The Kawai ES920 and ES520 Club

Rubens

I expect this to be a one-man club, so here I am, clubbing myself, uh I mean clubbing by myself!
I just find it fantastic as a practice instrument. My main piano is a loud concert grand so I cannot play it after 8pm. That's when the ES920 comes in. I find its action to be an excellent simulation of my acoustic piano, so the transition between my pianos is seamless. And the onboard piano sounds are amazing. Highly recommended.

pastel07draw

Rubens As someone who is about to buy a Kawai ES920, your description gets me even more excited about this purchase 😁 I've done so much extensive research on several brands & models...and ultimately I decided on the ES920 🎉 I look forward to participating in this thread once it arrives!

SouthPark

I had the special opportunity to hear and push keys of the 920 at the music shop late last year. And it is indeed excellent.

rogerch

Rubens you are not alone (and I think we have discussed our ES920s over on PW 🙂) ! My main piano is a baby grand and I have an ES920 for quiet practice. I find the ES920 enjoyable to play and skills I learn on the ES920 transfer nicely to my acoustic piano (and vice versa).

In addition I have fun with the bluetooth audio feature, streaming music through the piano and playing along with it.

The action of the ES920 is realistic enough for me to practice advanced (for me) technique like rapidly repeating notes, and the SK-EX samples are lovely. I also recommend!

ranjit

I have an ES520!

Rubens

ranjit Then you're in the club! (I'll try to change the thread title.)
It's great to learn all those big pieces with the digital and then reap the rewards on the acoustic, isn't it?

HeartKeys

Nice to hear the positive reviews on this instrument. I currently have a VPC1, and had considered before of making a switch to ES920 in case I plan to use it for gigs. Obviously the VPC1, given its weight, and no onboard sounds, is a no-go for anything other than home use : )

Will keep the ES920 as an option should I get to that point!

rogerch

HeartKeys The ES920 is not exactly light. If I needed something portable for gigs I would evaluate some lighter pianos such as the ES120 (which I have never played) to see if I could avoid shlepping the ES920 around.

Rubens

HeartKeys I went the other way! Shopped for a VPC1 first (I love the action) but then got cold feet about the potential frustrations in getting the VST to run (I've been known to destroy a few computers with my bare hands in the past) so I went the easy route and bought the ES920!

navindra

Rubens I'll try to change the thread title.

Yes, you should be able to do this yourself since you started the thread. I'm curious to see if this works but there are no limits or timeouts on edits here, including thread renames or even moving threads to a different forum. Hopefully this doesn't end up being a problem and we all play nice with it. 🙂

In the top right of the discussion, you should see the V button next to Reply and see this option:

Rubens

pastel07draw

Bellyman

Yes, I'm a happy camper with my ES920. And even after the incident where I damaged a part (and then replaced it, easily!) I can say that this is NOT a flimsy instrument. Of course it's not as sturdy as my concert grand, but the damage was 100% my fault (too much uncontrolled passion learning a Rachmaninoff sonata), and it is now as good as new after replacing that one little part. So I think you'll both enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine!

Bellyman

I, too, appreciate the discussion! I haven't bought one but it's at the top of my list of possible candidates for my next keyboard. It is heavier than some but not as heavy as others. It's a bit of an individual thing as to "how heavy is too heavy". When I was younger, the Fantom X8 went with me in the road case. Yeah, it was heavy then, too, but I was way more willing to carry it around. The sands of time... (sigh)...

pastel07draw

Hi everyone! I'm proud to report that I'm officially a new owner of an ES920! It feels absolutely amazing to play. I'm very pleased 😁 🥳

WieWaldi

pastel07draw Congrats. Did you compare the action with Yamaha P525 or the Roland FP90X?