Kawai VPC1 "Successor"

Gamma1734

Hi folks

I read that our beloved VPC1 will definitely not get an update to something like a VPC2. Does anyone know is this is correct for sure?

Apparently the 1 is over 10(!) years old already, which is pretty crazy. Is there really no better midi controller option in the 1-2k range, or say up to 3k; has no one competed against the vpc1 for ten years??

Best

Gamma

HZPiano

Gamma1734 ,

Hey Gamma,

Is that from some very recent publication somewhere?

Of course the upgrade discussion continually flames up -- already since almost the launch date of the VPC-1.

As for true piano controller competitors, nope, none at all apparently.

VPC-1 had its tenth birthday near the beginning of this year. Marketing-wise I would have thought that to be quite a nice angle to hook a VPC-Next-ish onto, even if it were just an incremental revision where at least the pedal unit and the velocity manager software would have been addressed.

But… so far… silence.

Cheers and all the best,

PS Is your beloved VPC-1 still going as strong for you?

David B

Gamma1734 Is there really no better midi controller option in the 1-2k range, or say up to 3k; has no one competed against the vpc1 for ten years??

The bummer is that a pure midi controller market doesn't exist. I wish there were more options. I really don't want onboard speakers, piano sounds, and everything that comes with portable, digital slab. If I could afford it I'd consider the Casio GP 3/510. Even though their action is not an acoustic action, I think it might be one of the best digital actions available. It would be great if they offered it in a slab format.

God Bless,
David

Pete14

I’m not one to critique, but I must humbly say that the VPC-1 is grossly overrated as “the piano controller.”

Whilst I understand the ‘minimalist’ approach, “it’s just a piano controller,” I don’t agree with the price, nor with the way it’s perceived as the best piano controller….newsflash, it isn’t!

You’d be much better-off getting something with speakers, on-board sounds, volume knob, audio interface, etc.. for $1,600, and believe you me, you’ll be surprised how much better ‘newer’ 3-sensor folded actions can be compared to the older 2-sensor ones.

I, too, used to believe that the ‘long stick on a pivot’ action was inherently better than the ‘folded action’, but I no longer do.

Now, in terms of the VPC-1 being abandoned, I’m not surprised. 😲

HZPiano

Pete14 the older 2-sensor ones.

VPC-1: Full triple sensor.

And as for the alternative you describe, that certainly would be a Roland then 😋.

Cheers and happy minimalist playing,

Cheers,

Gamma1734

HZPiano It is, I'm quite happy with it, rarely do I find it hard to interpret things the way it should be. Only repetitions are kind of bad, other than that it works like a charm. And yes, I have to agree with Pete that Id really like to play on speakers from time to time, not always headphones.

Pete14

Perhaps I was not clear enough, but there is only one company offering so much goodness for $1,599, and it’s not Roland, but I digress….

I also want to be clear: I’m not raining on the OP’s parade, and surely, I hope he has a very nice tenth anniversary, for the VPC-1 is a ‘decent’ board; it just ain’t a great one. IMHO!

Gamma1734

Pete14 Thanks for the answers. Why so secretive? I'd like to know what instrument is better for that price, I'm certainly going to check it out. You probably mean some Yamaha…

Pete14

Gamma1734

I’m not one to push products selfishly like some ‘round here tend to do; however, since you insist, I will humbly suggest that you check out the P-515, and if the action feels “too heavy” for you, I’d suggest the P-525!

The P-515 is going for $1,400 and the P-525 for $1,600, and whilst I was not happy with Yamaha for keeping the same cabinet, I’m over that now, and the truth is that Roland has been using the same cabinet for the FP-90/X for ages, so there’s that.

Keep in mind that the P-515/525 is also a great controller; I used it to blend my P-515’s CFX with a Pianoteq Steingraeber, and it worked great.

Pianoteq solo also sounded/played great through the on-board speakers via one cable to/from computer (audio interface).

Something I’ve been curious about the VPC-1 is how Kawai never updated their so-called dedicated “Pianoteq velocity curve” to adapt to new(er) Pianoteq versions; surely, these ‘curves’ could benefit from a little factory tweaking to better “connect” with Pianoteq 8, and even the upcoming 9!

David B

Pete14 Pianoteq solo also sounded/played great through the on-board speakers via one cable to/from computer (audio interface).

You've just lost whatever credibility you had left. 😂

Pete14

David B

So rude, you are!😒

jdg78

In the US at least, I would agree that the VPC1 is outrageously overpriced. MSRP is $2,399.00 at US-based online stores (up from $1,899 a year or two ago), while in the EU you can get them for closer to $1,500.

I have no idea what justifies the absurd price discrepancy.

I was considering one before the recent price increase, but have started looking elsewhere. Current top contender is the Roland FP-90X which I've found to have a really nice action (very solid and robust with great key feel) and also works very well as a midi controller (good thing too, b/c the onboard sounds are frankly terrible).

It's also about $400-$500 less than the VPC1, depending on where you get it from.

There's also the Studiologic Numa X GT, which I've heard very good things about, but haven't had a chance to try myself.

Johnstaf

jdg78 Current top contender is the Roland FP-90X which I've found to have a really nice action (very solid and robust with great key feel) and also works very well as a midi controller (good thing too, b/c the onboard sounds are frankly terrible).

I upgraded from a Kawai MP-10 (with a similar action to the VPC-1) to a Roland FP90 and never looked back.

David B

jdg78 Current top contender is the Roland FP-90X which I've found to have a really nice action (very solid and robust with great key feel) and also works very well as a midi controller (good thing too, b/c the onboard sounds are frankly terrible).

My experience exactly. Great controller with terrible onboard sounds. As a controller it's better than any Yamaha I've owed even the N1X. I'm simply referring to the ability to reach all velocity levels and control dynamics. Of course this is based on my crude and undeveloped ability, but the ability to reach the full spectrum and "easily" control the lower velocities is more objective than subjective.

God Bless,
David

Gamma1734

Thanks again for the answers.

Okay, so I tried the 515 in a store a long time ago and I actually have very good memories of it, it felt pretty good, but I only played one or two pieces on it, i.e., not representable for normal musical situations. Didn't realize that 525 is out, sounds interesting, yeah.

About velocity curves, I just change them in my DAW, it's very easy.

Studiologic I bought some years ago but had to send back, think it was sl88. Maybe I just had a bad day but I remember being disappointed with the way the action behaved. Should tried everything with the curves, maybe I decided too quickly, don't know.

I bought my vpc1 few years ago for about 1.3k€ (new). For 2.2k$ I think I wouldn't have bought. I understand some context now! For me vpc1 was always like the best option for about 1k. But if it's 2k or even more, everything changes.

Again, I'm really pleased with the vpc1+Garritan combination, and I couldn't even think of how an improvement would look like, because I'm so used to it, but will check the Roland and Yamaha out.

SouthPark

Gamma1734 Didn't realize that 525 is out, sounds interesting, yeah.

Somebody said a few things about the P-525 here --- LINK

Gamma1734

David B That sounds really good. Thanks for your view on this!

Gamma1734

I just checked, here in Austria the p525 is over 2.1k$ (converted). Yikes!

n-player

Gamma1734 Did you ever try the Lachnit; that company is from Austria so might be easier for you to demo than it would be for most of us.

https://www.flkeys.at/Products.html

Gamma1734

I see an offer for the fp90, 1k and almost new. Is that good?

johanibraaten

Gamma1734 I see an offer for the fp90, 1k and almost new. Is that good?

It’s the same design and action as the FP90x. However, it lacks USB-audio and when using it as a controller that’s a neat feature to have.

jdg78

johanibraaten It’s the same design and action as the FP90x. However, it lacks USB-audio and when using it as a controller that’s a neat feature to have.

Yeah, the FP-90X includes an onboard USB audio interface, which is a huge plus if you plan to use it as a MIDI controller, and another one of its primary selling points for me.

The older FP-90 doesn't include USB audio, so I would definitely go for the updated version if you can.