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Following various hints dropped, authorized or unauthorized leaks, and applications for asylum from airport transit zones, it appears that, just possibly, there could be a new 33lbs portable unveiled in Oz in a couple of weeks, bearing a Kawai-red logo. If so, that would be remarkable and welcome news, especially if there is no more rationing of sound quality. We'll see...

I was able extract a close-up photo of the mystery DP from the Kawai R&D mainframe...

From the hints, it sounded like it will be low priced, lower than any current models. So I wouldn't expect it to sound like an MP10...

Don't burst my bubble, Scott - at least not yet! I like to live in hope (or blissful ignorance) for a little while until reality kicks in.

You never know, they may have decided that with Korg offering unlooped 88-note pianos in a $1k machine, Roland dropping full-quality SN into a $1.5k model, and Casio making giant inroads into the pro stage market, they need to pull out all the stops. For all we know, Yamaha may be about to release an Ivory-killer portable (OK, now I'm just being irrational, I know).

33lbs?

More plastic junk with "improved" samples. Probably a weak effort to stop sales of P-155's and P-105's at Kawai dealers.

Well done, Plinky, a great bit of sleuthing! I can tell from the picture that it's using MOPHI (Mega Outstanding Progressive Harmonic Imaging) with ARGH (Almost Real Gee-whizz Hammer) action.

That happens to be a valid way to get the weight down - just like your P-105. But, believe it or not, Roland's 33lbs FP-4 is mainly metal, as is Studiologic's 24lbs Numa Piano. So why not wait and see?


Hopefully yes, but why the need for the quotation marks?


Kawai is a smaller company, but does that make their effort weak? Have you ever played a Kawai?

I thought I was cynical, but goodness, I've more than met my match here!

Hi Voxpops,

I hope you're right. Mp series is first in line for replacement IMHO, but it could also very well be an extension to the VPC line , offering a compact, lower weight / lower cost controller board. Something like an RH- light version in a case that has more plastic components (which doesn't have to be a bad thing !).

We'll see. In a few weeks you said: is there a specific event around then (Music exposition, meeting of music industry) ? Personally I expected any announcements not to arrive before September, but the earlier the better...

- or it could be Simulated Harmonically Interpolated Tonal Extension...let's hope not.

Anyway, I'm currently running a fever on the decision over a VPC1 or an ES7, so this news could be very timely for me, thanks for the alert.

Very interesting. Either an RH2-based controller or an update of the EP3 would be pretty big news around here. I guess the MP6 could use a refresh as well, though I wouldn't expect it to be super cheap as suggested above. We'll keep our eyes on this one for sure.

Did I miss the hints? I assume they weren't in this forum because I feel like I check it pretty regularly.

If they do that now, a lot of VPC1 orders waiting to be filled will be cancelled. Doesn't make any sense to offer a lower priced unit when demand is out of this world.

Kawai doesn't have a cheap slab with market traction. The Yamaha's clean up in that space.

I bet the resident troll was right. This is the beginning of The Great Hardware Piano Pricing Crash. The star of the show will have to be Roland who has the most to lose. What will they do? They will make the most noise in the end.

"The Great Hardware Piano Pricing Crash"

StarvingLion, you remind me of some random doomsayer on the streets that everyone ignores.

StarvingLion has a bit of a brand bias and tends to caricature the whole thing but I think there’s more than a grain of truth in what he's saying.

I'm not ignoring him.

Whau... Do you see those mysterious little black strips in between of the white keys? They probably mean the new RHIII-2F floating keybed recently invented. Can't help waiting...

This is great news if true. Ive been reluctantly using my ES7 for gigs this summer. It's been working out great, but such a nice DP that I rather keep at home full time and use second board for the road (preferable Kawai). I almost pulled the trigger on a PX5S, then considered and MP6, but now I will absolutely wait and see.

Voxpops, any chance you can give a little more detail on the hints you heard? i.e. controller or dp? 76 or 88? If not, I understand. Regardless, I just hope Xmas comes very early this year.

Sorry, Marko, I'm only reiterating what's already been released into the public domain (mainly via Keyboard Corner), and I have no detailed inside knowledge. I suppose it could be a controller to compete with Roland's A-88, but although that's a growing sector due to the increasing use of software, weight is less of an issue for that market, and Kawai has it pretty much sewn up already with the VPC. I agree with Starving Lion that it doesn't make too much sense to throw in a competing unit at this stage of the VPC's life cycle.

This is what James said in a thread about entry-level (88-note) pianos:

"...if you're willing to wait a little while, there might be something suitable from Kawai exhibited at the Australian Musician Association Convention (AMAC) in a couple of weeks.

No Clav though, I'm afraid..."

So, it does sound like a less expensive, pared-down instrument but with some onboard sounds. Maybe, as gvfarns pondered, it's the replacement for the EP3, which would hopefully retain the principal qualities of the ES7 in a more mobile package. That would be nice - very useful in fact, and a direct competitor to the Roland FP-50. And, if you go back and read the runes from a thread a few weeks ago (which one, I can't remember), it's also possible that the MP replacements could be with us before the end of the year.

Edit: As a footnote, I would add that I found it odd that the retailer, Kraft, released a new video to promote the EP3 a few weeks ago (their old one was done about 3 years ago). It occurred to me then that they were suddenly needing to shift stock.

What if it's an organ controller? They have the piano controller tightly wrapped up...

AMAC...well , that's 10 ~ 12th of august. That's not such a long wait. Hope it ain't for nothing...

Perhaps James can do a viral like appearance of a single added detail every week; starting now. Like with the revelation of the VPC (and VPC website). A key a day, keeps speculation away ;-)

"The star of the show will have to be Roland who has the most to lose. What will they do? They will make the most noise in the end."

Might be able to pick one up cheap . . .

It's also worth noting that the person to which he was replying was asking for an entry level 88-key digital piano with built-in speakers, under 30 lbs, competitive with models like Yamaha P35/P105, Korg SP170, and Casio. KJ asked if 33 lbs would be too much. So I think it's a safe bet that it's we're talking about a 33 lb digital piano with built in speakers, low cost, possibly under or not far from $600, since that's where those others are.