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Hello All. I recently purchased a new Kawai ES8. I fell in love with the sound and feel of the piano when I tested out in the store. However after getting it home and playing it for a week I noticed that many of the black key make a rubbing/scraping/scratching sound when they are depressed. It gets worse the harder/faster the keys are pressed, and also much worse if the keys are not pressed perfectly down. I can hear this sound when the volume is below about 50%.

I took it back to the shop where I purchased it to see if anything can be done about it. The owner felt that he had a hard time hearing exactly what I was referring to, but when he finally did he felt that it was just the keys rubbing against felt pad inside the action, and that it was normal.

I left it with him so that he could call Kawai to see if there was anything that could be done about it. After about a week he told me that Kawai instructed him to open it up and lubricate all of the actions on the key which he did. I went in today to check it out and it still has the exact same rubbing noise that has not been diminished at all. It also has squishing noises from the lube that was put in the actions, but I am sure those will diminish.

The shop owner claims that Kawai tested out a couple models in their shop and they feel that this is a normal sound. After today he is ordering in another ES8 to see if there is any difference with a different piano. That is going to take a couple weeks for him to get a new one in.

In the mean time I just wanted to check on here to see if anyone else is experiencing similar issues with their ES8 and rubbing/scraping sounds with the black keys? If so what was the solution to fix it, or do you just live with it?

I checked all of the black keys with the power off and can find nothing like what you describe.

I have had my ES8 for over a year and I have never noticed anything out of the ordinary.

However, I think I will pass on listening intently ... trying to "hear" something.

What if I did ? LOL ..... No Thanks.

Don I don't blame you! This is not something you want to "find"!

I owned and returned 2 ES8's for the same issues you're having. Rubbing keys, not rubbing against each other, but a rubbing noise coming from the actual key mechanism when pressed. I had 21 keys (if I remember correctly) with this problem on my first ES8. Kawai sent an engineer to my home which is a great service. He told me it was a 'rogue' piano and instructed me to return it to my dealer. My dealer was happy to exchange it. The second ES8 arrived and was actually worse. I also went to my local store where they had one on display, this model too had the rubbing key issues. Incidentally, they had many other Kawai digitals on display, all of which were perfect, no rubbing issues except for the ES8. Maybe it's an isolated problem with ES8 assembly. So anyway, I recorded a couple of videos of my 2nd ES8 and sent them to Kawai. They agreed to exchange it again which I thought was again, excellent customer service. So Kawai themselves accepted that it was an issue and wanted to help me.
To cut a long story short. I ended up with a CA67 which I love but was significantly more expensive. I loved the ES8 too but couldn't live with those key rubbing noises. Contact your dealer and tell them you would like an exchange. Kawai will look after you, they are really good with their customers. If your dealer won't help, contact Kawai yourself. Don't settle for a defective DP and don't let your dealer make you think that the problem is in your head. Good luck. If you need any help or advice send me a PM.

All the keys are smooth and quiet on my ES8.

Sorry to hear about your problem. Kawai customer support is awesome! I'm sure it'll get squared away.

God Bless,
David

Just tested my ES8 and I am not getting a noise like described. Really sorry to hear this.

Mike

I totally agree. I have dealt with them also and they work hard to get things resolved satisfactorily.

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations and comments so far. It looks like there is some hope to find a keyboard that does not have rubbing issues. The dealer is in the process of getting a new one shipped in, and I am hoping that everything works out.

Good news to report today. The shop received in a new ES8 this week and I was able to finally get down there today and take a look at it. I am happy to report that the new one does not have any issues with the keys rubbing. The shop owner was willing to exchange out my original piano for the new one and it looks like my issue has been resolved. The action felt better and tighter on this new DP and the black keys did not feel as loose with less side to side play. Hoping that the biggest issues are behind me and I can look forward to years of faithful service from this piano.

This has me wondering. What happens with the exchanged instrument? I seriously doubt they just toss it in the trash. Do they return it to Kawai? What then?

It is an interesting question and one that I had to debate a bit with the shop owner as he originally wanted to charge me a restocking fee for the exchange. His argument was that since he did not feel the piano was defective, that he could not return it to Kawai and that he would have to keep it in inventory and sell it as a used item. My argument was that since the new piano did not make the rubbing noises that my original piano did that there was obviously some kind of quality control issue.

I really hope he does end up sending it back to Kawai for them to take a look at. I honestly do not think that the action is supposed to make rubbing sounds that can be heard over the music while it is playing. I may very well be crazy but I also was swearing to my wife that there was a small but noticeable difference in the sound quality of the newer piano as well.the newer piano sounding a bit fuller and richer, but mostly that the differences between the different piano voices was more pronounced. It is entirely possible that it was a setting that someone had played around with in the piano before I took it home. But there is definitely some noticeable variations from the first ES8 to the newer ES8.

Perhaps Kawai James or some other can shed more light on exactly what happens to an exchanged piano.

Hello WJR, thank you for the update. I'm glad to hear that the replacement ES8 did not exhibit the key rubbing issues.



I'm not involved in that side of Kawai's business, so don't have any detailed knowledge, I'm afraid.

I expect this ultimately depends on the retailer, and the extent to which they believe there is an issue with the instrument. If there is a clear issue with a returned product, the retailer will likely return it to the distributor (e.g. Kawai America, in this case), who will investigate and attempt to resolve the issue, and then re-sell the instrument as a B/C/D/etc.-stock model.

Kind regards,
James
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They ship it to places like Montreal, Quebec. (j/k). But this thread really drives home my concern regarding buying a Kawai in Canada from such a small retailer chain. I have no such concerns with Yamaha or Roland.

I've seen quite a few stories discussing problems with Kawais that cause me to question their QC.

It's great that they take care of customers after the problems are reported/discovered, but these problems shouldn't be happening in the first place.
Look at all the ES110 problems that are being posted all over the net.

I'm days away from pulling the trigger on an ES8, but don't feel like playing Russian roulette w/ $3K. If I get a good one, there will be no problem. All good. But if I get one w/ rubbing keys or whatever....is the local dealer going to take care of me properly? And how long will that take to clear up, since they don't even carry inventory!

I'm sure the vast majority of Kawais are trouble-free (as is mine, which is why you haven't read about it). Since you have a local retailer you're in luck: have them set up an ES8, play it for a while. If it has key bed problems, ask them to open another, and buy the piano that works.

The problem is that they are so small as far as DP's go (I think they focus more on acoustics) that they do not stock them. They had one ES8 demo on the floor and none in stock.If you want to buy one, they order it for you, and that's the one you get. Also, the ES8 floor demo wasn't even working! It wouldn't boot. They said some kids messed with it and caused that problem - which makes no sense. Again, that makes me question the quality control. I might get a CP4 or RD800 instead, just because of my concerns with the dealer and quality.