Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards KAWAI MP7 THREAD

James…

Will the kawaimp.com site be updated to include the new MP7, or does the 7 get its own website?

What an awesomely beautiful board. What's not to like? Think I'll go take a look at your manual!

Congratulations, James. Two stunning new additions to the Kawai stage piano line (MP7/MP11)!

Play On!
H.K.

What is the price point? I am interested in US.

What's the weight? Also how long will it take to get to Australia?

Weight is shown as 46 pounds.

Yes, the MP7 content will be added to www.kawaimp.com/mp7 (currently just a teaser page), then a model selection/overview will be added to the top page at www.kawaimp.com .



Yes I totally agree! I was totally bowled over when I saw the first prototype - it's like a little brother version of the MP11.



Thank you! Suffice it to say, I didn't re-use the old Unix-style MP6 manual format...actually it's very similar to the MP11 manual as both models share a lot of the same functionality.

As always, multi-language PDFs available from here:

http://www.kawai.co.jp/worldwide/support/manuals.html

I was informed of some typos recently, so will update the PDFs when the MP7 website content is online.

Cheers,
James
x

From: http://www.kawai.co.uk/

The ultimate pianos for Concert, Pop, and Jazz
The MP7 captures the beautiful sound of Kawai’s highly acclaimed hand-built concert grand piano, with all 88 keys of this exceptional instrument meticulously recorded, analysed and faithfully reproduced using proprietary Harmonic Imaging™ XL technology. This unique process accurately recreates the broad dynamic range of the original grand piano, affording pianists an extraordinary level of expressiveness ranging from the softest pianissimo to the strongest, boldest fortissimo. With separate variations for Concert, Pop, and Jazz playing, the MP7 offers an excellent selection of high quality acoustic piano sounds suitable for various musical styles, including a separate sub-category devoted entirely to upright and mono pianos. Moreover, Kawai’s unique Virtual Technician feature allows various characteristics of the selected acoustic piano sound to be shaped at the touch of a button or the turn of a knob, with parameters to adjust voicing and regulation, string and damper resonances, and subtle hammer, damper, and key release noises.

Does this mean that there is only one sampled Piano, the the different Pianos types just undergo different later processing?

I read in the description of "harmonic imaging" that they sample only one piano, but use different equipment to sample it for the different tones. For example, recording equipment associated with modern rock was used to sample the piano for the 'Rock' piano tone. So that leads me to believe the sound was not processed to change the tone. Of course there probably is some processing, but hard to say how much.

Musical Dan…

Just took a gander at the "sound list" in the manual. The piano section includes, by my count, 28 piano sounds (7 banks of 4 each). The first 12 are the same names as the present 12 on the MP6 (Concert Grand, Concert Grand2, Studio, Mellow, Jazz, Pop, Bright, etc.). In addition there are groups of pianos for mono, octave, upright, new age; 4 different "piano variations," and piano/EP combinations.

To my knowledge Kawai has always created its samples from its own Grand Pianos, that is to say, all the piano sounds are created using a Kawai instrument. I recall reading that different effects are created by the positioning of microphones, etc. So, yes- you are getting sample variations from a Kawai Grand Piano.

Kawai James can jump in here and correct any information I have wrong, and/or offer additional information.

Play On!

No, as with the MP11, the MP7 features different piano samples (mic type/positioning and voicing) for each category.

Kind regards,
James
x

But presumably from the same source piano?

I believe there are also different instruments from different recording sessions too.

Cheers,
James
x

James…

I have had my MP6 for three years, and I'm definitely looking to trade up for either the MP7 or the MP11.

I have a question for you about the processing of the sound samples. Perhaps the biggest complaint against the MP6 was that it did not contain the same quality sound samples as the MP10. I noted that with the MP7, it has the HI (Harmonic Imaging with 88 key sampling), and not the PHI ("Progressive Harmonic Imaging"). Does this mean that any sound improvements are going to come from the new processors on board, and not from a higher quality initial sample (PHI)?

I noted that the ES7 has the PHI feature as do the MP10/11. What can you tell us about the "quality" of the samples in the MP7 compared to the MP6/MP11? Noting that the first 12 piano samples are exactly the same as the MP6 menu, what can you tell us has been done to improve the piano samples of the MP7? My experience with the MP6 is that there are 3 or 4 good sample sounds, but the remaining piano sounds are marginal. That seems to be a common sentiment amount MP6 users. Listening to the samples online, they do not sound to be as bright as the MP11. Have you compared the MP7's piano samples yourself? What can you tell us about improvements in piano sounds, if any? There's always the MP10 or MP11, but I was hoping that with the arrival of the MP7, Kawai would step up the quality of the piano samples….

Thanks in advance…
H.K.

May I ask where you saw this?

The specifications table in the MP7 owner's manual and on Kawai Europe's MP7 product page both state that the MP7 uses 'Harmonic Imaging XL' (HI-XL). This is the same sample quality as the MP11.

Previously the MP10 had superior sounds to the MP6 (UPHI vs PHI), but now both the MP11 and MP7 utilise the same HI-XL sample quality. It goes without saying that the MP7 is a considerable improvement over the MP6.

Kind regards,
James
x

What are the major differences between this and the MP11 apart from the keyboard?

Even though I know that James is the person who knows about these pianos, for a pure piano player, I guess that the action is the major difference.
Number of sounds and effects may be?

Here is the information on "harmonic imaging" from the Kawai website:
http://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/Features/harmonic_imaging2010.html

Thanks for asking for my source, because reading your explanation and this aritcle on how the sound sources are processed has helped me learn more. Yes, there are distinctions between "Harmonic imaging," "Progressive Harmonic Imaging," "Ultra-Progressive Harmonic Imaging," and "Harmonic Imaging, XL. All have 88 key sampling, but the quality of the samples seems to be graded according to which imaging process is used.

I am thrilled to hear your explanation for the piano sounds of the MP7, and that the processing is essentially the same as the MP11 sounds!

This being said the Kawai site gives the specifications as follows:
MP11- Harmonic Imaging, (HI-XL) with 88 key sampling
MP10- Ultra-Progressive Harmonic Imaging with 88 key sampling
MP7 - Harmonic Imaging (HI-XL) with 88 key sampling
MP6 - Progressive Harmonic Imaging (PHI) with 88 key sampling.
ES7- Progressive Harmonic Imaging (PHI) with 88 key sampling.

Harmonic Imaging XL:
"Hi-XL extends the length of the critical attack by up to 120%, articulating the characteristics of each note more clearly and organically."

Your answer, and this information are great confidence builders! Now, I can't wait to actually sit down and play the MP7. Have you had the opportunity to do so, James?

As always, thanks for your help!
H.K.

Thanks guys. This might be enough to hold off on purchasing the Yammy CP4 (assuming it doesn't take forever for the MP7 to get to Australia).