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I've had a Kawai ES4 for a year now and very pleased with it.Now I see theres an improved version called the ES6 and would like to know if any ES4 users have tried it out and felt it actually is a better piano or not worth upgrading.I'm especialy interested in opinions on the newer action,the bigger speakers and the rhythm accompaniment...

In the same situation as you with an es4, and wanting to know the same thing.

Have owned a Kawai ES 6 for about 1 month.
My Review=
On board speakers produce poor sound quality
Amplification is weak
The few buttons are muli-funtion...lots of combinations which can become somewhat involved.
Weighted keys are sure weighted,you wish you had jack hammers for fingers after playing for 10 minutes or so using 8-10 fingers simultainously.
Cannot compare with the Technics P50 Stage piano of the past...that's all the negatives that I have experienced

Jim, thanks for the insight. Can you comment on some of the positives, too?
Also, why did you decide to go with the ES 6?
Can you compare/contrast to the MP5, if you tried it?
Thanks!

How much better, if at all, is it than the es4?

Sounds you're not impressed by the ES 6 Jim!Maybe not worth upgrading from my ES 4 although if I find one at a local dealer I'll still investigate...

Reason for purchase: Was looking for the best acoustic piano sound in an 88 note Stage piano with inbuilt speakers,although certainly not brilliant, it was better then the Yamaha P140,Korg P250,& Roland FP4 which all had a very electronic sound by comparison.I do not use the likes of the rhythm function or other sounds as I have a Technics Kn7000 keyboard that caters for that style of playing. Have to admit that I was tempted by Yamaha's attempt of two instruments in one in the DGX series extended keyboard,but no onboard speakers.Just a very small point,Kawai has the two earphone sockets at the front which is a lot easier to access from your playing position.

Hi Jim,
As I said in other post I'm looking after several years without playing anything for a new digital piano and the Kawai CL35 is my best option but in Spain it's very dificult to find it and the CL35 has the same features as the ES6 so, I would know if the keys are too hard for playing or are good.
Thank you very much

Hello chaps!

My apologies for not responding sooner - I had to return to the UK to attend a family wedding...

Xavi, as you are aware, the CL35 is a rather new instrument, and may not yet be available in Spain.
It shares the same keyboard and 88-key sampling technology of the ES6, but lacks the rhythm section feature, has less internal sounds, and a lower polyphony specification. However, it does include built-in lessons, and offers a stand and three pedals out of the box.

For more information, please refer to the respective brochures online at:

ES6 brochure: http://www.kawai.de/service/es6_catalog.pdf
CL Series brochure: http://www.kawai.de/service/cl2008_catalog.pdf

Kind regards,
James
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Thanx for the response! We bachelors are a dying race, poor guy ....

Now let me put you on the spot here ....

Which action is heavier, the ES4's or the ES6's?

On the contrary, my sister is an incredible woman.

The physical weight of the ES4 and ES6 action is almost identical. However, the perceived touch weight (i.e. the weight of the keys) is 'heavier' on the ES6, although the extent of the heaviness differs depending on the area of the keyboard that is being played.

Kind regards,
James
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I only saw this today. Thanx for the response.

Hey Kawai James,

Have you made the ES6 available to online retailers yet? Can't find it anywhere. And have you made it available to Sam Ash or Guitar Center?

PS - I sincerely hope the EP3 is not meant to replace the ES6. They look almost identical, except the EP3 has less voices, half the polyphony, and *gasp* no 3-pedal option!

jscomposer, the ES6 is a replacement for the ES4 - this line of instruments is sold through KAWAI dealerships only.

The EP3 is a replacement for the EP2 - this line of instruments is typically sold through pro-music stores such as Sam Ash, etc. as well as KAWAI dealerships who wish to stock the instruments.

As you note, the ES6 and EP3 are very similar in appearance, however (as with the ES4 and EP2), the ES6 has superior specifications.

I hope this information helps to clarify things a little.

Kind regards,
James
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Hello,

I am new to the forum and I thought I would just post some of my impressions on some of the pianos that seem to be considered as alternatives for stage pianos.

I play jazz piano, either solo, or with duo, trio, or larger groups, and am actively gigging.

I have owned a Yamaha P80 for many years, and have gigged with it at least once a week for the past 16 months or so. It has stood up pretty well to abuse, but every so often I would need to have repairs made, or repair stuck keys myself. I finally decided to search for a replacement. Here is what I found in a nutshell:

Yamaha CP33 For my taste the action was too heavy, and the brilliance control too limited.

Roland FP-4. Great light weight piano for gigging, loud onboard speakers, lots of sounds, rhythms, and sound effects to play with. But in the end the action was too "spongy" for me. I could not do the trills and fast runs I am used to. Plus, I felt that the piano sound would change from brilliant to dull while I played (this was only really evident when wearing headphones, but I play a lot with headphones and could not bear that shifting sound). Maybe it was just that unit.

Kawai ES4. Great piano. But I decided to wait for the Kawai ES6.

Kaiwai ES6 - I think I bought one of the first ones to enter Canada. I hounded the dealer and he ordered two, and I bought one.

Terrific piano sound. The onboard speakers are well calibrated to reproduce the piano sound very well. Especially amazing is the upper range of the keyboard. Very much like a real grand piano. While not a loud as the Roland FP-4 I have played two gigs in restaurants (one with a duo and one a trio) and the onboard speakers were loud enough. But of course I play background jazz, so if you need foreground music, or rock etc. or have a large space to fill you will need external speakers.

Great feel. Some have complained it is too hard. I didn't find that to be the case. It is heavier than the ES4, but not terribly much more. Very expressive.

It is a bit heavy to carry around (45 pounds), but I think it is worth it.

The other sounds are good too, and the piano has some good rhythms, and other features.

The sound can be tailored quite a bit with brilliance, EQ, voicing, etc.

I did notice that some of the pre-programmed chord patterns are not entirely accurate, for example indicating major chords when the sound coming from the accompaniment is minor. But these are minor things, and with time you get to know the foibles of the piano.

But overall I am very happy with this purchase.

AlfieAlfredo

Yesterday I took a visit to the local keyboard store and played ES4 and FP4 side to side, and my impressions are totally different than yours.

While I was waiting the sales rep to hook up the FP4, I noticed that the keyboard next to FP4 was on. I played 5 minutes thru internal speakers, the sound was OK at best, but I did not like the action. It was sure "spongy". Than I played the FP4 for about an hour, man I never had this much fun playing a keyboard instrument. The sound is the best one I have experienced. The action is on the lighter side which I like, and faster than the ES4 for sure.
After the FP4 session, I played the ES4 again, an I can say that they are not even in the same ballpark. And funny enough they are equally priced!

Well you sure are a pessimistic piano player...

Everyone will obviously have different preferences. I did like the FP-4 for many reasons and was sorry to have to return it. But the action was the main issue. I have read many reviews of the FP4 and the owners seem to be very happy with it. I wanted to like it. But for me the Kawai has a better piano sound, more sound shaping options, and a better action.

I have to say that I like the jazz organ sound (organ #1), but only really as a soloing single note instrument. It is no good for chording. When I play jazz organ gigs I might just resort to using my old Yamaha P80, which I am used to, and which I can chord with.

the ES6 is a replacement for the ES4 - this line of instruments is sold through KAWAI dealerships only.

I'd like to try out some of the KAWAI boards, but haven't been able to find anyone who carries them here yet. Guitar center is sort of the Wal*Mart of musical instruments, at least in my area. Their selection of digital pianos is spotty at best, but at least they usually have something by Casio, Yamaha, Roland and Williams. They don't carry KAWAI at all, and I haven't seen Kurtzweil unless they are in with the synths. Most of the other music store's I've found have even less. There is one KAWAI dealer not too far away, but they have mostly acoustic or furniture style digitals. I think they maybe had one ES3 or ES4. My thinking is that if I'm going to drop thousands on a piece of furniture, I'll get a nice acoustic which won't become obsolete. If I'm going digital then I want the connectivity and portability of a stage format at a price that won't be too painful to replace in 5 years or so.

The MP5 and MP8II sound nice, but I'm not going to order one from Musician's Friend just to try it out. I'm also wondering how they compare to the ES6 now that it has every key sampled and whether the MP5 is also due for an update. Since I use headphones or run it into a mixer and listen on stage monitors, the built in boom box speakers on the ES6 are superfluous. KAWAI never answered the email I sent to asking about other dealers in the area, so I'm still looking.

OlTinEar, if you send me a private message, informing me of your location, I should be able to recommend a dealer or music chain store that stocks these instruments.

Kind regards,
James
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