Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
So I got mine four days ago and everything is dandy, thanks. Clearly this is a superior instrument to anything digital I had before. It is not in the league of my six foot grand, but that's why I have a six-foot grand.
I bought mine specifically for quality of sound through speakers and soundboard, and compared to my previous LX 706, was not disappointed. I use this instrument about 50 % of the time on headphones, and 50 % on speakers, and switch often. And this is where I have a small gripe that Kawai could easily correct. Even with rather high impedance headphones (currently Focal Clear), you need to turn down substantially the volume control when using phones compared to speakers. But the volume button is hidden under the keyboard. It is easy to reach, but nothing indicates its setting, so it is a matter of fumbling each time. It would be so easy to feature a Volume Percentage bar on the "home" screen that could be glanced at to throttle in the ideal percentage upon each switch. Nearly all my other digitals had one. Or as an alternate, a system that would remember your favourite volume status for each mode.
Life is a smorgasbord, and I want to taste everything.
I scrolled through the first thread but couldn't find any issues reported. The issue in the video in the second thread seems rather prominent, however it seems that the matter was already reported to the dealer and has presumably been resolved.
I am new to this forum and just received my NV5s 3 days ago. I was really excited and pleased with the piano until I noticed that I get a buzzing sound from the right side of the piano whenever I play the middle c (either from the speakers or the cabinet) which is quite unacceptable.
The buzzing sound only shows up in 3 of the 4 piano variation ‘SK EX’, ‘EX Concert Grand’, and ‘upright piano’. The buzz appears with volume over the halfway mark. I don’t have that problem with ‘SK 5’.
My firmware is updated to the latest 2.11 and my ui is updated to 1.21. Piano is 5 cm away from the wall, I don’t have anything hanging on the wall or on the piano and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the piano. Anyone has any similar experience or solution please? I really hope this is an easy problem to solve
I don’t have the option of going to Kawai as I bought from a parallel importer as the distributor is out of stock for 6 months.
I scrolled through the first thread but couldn't find any issues reported. The issue in the video in the second thread seems rather prominent, however it seems that the matter was already reported to the dealer and has presumably been resolved.
Kind regards, James x
Hi James,
After another 6 weeks, the felt above the sustain pedal has once again come away from the piano and disappeared into the piano frame.
I tried to fish it out with my finger but without success.
More glue clearly isn't a permanent solution. From what I saw before it vanished back into the frame, the felt itself is slowly disintegrating.
Thank you for the video. I'm sorry to hear that the pedal felt has become detacted from the instrument's body again.
I've already raised this topic (including the video) with colleagues in R&D and at the factory, and will respond to the email that you sent to me and and my colleague at Kawai UK later. Hopefully we can have this matter resolved for you before too long.
The pedal should have its felt in place, no question. But until it's fixed, you can use it as an (unsolicited) practicing tool. The extra noise is actually a very pedantic witness of your pedaling technique. You're not meant to let the pedal touch the felt, or in your case, the wood. If you learn to avoid the noise while you pedal your pieces, you'll become a better piano player.
Here's what Joseph Banowetz sais in his pedaling bible (THE PIANIST’S GUIDE TO PEDALING):
"The pedal need not be brought all the way to the top to achieve a clear change of sound. Allowing it to rise fully may cause an annoying thud when the pedal hits the wooden framework supporting the pedals."
The pedal should have its felt in place, no question. But until it's fixed, you can use it as an (unsolicited) practicing tool. The extra noise is actually a very pedantic witness of your pedaling technique. You're not meant to let the pedal touch the felt, or in your case, the wood. If you learn to avoid the noise while you pedal your pieces, you'll become a better piano player.
Here's what Joseph Banowetz sais in his pedaling bible (THE PIANIST’S GUIDE TO PEDALING):
"The pedal need not be brought all the way to the top to achieve a clear change of sound. Allowing it to rise fully may cause an annoying thud when the pedal hits the wooden framework supporting the pedals."
Ok, I'll use that as a challenge to my son over the next week until it's fixed - good idea!
I'm happy to report that following a visit from Tom at Kawai UK on Monday, the pedal felt issue is for the timebeing resolved. Tom also re-regulated the entire action, and the result is both to me (a non-piano player) and my son (a good piano player!) a piano action that is far looser, less slow and basically how we believe it should have been from the beginning. James is for now no longer reporting any 'sticky keys'.
PEDALS: the same pedal felt has simply been re-attached, although more glue had been used this time and the felt was clamped to the frame for around 30 minutes in the hope that it will permanently adhere properly. I'll report back on whether it has worked permanently.
Tom also advised that Kawai Indonesia have made changes to this part of the manufacturing process, so hopefully the trouble I've had will be worthwhile in that it might not affect others going forward.
Hi all, I have an NV5s and think it's a great instrument. But it had an issue with sticky keys too. My dealer sent a technician over and he simply pressed the felt with a weird piano plier I had never seen before. I've noticed the keys are smoother and more responsive now. I decided to buy one of the pliers in case the issue ever comes up again (perhaps due to changes in humidity) and because sticky keys seem to be a common problem on pianos. There are many variants of the plier, but I bought this plier because I thought it would press the felt most evenly - https://www.ebay.com/itm/393410373053
You’re describing key easing pliers, funkylamb (great avatar, by the way). They’re pretty easy to use, though like many things on a piano there’s a “just right” amount of slop vs friction that is ideal…so don’t overdo it. The acoustic service side of Kawai US does provide a fairly detailed and sequential guide to voicing and regulation that you can find online, and download as a pdf. I don’t know that they’ve provided the same for the hybrid digitals, though I suspect there are many similarities in the processes.
There is a service manual that includes some of the tolerances and distances, but it's not a public doc. That Kawai regulation PDF is awesome for lay people like me who really love learning more about how basic piano regulation works.
That looks like a great tool for maintaining the action, though I'd be terrified to use it for fear of breaking the piano. Guess that's also why the service manual isn't widely distributed - to stop folk like me making a mess!
For those wondering about the sound of the NV5S in the room as opposed to a line-out audio feed, here's my son playing today.
The track is recorded via matching pair Rode M5 microphones (not expensive) plugged straight into my smartphone via a USB audio controller. I haven't done any mixing. Mic placement seems important particularly with the M5S. Earlier tests with the mics behind and above the player's head really don't work out so well. The best placement I've found so far is with the mics placed above and quite close to, pointing to the speaker on top of the piano. Presumably that also picks up a little more from the sound board.
Wow! Reading music and beautifully played with expressive use of the dynamics. I am a late starter (aged 76) and would be thrilled if I could play like that. You must be a very proud dad.
