Kawai VPC1

I use it for practice. Nice marketing, nice reviews. Heavy. I expected to be, no problem. The feel is somewhat better than my Studiologic 900SL I sold. It is working, and no connection or MIDI issues. It is heavy as action, but not as heavy as my old piano. The keys are not weighted individually, and there is a significant inconstance in weight along the keys, with huge differences of nearby keys. Craftmanship is cheapo, I've looked inside with a small endoscope, and the wood is not finished at all. Also in some months the keys started to show inequal differences in the spaces between each other.(controlled environment as temperature and hygro). I am not Keith Emerson..so no rough playing or anything like that. The most bothering is the keybed noise, which can wake up people sleeping in the next room. Basically is the same as Studiologic SL, maybe somewhat more, because the metal case amplifies it. The "ïvory touch" keys are not even close to ivory..they are slippery plastic. The black keys have some rough finish on them, which makes a weird touch and sound during the first month, after which it wears off, and becomes somewhat better, but inequal, because on the low and high keys, which are less used - remain for longer. I find the velocity options also limited. For this amount of money - all these flaws - makes it a bad investment. I use it, and did not sent it back - because I have to practice (in relative silence), and also out of respect for Thomann, who was always reliable and nice to me. Surely it is better than some entry level midi board - but the keybed noise is huge, and the craftmanship is also mediocre. So the conclusion is: if you want to have a a piano feel, you have to buy a piano. There is no MIDI board whatsoever to replace it neigher as feel, nor playability. My badly maintained 140 years old piano washes the floor with it in all aspects.

This was the keyboard ( instrument with Pianoteq 4) I have been waiting for!. When playing the upper keys there is 'just' enough room so as not to hit the back, this requires a good technique but not 'an issue!?! ( Mozart and Beethoven fingering here). The key surface(s) are a good and the weight, balance and speed are 'there'!!! The three sensors allow a 'no stress ornament and trill situation' for the perfectionist. This is my new 'instrument'. Thankyou Thomann and your team! ONE YEAR ON ...AND the keyboard is going strong with no failure to any of the keys at all. After my first review above I have settled down and can be more balanced here. There are small niggles that many uses have stated, the curve top is something that can be worked around using larger rubber risers for example, and the music rack is best replacing with a floor stand, the rack, even if it was made better is too low for sight reading anyway. But back to the keyboard, and this applies to ALL similar products(inc digital piano) the action does not become lighter when using the sustain pedal as on an acoustic, obvious point but be aware if you use the pedal as a comfort to make playing easier, it WILL NOT do that on this(or any)master keyboard. With that mind I would say the action is of average weight. Overall a very good product.

I bought the VPC1 for one specific reason only: the touch. As a classical pianist (hobbyist) I really need something that is close enough to a real piano that you can actually play the instrument the same way. Hammering a plastic synth probably just harms your technique. I've been happy playing and practicing classical piano for two years now with my VPC1.

Pros:
- The touch. Probably the best you can get (until Kawai comes up with improved version) and probably one of the only keyboards that comes even close to being helpful for practicing serious piano repertoire.
- price-feature-ratio. No "fancy extra features". Though somewhat expensive, you're only paying for the keys and with this product that's what you should be looking for anyway.

Cons:
- Weight. It weights a lot and a isn't really an option if you have to bring your own intrument to gigs.
- Lack of (midi) features. There's only the power button and since you have to connect it with a computer and a software instrument anyway, I would have expected even some buttons to control the software instruments (why settle for imitating regular piano experience when you could have more?). Some subtle buttons wouldn't even have harmed the "classical look".
- The curved top surface. This really annoys me since I like hoard sheet music and other stuff on grand pianos etc. and the curved surface really prevents this. Now you just have to find another solution for your laptop and extra stuff.

Conclusion: For pianists who really care for the touch only. You can get a cheap synth for the other stuff anyway.