Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai CN37 - try and talk me out of it

I’ll keep this brief. After a lot of agonising I’ve decided to keep my acoustic and get a digital in addition. That means my requirements are not quite as stringent but the budget is also reduced. I like this one at £1500 a lot and this is the top end of my budget.

1) It feels very close to my acoustic
2) It also feels not unlike the Kawai grand I also tried (for comparison lol, not for consideration at £18,000!)
3) If I choose this I can buy local, which matters to me

So, knock yourselves out...

You may get i cheaper I guess, but its a very nice piano - if you like it (and you tried others and the 37 itself more than once) - go get it

Well I haven’t been able to try too many other digitals (a Casio Privia 760, a couple of Rolands, the CN27 next to this one). But I tried four different acoustics in this showroom. Only on the £18,000 grand could I comfortably bring off the soft repeated chords in the Chopin E minor Prelude. And on the CN27 and CN37. The uprights I tried just didn’t cut it.

So I think I’m definitely better off with this combination of my acoustic (which is clearly better than I had feared) and a DP. And if it works well, has a great range of sound options, and can comfortably combine with my acoustic playing, what’s not to like?!

From everything I have read about the CN37, it is a very fine instrument.

Go for it.

I would also say so - not everyone has to go trough endless trying, if he found somethings hes happy with

And if you already have a good piano, maybe the wide range of other sounds on the CN37 will be very entertaining

The cn 27/37 series, and those preceding it have always impressed me. For some reason, I've never bought one, but come close on more than one occasion. They feel good under the fingers, feet, and ears. Oh, and they look nice too.

I have, however, once regretted not buying one . . . .

Have you tried Yamaha CLP 645? I almost bought Kawai CN37 but tried that Yamaha, which is also very good. Cannot decide, is it worth extra 700 eur.

It totally is.

I haven’t because to try any Yamaha means travelling 100s of miles. If I was replacing my acoustic then I’d travel far and wide to ensure I tried everything. As I’m not, I think the bird in the hand principle probably applies. 😊

I tried the CN37 when it was out of my budget in the showroom, and I almost blew my budget. I like it a lot. Having said that my experience level isn't great, but there was a lot to like about it.

I would also recommend buying something you can try.

CN37 is great option. I don't know all your criteria so I would just throw out if you care to have wooden keys and looked at the CA48? The other features are more limited so it depends on how much you care about the feel of the newer Grand Feel versus the Responsive Hammer.

Everyone has different tastes, personally I didn't like the feel of the CN27 which has the same keyboard specs as the CN37.

I would be much more fussy about those things if I was replacing my acoustic, which originally I thought I might. Then I would unquestionably be looking for wooden keys. But as I’m not getting rid of my acoustic I don’t think it matters as much so long as the action is similar enough, which it seems to be. The pedals are good on this model too. I can’t stretch to the CA series for what will be a second instrument, and to try one of those would also require travelling hundreds of miles. I’ve tried digital actions I really don’t like, so I’m satisfied if I found this one decent next to various acoustic pianos then that’s a good indication.

So.... I’m not talked out of it yet!

Hi, for what it’s worth I’ve spent the last couple of weeks choosing a piano in that price range including one round trip of 400 miles to try a particular candidate. I feel I benefited from being able to hop from one piano to the other. The action was my main concern.
The CN’s are sound pianos and if that’s your budget and you like it then great. However I think most would agree the CA’s are a step up with their wooden action and most places sell the CA48 for around £1500.
If you really want to buy locally and they won’t get one in for a demo Kawai do a little cutaway demo section of the action which your store will either have or if they are worth their salt could get. Failing that get a remote store to send you theirs(but then buy from them). I would ask someone to confirm the key away action is truly representative.
The trouble is if you’ve not tried ‘good’ you’ve no reference.
For what it’s worth I bought a Yamaha p515 which is effectively like the CLP645 mentioned above but in a portable form with wooden stand for under £1500. I felt it similar to the CA78 though not as nice (but £1000 cheaper).
Final thought, actions vary considerably and you should try to get the one that’s right for you rather than relying on reviews and other people’s opinions.
Final final thought don’t be afraid to ask on price, whilst I wouldn’t expect or want a small local store to match the cheapest online box shifter they should be close to what the well respected stores can do e.g. Bonners.

I think I have a pretty good reference from trying the acoustic Kawai grand next to it. 😊 So I think I’m still going to resist going down the rabbit hole because I am *keeping* an acoustic piano as well. Thanks all.

It seems you did some good pre-purchase research and found a good option for your DP. Good luck and come back with a post purchase report.

Haha, so I just took my other half along to go and have another try and guess what? I think I’m talking myself out of it! I think yesterday I was very impressed with it in comparison to the Kawai uprights, every single one of which I thought was pretty awful. Today I played my piano immediately beforehand. And now I think the CN37 feels like a keyboard. Aargh!

Also, I think the difference is today I tried some more technically demanding music...

I feel for you. I felt I was better understanding the actions on my third visit and was beginning to trust my own judgement. There's a reason why Kawai use a different action in the CA48/58 and different again in the 78/98. The CN's are great keyboards in their budget but there are 'better' actions.
Few shops quite understandably don't push a particular model but I found the article on Forsyths of Manchester (a very traditional music store) website quite refreshing.
In summary they say on a budget buy the CN27, if you can afford it buy the CA48 due to its action, and if you're an advanced player get the CA98. They mention a couple of Casios as well.
I realise I've no understanding of your circumstances and location but different models do feel surprisingly different and it's a shame you're not able to demo a good range.

Hi, yes it’s a really tricky decision! The dealers did agree to possibly get in one of the CA models on approval. I want to buy local, but on the other hand I’m wondering if a day off work and a day trip is going to be in order. It’s so very frustrating that there isn’t a single DP with wooden action, of any brand, within 200 miles of me. I thought it didn’t matter so much now I’m keeping the acoustic, and I was taken by the sound - which I still like - but for something like the Ballade no 1 it kind of really does matter!

Sorry folks, more pain to come. And it does help to post about it, gets my thoughts in order.

PS I’ll look out that Forsyths article.

PW forum member Vervurka won an Internet competition playing Ballade No. 1 on a Kawai CS8 which has a Grand Feel II action. The lowest priced Kawai with a GF2 action might be the CA67 which is about 2500 USD.