Kawai MP7SE Review

We rated the Kawai MP7SE a 6 out of 10 points. Unfortunately, we couldn’t give this digital instrument a passing grade. 

The key action is extremely light, and has been described by some musicians as ‘spongy’. The MP7SE is marketed as a professional stage piano, but I feel it’s intermediate, or entry level. 

There have been a few too many reports of hardware failures for me to be entirely confident in the model. Because the faulty items were never taken off the market by the maker, we can’t recommend this model to our customer base. If it weren’t for the keybed issues, this would be an excellent digital stage for musicians who are upgrading from a regular digital console piano.

What we did like about this digital stage is how many high-quality sounds it has, the large LCD screen, the internal preset memory, and the accessibility of the split/layer buttons.

Kawai MP7SE Overview

The Kawai MP7SE is a digital stage piano that has won “Pro Digital Line of the Year” twice and is described by the maker as being a ‘flexible, all-in-one’ piano (Kawaius.com). The Kawai MP7SE is marketed as a professional stage piano and is geared toward both performers and producers. 

It boasts a wide range of features, such as FX and four MIDI zone. It also has over 200 tones in the sound bank. These sounds are impressive because they are so versatile and realistic, making this instrument suitable for many genres. The MP7SE is also designed to be portable, so it makes for easy gigging/travel. 

In this article, we will take a closer look at the Kawai MP7SE’s key features, and specs, as well as weigh the pros and cons of the model. Oh, hold on, just one more moment! Please note that the MP7SE doesn’t have the raving reviews that we’d expect; we’ll be getting into the good, the bad, and the grey area of the MP7SE in this review.

Features

Lightweight Design, No-Nonsense Control Panel

The Kawai MP7SE has a modern-looking design that is made to be lightweight. The instrument has an aluminum chassis, which improves its durability. Unfortunately, the sides are made of particle board. This makes the instrument more portable but means that traveling musicians will need to be a bit careful. The MP7SE’s music rest is detachable, making it easier to wedge the instrument into your car. It is also worth mentioning that the pianos stand is adjustable in height, so you can put the keybed where you want it!

The piano has both buttons and knobs on the control panel. Said control panel is extremely intuitive, allowing you to access the features quickly, without all the headache. 

Keybed with Synthetic Ebony and Ivory

Despite the issue we mentioned at the beginning of the review, this model does have some nice aspects to the keybed. The instrument features Kawai’s Responsive Hammer III keyboard action, and synthetic ebony and ivory keys. These textured key surfaces combined with triple sensors lead to a stellar playing experience (As long as you don’t get a bum model…) 

The Kawai MP7SE also gas Kawai’s Let-Off simulation, which is a piece of digital technology that mimics the release of the hammer from the string. 

Harmonic Imaging Sound Engine

If you ask me, the best feature of the Kawai MP7SE is its authentic sounds. The MP7SE has Kawai’s Harmonic Imaging XL technology to create a convincing, immersive playing experience. Their harmonic imaging uses samples and algorithms to cultivate tones that are as close to acoustic as humanly possible. 

The sound bank in the MP7SE has 8 categories of sounds to choose from, and over 256 tones. These sounds range from rich acoustic pianos to electric ones, organs, strings, and more.

Preset Memory

Unlike many budget stage pianos, the MP7SE has the ability to remember your settings and presets. This means that you can get your sounds ready to go before performances, and won’t have to worry about scrambling to get to a certain sound before the next section comes.

Other Features

• Hundreds of FX

• 4 MIDI zones 
• Split and layer
• Good connectivity

Between 150+ effects and 4 zones, you’re getting a lot for the price. Another advanced feature of the Kawai MP7SE is its ability to split and layer sounds. This means that you can assign different tones to different parts of the keyboard (one on one side, and one on the other). You can also layer multiple sounds together to create impressive custom epic soundscapes (Cinematic music, anyone?!)

The Kawai MP7SE also comes with quite a few connectivity options. This makes it easy to both perform live and record in your home studio. The MP7SE has MIDI ins and outs, USB inputs, and double headphone jacks. This allows you to connect the instrument to a computer, mixer, or more powerful PA system.  

Specifications

• Dimensions: 152.5 (W) x 49 (D) x 30 (H) cm. 
• Weight: 49 pounds
• Piano type: Digital stage

Who is it suitable for?

Despite the Kawai MP7SE being marketed towards pro players, I think that it is best suited as a ‘first digital stage’ sort of buyer. If you know you want to get into professional producing or performing but need to get used to the ins and outs of a stage, this model is good because the controls are so easy to navigate (Minus the lack of consistency in quality in keybeds…please keep reading!)

MP7SE in Action

Let’s check out the Kawai MP7SE in action in this ‘Quick Jam’ by Kraft Music.

Amazon Reviews

The MP7SE has very low reviews on Amazon, but it only has two total ratings. This model was rated 3 of 5 stars…Yikes! So let’s see what happened. 

Reviews

The reviews for the MP7SE on both Sweetwater and Amazon are admittedly not the best. On Amazon, the piano was rated a 3 / 5, and on Sweetwater, a 3.5.

• Many customers reported keybed issues
• Others simply didn’t care for the action
• And one customer reported receiving not one, but two ‘dead’ keyboards in a row (AKA they didn’t work at all

From trigger sensors to a delay in sound and dead instruments,  things aren’t looking so good for the MP7SE. On the flipside, there were also many customers who were extremely happy with their purchase, writing comments like:

• “Overall I am so immensely pleased with this purchase I am almost moved to tears. Everything outmatched my already high expectations.” (Mister Christer, Amazon)
• “Could not ask for more for the price and it is a joy to play!” (Bill T, Sweetwater)

Pros and Cons

Pros

• The interface/ MIDI controller is easy to navigate
• Custom patches are simple to make and save
• The LCD screen is high-quality and clear
• It’s very economical for a digital stage
• It is portable, and has a metal chassis
• There have been significant updates since the MP7, like an updated cabinet, larger LCD and redesigned control panel
• The non-piano sounds are really nice! (Especially the organs)
• It comes with a high-quality pedal, stand, and music rest

The Kawai MP7SE is so very easy to use. You’ll be able to learn the ins and outs of the instrument without having to reference the manual every time you turn around. Another feature that I really value is the memory. The MP7SE is great at ‘remembering’ your custom presets. (Remember in my other review when one of the biggest cons was that it had tons of customization, but no way to save it?). It’s simply not realistic to have to create a preset every time you want ‘that sound’ especially if you are gigging. Speaking of sounds, I was especially impressed with the organ sounds (shown in the quick jam music video above). It is harmonically rich and bassy.  Plus, all the organs have the simulated drawbars. All in all, this model had a lot of things going for it, except…

Cons

• The action is lightweight, and not as high-quality as we would like
• Some musicians have had issues with faulty trigger sensors
• There have been many overall reports of keybed failures
• The sides are made of a lighter particle board, which raises some concerns about whether the instrument is sturdy or not
• Since it is a stage piano, it doesn’t have onboard speakers

Overall, this action isn’t the best for classical players since it’s so light- But this wasn’t the main dealbreaker. And for the MP7SE? Oh boy, are there dealbreakers. 

The trigger sensors/ internal keyboard hardware is unreliable. As many folks who ended up with a bad MP7SE say ‘Just Google it’. To my best understanding, there were a significant number of faulty models that should have been recalled, but weren’t. This is a good intermediate keyboard but it’s not worth the chance of potentially getting a bad egg. Sorry Kawai, but you dropped the ball on us here!

Comparable Instruments 

Some instruments that are comparable to the Kawai MP7SE include:

• Kawai MP11SE

• Kawai ES920

• Roland RD2000

• Yamaha CP88

• Yamaha P515

• Nord instruments
• Kawai MP7

The Kawai MP11SE is another digital stage piano by Kawai. However, this one has much better ratings, and a more reliable keybed! The MP11SE is newer, and significantly more expensive than the Kawai MP7SE. It usually costs about $3,500 in comparison to the MP7SE’s $2,200 price tag. The MP11SE is much heavier than this model though, as it weighs about 75 pounds. If you are looking for a gigging piano, this one might not be the one. But as a recording studio/ home digital stage, it is gorgeous, boasting features such as wooden key action, and grand feel touch. 

Kawai’s ES920 is closer in price range to the MP7SE, at just $1,800. The ES920 is another new, reliable digital stage piano. This one has a large amount of polyphony, grand piano samples, and is portable. If you ask me, the ES920 is your best bet for a budget stage by Kawai. 

Some of Kawai’s competitors, such as Yamaha and Roland, have models with many features that overlap with the MP7SE’s. The Roland RD2000, for example, is an advanced stage piano with a powerful engine, and onboard MIDI interface. It tends to run about $2500.

The Yamaha CP88 is another stage piano in the price range of the RD2000. The CP88 has stellar action, since it has textured keys, which are made of real wood underneath the outer coating. It has features like EQing, real-time controls, reverb, sound switching and more. 

Nord instruments are tied to Kawai, since Kawai supplies Nord with parts for their keybed. The Nord Grand, for example, has the RH III. The Nord Grand costs significantly more than the MP7SE, but I believe that these pianos are held to much, much higher standards than the one in this review. Not all Kawai keybeds are made alike, even within RH III! I once had a woodwind teacher who said he tried multiple clarinets of the same model in order to find the best one for him- Digital instruments can be a bit like that too sometimes. 

Lastly, the Kawai MP7SE is a newer version of the Kawai MP7. You may be able to find a used MP7 stage piano in retail shops near you, or (better yet!) on Sweetwater.com. That being said, I think you’d be better off with a new ES920- It’s newer, and will last for years to come.

Quick View 

Sourced from Sweetwater.com 

Kawai MP7SE: Conclusion

We hope you have enjoyed this Kawai MP7SE review. In conclusion, the MP7SE isn’t our first choice, namely because of the unreliable keyboard parts. Don’t buy a dud; try out some of the above comparable instruments instead! 

Music quote of the week:  

“The piano is a monster that screams when you touch its teeth.” -Andre Segovia

6Expert Score

We rated the Kawai MP7SE a 6 out of 10 points. Unfortunately, we couldn’t give this digital instrument a passing grade. The key action is extremely light, and has been described by some musicians as ‘spongy’. The MP7SE is marketed as a professional stage piano, but I feel it’s intermediate, or entry level. There have been been a few too many reports of hardware failures for me to be entirely confident in the model. Because the faulty items were never taken off the market by the maker, we can’t recommend this model to our customer base. If it weren’t for the keybed issues, this would be an excellent digital stage for musicians who are upgrading from a regular digital console piano. What we did like about this digital stage is how many high-quality sounds it has, the large LCD screen, the internal preset memory, and the accessibility of the split/layer buttons.

PROS

• The interface/ MIDI controller is easy to navigate
• Custom patches are simple to make and save
• The LCD screen is high-quality and clear
• It’s very economical for a digital stage
• It is portable, and has a metal chassis
• There have been significant updates since the MP7, like an updated cabinet, larger LCD and redesigned control panel
• The non-piano sounds are really nice! (Especially the organs)
• It comes with a high-quality pedal, stand, and music rest

CONS

• The action is lightweight, and not as high-quality as we would like
• Some musicians have had issues with faulty trigger sensors
• There have been many overall reports of keybed failures
• The sides are made of a lighter particle board, which raises some concerns about whether the instrument is sturdy or not
• Since it is a stage piano, it doesn’t have onboard speakers