Kawai has a long history building pianos since 1928, and the company released its first digital piano back in 1986. If you’re in the market for a digital piano with the latest modern features, Kawai has an interesting array of instruments that are well worth your attention. There are digital pianos for a beginner or more advanced player, and some are very affordable at under $500. Let’s take a look at two common digital piano formats, and then our Kawai piano review: five of the best Kawai digital piano’s on the market today.
We have done much research on Kawai piano review. Here are our choice of best 5 Kawai digital pianos in 2020, all of them are top rated.
1. The ES110 Portable Digital Piano
2. The MP7SE Stage Piano
3. The ES8 Portable Digital Piano
4. The CA48 Digital Home Piano
5. The MP7
Digital Piano Formats
For this particular list, we will ignore MIDI controller keyboards. These produce no inherent sound, and they are used to control sound modules and/or software based instruments.
The Portable Digital Piano
The first digital piano type is the portable digital piano, which is otherwise called a “stage piano.” Designed with portability in mind, this makes them ideal for learning music in a tighter space or for practice and live shows. These digital pianos are placed on a convenient tabletop or a dedicated keyboard stand when playing. They are more compact and lighter in weight, and they are very capable instruments.
NOTE: See also our choice of best portable pianos for traveling in the market.
The Console Digital Piano
When you first look at a console digital piano, you will notice that it looks like a more traditional acoustic spinet or upright piano. The shape is ideal to fit into a classroom for learning or in your living room. As such, it’s more likely that a console piano is a fixed piece of furniture. While it is possible to move when cleaning, it’s not a portable instrument.
Both of these piano types will have some or all of the modern features that you would expect. The type of digital piano that you choose will vary depending on the format that best suits your current needs. In many homes, you may even have a portable and console digital piano to accommodate multiple players and various needs.
NOTE: Here is our list of top digital pianos for advanced pianist.
Five of the Best Kawai Piano Review
Kawai Piano Review: ES110 Portable Digital Piano
This Kawai portable digital piano is a wonderful entry into the world of digital pianos. The format is a slim portable digital piano with great sound quality, and the Responsive Hammer Compact III action makes it a joy to play. You can tailor the behavior of the key action to your own playing style in the software. This makes it very versatile. The entire instrument weighs only 26 lbs, so it’s ideal for learning, study, and travel.
This digital piano has 19 instrument sounds available, including pianos, electric pianos, strings, organs, vibraphone, acoustic bass, and electric bass. This instrument has 192 note polyphony and a dual or split playing mode. This allows you to play two different tones at the same time. The internal song recorder can store up to 3 songs composed with 15,000 notes. There are also 12 demo songs and built in Aftred piano lessons to study.
The ES110 has an F-10H damper pedal included that allows the player to use progressive half pedaling in their playing. There is an optional triple bar pedal available, a padded instrument bag, and a wooden music stand.
Pros:
- This is a playable and highly portable digital piano for under $500.
- A 7 watt power amp and speakers included.
- The ES110 has 5 pin MIDI in and out ports.
- Integrated Bluetooth MIDI to wirelessly connect with your smart devices.
Cons:
- The built-in recorder can only store 3 songs.
Kawai Piano Review: MP7SE Stage Piano
This is a more substantial instrument that weighs in at almost 46 lbs, and it’s ideal for use on stage. As such, this is a digital piano for a more advanced player that wants to play live shows or practice at various locations with friends. This instrument has no built-in speakers. It’s an entry level digital piano for a professional, and it needs a connection to an amplifier or PA system. There is also a line level audio stereo input to connect other equipment. This allows connections such as microphone pre-amp, a graphic equalizer, a mixer or even other instruments.
This digital piano has a maximum polyphony of 156 notes and the keyboard can be split into four different zones. This allows the player to play up to 4 different sounds at the same time. The provided detachable music stand helps to keep track of all those notes. The MP7SE comes with the latest Kawai GFP-3 triple pedal that works just like a set of pedals on a grand piano. This pedal allows the player to use progressive pedaling for extra expression, just like a real acoustic piano.
Pros:
- The MP7SE has an extensive selection of instruments.
- The new triple pedal adds a great deal of value to this digital piano.
- The LCD display is larger and very easy to read.
Cons:
- The player will need a heavy duty keyboard stand to support this instrument.
Kawai Piano Review: ES8 Portable Digital Piano
The ES8 has the same Responsive Hammer Compact III keyboard action found on the ES110 shown above. But, this digital piano also has “Ivory Touch” key surfaces for a more authentic feeling playing experience. The “Virtual Technician” software also allows the player to adjust many aspects. So, you can alter hammer and key release noises, string, and damper resonance characteristics and the key touch weight.
This digital piano has two signature Kawai instrument sounds. The midsize SK-5 studio grand piano, and the EX concert grand piano. There are 34 instruments to choose from. There are strings, choir, electric bass, tonewheel organs, mallet percussion, synthesizer pads, and vintage electric pianos. The built in effects can also enhance these sounds. These include tremolo, delay, auto-panning, chorus, amplifier simulations, and six lush reverbs. The rhythm section has 100 patterns to play along with in a wide variety of styles.
The keyboard can be set in a dual, split, or a four handed mode to play different tones at the same time. An internal two track recorder allows the player to record and save up to 10 songs. A USB port allows connection to your computer, and you can save or recall data from a USB memory stick to back-up your recordings and free up space for fresh songs.
Pros:
- The 2 Kawai sample pianos sound excellent.
Cons:
- This is a premium version of the ES110 with a matching price tag.
- The LCD display could be larger to keep track of all the features.
Kawai Piano Review: CA48 Digital Home Piano
The Kawai CA48 is a console piano supplied in an up to date stylish minimalist cabinet with curved legs. There are also three choices of finish to match your existing decor. This digital piano looks great, but it’s only 18” deep so it can fit easily in a smaller apartment. The music desk can be rotated to get the optimal viewing position. Alternatively, the user can lay it flat to create new notation ideas.
The CA48 is the first Kawai instrument to get the latest “Grand Feel Compact Keyboard.” This delivers an extremely realistic response. This digital piano also has the “Grand Feel Pedal System.” This recreates the weighting of the soft, damper, and sostenuto pedals found on the Kawai SK-EX concert grand pianos. The onboard “Virtual Technician” has a “Smart Mode” that allows the user to adjust a wide variety of characteristics to play different types of music styles easily.
This digital piano has the aforementioned SK-EX concert grand, and the EX concert grand piano sounds onboard. These sounds used “Harmonic Imaging,” for accurate sampling. The larger sampling memory really brings out the rich sounds beautifully. There is a modest selection of other instruments. This includes choir, strings, pipe and tonewheel organs, and a polyphony of 192 notes. But the focus here is the two sampled pianos, and they sound extremely authentic. This digital piano has standard five pin MIDI in and out ports, a USB port, and wireless Bluetooth connectivity. There are a pair of 2” treble and a pair of 5” bass speakers but no audio line outputs.
Pros:
- A pair of very realistic sounding pianos at an affordable price.
Cons:
- The 20 watt per channel speakers could be larger.
- The built-in song recorder can only store 3 songs.
Kawai Piano Review: The MP7
The Kawai MP7 is a substantial portable digital piano with 88 full sized keys and a weight of 46 lbs. Despite this, the frame is smaller than you might imagine. It’s fairly easy to move around the home and outdoors for advanced players that want to play shows. There are 28 sounds to choose from. This includes tonewheel organs, pipe organs, strings, woodwind, percussion, and electric pianos. You can customize these sounds with simple adjustment knobs, and they can be layered to create new tones.
This instrument has three sensors on each key to manage polyphony. They also prevent retriggering issues found on many other keyboards at this price point. The micro editing features on the piano sound allow you to experiment with different types of piano sounds. The LCD display is large enough to track these settings, and editing is a painless process.
The MP7 has a maximum polyphony of 256 notes without any notes cutting each other off. There is an included piano pedal, the sustain time is customizable, and half pedaling is possible. This allows the user to play with natural acoustic sustain settings or to have longer releases that would not be possible with a natural piano.
Pros:
- This is a great digital piano for those that need a deep instrument to travel with.
- The keyboard has a 4 zone split feature, and a damper pedal is included.
- There are plenty of inputs and outputs for audio and MIDI connectivity.
Cons:
- The non-piano sounds are less impressive overall, but layering can create interesting new tones.
- This digital piano has no onboard speakers.
Conclusion
It’s certainly possible to get a great sound Kawai digital piano for under $500. However, if you spend a little more, you get access to better sampling technology and rich sounding Kawai pianos. Kawai digital pianos are ideal for learning how to play and advanced players looking for a little more from their instrument. The main decisions will be the format, a portable digital piano is ideal for those that need to travel, and a console piano is a great addition to any home that loves music.