Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Ready to take the plunge -- Casio PX-5S versus Kawai MP6

Hi Folks,

Long time reader, but just recently joined as official forum member.

I am about ready to take the plunge.

I went through a Divorce a few years ago, and had to move out of a nice home in the country, into a Condominium. I have been playing piano since I was a child (formal classical piano lessons for approx. seven years). At my home, I owned a wonderful Yamaha GA-1 Baby Grand acoustic. It was a 1998 model, made in Japan.

Anyways...after the selling the house due to the divorce, I had to part with my beloved Yamaha.

I have been without a piano/keyboard for 3 years, now.

So, now that I find myself living in a Condo...I have decided it is time to get another piano. However, I am going Digital, this time (due to the space as well as close neighbors).

So, I have narrowed down my options to either the Kawai MP6, or the new Casio PX-5S. I have a Yamaha MSR100 active monitor/PA that I will use.

I do not have the opportunity to try either of these products, first hand. So, I will be taking a leap of faith.

I normally would be leaning towards the more expensive Kawai MP6...however, I have been reading great things about the Casio PX-5S, here on this site. Furthermore, I am guessing the Kawai MP6 is nearing the end of it's product life, and Kawai is most likely preparing it's successor. The other concern I have with the Kawai, is the fair amount of complaints I have read (here) about their keyboards being damaged during shipping. I don't know if Kawai needs to re-evaluate their shipping / packaging protection...but it is a legitimate concern. I really don't want to have to deal with receiving a new unit that has issues due to shock damage and aggressive handling, sustained during shipment.

My question is this. Coming from an acoustic piano background, will I be happy with the action on the Casio? Obviously, I am hoping for feedback from owners who have experience with the action and feel of an acoustic piano. I believe the action on the PX-5S is the same as the new 750/850 series, so for anyone who owns either of these models, your input would be most appreciated.

P.S. -- Can someone advise if the Casio PX-5S ships standard with a sustain pedal? If not, what pedal would be appropriate, which is compatible with this keyboard?

Thanks in advance,
John

Hi John -
I have a PX-5S so I will answer what I can.

- I have an acoustic grand and I am really happy with the action on PX-5S.
- The PX-5S ships with a "mini" sustain pedal, but I like bigger types you can get for $20-$40.
They look like this:



As an aside, these are really two very different instruments. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.. it all depends on your needs and your budget.

Thanks for the feedback, Plinky88. I am very glad to hear that you are comfortable and satisfied with the action on the PX-5S, especially given you have experience with an acoustic grand.

Also, that is exactly the sort of pedal I would be looking for.

Cheers!

Hi John,

I'd like to second Plinky's remark about the Casio action. I own a Casio PX150 which has the same action as the 750/850. It's very nicely weighted, and the textured surface is a big improvement over the generic `slipper plastic` versions.

I also use a third-party pedal, and it works great. The included pedal will do in a pinch, but it's no comparison to a `proper` pedal.

Have fun getting back into making music!

Hope you like what you get. There are impressive videos on Y`tube concerning Casios; Make sure we get to hear you when you`ve "broken it in" so to speak!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be interested in a digital piano (!) at first - not a stage controller master keyboard with lots of bells&whistles ?

In that case I would scrap both from my list and go for the ES7 . That is if it has to be a portable design. That's more of a piano piano, if you get what I mean and has IMHO a better keybed than the px5 or MP6.

Owned them all three. For mainly piano enjoyment, the ES is a better option than the other two.

If you don't have to carry it around and have a good laptop, consider the VPC1 as well. Has the best keybed of this list by far.

Cheers, J

I would second what JFP says. I haven't had the opportunity to play the ES7 (it's a little too expensive to take a gamble on here in the States), but I have owned the MP6, and currently own the PX-5S.

Both MP6 and 5S are great boards. I have the 5S due to its unrivaled portability. For the size and weight, the action is very good, and the textured surface is an improvement over the standard shiny plastic. There are minor compromises with speed of repetition, for example, but I haven't played a better action in this weight category (obviously, there are better actions available at 50lbs+). The action in the MP6 is also very good, with a slightly more piano-like feel (simulated escapement etc.); it's a very fluid action, and although it lacks the third sensor that is present in both ES7 and PX-5S, it performs well.

As far as sound goes, there are pluses and minuses with both boards. I think the 5S has marginally more advanced resonance characteristics than the MP6 (the ES7 improves on the MP6 in that respect), but tonally, I think the MP6 wins, particularly in the mid-range. The upper mids can sound a little harsh in the MP6, whereas the PX-5S definitely sounds "plinky" in that region, but overall, I think the MP6 has a slightly more realistic acoustic tone.

Due to the Casio's very finely graded velocity response, the action/sound connection is better in the PX-5S, and this means it's quite easy to make a melody line sing out over chords, etc., and I think that, generally, the PX-5S responds fractionally better.

The supplied Kawai pedal is great - the Casio's is a (bad) joke, and there is no half-pedaling support in the Casio. Both boards have a lot of front panel control, with the Kawai being slightly more intuitive than the Casio. However, the Casio can go deeper into sound manipulation. I would describe the MP6 as a DP with additional sounds and full MIDI functionality, and the PX-5S as a synth with strong piano credentials and full MIDI functionality.

It's not an easy decision to make between these two, without any ability to test them first. You really need to ask yourself what your main criteria are, and see how close each board comes to fulfilling them all. For home use, both the ES7 and Roland FP-80 should be on your list as well, as these two are definitely going to give you more piano-like features.

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

JFP and Voxpops, thanks for the recommendation on the Kawai ES-7. That model is available here in the States, but for some reason hadn't been on my list of possible DP candidates. I will do some research on the EP-7 before I make a decision.

Cheers, all.

Tritium, I have read your post, here:


Long time reader, but just recently joined as official forum member.

I am about ready to take the plunge.

I went through a Divorce a few years ago, and had to move out of a nice home in the country, into a Condominium. I have been playing piano since I was a child (formal classical piano lessons for approx. seven years). At my home, I owned a wonderful Yamaha GA-1 Baby Grand acoustic. It was a 1998 model, made in Japan.

Anyways...after the selling the house due to the divorce, I had to part with my beloved Yamaha.

I have been without a piano/keyboard for 3 years, now.

So, now that I find myself living in a Condo...I have decided it is time to get another piano. However, I am going Digital, this time (due to the space as well as close neighbors).

So, I have narrowed down my options to either the Kawai MP6, or the new Casio PX-5S. I have a Yamaha MSR100 active monitor/PA that I will use.

I do not have the opportunity to try either of these products, first hand. So, I will be taking a leap of faith.

I normally would be leaning towards the more expensive Kawai MP6...however, I have been reading great things about the Casio PX-5S, here on this site. Furthermore, I am guessing the Kawai MP6 is nearing the end of it's product life, and Kawai is most likely preparing it's successor. The other concern I have with the Kawai, is the fair amount of complaints I have read (here) about their keyboards being damaged during shipping. I don't know if Kawai needs to re-evaluate their shipping / packaging protection...but it is a legitimate concern. I really don't want to have to deal with receiving a new unit that has issues due to shock damage and aggressive handling, sustained during shipment.

My question is this. Coming from an acoustic piano background, will I be happy with the action on the Casio? Obviously, I am hoping for feedback from owners who have experience with the action and feel of an acoustic piano. I believe the action on the PX-5S is the same as the new 750/850 series, so for anyone who owns either of these models, your input would be most appreciated.

P.S. -- Can someone advise if the Casio PX-5S ships standard with a sustain pedal? If not, what pedal would be appropriate, which is compatible with this keyboard?

Thanks in advance,
John

__________________________________________________


Just morning I ran my hands across pianos - digitals, and upright pianos - they didn't have any 3 legged pianos. They all seemed fine.

I know in this forum daily there are posts, about the touch, action, sound, etc. i am not going to be a Lang Lang, so I don't need the most expensive piano ever made. I simply need a piano I can sit down and read the measures and play the notes. I would be lying if I said that I didn't love my three legged piano. But having said that, I live in a shack, holes in the walls, never painted it since I bought it 35 years ago and only 450 square feet, me and the piano. I have a cheap Yam P95 that is just fine, too. An acoustic is not a digital and an digital is not an acoustic. I can play my acoustic in my shack that nobody would want to enter, and only a digital can be played in a trillion dollar condo. You only have one life, so you have to constantly make decisions accordingly. I have a priceless gift. I am alive and I can play the piano. Nothing else matters. But I am me and I am not you!

I'm not sure this is correct.

http://www.zillowblog.com/2012-09-1...es-hilary-duff-ryan-seacrest-and-others/

Greg.

sullivang, I have read your post, here:

and only a digital can be played in a trillion
dollar condo.


I'm not sure this is correct. smile

Greg.

_________________________________


Greg, you are absolutely correct. Because if you had a trillion dollar condo, you probably have way, more money, like Bill Gates, and therefore, you could afford to buy the entire building and keep it empty so nobbody would bother you while you played the acoustic piano at 2:00 a.m.

But the people who live in a condo - as opposed to a shack - like me - have a digital and an acoustic to get by in life. simle

Michael_99 why not just use the quote button when you respond to somebody's post?

I have visions of Michael_99 retyping every post he responds to...

See? It's not hard to do

"But having said that, I live in a shack, holes in the walls, never painted it since I bought it 35 years ago "

Priorities, decisions . . . .!

Is this the Digital Piano Forums, or the Metaphysics and Existentialism Forum?

-- just teasing you, Michael_99...it's all good.

On another note...I think I should add the Casio PX-850 to my list of candidates.

Oh, decisions, decisions.

You might want something with internal speakers:
I like my Korg SP280 a lot, but there is now a Korg LP380 which has their RH3 action and superb speakers.
I would also look at the Casio PX780 and PX850. It seems since you had a piano, you might enjoy having something already with built in amplification and perhaps in a cabinet type setup.

A valid point. Of the DP's I have listed, the Casio PX-850 might have the most familiar solution, and has definitely one of the front-runners. I still have some more research to do, but as it stands now, it is down to the Kawai ES-7, Kawai MP-6, Casio PX-850...with the new Casio PX-5S still in the running.