Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai MP11 (v1.06) and MP7 (v1.03) software updates

Good morning folks,

Kawai Japan has recently issued software updates for the new MP11 and MP7 stage pianos.

These updates (v1.06 and v1.03 respectively) add individual 88-key tuning and volume adjustment, damper pedal calibration, and a new 'Fixed' EFX switching mode. There are also improvements to the Pure Major/Minor temperaments, SysEx handling, and a number of other display/operation tweaks. Crucially, these updates also fix a MIDI recorder bug when using 'Panel' playback mode.

In addition, the MP11 update includes improvements to the Key-off Effect, Amp Drive, and Damper Noise parameters (which were already present with the initial MP7 software), along with tweaked SETUP+/SETUP- behaviour. Finally, there is also a fix to the Dynamics setting which could occasionally influence the selected touch curve.

The full MP11 and MP7 changelogs are listed below.

MP11 changelog:


MP7 changelog:


These software updates and update instructions can be downloaded directly from Kawai Japan at the the following URL:

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

MP11 and MP7 owners are encouraged to update their instruments to use this latest software version. We also recommend that users backup any custom settings, SOUNDs, SETUPs, etc. before applying the update.

After updating the system software, you may also wish to download the latest MP11/MP7 owner's manual PDFs (which explain the new 'User Key Volume' and 'User Stretch Tune' features), also from Kawai Japan's support pages:

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

That's all for now - please feel free to post your feedback in this thread.

Cheers,
James
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Crikey those are esoteric functions!

Why would anyone need or want to adjust the volume and temprament of individual notes on a digital?

Im not complaining just intrigued.

If you play with string players, equal temperament will sound out of tune to them, so perhaps some adjustments this way would help. Adjusting volume of an individual note is a bit tougher to imagine being used except for if there's an issue with the DP down the road when it's old and certain notes are sounding louder than others (I've heard of this happen before), but I doubt building in something in anticipation of a defect is their goal. I'm curious to hear what other uses this could have.

I can say from experience that Individual note volume (we at Roland offer it too) is a great feature to have. I can't tell you how many tech support calls I've taken over the years where an end user SWEARS up and down that "That _ Key is WAY louder than the ones next to it" when really it's pretty well balanced. They can fix that themselves now. Note that it not only affects volume, but timbre (on ours it does for sure, James can confirm it does on the MP11 and MP7 as well)

One of the other advantages to this is the COMPLETE customization of the piano. Per Note stretch tunings and note volume customization is just another tool in the kit that allows the user to change their pianos to be exactly what they want.

I think these are great additions by Kawai.

Jay

Hello Mate, thanks for the heads up. Will update ASAP. Individual adjustment seems close to the adjustment I have been menu searching for. Looking if an adjustment is possible (in menu)for voicing ( Needling the hammer felt cushion to yield a certain sound,(mellow or brighter)). Any thoughts, Thanks

Yes, I have some thoughts.

But I allready said I would keep Quiet.

As Morodiene and Jay explained, some users appreciate the flexibility of being able to adjust the volume and tuning of individual notes.

Moreover, this brings the MP11 and MP7 in line with other HI-XL equipped Kawai DPs (CA95/CA65 and CS10/CS7) which offer the same functionality.

Kind regards,
James
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So what I'd like to know is if the individual note volume adjustment is global or can you save it into a sound or setup as with the Virtual Technician and most other parameters.

If so then I think it could be very usefull. (Ducks...)

Hi puff, good question - thanks for bringing it up.

The new 88-key volume/tuning function is set in the SYSTEM menu, to one of five User memories. These memories can then be selected in the EDIT menu, allowing different 88-key volume/tuning settings to be stored to SOUND/SETUP memories.

In addition, after editing the 88-key volume/tuning, the relevant User memory will be selected automatically, as with with the User Touch Curve and User Temperament adjustment functions.

These explanation points will be added to the MP11/MP7 owner's manual (PDF) in the near future.

Cheers,
James
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A quick bump to note that the MP11 and MP7 owner's manual PDFs have been updated, adding explanations for the new features introduced with the latest software.

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

Kind regards,
James
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Please, add the individual key adjustement to CN-34 as some keys have a "metallic/higher pitch" sound (for example, F under central C or middle D) when pressed hard in the Concert Piano preset. That do not happen when using Mellow.

That feature would be very very nice.

Another quick bump to draw attention to the v1.03 update for the MP7.

This minor update fixes an issue with the instrument's 'Quick Compare' function, as reported by Tritok. <-- Thank you!

Kind regards,
James
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That has to break all records for speed of firmware deployment. I think the bug was reported this week. Well done Kawai.

I reported about the 'normal' touch curve being too heavy in one german forum. I wasn't able to play fff with it. Few hours later i got an email with a beta update which fixed the issue.
THAT was a record. Kudos to Kawai. I never experienced something like that before.

I guess the flash drive needs to be formatted in Windows not OSX as these are Windows files and I'm just getting a wait message in the MP7 display. I probably need to buy a thumb drive and format it with my iMac booted into Windows 7 via Boot Camp.

If you buy a thumb drive and don't format it in anything, it's probably good to go.

You can format the thumb drive in Windows (FAT32) format also under OS X using the disk Utility.

Anyway the MP7 has its own Format command too, probably the best choice (?) ;-)

Hi Everyone ! Does anybody know if a new official firmware will be released soon ? Which corrections , improvements , new functions ?

Thanks !

The next software update MP11/MP7 are still in beta testing and will include bug fixes and operation improvements. We anticipate an official release in the next month or two.

Cheers,
James
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