Buying my First Digital Piano: a Kawai CN4

This is what can happen to you; you are a Yamaha fan, and you buy a Kawai  Yes, no kidding.

The decision was not an easy one, I can tell you that. After I eventually had my first piano lesson, performing my self-tought skills, hitting almost every note with a different velocity, I understood there is something wrong. The Yamaha Grand Piano  my teacher has felt great and awkward at the same time. I quickly figured and concluded a keyboard is absolutely not suitable to learn and practice piano. This particular experience changed my mind dramatically, deciding not to wait any longer to get some suitable keys: a digital piano.

Browsing at Allans Music

I have been to  Allans Music a couple of times and browsed through the digital pianos. After that first piano lesson, my focus shifted very quickly from the Yamaha DGX 620 and Casio Digital Piano PX-410R to the Yamaha Clavinovas. From a budget perspective I thought two grand and a bit in dollars should buy me something worth my while. The CLP 210 was a start and proved to have the heavy keys I experienced at my lesson on the Yamaha Grand Piano. I went home and did some research on the web and eventually felt the  Yamaha CLP 240 seemed to be the right step into the right direction.

Visiting Ellaways

On Saturday (June 2^nd, 2007) I made my way to Ellaways Music Store in Springwood. I did not like their website, it is bluntly "crap" for a professional firm, and dismissed visiting them outright (based on that), but my piano teacher cordially recommended the place. So I gave it a go. My wife and I went there and "wow", what a place, we were pleasantly surprised. Is is a huge place; it opened its doors in January, so I was told; very impressive indeed. They have acoustic pianos from the low thousands to over 100,000 dollars, and all music instruments one can imagine.

Please note: I mentioned my dislike of the website and the negative impact of their web presentation. Ellaways have brought a redeveloped web site online in late 2007.

By now I had a clear idea about what I wanted and shared it with the sales person without any fluff. He showed us their grand pianos first in order to get an idea about real piano sound, and how the touch of the keys felt — how differently heavy the keys felt when pobing brand after brand. He then played the Yamaha CLP 240, the Kawai CN4 and the Roland HP 101. Though all these digital pianos have a retail price of three grand (50% more than was I initally was prepared to spend), I was certain — with the right negotiation skills — the retail price would not stay there. 

Trying Roland, Yamaha and Kawai

I brought my piano lesson book along with me and played a few tunes I had practised so far. Of course my playing did not sound like that of some of the customers who tried some of the acoustic pianos. The feel I remembered from the Yamaha Grand was — though (and of course) different — in all of the three, the Yahama CLP 240 felt very close to the Yamaha Grand. The key action of the Roland felt even heavier. Since the Yamahas do have fairly heavy (above average) feel, I did not want the Roland. The Kawai is an interesting beast. It sounded great, but hey, my perception of the Grand Piano voice in the CLP 240 was that it sounded slightly better. Since the latter is really a matter of taste, it is just that: a matter of taste, and as such up to the individual ear to pick a preference. There is no right or wrong piano sound (when comparing properly tuned pianos): pick the one you like!

Not an Easy Decision

All these three digital pianos (mentioned above) sounded great when the sales person was playing them. As I mentioned, we first looked at and listend to the expensive grand pianos in the separated and air-conditioned show room. Interestingly enough, they all had a different feel in their hammer action. I was surprised, because I had expected there would be some "norm" between them; far from it. So, coming back to the digital pianos, the Kawai CN4 had heaps of features I was not expecting, and I also had no real interest in. After all I went out to look for a digital piano that a) felt close to a Yamaha Grand Piano and b) should (as close as possible) sound like one. I went out that day keen to buy a digital piano that was just that: having some great piano voices and very good graded hammer action. So what do I need these features for the Kawai CN4 had to offer?

Prior to visiting the shop I had an e-mail exchange with my piano teacher, whether she would possibly checkout the pianos I was going to take into considerations and select. She cordially offered to do that, which I really appreciated. Knowing she is a real pro, having a Yamaha Grand Piano, I am taking lesson there, I thought she would go for the Yamaha. Looking at the great sound, lighter hammer action and the features the Kawai CN4 has to offer; the latter presented an almost unbeatable advantage. I was torn between the two. I got the sales person to play both digital pianos again, and again. I spent three hours playing, browsing and wandering around.

Making the Decision

Gees, I never take that long to make a decision… it took me an hour! Understanding that different pianists prefer different brands of pianos and therefore prefer a different weighted hammer action, I accepted the fact that the weight of the keys is indeed a personal choice. This finding put the two digital pianos, the Yamaha CLP 240 and the Kawai CN4 on an equal footing. The significant amount of features the Kawai CN4 had to offer tipped the scales in favour for the Kawai CN4. I thought I had it, at least one hour of the three hours of tossing and throwing, and said "bugger it, let's go for the Kawai". I was keen to buy a digital piano when I left the house this morning, and so I did. Got a very good deal… and a stool… and an "Alfred Adult Learning Book"… What more can you want?!

Transporting the Kawai CN4 Home

Well, this is another little story.… When the sales person asked what kind of car we had in order to get the Kawai CN4 home, I happily responded a Honda Jazz, he concluded "well, that does not work." Gees, was he wrong! He gave me a tape measure, I measured the Kawai, I measured the boot… no problem: it will fit. I reversed the car in front of the shop, flipped the back seats forward to arrive at a level loading area. The sales person and I carried the Kawai to the car, and people already turned their heads when set it down at the back of the Jazz. The smiles in their faces, and watched us how we — effortless — lifted the piano into the Jazz, added the stool, score rack and a card box, and closed the trunk. The smiles turned into disbelieve. Gees, I loved the scene.

This is where the story intially ended. I have since, Tuesday June 6^th, added the following…

On my Way Home — Second Thoughts

Well, I was driving along and thinking: did I make the right decision? I told my wife, that I was somewhat convinced to have made the right decision, but the Yamaha… I said, well, I will have the guts to return it in case it does not pan out. I was to fixiated on the Yamaha Grand Piano and a digital piano that should be at par (as much as such a thing is even possible; it's not, but you know what I mean) that I felt bad about having bought the Kawai.

Once at Home

This is it! Arriving at home, carrying the Kawai CN4 upstairs, removing the Yamaha PSR 500, moving the Casio MZ-2000 onto the other wall, shifting the Kawai CN4 in its place. All good! And I wasn't seen for hours.…

And this is how a Yamaha fan bought a Kawai CN4… and is happy with his decision! I hope your decision will be easier!

As you can see on the photo the right, all the gear required, such as CD-ROM player for the accompaniment CD-ROMs, manual, CD-ROM case made it already onto the piano. All that is missing is an USB cable for the MIDI connection to my notebook; I will find one soon. Found one! 

Conclusion

When the sales person played the various instruments we recorded his playing on the Kawai CN4. I played it at home and it sounded awesome. While a sensitive ear picks up the differences between pianos, playing the pianos in isolation and they all sound great. I am happy with the decision I have made! What I initially thought to be a gimmick: the built-in Alfred Adult Lessons turned out to be a very nice and helpful feature the Kawai CN4 has to offer. The CN4 has 305 voices; not that I would use them right now — I currently switch between the Grand Piano and the Studio Piano voices. Yes, I have listened to all the voices, many of them sound indeed very authentic indeed, considering this price range.

Feel free to have a look at the specifications of the Kawai CN4.

Update

March 2008 — After the CN4 developed a fault with the built-in metronome that could not be fixed as planned, I got it replaced with a Kawai CN41 under warranty.

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