Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai VPC2 wish list

mmathew, you are right about the price-point. I wonder if Yamaha is trying to undercut the competition, but then again, Yamaha is a mammoth corporation with huge brand recognition, so perhaps they don’t need to do this? Count me in as baffled.

About the action, yes, some hate it as much as “we” love it, so perhaps I should say to U3 “proceed with caution”, and/or as Mac would say, ‘try before you buy’.

If you can try a CLP-645, it’ll do (they share the same action).




P.S.

Isn’t the digital piano world so exciting? Always improving (though slowly), surprising us (sometimes letting us down), teasing us (I’m looking at you, KJ), but never boring (us) like the acoustic. The acoustic just sits there and doesn’t want to be bothered by a thing called innovation. IMHO!

When was the last time you heard any exciting news about the acoustic? But I digress.

I like this thread. So far, for the VPC-2, we have:

- Acoustic grand action
- 88 keys
- More than 88 keys
- 73 keys
- Premium sound engine
- VST-capable computer built-in, VSTs built-in
- Motherboard with audio interface built in, Wifi, bluetooth, ethernet
- Headphones
- Portable
- Furniture style stand
- pitch/mod wheels
- built in speakers
- OLED screen
- Various custom colors
- Cupholders.

C'mon James, the Internet has spoke. Go do your job!

Well, if you put it that way, I don't like this thread now I think James now has required inputs which he can filter and hopefully pass on to the market research team at Kawai.

I wish we could vote on that list. Some items deserve a down vote IMO. Either way, this thread has run its course don't y'all think so?

You need to add:

Infant carrier holder.
Sippy cup holder
Spill resistant keyboard!
All under 25lbs.

James is really slacking here. Shut down with the pandemic you think by now he would have a nice proto-type ready to roll

In addition to these features I think it should also be affordable, foldable and under 15kg.

If we set aside the silly items (of which I am a contributor) ...
- cup holder
- sippy cup holder
- infant carrier holder
- spill resistant keyboard
- foldable
- under 25lbs or under 15kg

... and focus on those features that were (probably) intended in earnest:
- acoustic grand action
- 73 keys
- 88 keys
- more than 88 keys
- premium sound engine
- VST-capable computer built-in
- VSTs built-in
- motherboard with audio interface built in, wifi, bluetooth, ethernet
- headphones
- portable
- furniture style stand
- pitch/mod wheels
- built in speakers
- OLED screen
- various custom colors

Then we have a world-record lightweight portable ... with a heavy grand action ... resulting in a console that weighs as much as the largest digital.

With headphones ... for a piano that produces no sound.

With non-console features, such as pitch wheel and mod wheel.

And non-VPC features, such as VSTs.

And custom colors ... yes, customization for a commodity product. Go figure.

This would be a Rube Goldberg, yes? A thingamajig. A doohickey on steroids.

As mmathew said, above: Yes, I do.

There would have been a lot less ridiculousness here if we had limited it to one and only one item, ie. your absolutely number one must-have feature/improvement that is actually possible.

Well being serious I would want the next better action and I would want pitch/mod wheels.
I don't get why some are against those. Might not need it but sometimes when playing other sounds they come in handy. I shouldn't have to have another controller on top of the VPC1/2 for this.

But in all of this talk the VPC-series is really not for me. If I'm spending this type of money I would rather go up and get the kawai MP7SE etc. I like the idea that I can just turn on the unit and in a few seconds play without worrying about having a computer/iPad set up for sounds.

Peace

Mod wheels and after touch, in addition to a better action within Kawai line are some of the few items that are not absurd (IMO).

However, as I pointed out above on my mostly tongue-in-cheek post, there is already an instrument in Kawai line that is close to these requests. Maybe adding some speakers, that would not do it the due justice unlike cheaper more home targeted instruments such as ES8 or ES920. Aftertouch is debatable and brings (I think) complexity and cost that not all potential customers would wish or willing to spend $$$ for.

Perhaps a more capable sound generator, something like MP7SE's generator (improved) and MP11SE mechanics could make sense.

VPC-1 is beautiful in its simplicity. It is meant to make one thing well: to emulate as much as possible the feeling of a grand at an affordable price. IMO, what would make real sense for a VPC-2 would be using a higher end action.

For more than that, there is already one instrument that is close. Of course, it does not meet everybody's expectation but the same applies to everything, otherwise there would not be Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Bosendorf, Fazioli etc., to name the brands of instruments of the wildest dreams of many here. Pick a brand and all the others would make no sense (of course, the problem is getting a consensus about which brand ).

I'd still bet a dime that a VPC with only the keyboard action from the NV10 will be a huge hit Kawai won't admit it and of course no semi-self-respecting digital manufacturer would admit people prefer VST-s and external speakers to their own sound engine and speakers. But in a theoretical world where Kawai accepts the reality, that would be an instrument that sells better than a NV10 Of course that would also apply to Yamaha and N1X but since they don't offer any VPC-style of instruments, nobody has suggested it. But it still applies: a N1X minus the sound and speakers would probably sell more than just N1X provided it's slightly cheaper.

CyberGene yes absolutely!!! That would be an absolute timeless grandpiano controller. I would buy it immediately. What keeps me from buying an NV10 is the price and the piano sounds (nobody would take some interest of these sounds in 10 years).

I'd buy a Novus-action-in-a-VPC-box product ... if the price were right.

But few other people would. The silent VPC is already in a niche. A more expensive, grand-action VPC would have even more limited appeal.

Yes, I want one. And you want one. And a dozen other PW members want one. But that's not enough to pay the bills at Kawai.

Where monitors can shine in overall fidelity, on-board speakers can win in sound imaging.

With monitors you get a hard left/right sound imaging; with something like the N1X you not only have speakers strategically placed throughout the piano but you also get a 4-channel system instead of a stereo. As far I’m concerned, a piano’s sound seems to come from all over the instrument and not just from a hard left/right.

So, something like the N1X with a few more speakers (bigger subwoofers), and even the current sound engine would be preferred over this hypothetical grand-piano controller.

The truth is that very few people keep digitals for ‘ten’ years, so if things have improved drastically by then it would not be a big deal to simply upgrade to a new hybrid with perhaps an even better/longer action.

There’s also the aesthetic component: the all-in-one hybrid wins hands down!

Come on, Pete. You're making this stuff up.

I guess MacMacMac will have to change his name to VeryFewPeople. Or perhaps you can instead support your claim with specific information?

I have monitors. I don't get hard left/right. Nor did I when I used the piano's own speakers.

I apologize, Mac; perhaps I over-generalized, but I don’t see myself having a digital for more than ten years; not anymore, I don’t.

I have to admit that I might’ve fallen pray to today’s “get-a-new-one-every-year” mentality, and though back then I didn’t buy something already thinking about the next thing, nowadays, I sadly do (sometimes).

Of course, I won’t be upgrading digital pianos every year, but I really doubt I can go for ten years without upgrading, so long as Gombessa keeps teasing about ‘something better around the corner’.

About monitors, I don’t think it would be easy to recreate the sound-field of something like the N3X with a pair of Genelecs. IMHO.

Jokes aside, I think the success of VPC-1 has been the mechanics of the instrument, and the fact that it can be used on the road. That's why I bought it a couple of years back.

It would make sense to me if they developed the action even further, since this was one of the original selling points:
- Fully adjustable action so that the instrument can be regulated just like a real grand piano with true let-off etc. This should be something that your local piano technician should perform
- Optical sensors to replace the contact breakers to produce better MIDI velocity rendering

Obvious improvements:
- Longer keys (heck, make them the same lengths as the Shigeru Kawai grands, I don't care if this makes the chassis 4 inches wider)
- Better capstan design that would give us more stability and consistency over time
- Contact-less design of pedals (the potentiometers wear down and produce extremely erratic results

And vanity stuff:
- Flat top, yes, I know this is a vanity thing, but the domed shape really makes life harder when you want all your stuff there

I think this would be one heck of a package, it'd probably sell like heck.

I would keep the idea of VPC1. Just change the action to Millenium III and optical sensors. Outlooks should be as clean as possible. USB connected computer will do all the bells and whistles.

i would guess that the Millenium III mechanics would need an extra 25/30 cms in that VPC-1 cabinet...

And it'd be heavy as heck... As if the VPC-1 isn't heavy enough as it is...

But it would definitely be a crazily good virtual piano controller.

I noted in the piano shop that even the "short" Shigeru Kawais have the long keys now, btw. The feel of a grand lies in the length of the keys, apparently...

I assume you're referring to the DEPTH, yes?What about HEIGHT?!