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Hi, just joined this forum and have just ordered the CA99 from Bonners (who are excellent btw) in Ebony black which im told should arrive later this month. Cant wait!
I used to own a Roland HP605 then went to a Kawai NV5 then to the current Roland LX708 now to the Kawai CA99. Long story...
Hello and welcome! Out of curiosity, how would you compare the NV5 with the CA99, and why did you decide on the latter?
Hi, first and foremost the NV5 is one of the best digital pianos hands down. I had some issues with mine on delivery but to be fair I think I was one of the unlucky one’s. My supplier eventually agreed to swap it for another Piano as I wasn’t overly happy.
Remember I mentioned I had a Roland HP605, well the key action / weight was very light when you compare it to the NV5. I guess I jumped to the NV5 too soon and in a way took a gamble as I knew the keys had more weight but thought I could adjust and get used to it.
If you’re coming from an acoustic piano or a weightier key action as say the Yamaha then the NV5 will suit you fine. Unfortunately for me I struggled especially when playing fast tempo songs. Again it was a personal thing and no bad reflection on the NV5.
Remember, the mechanics of the NV5 Is nearly like acoustic piano minus the strings so realism to an acoustic couldn’t be any closer.
Quality of the build, sounds and service by Kawai is second to none.
But, I did have a couple of niggles:
I didn’t particularly like the touch panel layout. I don’t have sausage fingers by any means but there were times wrong buttons were selected when trying to navigate which got frustrating after a while. I did notice key/ sound cut off when switching from the elite pianos to other pianos /instruments which I thought that was a thing of the past. Selection and swiping was a bit laggy too and not as smooth as hoped.
Lastly I struggled to get the audio quality to where I wanted it to be and it sounded a little too mid ranged for my liking, again its a personal thing. It annoyed me to the point where I started searching the web for acoustic wall panels and piano carpets just to give it that depth /base I was looking for
I did notice key/ sound cut off when switching from the elite pianos to other pianos /instruments which I thought that was a thing of the past.
The NV5 essentially has two separate sound engines: SK-EX Rendering (aka "Pianist mode") and Harmonic Imaging XL (aka "Sound mode"). When switching between the two sound engines, there will be a momentary break in sound - as far as I'm aware, this is unavoidable. However, I don't believe it's such a big problem on a home-oriented instrument such as the NV5, as most users will not be frequently switching sounds mid-song.
Disappointed with the reported light action of the GFIII since my teacher is using a Yamaha grand and I fear it will be difficult to adjust every week from one to another. Will go on Saturday for a test in the local shop.
I'm the same, I've got the Kawai MP11SE with the original grand feel, and play every now and then on a Yamaha SX6.
The SX6 is definitely a heavy action in comparison. It is definitely more work and if I played it for any length of time I would feel it.
However adjusting to the Yamaha SX6 is easy compared to adjusting to my teachers upright which has a light action. I am always astounded how quickly I can adjust from my MP11SE to the Yamaha grand and feel like I have good control over the regulation.
It went 'live' this afternoon, youtube allows for re-uploading minutes before that. He basically just had an 'coming soon; click notify if you want youtube to alert you when it is actually viewable' screen setup. So no clue when it was recorded. A bit puzzled why KawaiJames so far has stayed out of it, surely he knows if it is lighter or not, and if so, how much.
It was released on their company Facebook account last week, on the date I’ve noted above. Think it was slightly smaller, but mentioned the same thing, lighter keyboard. Date is irrelevant but since several sources mentioned the same, it’ likely true. Curious indeed if someone will weight the keys or James will add more light on this. Maybe this was done on purpose, never played an SK EX, maybe the GF iii action is closer to it
Maybe keyboard is just "lighter" like Steinwey pianos, meaning faster. We certainly need clarification for this, for me GFII has spot on weight, I don't think I want it lighter.
A bit puzzled why KawaiJames so far has stayed out of it.
My apologies, I wasn't aware that I needed to respond to every piece of speculation posted on the internet... ;p
For what it's worth, I'm not aware of any change in touch weight on the GFIII action.
However, I know that the action is faster and more responsive than previous GF actions, so it's possible that some players may confuse this change as simply being "lighter".
A bit puzzled why KawaiJames so far has stayed out of it.
My apologies, I wasn't aware that I needed to respond to every piece of speculation posted on the internet... ;p
For what it's worth, I'm not aware of any change in touch weight on the GFIII action.
However, I know that the action is faster and more responsive than previous GF actions, so it's possible that some players may confuse this change as simply being "lighter".
Kind regards, James x
Thanks. Oh, you are not required to answer, but when the sensei remains silent the students grow restless. :P
As proud user of a Kawai CA79 i can tell the action is fantastic... as it happens among grand pianos some are heavier than others... but all of them have grand piano actions. GFIII feels really nice (i come from an acoustic upright)... it someone has interest in the action weight I can measure it (not super accurately though).
