the keys of my grandparents' piano. I only took lessons for about two years, during high school. I've had this particular keyboard for about 6 months now, and so far i have no real complaints about it.
The one thing I was most impressed with when I bought it, and the thing that continues to impress me, is the feel of the keys. After comparing it to every keyboard I could get my fingers on (including several Yamaha digital pianos), It by far has the most realistic feel and most expressive potential of any keyboard I tried.
Since I bought this keyboard, I have spent at least twice as much time playing as I did before (and everyone told me then it was ludicrous), and my single most enjoyable pastime has become just sitting and improvising for hours. I absolutely love this piano.

This isn't a very full-featured keyboard, so it wasn't hard for me to figure out how to use it. The controls are intuitive, and I really like the retro look. The manual sucks, but who reads that anyway? The presets are OK, but twiddling w/ the EQ and dynamics helps a great deal.

This keyboard is a beast -- not only is it heavy (as others have noted), but it's pretty big too.

I bought this keyboard to be a piano replacement. I have a classical background, but also do jazz (Bill Evans, not Kenny G.) My decision to buy this keyboard was based on the action and the piano sounds. You might want to note that I personally don't think any digital piano/keyboard out there comes close to a piano, except for the Yamaha GranTouch (which is way out of my price range. But I definitely recommend trying one out in a store just to see what you're missing.)

Action was more important to me than sound; besides, I don't think any piano samples out there really sound good (except the GranTouch.) The action is the best out there -- by this I mean it is nothing like a real piano, but is much closer than any Fatar crap, or even the Yamaha P80/P200s. You can feel that you are throwing a weight when you press a key. Don't expect it to replace a real piano though; it's weird, it feels more like a spinet action than a grand action.

MIDI is not too important to me, but it seems to be a pretty good controller (aftertouch is cheesy anyways.)

Like I said, I don't think there are very many good sampled piano sounds out there. I believe the GranTouch has like 430MB of piano samples, which explains why it actually sounds good, as opposed to everything else. But having said that, the MP9000 is pretty good. Having 4 pianos on this beast helps. I didn't like their defaults much at all -- I advise fiddling w/ the parameters before you make youre decision. (I use mellow grand, dynamic touch, turned down the low mid and high mid, and reduced their harmonic imaging stuff a lot.)

I think with all the piano sounds, it can be used for a wide variety of music. I'm mostly interested in classical and jazz, and if you mellow out the pianos you can get realistic ones -- using the stock ones or making them bright will probably do well for rock etc.

The interaction between the action and the sounds is kind of strange -- it is clear that MIDI doesn't quite have enough velocity resolution to make for a truly acoustic experience. But it certainly is expressive; maybe I'll try to edit the velocity settings to get a more realistic feel.

Just bought it.

Just bought it.

This is the best cheap digital piano. Action is more important than sounds in my opinion; w/out a good action, you can't practice for the "real thing." The MP9000 has the best action out there in this price range, as well as a good set of sounds. But it don't be fooled -- it doesn't feel quite like a piano.

I have to think that with the number of pianos being made in the world, someone is going to figure out how to make a piano action that can send MIDI cheaply (sorry, Yamaha's optical stuff is not cheap.) But it'll probably not happen soon, so that MP9000 is the best bet in the meantime.

I've had this piece for 8 months now, and thought some might like an update on earlier issues I encountered. I'm using software rev 1.41
It's still a very easy board to learn, and the owner's manual is written for humans.

The intonation problems I (and others) identified have been addressed by Kawai in the form of software revisions. The new intonation is better to my ears, and it's nice to know that Kawai listens to end users. They will email you the rev as a Standard Midi File, as well as instructions.

The sounds are very good, to my ear, and I feel a lot better about the fact that these can change with the software revs. This is still the best action out there, in my opinion. If you don't want to spend 3-400 $$ on a case, I've found that a sleeping bag (or two) gets it to the gig without too much hassle. I wish someone would make a case for it, tho, and not charge the proverbial arm and leg.

After 8 months, it's still great. Not been touring with it or anything like that, so I don't know how it would hold up to that kind of use. As an around-town kind of axe, it's fine.

The company was very helpful, especially when I had some trouble with trying to download a software rev from a laptop (don't do it).
They're accessible and patient.

It's the best action out there. It's an open-ended architecture, so
any tweaks, etc. can be loaded via flash programming. It's heavy, but worth lugging to any gig where you'd like to use all that technique you'd bring to an acoustic piano. Buy one.

My experience is 15 years as a classical pianist, with very little midi background. I found that the manual is written towards those who already have a strong background in midi, so I, of course, I found the manual to be a bit sparse.

It seems to me that some crucial options are hidden away too deeply in submenus, but that is a minor quibble.

Please read this review from a strictly classical pianist's point of view.

Its 64 note polyphony. The keyboard action is very realistic, but in comparison to a quality grand piano, the action is very "light", ie not as much inertia behind it. I just went to my local piano store and pounded on some Steinways, Yamahas and a Boston and I'm sorry, there's no way that the action even comes close to a $30,000+ grand piano(duh!). I'm saying this just so you don't believe that "enhanced AWA grand" action to mean that it actually feels like a real grand, because it doesn't. If you want that, the ONLY digital piano that actually comes close is the Yamaha GrandTouch series, which costs substantially more at $6,000+. So if you master some complex piece on the MP9000, don't plan on being able to execute it quite as perfectly if you happen to be requested to play a little something on your boss's new $40,000 Steinway :-)

Again, my midi knowledge is prety weak, but I was able attach a Kurzweil Micropiano module with utmost ease. And I don't think it has a sequencer built in.

I'm sorry, but I can't STAND the sound samples, especially in the middle C and above range. It's either out of tune or the samples themselves are bad, but I can only play for so long before my ears hurt from the ringing overtones. Perhaps this is normal for other sorts of music, but for classical, no way. Thumbs down.

Have no clue as to its reliability, but if it ever does break down, I think you might have a hard time getting the thing repaired. There are very few places that even carry the MP9000.

As for its portability, it has a "hump"; I was told from the music store I bought from that there's only one case that will fit it...a special one from Kawai itself.

Never talked with Kawai...although I should ask them about those damn sound samples...

I give this guy an 8. If it weren't for those sound samples I'd give it a 9. Its action is better than the Roland A-90 & FP-9, Kurzweil Mark series, Korg SGProX & Trinity, and the Alesis QS8.1 & DG8. The only action that I personally like better because of its heavier feel is the Yamaha P-200. I was rather critical of the MP9000 earlier because I was not comparing it to other pro keyboards, I was comparing it to itself. Compared to other pro keyboards, its one of the best if you can stand the sound samples(you may very well love it), so I definitely recommend playing one. If you can't find one, the Kawai CP150/170 and CA series have the same action, although I don't know about the sound.

No problemo in the ease of use dept.. Everything has a dedicated button and not too many nested menus to schlep through. Sure has some purty lights on it.

This is the best action in a digital piano yet!!! It weighs 73 lbs, but with it being a real piano action, not one of those Fatar things, I don't mind the extra weight. It feels awesome, and you can get a lot more dynamic expression out of it, although no sostenuto pedals and no aftertouch, at least from the keyboard. There's probably a workaround for that, maybe in the sysex string, but I haven't had it long enough to really check and see. It's 64 note polyphonic with 16 sounds; 5 pianos ranging from the ubiquitous concert grand patch to studio to mellow, to "modern" to rock. They're all good, and the other sounds are OK, but nothing to shake up anyone's current MIDI rig of sounds. No expansion capabilities, but the controller parameters are good, nothing on the order of what you would get with something like an A90 or studiologic. Don't get me wrong: it's plenty for the person who is in a band with 2 or three other synths/sound sources, and it's easy to set up. Plus, unlike the Generalmusic PRO2, it does have both pitch and mod wheels.

HEY!!! It isn't in tune!!!! See Mike's (sorry, didn't get his full name) insightful article (also on harmonycentral) on his MP9000 for confirmation on this. It not BAD, like you want to send it back and get your money back, but it's bad enough that if you have good ears, you'll notice the discrepancies. I'm sort of a stickler for these things, but other people who've played it have said to quit yer whinin', it's just fine. So, you'll have to decide for yourself. Thank God for MIDI, 'cause I definitely plan to find a module that has samples/physical modeling I can work with. On the positive side, it's a wonderful axe for expressiveness, especially with the dynamic range. And, you tend to forgive the out-of-tune notes once you get into playing, because as I said before, this is just like the real thing. I have an acoustic piano, so I am able to A/B the two, and it's so close as to not even be an issue. The FX are good, especially the reverbs, and the others can be tweaked to whatever. It also helps to have an onboard EQ, Tone Modify and MIDI CC# setups , as well as 4 dedicated sliders for 2 internal and 2 external zones. And, you get a 2 pedal affair instead of one, so now you can soft pedal and sustain. So, I'm giving the expressivness a 9, but the sounds (mainly because of the poor intonation, which you might very well find OK or even good) a 7

I think this will be in my rig for a long time because of the ACTION ACTION ACTION. The reliability remains to be seen, but it appears to be solidly built, and definitely warrants some kind of case, preferably one that is lightweight but protective. 73 lbs makes me think of my good ol' Rhodes suitcase.

Customer Support appears helpful, but I had a hell of a time trying to find information on their website- It's like they hype it in the magazines with cute little endorsements ala Generalmusic, blah blah,blah, but when you go to find out more about it, there's nothin' not even in their "what's hot" section. Also, I had some trouble finding a dealer who actually had heard of the instrument, but to be fair, when I brought the lack of info to their attention, they put something up, and I got a call back from the guy who did the sampling for it in Japan. So , I think their heart's in the right place, but time will tell.

To sum up: This is an incredible action with pretty decent sounds, but the real deal with this is the action. And, I'm the first to admit; evaluating sound is a very subjective thing, so don't take my word for it: go audition one. As far as the other features, it's a good balance of things the gigging musician has come to expect, and the FX are happening. I plan to use it mainly as a controller and get my piano sounds from Generalmusic who I contend still has the most accurate, best piano sounds out there. But, Kawai is pretty close and with the competitiveness of the market will probably join the In-Tune party soon.

The big deal about this keyboard is the KEYBOARD! It's a piano!!! I am a classicaly trained pianist, and I have spent a great deal of time looking for a "real" piano feel in a keyboard. While some people may be very happy with the Roland A90 PA hammer action, I find it generally sluggish and annoying. But the Kawai MP9000? It has a REAL piano action--complete with wooden keys (ahh the smell of the wooden keys, there's something!). The keyboard itself has an odd shape to accomodate the REAL HAMMERS it uses to create the action.
And the feel is great. It is virtually indistinguishable from a real piano. One beef I have with many of the actions on the synths and digital pianos out there is what I call "cushion." Because I play the keys very forcefully, I find that many keyboards are just to hard at the keybottom, and my hands tire or hurt after playing them. While the MP9000 action is a little on the heavy side (like a piano), it doesn't tire my hands too much. I find I get lost and quickly think I am playing a real piano.
One limitation of the action is aftertouch. Because of the way the keyboard is constructed, there is no aftertouch built-in to the keys (however if you desperately need it you can access it through a footswitch).
BTW, because the keys are wooden, you will want to take care of it by making sure the synth is in a room with constant temp, no moisture, etc. You wouldn't want them to warp, now would you?
The panel layout is very clean, with dedicated buttons for most features. It has 4 assignable sliders, which can be used to control the internal effects, a 4-band EQ, simple patch editing (Attack, decay, reverb, etc), and Midi controller values. There is a pitch-bend and mod-wheel. The unit also has the nice feature of allowing you to control the internal volume seperately from the external vol.
The LCD display is rather sparse and tiny, making it a little bit of a pain to get to things quickly. Overall, the Ease of Use is fairly high and I put it at about 7. I have not worked with the board for a long time yet, so this rating may go up.

I find the Kawai MP9000 fairly easy to use overall. It has dedicated buttons for each of the 16 sounds, which can be layered with an upper/lower button, or by holding the button for one of the presets and then simultaneously pressing the preset for another. One annoyance here is that only the original button stays lit--not both buttons as you might expect. However, the LCD does display both sounds with an "*" next to each one that is active in the layer.
I believe the polyphony is 32, but the manual isn't the easiest thing to look at so I don't find it quickly.
The board has 7 reverb types, 21 EFX types, and uses 2 zones to play internal sounds and 2 additional zones to control external MIDI instruments.
The board weighs in at around 69 pounds.
One complaint: the board falls just short of being a truly powerful controller. It could have more zones, and a larger LCD display. But its primary reason for existence, as I mentioned earlier is to be the best-feeling MIDI keyboard you ever played on. It lives up to the bill!!!!!!!

OK, now for the bad news. The sounds, in my opinion, are rather poorly sampled and implemented: I hear a buzzing sound on some of the lower notes when using the default Concert Grand sound. The sounds do not seem absolutely consistent from note to note. Perhaps this is due to irregularities in the actual piano used for the sample, but it annoys me a little. additionally, the notes do not sound entirely IN-TUNE!! Maybe its just my ear, but that's what I hear. Yes, if you're wondering, the tuning is properly set to 440.00
Having said that, I will say that the OVERALL quality is fabulous. The concert grand really does sound great, and again as I said before I find myself quickly lost in piano music-land (which is the whole point, I think!)
Because the keyboard is a REAL action, the expressiveness is terrific.
I give this category a 10 for expressiveness, but downgrade it because of the sounds.

I have only had the board a short time. My only realy concern is that the wooden keys hold-up to any moisture.

I have dealt with the company. Because this board is so new, I had to go to the Kawai dealer in Compton to even try it out. One of the techs there, Malcom, was terrifically supportive and enthusiastic about showing me the board; in fact I got a private showing. He actually worked on programming the MIDI implementation and on the sampling of the sounds. I did mention that I heard buzzing on the low notes,but he said it was because it was hooked up to a crappy speaker. But I still hear that buzzing in my studio, which has the Mackie HR812 reference monitors (fabulous!!!!).

Overall, this board is gold for anyone who is looking for a true piano action in a Midi-implemented board. The controls are clean and easy to use, and the sounds are incredible once you get past the slight buzzing on some of the low notes.
Because I like the feel of the board so much, and because that's why I bought it, I give the overall rating a 10. Try it. Buy it. You'll love it!!!! Although you may have to go the Sam Ash in Hollywood (if you're in So Cal) to buy it. Ask for Bennet; he was a fabulous sales guy who really knew his stuff.