# Kawai VPC-1 or Studiologic TP40W (SL88 Grand) for Piano AND Orchestral



## AxEbel (Jul 1, 2016)

Hey there!

I'm in the Market for a Controller Keyboard and since I tried searching the forum for a similar question and didn't find any, I thought I'll give it a shot.
I don't want to start another fight over the best hammer action keyboard out there because there isn't any. 

I just would like opinions from you people who use boards from Kawai or with Fatar keyboards (the Tp40w of the SL88 Grand being the most interesting for me) and how they work with libraries other then piano (Mainly VSL and Chris Hein Winds and Brass). 

I come from a Piano background myself, having grown up with a Steinway upright, and therefore I find playing my Komplete Control S61 not very inspiring, although it is great for other stuff. 

The Kawai VPC-1 would be the obvious choice for the most realistic, but I had a Nord piano for some time and have to say I don't disagree with FATAR keyboards either, just could get a consistent Velocity output with sample libraries. This shouldn't be an issue with the new SL88 Grand, which brings me to the question which board would be better suited to work as a one-in-all solution for orchestral suit, of course including piano.

Sorry for the long post but I became really fond of this forum and thought I could get some more orchestral focussed opinions on those keyboards as say at pianoworld. 

Thanks!


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## Silence-is-Golden (Jul 2, 2016)

I use the MP-7 from Kawai , and as a piano player I can recommend it.
The MP-11 is another step up with even better playability , exactly like the VPC-1 keyboard but you get some extra's like modwheel and so.
Because its too heavy to move around I went for the MP-7.


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## mickeyl (Jul 2, 2016)

I played the SL88 grand on Messe and -- for piano -- I liked it a lot. I still didn't buy it though since I'm still pondering over the feasability of playing non-piano sounds on a weighted keybed such as the TP40W.


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## Jdiggity1 (Jul 2, 2016)

I owned the Kawai MP-10 and absolutely loved it for piano playing. Very realistic. However, it was fatiguing after long periods of use performing lighter orchestral passages or other keyboard licks.
You will need band-aids at the ready if you intend on playing in Harp or organ glissandi live.

I now use a Studiologic SL-880 (fatar), which is my favourite all-round controller keyboard so far.


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## AxEbel (Jul 2, 2016)

Thank you all, 
The MP 10 having the same action as the VPC-1 you proved my fears right. I think It will be the SL88 Grand then which is a shame because the VPC-1 is such a sexy looking beast^^ Although I like the idea of the easy accessible 4 Zone setup to play multiple tracks of my template at once...
Maybe one day I'll get a AvantGrand for serious piano playing...
Thanks again to you all, this is really a wonderful community!


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## byzantium (Oct 10, 2016)

AxEbel said:


> The MP 10 having the same action as the VPC-1 you proved my fears right. I think It will be the SL88 Grand then which is a shame because the VPC-1 is such a sexy looking beast.



Did you get the SL88 Grand in the end, and are you happy with it?


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## SEA (Jul 26, 2017)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> I use the MP-7 from Kawai , and as a piano player I can recommend it.
> The MP-11 is another step up with even better playability , exactly like the VPC-1 keyboard but you get some extra's like modwheel and so.
> Because its too heavy to move around I went for the MP-7.



When I played the MP11 I found it hard to perform and 1 note trill using both hands and my index finger. I found the repeat time (when it bounces back) was slow. The rest felt fine, but I personally did not like it.

The VPC1 has a different action than the MP11 from what I read on Sweetwater's site. Seems like it would respond faster on the repeat. I might have to try it one day.


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## Maximvs (Jul 27, 2017)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> I use the MP-7 from Kawai , and as a piano player I can recommend it.
> The MP-11 is another step up with even better playability , exactly like the VPC-1 keyboard but you get some extra's like modwheel and so.
> Because its too heavy to move around I went for the MP-7.



I can attest that Kawai pianos have an excellent keyboard, I use an MP8 myself but for my studio I recently purchased Yamaha CP4 which has a wonderful keyboard too even for non piano sounds. My two cents


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## Vik (Jul 30, 2017)

I use a VPC-daily. It's good, but not close enough to the action of a real, good, acoustic instrument for me. Also, for work with sample libraries in general, one should know that it doesn't have a mod wheel or volume pedal input. Based on what I've tried, it was still the best I could find in that price range.


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