Review: Kawai MP10 Stage Piano
It may not have the gravitas of a grand piano, but the MP10 certainly plays like one.
By Greg Walker
17 March 2011
Kawai’s new stage piano is all about realistic performance and nuanced sounds – just don’t try throwing one under your arm on your way out the door to rehearsal!
Kawai has been in the piano business for over 80 years now and is probably best known for its acoustic piano offerings. As with many of its competitors, Kawai’s electronic pianos can be broadly divided into two camps: the portable type that sacrifice a certain amount of playability for flexibility and space saving, and the full-scale piano emulations that strive to make the playing experience as realistic as possible. The MP10 falls like the proverbial ton of bricks into this second category.
A GRAND ADVENTURE
The MP10’s impressive 88-note keyboard does indeed play beautifully, the result of its ‘RM3 Grand’ wooden-key action. This is essentially a comprehensive emulation of a grand piano’s action, featuring contrasting hammer weights, bass key counter-balancing and ‘see-saw’ pivot points for each individual note. There’s even a special ‘let-off’ feature (if you please) that recreates the feel of the subtle click felt when playing the keys very gently – pretty darn impressive. It really did allow me to play with more sensitivity than any electronic piano emulation I’ve previously come across. The only possible downside was the rather synthetic feel of the ‘Ivory Touch’ key surfaces – after going to all the trouble of recreating the feel of a grand piano’s action it seems a shame to surface the keys with something so plainly fake. But to put this concern into context, other people who played the instrument thought I was nuts when I pointed this out, and as the manual points out, this textured matte substance absorbs moisture and prevents fingers slipping, which might be an advantage during sweaty piano work under bright lights.
All this playing action realism of course comes at a cost in portability. The MP10 weighs in at a somewhat beastly 31.8kg and I’d imagine that by the time it’s appropriately road cased it would be bulky enough to cause the drummer to smirk during those long lug-ins. If that all sounds like too much weight to carry around, Kawai also offers a slightly stripped down model of the keyboard, the MP6. The MP6 is a somewhat lighter and less bulky affair than the MP10, but offers some of the same sounds (and same number of keys) as its big brother. The MP6 also has a smaller control panel and different hammer action but still plays very well. One noticeable difference in the MP6 is the addition of organ sounds to the keyboard’s palette, which makes it a bit more of an all-rounder. The MP6 offers most of the same MIDI, effects and USB features as the MP10 but in a shallower and lighter frame.
Kawai deserves credit for delivering superior playability and some very tweakable sounds in a monster package
NEED TO KNOW
ULTRA SOUND
Allied to the realistic touch of the MP10 is the digital sound engine that makes all the noise. While the variety of sounds are comparatively limited, what is presented here is very good quality. The highlights are the quite subtle variations of grand and concert pianos, all sampled note by note from top of the line Kawai acoustic piano models and available for tweaking in the main control section. There are also some useful electric piano sounds in the second control section. Use of Kawai’s proprietary Ultra Progressive Harmonic Imaging technology allows for very effective dynamic performance and again the strength here is in expressive playability. Once you’ve settled on a sound you like there’s a tremendous amount of fine-tuning that can be done via onboard EQ, reverb, amplifier and speaker emulation effects. In fact, the MP10 is quite a ‘deep’ instrument when it comes to these features. A sub-section offers strings, pads and other sounds as well as ADSR parameters and a resonant filter. Extensive MIDI facilities, external input, memory storage and USB connectivity are also provided and the neatly arranged groups of button and slider controls on the MP10 provide simple and quick navigation of all the main parameters without the deck feeling too crowded or confusing.
REALISM VERSUS REALITY
It’s been interesting having the MP10 in my studio at around the same time as a rather beaten up old upright arrived. Curiously, while I thought ‘old Gladys’ would only get a guernsey on the odd sepia-tinted track, the upright has proved to be a hit on numerous projects, wonky action, dubious tuning and all. It’s got me wishing that these high-end sample-based pianos would include some slightly more character-based upright sounds as well. It’s amazing how useful they can be, especially when punching through a busy mix, where no matter how ‘perfect’ the sampling techniques may be, the pure tonality of immaculate tuning can lead to a distinctly artificial sound. This is no criticism of Kawai in particular as all the major brands are the same in this regard. These instruments are mainly aimed at the soloist or classical accompanist who probably has no need for these kinds of ‘sub-standard’ sounds but I think it would open up the range of uses for an instrument like the MP10 no end. I would also have liked to see some form of onboard speaker, so the pianist can noodle around while the monitor guy finishes his kebab and gets his levels sorted at soundcheck.
KNEE BENDER
Kawai deserves credit for delivering superior playability and some very tweakable sounds in a monster package that will suit those looking for a high-end performance-based electronic piano down to the ground. Just remember to bend from the knees when lifting!
RESPONSES