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I've been trying to follow this thread to see if I can figure out what, if any, UI/sound engine/tweaking tips might apply to me, but I'm not sure.

First, I really love this piano.

Having said that, I finally got the sound about where I wanted it with a relatively heavy bass (when played, I'd say, medium forte or louder), and with just enough natural resonance that seemed right to me. I was using "piano mode", "rich", and under virtual technician I had selected "mellow 2".

However, at some point, the ringing (that others have pointed out) started bothering me, as it seemed too loud. I liked the slight ringing I heard when playing in the upper registers, especially right around C5. But at some point, that ringing got a little louder and was definitely more pronounced, and I couldn't figure out why. I vaguely remember doing things in virtual technician having to do with bass notes, but those menu items aren't there (or maybe I was doing that when looking at sound mode?). I tried moving resonance up and down, but that seemed to have no effect.

So, I've reset to factory settings, and now there is no ringing, but I am kind of back at square one, trying to get the piano back to sounding the way I liked. I liked a little ringing, since it seemed to me to simulate the echoing of the sounds against the harp (maybe, or rails? not really up on the technical names for parts of a grand piano).

I'm definitely not a tinkerer and bought this piano because it feels, to me, so much like a large grand piano when I play it. I really loathe spending time in the UI trying to bother with all of this. (I'm a software engineer by trade and get enough of this during my day job.)

It seems like there are settings that one can change without realizing ...

Edit: btw, all of this basically through the speakers ... only use headphones late at night.

Are you certain it’s love, and not infatuation, this thing you have for the machine, the keyboard, the amalgamation?

Hi Jaytee,

You've mentioned that you've changed a number of VT settings, but have you also changed the special Pianist Mode "Resonance Depth?" That's the one where you just drag your finger and and down against the image of the piano from the Pianist Mode home screen. I think it defaults to 6, and I personally like it around 8 (yes, it rings out more than any acoustic I've played, but it makes the instrument feel more alive IMO). I can definitely see how a higher setting could cause tinnitus to act up or simply be distracting to others, though.

Where is Kawai NV10 made/assembled?
I am interested to try one, but the dealer said, it is not yet available in Indonesia.
As far as I know they make most of their digital piano in Indonesia.

I believe you are correct. The keyboard and action are made in Japan like their acoustics. The piano is assembled in one of their Indonesia plants. It should be available there? Call the factory near you.

Jaytee, if you loathe the UI tinkering in search of the perfect piano sound, my advice is: Just don't do it. That may sound stupid, but what I mean is: Play the piano "as is", just like you would with an acoustic piano. Very, very few people ever both with voicing their acoustic piano to anything other than the sound that it has when it is delivered. And if they do bother with voicing, then that is a slow process (first wait for the technician, have some voicing done, wear in the hammers, call the technician again for some more voicing, again wear in the hammers, and after months, slowly get close to the desired sound). Treat your Novus in the same way - at least for a while. Just play it as it is and let it grow on you. Change parameters (like the rendering character, resonance depth, ambience, and VT settings) sparingly and only when you feel like it (so that it doesn't feel like a nuisance or burden). And over time, slowly but (hopefully) eventually, arrive at the sound you like best. Part of this process of finding the sound you like best may be that you change parameters of the piano, but part of it will probably also be that you (unconsciously) change your own perception and expectations, so that the sound that you arrive at then, as your preferred sound, may be a sound that, if you played it now, maybe wouldn't be your first choice.

Hmmm Interesting hahaha

The CA98 was just available in this January here, I guess it has been out there outside Indonesia since last year. Maybe this NV10 will be available next 6 months or maybe next year lol

Why can't your dealer order it from Japan? This is really weird. Order it from Japan - they ship to the dealer, who is close to you I assume.

Why can't your dealer order it from Japan? This is really weird. Order it from Japan - they ship it from the Indonesia plant to the dealer, who is close to you I assume.

I have contacted 3 dealers, one in my city, one the other city outside province, and the last one which my CA98 came from that also pretty close to the Factory. weird

The factory is about 12 hours drive from my place

Where’s Osho?

Probably practicing (practising) piano, unlike a lot of us (or me, at least).

Which one? (trollface)

That's basically been my attitude toward this piano (as well as my Yamaha CLP 585).

I tinkered around in the beginning to basically get the sound I want, or some approximation of it, and left it that way. I.e., I wasn't playing around with many of the different characters in pianist mode, nor was I tinkering much with the VT settings after I got the sound the way I wanted.

However, it did seem to me that the "ringing" I was hearing was more pronounced after some time. Someone else posted something about the resonance settings - I played with that (turned it down all the way to 1), and that wasn't really having an effect.

Anyway, after resetting the piano and setting up a couple parameters again (full or rich mode, "mellow 2" under VT settings), the pronounced ringing is back (and it wasn't at first). Maybe I'm just hearing it differently after playing for a while. *shrug*

Regardless, I'm pretty happy with the sound the way it is, and I like the ringing/reverb sound. I agree that it makes the piano feel more alive; I had just hoped to decrease that effect somewhat. It doesn't seem like I'm making headway in that direction, and I've basically just left it for the time being.

Agree with everything you've said Jobert. I have owned three digital pianos, the Novus being my third. I have also owned an acoustic grand. I really haven't done much with the settings or sound after initial setup, ever. Digital or not, the piano to me is just a piano, and tinkering around with the settings (and all the many, many voices included with the instrument) is something that doesn't interest me, other than for fun/novelty purposes usually within the first week of ownership, never again to be revisited. Once in a while I will fire up a harpsichord sound to play some Bach, but honestly, I don't have harpischord technique, and it never sounds good to me compared to my piano renditions.

As far as the Novus's ability to just "be a piano", it's the best I've ever had or experienced compared to all digitals I've ever played, including the two Yamahas I've owned (granted, I never owned a Yamaha AvantGrand, but I have played them, and the Novus matches or outperforms those, IMO).

Jaytee, one last thing you could try to tame the ringing a bit: One of the few adjustments I made is in the Sound Settings menu, where I have set Tone Control to User with Mid-high at -1 and High at -2. Maybe such a setting would appeal to you too?

I'll give that a try ... that may also reduce the brightness in the upper registers, although I have gotten used to that now.

I had the same problem with the kawai sound in general. I'd owned the CLP-685 before and loved the CFX voice so much, that every other rendering sounded awkward. Now i like the SK-EX a lot, just because it sounds way more alive and natural compared to the yamaha sounds.

Right here

I was on a business trip for 2 weeks - and then when I came home, the 'welcome home' gift was that the Novus NV10 was delivered the next day after I was back . It has been a little over week since that and I have been thoroughly enjoying NV10 every day. Will post some pics over the weekend.

My impressions at home have been pretty much the same as I had in the store (which I posted earlier in this thread). Absolutely amazing action - I have been mostly using it with Garritan CFX and headphones - and the combination is unbeatable at this point of time IMHO. I really haven't used the speakers that much - and I don't think I will - except for bluetooth audio perhaps.

I also ended up building a PC for the explicit purpose of being used as VST player/recorder and with pianomarvel. I am also very excited about how well this has worked out with NV10 - to the point where I turn on the Piano and can be playing Garritan CFX in <10 seconds with headphones. And I can switch between Garritan CFX and Pianoteq with just two taps (or combine them both) in Cakewalk. The ease of use of this setup is making me enjoy the NV10 even more.

Thanks,
Osho

Congrats Osho!
With your Mason & Hamlin just a few steps away from the NV10, I can imagine how you have no need to play the NV10 with speakers!

Congrats Osho!

Please feel free to post some pics of your setup.

James
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