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If everything works out, I'll be playing it with my little red one, and perhaps my MacBook Pro (mind the software!) - can't wait to test it in a shop. Anyone has an idea when this will be in Europe/Germany?

PS. James, if you come across a full view pic of the VPC1-Electro setup, ...

Hello maurus, I searched through my images, however I'm afriad I do not have any full view images of the Electo+VPC1.

Kind regards,
James
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Thanks James - I'll have to test it myself then. Your efforts are highly appreciated - as always!

No problem, happy to help.

I should perhaps use this opportunity to point out that my saying "I hope to buy a VPC1 and place my Electro on top" is simply expressing my own, personal intentions.

Please do not confuse this as some kind of official company statement along the lines of "Kawai recommends Nord users purchase a VPC1".

Similarly, just because I plan to place my Electro on top of the VPC1, this does not mean to say that Kawai as a company recommends other VPC1 and Electro users do likewise.

As my signature states, I am employed by Kawai Japan, however the opinions I express are my own.

Cheers,
James
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Not really but the waveforms are there ... the Studio grand is on the Integra but called another name.

If they don't give you one I'd resign and walk up the road. Heaven knows Roland need a good manual writer.

Maybe so, but that's quite a long walk to do every day...

+1 Whenever I have to look up some technical info in my FP-7F manual, I find myself thinking "Too bad that Kawai James didn't write this one"...seriously!

K.

Not as much tweaking possible but I believe the underlying SN pianos are the same. Not entirely sure because I don't have the 700NX.

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Thomann showroom at the company headquarter. The showroom alone is probably the biggest music store in Germany and the top modern dispatch center is huge.

I was visiting to playtest a few DPs and virtual instruments and to find something that could replace the MP6.

I must say that I now have a different opinion on the VPC1 than before.

I spent nearly four hours walking back and forth between the acoustic piano department and the digital piano department to A/B test the real deal and the virtual implementations and to get a feel for the differences between the actions and the sounds. I learned a few things that put the VPC1 in a different context than before.

1. The sound of a real Kawai Grand is actually pretty impressive but also quite different from the Grand Piano Sample in my MP6. I'd take an MP10 that sounded like the Kawai Concert Grand I tried in a heartbeat.

2. I never had the opportunity to play on a grand piano before (my school uses uprights that are pretty worn out as school pianos usually are) and the action feels quite a bit different from the action on an upright. The first few tries I didn't even manage to get a sound out of it because the whole mechanism is not like I'm used to.

3. Most DPs I tried are actually quite close to the action on a standard upright but only a select few felt at least similar to the grands I tried. Honorable mentions go to the MP10 and the Roland RD700NX and V-Piano

4. The MP10 had hands down (Hah!) the best action of the bunch, it wasn't necessarily the best emulation of the feel of the grands I tried but it felt almost 'seamless' when I played it. The Rolands came second but I didn't like their Ivory Touch coating at all.

5. I instantly fell in love with the piano sounds in the Nord Stage 2 and Nord Piano 2. They are pretty impressive considering the small size of 500 MB and I caught myself just going back to the Nord to play a little bit more. It's an inspiring instrument. That being said I could never live with the Fatar Keyboard action. It's pretty much worse than the Yamaha, Kawai and Roland Pianos I tried. It felt artificial and 'plasticky' and the whole board is actually quite 'noisy' because the inside of the Nord is not properly insulated against noise and acts as a resonance chamber for the noise of all the button presses and the action.

6. The Pianoteq Pianos both sounded more lifelike and more artificial at the same time than their sampled counterparts to me. I couldn't handle it because it sounded eerie. Every note I played was a hodgepodge of 'that sounded quite like a real piano and yet it sounded not like a real piano at all'. I can't describe it in a better way than that.

If the Nord Piano 2 or Stage 2 had come with the action of the MP10 (or even the Roland RD700NX) and was properly noise insulated I'd have instantly bought it. Instead it felt like a great instrument had been ruined by a sub-par keybed. It was quite sobering.

So I opted for a copy of Synthogy Ivory 2 and a RME babyface instead and will probably keep my MP6 for the forseeable future (at least until the VPC1 comes out and I had a chance to play the PX-5S)

It was a toss up between Ivory 2 and the Galaxy Vintage D (which sounded pretty amazing).

So after my recent experience the VPC1 seems like a pretty good idea and James's setup makes a lot of sense. If I'd go for a Nord I'd probably go for the Electro4 D (even though it has a smaller memory for samples) or the SW73 version of the Stage 2. This would offer you both a waterfall option and a great piano action.

So kudos to Kawai for the VPC1

Addendum: Even though I pretty much hate the Fatar Action on the Nord Stage 2 I'm still considering to buy one. That's how great the sounds and the usability are

Nigeth, thanks for your post, it's interesting to read your thoughts.

It's perhaps worth noting that the 73-key versions of the NE4 (HP and SW73 respectively feature double the memory of the NE4D and the previous generation Electros. This allows a great selection of pianos to be loaded simultaneously, including the XL-sized samples.

Cheers,
James
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This really looks like a fine controller (and I also really love the design).
I currently have a P155 that I use to drive Synthogy American D and I was planning on keeping it two or more years (I started learning to play the piano only 6 months ago, so for now the limit is my technique, not the instrument).
But since I started playing, I have been struggling with injuries (despite the fact that my teacher can't find anything wrong with the way I play) so I am looking at the VPC1 and I wonder if the cushioning might help to limit the stress on the tendons? (that and maybe the fact that wood is naturally more "dampening" than plastic).
James, I know you can't really answer this question (if it would help with my problems or not I mean), but since you probably have experimented with a lot of keyboard in your life, could you tell me how you would rank the "landing" (how abruptly the key stop when reaching the bottom) of the VPC1 ? (I suffer from agoraphobia, so I won't be able to test the keyboard when available and I will have to order it from Thonnman)
Thank you in advance for any information you might be able to provide

Hello Jean-Luc,

I'm sorry to read that you have started to experience some physical problems as a result of playing your DP. I wonder how your hands/arms feel after playing your teacher's (presumably acoustic?) piano?

Regarding the 'landing' of the VPC1's keyboard action, the cushioning undoubtedly helps to soften the key as it reaches the bottom, while also reducing vibrations and movement noise. I have played a range of different keyboard actions from various manufacturers, and in terms of 'soft-bottoming' and volume, I doubt many can match the Kawai actions - especially those with wooden-keys.

That being said, I'm afraid I cannot guarantee that the physical problems you have experienced as a result of playing your current DP, will not re-occur (to a greater or less extent) with other keyboards.

My apologies for sitting on the fence, however I'm sure you can understand my reluctance to make bold, sweeping claims that cannot be justified. It would be all too easy for me to say "Yes, buy the VPC1 and you'll never experience physical problems when playing ever again.', but I do not wish to give you false hope.

May I wish you the best of luck with your ongoing piano studies.

Kind regards,
James
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IMHO switching to a new keyboard will have no bearing on the injuries you are experiencing (which are quite common with motivated adult beginners -- the fact that your teacher doesn't see what you are doing to hurt yourself does not mean that it isn't happening)

I suggest you investigate taking some lessons from an Alexander Technique teacher. It is likely that you are using much more force than necessary or are misusing your body unconsciously. The piano keys require an amazingly small amount of force to move, however the degree of coordination that you need to play is something that cannot be built up overnight. Motivated adult beginners tend to get into the habit of " end gaming " of focusing through pure power of will and force to achieve a result while being oblivious to their mechanism and abusing themselves. An AT teacher can help you focus on the how of your movements that normally take place without conscious control.

Good luck to you!

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/at.htm

Yes, that's good advice.

My piano playing father is an advocate of Alexander Technique.

Another suggestion in a similar vein, might be to seek a consultation with an experienced chiropractor, who may be able to alleviate the pain in your hands and arms through gentile bone manipulation techniques.

(my sister is a chiropractor, by the way...)

Kind regards,
James
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Hello, I'm interested in possibly getting this later this year. I have a question about the "mod wheel" connection. How exactly could I connecting a modulation wheel or a pitch shifting wheel to this? For playing various orchestral parts?

I use to play a real piano when I was young, it was really old and I had it tuned and the tuner said "I can't fix this" I had to get rid of it after a while, eversince then I've been on semi weighted keyboard and they never felt as good as the real action it had. Hopefully I can demo this out and maybe get it! I heard weighted are good for writing orchestral stuff as well, so I just need to find a way to either use the current modwheel of my keyboard, or maybe buy a seperate control if I want to get this thing.

I'm currently on a none weighted keybed because I find it better to have no weight at all then slightly good weight/springy weight.

Hi Vincentj,



The VPC1 can serve as a sort of 'psudeo MIDI interface'. So, if your current semi-weighted board (with the pitchbend/modulation wheels) has a MIDI OUT jack, you would simply plug this into the VPC1's MIDI IN jack. Then, connect the VPC1 to your computer using a USB cable. The pitchbend/modulation wheel control messages will be sent to the computer with the VPC1's keyboard messages.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
James
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Thank you very much for your answers James and "theJourney".
James, I perfectly understand you can't guarantee the VPC1 would solve my problem or even help with it, and your reluctance to do so is another proof of your integrity
It is very difficult for me to look for another teacher (I live in a very small town and due to my agoraphobia, my ability to travel is very limited). I would agree with both of you about the excess motivation might very well play a big role in my problems Another fact might play a role, while my finger fit without problems between the black keys on the real piano we have for the lessons (a venerable upright in dear need of tuning according to my ears ) they tend to get a bit stuck between the keys of the yamaha so I probably bend my wrist a bit too much to avoid them (especially when my right hand is near or below middle C). That's yet another problem I would hope to solve by changing keyboard (my current problem is a De Quervain tendonitis and they often happen due to a bent wrist while moving the thumb).
I asked about the softness of the "landing" on the VPC1 because I noticed a shock when reaching the bottom of the key on my keyboard, shock not present on the real upright.
Thanks again to both of you

I've had many keyboards and the only one that had caused me feel some pain in my arms is the CA63 which has the same RM3 action as in VPC1. This was not much of a problem to me since it got improved and even disappeared at all with more practice, however I think it is one of the heaviest feeling keyboards so if you've experienced problems with other hammer action keyboards you'll most certainly experience the same with VPC1.