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  • Vienna Imperial Midi Keyboard

    M
    M

    I posted this in the "Hardware" forum but was not getting many responses, so I'm going to try it here:

    I bought the Vienna Imperial about 8 months ago and I absolutely LOVE it, but I find that my current keyboard controller, Yamaha KX8, just doesn't have a good enough key weight and action to do the Imperial justice.  Are there any keyboard controllers under $2,000 that are any good?  I'm a pianist and the feel and action is VERY important to me.  I'd like to know what other pianists using the Vienna Imperial are using for keyboards.

    I can get a pretty good sound using the KX8, but I have to play for about an hour and really tweak the midi sensitivity control to get a consistant feel and get used to it.  When I go back to playing my acoustic piano (Yamaha C7) I feel whole again!  :-)   I know I'll never find any midi keyboard with a real piano action and feel, but what is close without spending my life's savings?

    Thank you,

    Mike
  • D
    D

    This just announced at NAMM

    http://www.kraftmusic.com/digital-pianos-and-keyboards/midi-controllers/kawai-vpc1/
  • A
    A

     I bought a Kawai MP10 when they first came out, really to just use as a master keyboard, as it is the best key action available.

    Now the master keyboard version is out soon,  that has got to be the ultimate keyboard controller.  And that flat top is where the computer keyboard and mouse goes as well.
  • C
    C

    When you say master keyboard model is out soon, exactly what model are you talking about?  This KVC listed above?  It seems less money and certainly the keybed is different than an MP10.  I would have to actually touch it to compare it because the MP10 is the best I have ever touched.
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    last edited
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    The MP10 uses the RM3 action (described here). The VPC1 uses what Kawai calls the RM3II action. RM3II has the same physical dimensions as RM3 but adds the third key sensor like the GF action described on that same page. So it should at least as good as the MP10 and likely is better.

    There's a rather long discussion of this controller on the pianoworld forum.
  • C
    C

    That's awesome!  I definitely will go read that then!

    Thanks,

    Maestro2be
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    A

     The new Kawai master keyboard is the VPC1, it shares the same RM3 wooden keyboard as the MP10, though all new Kawai's have a mkII version of their key actions due to the the new triple sensor contact systems.  This should not make any difference to the feel of the keys, as it is the hammer that actually strikes the contact.

    The triple contact system is there to improve multiple key strikes, as it allow the note to strike again without the key needing to come all the way up.

    It's obviously cheaper than the MP10 because it doesn't have any sound generation on board, and it does not have any display or control section, that is all done in a software editor.  It has one Led that goes red, green, orange, flashing green, flashing orange etc , but then again once a preset is selected you are unlikely to ever want to change it anyway.

    The editor does allow more control of the velocity setup than the MP10 does - so it may have some advantages, but it does not have a pitch or mod wheel - which I think was a bad omission.

    Though it does come with a triple pedal (the MP10 has a double pedal),  so you can try and find a use for that Sostenuto pedal after all ....