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So far Kawai has just been generally slow to respond, but they've done the right thing. The warranty coverage is a bit sketchy though. I wonder if it actually says in the warranty that if you gig with the keyboard you void parts of your coverage and whether it delineates what they are. I wonder if their stage pianos are the same.

I'll say the samples on the 520, while just okay are a giant step forward from the ones used in my Yamaha P121 (73 key version of the 125). I haven't played the 225 much so I don't want to comment in it. I think the 520 bests the lower end Casio's and pretty much everything I've heard from Roland. Every VST I have is considerably more realistic, but I still find the 520 good enough for practice. It is definitely lacking high frequencies, character and nuances. You can turn the nuances up in the menu settings, but they still don't sound right to me. The factory settings are probably optimum to my ear. I actually disliked the Yamaha's P125's sound. There's just no saving it. It barely sounds like an acoustic instrument to me. I despised the sound of my Roland even more. I can't even explain what they were thinking in the middle registers or how the salesman convinced me to buy it (he convinced me with the virtues of modeling tech and I'd get used to the sound). Even my Yamaha Reface, which I enjoy immensely, has a lower resolution EP engine than the 520. It's just the response to dynamics and the ease of controlling its very nice sounding effects which makes me appreciate the Reface. My favorite EPs are still VSTs though--they have everything. You just have to be willing to map out a dedicated controller, and/or use a mouse for control, and wait on a computer to boot up and open all the software you are looking for. I just loose patience and inspiration by the time that all happens and I get annoyed fiddling with things. I do it for recording though.

I used to think VSTs had dynamic control issues, but it was really my Yamaha P121. The 520 makes VSTs much nicer to play. In that sense, it's a great controller. I wish Kawai would make a VPC light that used the same action as the 520, transport controls, and a few knobs and faders.

My impatience with computers has led me to buy an organ and now even a drum machine. The 520's built in drum patterns are pretty good for practice, but I need to have the ability to customize and program. There's great software for that, but ugh... so drum machine it is. I have this elaborate setup now just to avoid waiting on a computer and using a mouse to tweak.

Kawai's warranty does not state what they told you, and them telling you that does sound shady to me.

https://kawaius.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Kawai-CL-ES-EP-CE-Digital-Piano-3-Year-Warranty.pdf

One major reason why someone might pick an ES520 or ES920 is for weight, which implies that it will be transported often, i.e., gigging. Someone keeping it at home likely isn't going to care much about weight.

I hear you on computers. I have looked into moving away from a computer a few times, but I always end up back with it. I think the major things with making a computer not a pain to work with are having an always on computer (only sleeping when not in use) that is ready to go, having an audio interface that has solid drivers and the computer being properly configured for audio so as not to continuously fiddle around performance issues, and having presets and templates worked out for common things. Basically, getting your computer set up ironed out so that it is as close to using a dedicated appliance as it can be. And getting there can involve multiple learning curves and a lot of time for learning and figuring out what you actually need for setting limitations. And the thing with daws and plugins is that there are so many choices pulling for attention at every turn, which can make the user feel thinned out and going nowhere. So whittling things down to a core set of features and plugins (defining your own limitations) definitely helps. While I think that having a dedicated computer is ideal, I use my desktop daw computer for work at home, too. But I leave Reaper running all the time, just opening a few work applications at the beginning of the day and closing them at the end of the day. It has all become pretty painless with time and effort. Although I haven't yet worked out a limited set of templates for keys, which I will eventually do.

I have definitely been on the flip side with using a computer, using a general use laptop as a daw that couldn't be configured for fully trouble-free audio, plugging in an audio interface as needed with less than stellar drivers that required often changing buffer size or even a computer restart to get back to baseline performance, opening the daw for each use, creating new tracks every time, sorting through plugins to add instruments and audio plugins as needed every time, all the while learning the daw, learning the plugins, learning general audio/MIDI things, asking questions on forums, and often wanting to throw the whole thing out of a window and just get a hardware recorder and drum machine.

Yeah, their written warranty doesn't state that at all. I actually didn't want to read the warranty because I assumed it was malarky and I didn't want to have ill feelings. It is what it is though. He did say that if the pedal didn't fix it, he'd get me fixed up with the Authorized Repair Center, but the shadiness is unsettling. I'm sure they'd try to throw gigging into "This warranty does not cover (a) damage, deterioration or malfunction
resulting from accident, negligence, misuse, abuse, improper installation or
operation".

I do have a hardware recorder too. I just use it for putting ideas down quickly so I can revisit later or even build rough versions of songs. You just can't beat a computer for recording, mixing, and mastering. VSTs are better as well. UVI is having their summer sale right now. 30% off everything FWIW.

I know some people really have dedicated computers for their DPs. My domestic situation (wife***cough**) would never tolerate it. She turns off and unplugs everything when it's not in use.... Drives me nuts, but I've given up on that one. Some sort of hybrid approach works well for me. I love my setup now combined with my acoustic piano (best thing ever). I know the next time I go to record on the computer, I'm going to try to get make VST presets that tonally match my hardware setup. It's fairly easy to get drum midi patterns transferred into a DAW. I've got 6 sketches I'm happy with that need to get recorded and finished. Can't wait to get this process started, but I want to do 8-10 before I record seriously.

I used to have one of those old Tascam 4-tracks! Wish I had it now. I was actually looking for one of them when I bought the Zoom I have now. They are so simple to use. Perfect musical sketch books.

It typically takes Kawai about a week to respond to a problem. I have my alternative rig all set up and I'm good for a week or more--and it will be more for the repair.

There's a part of me that wants to start a serious recording process now know how long it will take me to get the recordings completed. Working alone will take some time. I've been trying to get a band together, but at my age, all my musician friends are busy with their family and professional lives.

In my fantasyland, Ive got a Wurly, and upright and a Rhodes, not to mention the half-dozen guitars (I have 2) and a Fender Twin.

I was hoping to read something from Kawai today, but alas it was not to be.

You are a blessed man with that gear. Never lose site of that dream. All setbacks are temporary. I just got a guitarist today! He's actually a good friend who has been in a band for a decade, just heard my crappy recordings and wants to go forth. He doesn't really play lead. He's primarily the vocalist--so I know he can contribute on that end as well even if he doubts it. It will just take work. In any case, I'm heading to the shed right now. Maybe it is time to get that demo going.

playing with a guitar player is crazy fun! I'm using the drum machine for beats, and it just makes me want a drummer even more. It's cool and all and you can loop whole songs, but it's not like having the improvisation, subtle dynamic changes and timing of a human, let alone the skills of someone who knows rhythms well. Nonetheless, this is going to turn into something even if it's "nothing".

Kawai got back to me. They'll give me the name of the repair person soon. Strangely, I just got notified that there's another package from Kawai on its way from them. Not sure if they accidentally sent 2 pedals or what. It's a strange week: my new dishwasher died as did my 29yr old microwave. I feel like I'm 'back in the olden days' here. Fits the vibe of the music I'm playing.

Kawai sent me 2 pedals... They asked for the first one back, but they don't know that they sent 2 so I told them. They also said that the authorized repair center will be 2-3 weeks before they can get to my 520. That is a massive bummer. I was expecting a much quicker turnaround, but I bet those places repair all sorts of electronics. I could be wrong about that, but the local Yamaha repair center does. They haven't given me a name or a phone number for this place yet. If they had, I'd have called them already. It's always a process with Kawai. That's what I've learned. Things could happen a lot faster, but the organization doesn't think about efficiency. I have heard a lot of negative comments about Roland as well. I wonder if it's just the norm in the digital keyboard business?

I could definitely see a repair shop having a long turnaround, likely needing to repair very different types of electronics products to make business worthwhile in terms of volume of repairs, with the highest profit, higher volume products getting priority, fitting in occasional repairs of more niche products. The number of electronics repair shops is in constant decline because of how products have evolved over time to be cheaper and faster to produce with less concern for being repairable. There used to be TV repair shops in every city, and now most broken tv's get chucked into a landfill, same as most other products.

Warranties these days probably aren't worth nearly what they used to be. I guess at least warranties still exist, although lengths of them have been shrinking in recent years.

I was hoping for a week or so. Dealing with Kawai warranty support is a war of attrition. You have to be persistent, they don't seem sorry or even very interested in what's going wrong with their product or even thoroughly read your emails let alone responding to them in a timely fashion. I don't even know the name or the phone number of the place that's going to fix it even though I asked for it yesterday. Just no reply again. You'd think that would be included in the original 'we will fix your keyboard' reply. It's no different than the first time dealing with Kawai support. I'm glad I have an alternative board. It's really leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I may end up just selling this after I get it fixed so that I just don't have to deal with Kawai ever again. It's too much and I'm annoyed just looking at it. The playing experience is the best for the money IMO, but the support is just far too indifferent and mildly rude/shady for me. So now I have to wait until some time next week to see if they'll even reply. My Kitchen Aid guy has already been to the house and the part has been ordered. In fact he came 1 day after we reported it. That seems normal. Kawai is definitely lackluster. When I buy my next board, it will be available locally, have a good return policy, and will likely have Yamaha on the name tag.