# Kawai MP11 makes a fantastic controller



## Matt Riley (Nov 29, 2018)

I picked up a Kawai MP11 from eBay last week and have been using it as a controller. It is hands down the best keyboard controller I have ever played in terms of the action. I’m a pianist so this was important for me. I own an upright Baldwin and have a Yamaha C3 at work and the action of the MP11 is even better than those in my opinion. I highly recommend the MP11 if you are looking for a keyboard controller with a great key bed with real wooden hammers. In my search, I tried the Kawai VPC1, Yamaha Montage, various Nords, and the Roland RD2000 but wasn't impressed with the feel of any of them. If you need buttons and sliders just do what I did and pick up a used Akai MPD226 or something similar.


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## Jdiggity1 (Nov 29, 2018)

Totally agree. Had an MP10 a few years ago. Still the best keyboard I've played.


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## BlueStar (Nov 30, 2018)

Matt, congratulations to your controller. I've got an MP10 and feel the same. The only little downside is, that it's quite high in dimension. But I like your PC-typing-keyboard solution very much.


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## whiskers (Nov 30, 2018)

some somewhat related question, what is that hardware on the right end of your keyboard with the big silver knob?


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## Jdiggity1 (Nov 30, 2018)

whiskers said:


> some somewhat related question, what is that hardware on the right end of your keyboard with the big silver knob?


https://www.uaudio.com/audio-interfaces/apollo-twin-mkii.html


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## chimuelo (Nov 30, 2018)

I’m the last guy who thinks that any non Acoustic electric keyboard feels like a Piano. But Kawai has always been the most playable for me when playing classical piano. I can’t stop playing because my hands don’t fatigue and the quality Reverb can make you believe you’re on a stage.
Smoke those Roland VPianos to shame.


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## sostenuto (Nov 30, 2018)

Kawai produces _some_ fine acoustic grands. No reason they would not know there way around Keyboard Controllers as well. MP-11 could well be my next ... when Roland KR577 finally passes.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Dec 1, 2018)

Matt Riley said:


> I picked up a Kawai MP11 from eBay last week and have been using it as a controller. It is hands down the best keyboard controller I have ever played in terms of the action. I’m a pianist so this was important for me. I own an upright Baldwin and have a Yamaha C3 at work and the action of the MP11 is even better than those in my opinion. I highly recommend the MP11 if you are looking for a keyboard controller with a great key bed with real wooden hammers. In my search, I tried the Kawai VPC1, Yamaha Montage, various Nords, and the Roland RD2000 but wasn't impressed with the feel of any of them. If you need buttons and sliders just do what I did and pick up a used Akai MPD226 or something similar.


They are very good indeed. The mod wheel is also decent for use with orchestral libs, although it might leave slight ‘straight curves’ ( hows that for an oxymoron) if more nuance is needed.

Practical q regarding your setup which is nicely practical: where is your mouse and how do you use it when you need it?
I.o.w. is there a mouse pad in order not to scratch surfaces?


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## Maximvs (Dec 1, 2018)

I used to have an MP10 until a year ago when I sold it in favor of the Yamaha CP4. The Mp10 is a wonderful instrument and build as a tank. Equally the CP4 is a marvelous controller. Cheers, Max T.


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## Matt Riley (Dec 1, 2018)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> They are very good indeed. The mod wheel is also decent for use with orchestral libs, although it might leave slight ‘straight curves’ ( hows that for an oxymoron) if more nuance is needed.
> 
> Practical q regarding your setup which is nicely practical: where is your mouse and how do you use it when you need it?
> I.o.w. is there a mouse pad in order not to scratch surfaces?



My mouse and typing keyboard are on the pull out tray right under the desktop where the MP11 sits. I haven’t used a mouse pad in years. Maybe I should, I don’t know. 

The mod wheel seems to work fine but I also have CC#1 programmed in one of my sliders on my Akai. Sometimes I like to control CC#1 and CC#11 with the sliders right next to each other. I also have the option to use my expression pedal which also controls and CC#11. I might program one of the sliders to control aftertouch since I don’t think the MP11 has aftertouch capabilities. I use aftertouch so rarely though.


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## Wolf68 (Dec 1, 2018)

Congratulations to your great new Instrument!. looks great! btw...I also had recently one of These "holy moments" in a Music store as I played these keys:
https://www.thomann.de/gb/kawai_ca_98_sb.htm?ref=intl&shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6IjIiLCJsYW5ndWFnZSI6ImVuIn0%3D (https://www.thomann.de/gb/kawai_ca_98_sb.htm?ref=intl&amp;shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6IjIiLCJsYW5ndWFnZSI6ImVuIn0=)
the best piano keys I ever played. I wondered if kawai place this keybed also in other products becaus THAT piano is too big for my flat. Do you think your MP11 has the same keys like the CA-98?


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## Matt Riley (Dec 1, 2018)

Wolf68 said:


> Congratulations to your great new Instrument!. looks great! btw...I also had recently one of These "holy moments" in a Music store as I played these keys:
> https://www.thomann.de/gb/kawai_ca_98_sb.htm?ref=intl&shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6IjIiLCJsYW5ndWFnZSI6ImVuIn0%3D (https://www.thomann.de/gb/kawai_ca_98_sb.htm?ref=intl&amp;shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6IjIiLCJsYW5ndWFnZSI6ImVuIn0=)
> the best piano keys I ever played. I wondered if kawai place this keybed also in other products becaus THAT piano is too big for my flat. Do you think your MP11 has the same keys like the CA-98?



Almost exactly the same. The CA98 has Grand Feel II and the MP11 has the Grand Feel I. I actually prefer the Grand Feel 1 which has a slightly different pivot point.

If you have a chance to play a used CA95, it has Grand Feel I.


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## Matt Riley (Dec 1, 2018)

One keyboard that distracted me during my search was the Doepfer. The more I learned about them, the less impressed I became. I still don’t get why they get so much attention. I never actually played one though. But I have played Fatar boards and can say they don’t even come close to the feel of the Mp11. 

One other thing to consider about the MP11. The surface of the white keys feel like the real thing but black keys are made of a different material so they feel slightly slippery (which doesn’t bother me). The MP11SE fixes that but you will probably spend more because they are new. I paid about 1k less for my used MP11. It has some dents on it but thats fine with me.


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## Wolf68 (Dec 1, 2018)

Matt Riley said:


> Almost exactly the same. The CA98 has Grand Feel II and the MP11 has the Grand Feel I. I actually prefer the Grand Feel 1 which has a slightly different pivot point.
> 
> If you have a chance to play a used CA95, it has Grand Feel I.


Okeedokee...thanks for the hint!


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## Quasar (Dec 1, 2018)

Massimo said:


> I used to have an MP10 until a year ago when I sold it in favor of the Yamaha CP4. The Mp10 is a wonderful instrument and build as a tank. Equally the CP4 is a marvelous controller. Cheers, Max T.


Do you think the build quality of the CP4 compares adequately to the Kawai MP10/11? 

I looked long and hard at the CP4 when it first came out, but only window shopping on the web, and because of $$$ ended up getting a used CP33 instead, which is a great board even though it's just 2 sensor and of course doesn't have the NW-GH, but only GH.

I have played on an MP10 before and the action is brilliant IMO from limited experience.


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## Markus Kohlprath (Dec 1, 2018)

Could you explain what you mean with NW-GH? And 2 Sensors. I have a CP 33 for several years now and I’m very satisfied. Even more so the longer I use it. Probably because of getting used to it.
Velocities are very accurate I would say.



Quasar said:


> Do you think the build quality of the CP4 compares adequately to the Kawai MP10/11?
> 
> I looked long and hard at the CP4 when it first came out, but only window shopping on the web, and because of $$$ ended up getting a used CP33 instead, which is a great board even though it's just 2 sensor and of course doesn't have the NW-GH, but only GH.
> 
> I have played on an MP10 before and the action is brilliant IMO from limited experience.


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## Quasar (Dec 1, 2018)

Markus Kohlprath said:


> Could you explain what you mean with NW-GH? And 2 Sensors. I have a CP 33 for several years now and I’m very satisfied. Even more so the longer I use it. Probably because of getting used to it.
> Velocities are very accurate I would say.



I'm completely happy with my CP33 as well. NW just stands for natural wood, which is supposed to give the graded hammer action a bit more organic feel (I wouldn't know) and a 3 sensor array enables one to re-articulate a note without fully releasing it, better for very quick repetitions and trills.

But I haven't found the 2-sensor CP33 to be crippling in any way. I think the feel of the action and the velocity response is superb, too.


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## frontline (Dec 1, 2018)

FWIW, I'm pretty picky about keybeds and, while it's a step down from the MP11 in terms of authenticity, I am very satisfied with the Kawai MP7 (Kawai keyboard actions -- the bottom of the page maps keybeds to model).


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## Matt Riley (Dec 1, 2018)

In my search I tried out CN35 which has the same action as the MP7SE. It felt pretty nice.


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## sostenuto (Dec 1, 2018)

MP-11SE Thanks for your initial post and comment. Now target replacement for existing.


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## ZephyrPark (Dec 1, 2018)

frontline said:


> . . . while it's a step down from the MP11 in terms of authenticity, I am very satisfied with the Kawai MP7 . . .


I'm very comfortable with my MP7 for controlling AP's and EP's--very expressive and non-fatiguing. It doesn't have as much flat-surface real estate on top as the MP11/MP11SE for controllers, tablets, etc., so it's not as studio-friendly. But it's way more wallet-friendly.


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## Markus Kohlprath (Dec 2, 2018)

Quasar said:


> I'm completely happy with my CP33 as well. NW just stands for natural wood, which is supposed to give the graded hammer action a bit more organic feel (I wouldn't know) and a 3 sensor array enables one to re-articulate a note without fully releasing it, better for very quick repetitions and trills.
> 
> But I haven't found the 2-sensor CP33 to be crippling in any way. I think the feel of the action and the velocity response is superb, too.


Ah I see. Thanks for the explanation. I’m not a pianist so I might be not that sensitive in this regard as others.


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## BubbaMc (Dec 2, 2018)

Did you build that desk yourself? If not, what is it?

I'd like to do something similar with my MP11.


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## Matt Riley (Dec 2, 2018)

BubbaMc said:


> Did you build that desk yourself? If not, what is it?
> 
> I'd like to do something similar with my MP11.


Someone noticed my cheap but practical desk, yay! It's a modified desk. I found someone giving a away a free desk on Craigslist. It might have been originally from Ikea or something. Then my wife and I cut off the top part of the upper rack and laid a board across it for the speakers and monitors to sit on. You might also notice the speakers and monitors are strapped in. That is because we have rowdy kids that like to play in the basement near my composing rig. The desk is almost perfect though. I looked into the expensive desks and thought they were cool but you can't beat free. I could post more pics/video if it would be helpful.


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