Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards ES7 or FP-50 - If you were in my shoes...

Here's my dilemma, I know the ES7's action is so much better, but the Kawai weighs substantially more than the Roland; so simply comparing their internal sounds, which would you choose?

I need to be able to easily transport a piano with built-in speakers to small venues, where, with just the addition of a stand and a stool I can perform solo gigs. (I'm already well covered for larger band gigs). I have a bad back, and will likely not have assistance to setup and tear down the equipment. In the past, I have owned the Roland FP-4, FP-7F and RD-64, and also the Kawai MP5 and MP6. I preferred the playability of the FP-7F to the MP6, despite the clearer tone of the Kawai.

I like the harmonic integration and decay qualities of Roland's SN pianos, but I do find them just a little muddy at times.

I did not like the way the FP-7F's internal speakers would distort if a left-hand bass patch was split with piano.

If you have played the FP-50 (or FP-4F), and/or the ES7, please tell me what you like and dislike about them. How well do the speakers respond to acoustic bass split with piano? Are the speakers loud enough for small gigs? Do you find the ES7 too heavy/awkward to move around?

Thanks!

I think I'd go back to your old FP-4! Lightest of the bunch, perfectly workable for your needs, and I think the playability was better than on the FP-4F, which makes me think that it's likely better than the FP-50 as well, but I haven't tried an FP-50 yet.

Thanks for that, Scott (I think!). You know, I've been scouring the country for another sensibly priced, good condition FP-4, but they've all gone to ground.

Well, if you have a back problem, you are not going to want to lug the ES7 around. It is pretty heavy. I think you would be happy with the sound system but that weight would wear you out, I am afraid.

voxpops, I'm afraid I may know the answer to this already, but is it possible you can play-test an ES7 beforehand?

As others have said, if you have had positive experiences with the FP-4, that should probably be at the top of your shopping list (if you can find one). I'm a little curious as to why you parted with the Roland in he first place.

Alternatively, you could always wait a little while and see if Father Christmas, dressed in a nice 'Kawai-red' outfit, brings you some nice goodies...

Cheers,
James
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Thanks, Don. Yes, I think the ES7 would have to be so astoundingly better that it was worth risking even more damage - which is unlikely. Also, I dislike turning up to a summer's gig bathed in sweat!

Are you enjoying yours?

Unfortunately, not a snowball's chance in heck! [Edit: interesting that the software substitutes the word that's printed here for the "down-below" word!]


It was to pay for the RD-64 (which I didn't keep). Again, there was no chance of trying one here first. Nice LITTLE board, though.


Hmmmm... What a tease you are, James.

Kawai, Red, Father Christmas, North Pole, Goodies... No, back up a moment! North... What's the Swedish word for North again?

If I was lugging around my own equipment and gigging with any frequency at all, I'd get the lightest thing available (regardless of whether I had a bad back). What would that be...like a Casio PX-150 maybe? Or Yamaha P105.

We spend a lot of time scrutinizing the various actions and tone generators but the truth is that all these actions are workable and pretty much any modern digital piano will sound good enough for a room full of noisy people. The venue and speakers are likely to be the limiting factor.

Yes, I spent a month with the P-105, and quite liked it. It had two limiting factors for me: 1) the speakers were only 7 watts, a little mid/bass heavy, and distorted when acoustic bass was coupled with piano at reasonable volumes; 2) activating/deactivating splits was clunky. Other than those issues, it's a great little board for straight piano playing, without frills.

I have played the ES7 and the FP 80. Good action , good AP sounds and good speakers( similar DP). My decision was to buy the FP 80 because it has better EP sounds, more sounds and better rhytms section, but the ES 7 ís a good choice too. I would like to wait the MP 6 replacement but there aren´t any notice about.

Thanks, cabi. Unfortunately, the FP-80 is just simply too bulky and heavy, but at least the sounds should be the same in the 50, although the speakers are not as good.

I've yet to really try the FP-80 properly - have the EP sounds been improved over the FP-7F?

James
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Yes, thank goodness! There are one or two videos online which highlight the EPs, particularly one made during Musikmesse.

We keep a Roland FP-4 in our rental pool. It's great except customers keep trying to screw up the music desk when they pack it.

Yes, the EPs are better than FP 7-F. The AP sound too, maybe because the FP 80 has better speakers.

I'd applaud the first manufacturer that provides a slot in the base of their slab pianos in which to stow the music rest.

Nice idea, however I'm pretty sure that would affect the instrument's structural rigidity. Certainly for Kawai stage pianos, the action sits on the bottom board, so I doubt there's sufficient space remaining in which to fit a slide in music rest - even temporarily.

James
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Yes, it would require some ingenious rethinking of the case and possibly the music rest itself. But if Casio can repurpose their speaker slots to be a battery compartment and a set of faders, then who knows what could be slid into the rear or the top of keyboards with a bit of creative thinking, and perhaps a folding scissor or latticework design for the rest? Also, some existing music rests are little more than bent wire - it can't be rocket science to design a clip-on holder underneath the board for such devices, as it's rare for keyboard gigbags etc. to have pockets wide enough for such accessories.

Yes, I absolutely am. It has a great Concert Grand sound, which is all I ever use.