Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai CA 98 Delivered Today. Broken?

So, after weeks of research and testing out different models I decided on the Kawai CA 98. I live in Estonia and the local Kawai dealer only had the CA 78 in stock, and wouldn't get the 98 until late January. So, I ordered through musicstore.de

The piano arrived today. I set it up, and there is a problem. When I hold one key down, and try to press a key that's a half-step away, it does not make sound! Here is a short video of the issue:



I'm feeling incredibly frustrated about this. I really don't want have to send the piano back. I just want a piano that works! Please tell me that there is a way to fix this.

Thank you,
Joonas

Did you call the dealer? Or Kawai service?

I just got the piano a couple hours ago. I just sent emails to the dealer and Kawai support. I'm hoping that this is a software issue that I can rectify. I checked and I am on the most recent version 1.0.2

Has anyone here experienced a similar issue?

Did you tried a factory reset? It's definitely a software issue since the key is literally working.

Just tried a factory reset twice. No improvement

Nah, I suspect a mechanical issue. Something has slipped in transit.

But my guess is also irrelevant. Call the dealer, see what they recommend.

I would certainly try to involve the local dealer in the solution if at all possible.

Putting that piano back in the box and shipping it back will be …. let's say …. challenging.

That behavior may happen if the flat cable connecting the keyboard (i.e. the sensor circuits) to the mainboard has one of its wires damaged or is not properly seated into the connectors. That may have happened during production or transportation. Contact the dealer and check if they can send a technician. If it is just the cable that would be an easy repair.

I bought some pianos at musicstore.de and never had a problem about fast response and help. Maybe they calling kawai directly so this can take some time because their technicians are really busy. ^^

It would be real tough for a mechanical issue to cause this. A depressed key would somehow have to block the sensors on an adjacent key. This sounds like electronics or software. Contact the dealer and Kawai, cc both of them. Let us know what they say.

Well, if musicstore.de has access for "local" support technicians … great …. anything so you do not have to ship that piano back.

It amazes me that someone spends a large amount of money, receives a defective product, and then asks for help on a forum ... rather than demanding that the seller or manufacturer make good.

You paid money. That is, you've completely fulfilled your part of the bargain.

But the other party has not. So you are OWED a proper resolution. That is all.

I've already emailed both the dealer and Kawai support. It was after business hours when I discovered the problem so I've been waiting to hear back. I was hoping someone on the forum has experienced a similar problem and could point to a solution. I'll keep pestering the dealer and Kawai.

Well that's good. You are OWED a solution.

Your only option at this point is to wait for Kawai's support and for the assessment from a technician. The problem you describe may happen if the flat cables running between the keyboard and the mainboard are not properly connected or one of their wires is damaged. If the technician says the problem was caused by transportation and not by an assembly error at the factory, then I would demand a new DP. If transportation caused that, then your DP must have gone through a lot already. Unacceptable either way.

Keep us posted, I am curious how Kawai will handle this?

While I fully sympathize and hope Music Store and Kawai will be able to resolve this, I would also like to point out that it is never a good idea to buy internationally, whenever warranty issues may come into the picture. Which certainly is the case with (digital) pianos.

Sending a piano from Cologne in Germany (which is where Music Store is located) to Estonia is definitely an adventurous affair. Add to that issues of international law...

In some cases, there is no choice because the immediate country doesn't have the product or the manufacturer has specifically worked it out so that products for the local market are shipped from another distribution point. As an example, many countries in Europe are supplied by Amazon.com from Germany as their central hub. We have a 2nd home in Amsterdam and all items we order from Amazon are shipped from Germany. (Amazon NL only really has e-books.)

Which is why I would never buy a digital piano from Amazon, but always from a specialized dealer in my own country.

UPDATE:

tl;dr Returned piano after 3 months of back-and-forth for full refund. Would not recommend this experience to anyone.

-------

I emailed musicstore the day I got the piano with the issue I originally posted above. Over the course of the next 3 months, I endured an incredibly frustrating ordeal to get a resolution. They told me to contact Kawai, Kawai told me MusicStore has to process a warranty return, etc. I emailed them every 1-2 weeks and was usually ignored. Same with calling their company. I talked to several different people and it wasn't until the 3rd month that I got someone that seemed interested in helping out. More back and forth and waiting and they finally set up a pick up to send my piano back.

Fortunately, I hadn't fully unpacked the piano so repacking it was quite easy. About a week later I got a full refund for the piano. I was worried they would only give me a partial refund for some reason or another, but luckily that didn't happen.

One interesting thing, the original issue didn't occur consistently and started to happen less frequently as time went on. Probably a loose wire finding its connection? Who knows, it's now back in the piano realm to be with others of its kind. Even if the problem went away entirely, my experience with their customer service was so bad that I didn't want to risk dealing with them if there was a future issue with the piano.

All in all, I'm glad it's finally resolved for a full refund. I will forever now buy from a local dealer.