Review Kawai Digital Piano CN-29. Where to buy it?

Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd. is a Japanese company, founded by Koichi Kawai. Now. we will look at the new Kawai CN 29 which is the new version of the respected Kawai CN27. It is a digital piano with furniture that imitates upright pianos and whose price is around €1.259/£1,177.

When you go up from 1000 euros it is because you are already looking for digital pianos to serve someone who is studying a medium or higher level of classical music. If you are in this situation, you need a piano where you can spend several hours a day studying and not be spoiled by so much practice.

I always try to think of my readers’ budget. It’s obvious that if you can have a 3000 euro piano it’s always going to be better than a 1000 euro one but what’s the point if you’re not going to take advantage of its full potential? The truth is that most of the music that amateurs and even professionals want to play can be played on digital pianos of 1000 euros or less with a decent sound. But if you are studying to go to a Vienna Philharmonic that is another matter. Well, this piano is in an intermediate world.

Kawai’s hammer III system would be a bit like Yamaha’s GH3 system in terms of playing response quality. This is a weighted system on the keys to make it more enjoyable to play and more like a real piano. The weighted keys is different from the sensitivity of the keys that serves to regulate the volume at which a note is played when it is pressed.

Now let’s look at the characteristics of this piano and comment on them. Then I will make comparisons with other pianos that are sure to be useful.

• 88 sensitive hammer action keys (hammer III)
• 3 sensors (the sensitivity on the keys spoke to you before)
• Keys with ivory touch and ‘Let-Off’ simulation (escape effects, are nuances when the hammer hits the string in the piano system, various effects can be set)
• 19 different high quality piano sounds
• 192 notes of polyphony. The notes that can sound at once on a piano including those that can sound when you play over an accompaniment.
• Bluetooth midi technology. The MIDI is super important to connect to the computer and work with music production programs.
• Lesson function. To me personally these functions usually seem useless in any piano.
• High quality effects
• Dual function or layering to play a piano sound + an accompaniment style such as a violin accompaniment (which sounds in the background while you play).
• 4-hand mode to divide the piano in two and play with someone.
• Metronome
• Transposition function
• 19 demo songs
• 1 track sequencer (3 songs, 10,000 notes). For recording.
• Keyboard cover
• 3 pedals with ‘Grand Feel Action’. Including the most important one which is the sustain pedal that allows you to keep the note in time if you stop pressing the key.
• 2 headphone outputs
• USB to Host (USB MIDI)
• MIDI Input/Output
• Bluetooth 4.1
• Two Onkyo 20W speaker systems that are powerful enough to play with other instruments without the need for an extra amplifier.
• Dimensions: 1360 x 405 x 860 mm
• Weight: 43 kg

In addition to the traditional USB and MIDI ports, the Kawai CN27 allows Bluetooth connection to supported devices.

Once related to a smartphone, tablet or computer, the possibilities on this instrument expand, with a range of educational, live performance or score writing applications.

The Kawai Virtual Technician control application is available for free download and provides an intuitive way to learn and adjust various features of this piano from a touch interface, without the need for additional cables or adapters.

Now that we have seen the features of this Kawai CN-29 piano, watch this video to hear the quality of its sounds and see what features it has. Then you have the comparisons

 

Posts you may be interested in

• Ranking with the best digital pianos of the moment.
• Our selection of cheap musical keyboards.
• Basic concepts you need to know about digital pianos and keyboards.
• The best resources to learn how to play the piano correctly.
• Everything you need to know about MIDI technology and the programs you need.
• And if you’re interested in the world of synthesizer keyboards and electronic music…
• Kawai keyboards and pianos.

Kawai CN29 vs Kawai CN39

Let’s put the features of these pianos in a table so you can compare

And here is a video of the Kawai ES-8 B digital piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAB9UJGHZU

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Kawai ES-8 digital piano

Kawai CN-29 vs Yamaha CLP 625

The Kawai CN-29 keyboard usually costs about the same as the Yamaha CLP 625. They are direct rivals and it’s really not easy to decide between one or the other.

Among the notable differences we can say:

• The Kawai has more polyphony than the Yamaha CLP 623
• I like the recording function on the Yamaha better
• I like the effects that Yamaha has like IAC and binaural sampling to improve the feeling of playing a real acoustic piano.
• What is very much the Kawai is the bluetooth MIDI functionality. This makes many people at the same price choose the CN29.

I have to say that I also like the keyboard of the Kawai better. But really, I like both of them, but at the same price I will keep the Kawai CN 29.

Let’s put the features of these pianos on a table so you can compare

And then a video of this piano

Kawai CN-29 vs Yamaha CLP-635

The Kawai CN-29 B Keyboard is usually 336 euros cheaper than the Yamaha CLP-635. The Yamaha CLP 635 should really be compared to the Kawai CN 39 although the approaches are a bit different.

The quality of the weighted keys on the CLP 635 is the same as on the Yamaha CLP 625. It has more sounds but not as much as the Kawai CN 39.

Here are the features and a video. The truth is that if you have a little more budget for me it makes more sense to buy the CLP 635 than the Kawai CN 39 but if your budget is small and around 1200 euros the Kawai CN 29 for me wins over the Yamaha CLP 625.

And then a video of the Yamaha CLP-635 digital piano:

Where to buy the Kawai CN-29 digital piano

Thomann

• Full warranty. If you have any problem they take care of everything.
• The best online shop at Europe by far by the ship worldwide and keeping its guarantee
• Leading the way in logistics and seamless transportation
• Best reputation: They are the leading online store in Spain and Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

 

Digital Piano Korg PA 300 Complete Review. A Good Choice?

Korg is a Japanese company of electronic musical instruments and guitar tuners. Today we are going to introduce you to the Korg PA 300. It is a mid to high range keyboard, which has very good characteristics and sounds. It can be found for about €589/$880/£545 on the market first hand (as of the date of this article), and it is presented as a very competitive keyboard in terms of quality-price.

We are talking about a keyboard designed for you to make mixes in its memory and to be able to regulate the sound parameters quite freely. Then you store your mixes and you can use them or shoot them while playing over them. Very powerful, isn’t it?

Let’s go on to talk about its features

• 61 keys with sensitive dynamics (touch-sensitive for nuance)
• Polyphony (Number of notes that can be played at once. This includes accompaniments that also consume notes. So if you play over an accompaniment more notes will be accumulated) of 128 voices
• 3 band equalizer for each track. To manage the frequencies of each sound and modify them if you want. This will modify the sound parameters and how it sounds,
• RX-Soundtechnologie.
• 950 sounds (Different sounds of piano and other instruments).
• 310 styles (Accompanying styles that adapt to the chords we are playing. For example they will put a bass and a drum kit that will adapt and synchronize with the notes we are playing on the keyboard).
• 1040 tracks for storage of user’s creations.
• MP3 playback.
• Transposition (Transposition allows you to move the note spectrum of a keyboard. This is to be able to play with transposing instruments. It is not an easy concept but it is made to facilitate the writing of an orchestration for instruments with very different bass and treble registers)
• Highly visible color touch screen, which makes it very user friendly for the management of your settings.
• 16-track auxiliary sequencer.
• USB midi (MIDI allows you to do such wonderful things as connect your keyboard to your computer, record a sound track and with certain programs click through what you’ve played to musical notes on a score. MIDI tracks store the information of the musical notes), USB-Host, USB-Device.
• Reads MIDI Q files or tracks, allowing the lyrics to be displayed as they are played.
• USB for other devices such as pendrive.
• Headphone output. It’s a pity but it doesn’t have a stereo line output so you have to use also the headphone output.
• Connection of sustain pedal (The sustain pedal of a piano or keyboard is used to keep the note playing even if you stop pressing the key) or tenuator.
• 2 powerful 13W speakers.
• A wonderful weight of 8.35kg and dimensions of 1030 x 378.3 x 127mm.
• Includes lectern, feeder and a very complete manual. But it does not have a pedal.

 

Let’s stop for a moment and describe the types of USB connectivity that the Korg PA series keyboards feature, as it can be confusing if we are not familiar with these types of connections or ports:

• MIDI-USB In/out: this type of cable has a USB connection for MIDI at one end for a PC or other computer device, and at the other end it has two different inputs to send or receive the MIDI signal. One for input signal (IN MIDI) and one for output signal (OUT MIDI), and has an adapter in the middle of the cable that joins them in one connection. These types of connections and cables are older, but can still be found on many models of keyboards or pianos.

• USB to Host or USB MIDI (this is on the Korg PA 300): This type of connection has the same functionality as the previous one, but the signals are transmitted by the same cable as the MIDI input and output signals, saving space on the connection side. This model is becoming the most widespread and universal, especially in the newer keyboard and piano models.

• USB to Device: This is the USB port that we all know. It allows to connect a pendrive to the keyboard and to record or load song or rhythm files to the keyboard.

 

I’m sure you’ll be interested…

• Ranking with the best digital pianos
• My selection of cheap musical keyboards.
• Basic concepts you need to know about digital pianos.
• The best resources to learn to play the piano by yourself.

Now let’s compare the Korg PA-300 with its more common alternatives. Also at the end of the post you will find a section with the best purchase possibilities for this keyboard. But you can go directly to that part of the post by pressing the next button.

Korg PA-300 vs Korg PA-600

Let’s compare two models of Korg keyboards from the PA line. The Korg PA-600 is 200 euros more expensive than the PA-300. The Korg PA-600 we can find it starting from about €788/$1150/£725 (price as of review date of this article).

We’ll try two 61-key keyboards with touch sensitivity and quite a few common features:

• 128-note polyphony. A totally sufficient quantity to be able to reproduce simultaneously a great diversity and quantity of notes in our interpretations
• 3 band equalizer for each track. It is common to find equalization functions in keyboards of this range.
  
• Extra or auxiliary 16-track sequencer
• Both have a Pitch Bend controller or modulator.
• Both have a number of 950 sounds available.
• Touch screen and color screen that allow to handle more easily the keyboards. They also allow you to follow the lyrics of our songs.
• They include music stand and power supply.
• They have the same dimensions: 1030 x 378.3 x 127 mm (W x D x H).
• Connection for sustain pedal. They do not include pedal, which is a handicap, especially with keyboards of these ranges.
• Support for MP3 file formats.
• The Korg PA-300 and PA-600 have a USB device/USB MIDI and USB to Host to be able to connect a USB memory to the keyboard and load sounds or rhythms, as well as record tracks on it.
• They include a headphone output.
• They have the same dimensions: 1030 x 378 x 127 mm (W x D x H).

As the most important differences we can highlight:

• The Korg PA 300 has a smaller variety of styles: 310 styles. The PA 600 offers 360 styles.
• The tracks for user song storage is higher on the Korg PA-600 (1040) than the PA-300 (600).
• The Korg PA-600 offers MIDI input and output, allowing you to connect to older devices that only support this type of connection. The Korg PA-300 does not.
• The Korg PA-600 has line input and output, which allows it to be connected to very high power amplifiers. It is not offered by the Korg PA-300.
• Different power speakers: The Korg PA-600 has a 13W speaker and the PA-600 has a 15W speaker. In both cases they allow a power for playing in rehearsal rooms or with an accompaniment, like a guitar (without powerful amplification).
• The Korg PA-600 offers the possibility of internal memory extension through a Micro-SD card.
• The Korg PA-600 is heavier (11kg) than the Korg PA-300 (8.35kg). Despite this, they can be considered lightweight keyboards for their performance and range.

If you like the Korg PA 300, for 200 euros more you can have a real wonder. I personally love these keyboards. It already depends on your budget but the Korg PA 300 is a wonder in itself.

We will put the characteristics of each of these pianos in 2 different columns to make it easier to see the differences:

Korg PA-300 vs Roland BK-5

Now let’s compare another keyboard from another well known brand, the Roland BK-5. The price difference with the Korg PA-300 is a little more than €150. The first hand market price of the Roland BK-5 can be found from €751/$1099/£685  (as of the date of this article).

The Roland BK is designed with the same idea as the Korg PA 300. These models are very similar in performance and basic features but the price of the Roland BK-5 is higher due to the quality of sounds, styles and more features. We will now analyze some of them and the extras that accompany each keyboard:

• They are keyboards with the same number of keys, support the same number of polyphonic notes, have a similar number of musical styles or rhythms and speakers of similar power (13W and 12W).
• The number of sounds is wide on both keyboards, but the Roland offers more than 100 sounds and the Korg only 950 sounds.
• The connection possibilities of the Roland are better, as it offers MIDI input and output, PAL or NTSC video output, audio jack input (you can connect a microphone, an instrument or a music player so that they sound through their speakers with the music of the keyboard) and line jack outputs (remember, it allows you to connect to more powerful amplification systems). In contrast, the Korg offers USB MIDI input. This is valuable, as you will need separate USB cables to connect to each keyboard.
• The Video output and the possibility to play MIDI files of the Roland BK-5 allow you to connect to a keyboard and turn it into a fun Karaoke.
• Both have headphone output and input for sustain pedal. In addition the Roland BK-5 has an expression pedal input.
• Both include a power supply, and the Korg includes a lectern.
• Own equalization systems on each keyboard.
• The Roland offers the possibility of recording audio files in different formats: mp3, WAV, KAR, etc. You can also play and interpret these files.
• Both are very light keyboards: the Korg PA-300 weighs 8.35 kg and the Roland 7.5 kg

The Roland BK 5 is actually more of a rival to the Korg PA 600

We are going to put all the features of each of these pianos in 2 different columns so you can have a look at them:

The basic functions such as the number of keys, connectivity with MIDI, availability of a wide repertoire of songs and styles, headphones output, sustain pedal input and the presence of powerful speakers in each one of them make them ideal keyboards for any professional musician on a tight budget or for beginners. You can learn, experiment and have many hours of entertainment with any of these keyboards.

In terms of quality and if your budget is not too tight, we recommend you to choose the Roland BK-5. But if you want a piano with a good sound and a wide repertoire of styles, and basic functions, such as sustain pedal input and USB MIDI and USB to device connections (to be able to connect a pendrive), we recommend the Korg PA-300.

And now a video of the Roland BK-5:

If you want to know more about this model don’t miss our review of the Roland BK-5.

Korg PA-300 vs Yamaha PSR-S670

In this comparison, we are going to talk about two pianos with very similar basic characteristics. The Yamaha is usually priced at 550 euros which is a little cheaper and is the first of the Yamaha S-series that are the professionals. It is also a mixer keyboard (like all the ones we are dealing with in this post)

• 61-key touch-sensitive keyboards
• 128-note polyphony.
• Wide range of styles: The Korg PA-300 offers more than 300 styles and the Yamaha PSR-S670 up to 230 styles and in 4 variations
• Similar number of sounds: both have a total of more than 900 sounds.
• They feature equalization systems: 3-band equalizer for each track. on the Korg, and on the Yamaha the Master EQ.
• Pitch Bend wheel. The Yamaha also offers an additional modulation wheel.
• USB MIDI connection for connection to a PC or other computer device, and USB to device for connection to a pen drive for playing or importing backing tracks, sounds and styles.
• They have an output for helmets, but the Yamaha PSR-S670 offers two in total.
• They have a sustain pedal input, but the Yamaha offers more again. Two inputs in this case!
• Similar speaker power (13W on the Korg and 15W on the Yamaha) This power is enough to have an audition in a large room, in a rehearsal room or with an instrumental accompaniment that does not have a powerful amplification.
• Very similar weight and dimensions. Both are keyboards that weigh a little over eight kilos, which means they are very light for and easy to transport.

But the Yamaha has its own characteristics, which at the same price, make it our favourite:

• Yamaha quality: It is the leading manufacturer of musical instruments, and that is a sure guarantee.
• A line output, which allows it to be connected to very powerful amplification systems. This is very suitable for live performances.
• IN entrance in the Yamaha so you can put a bug in. Then it also has many filters for the voice as the sound will come out of the keyboard speakers.

The Yamaha is very thought to make dance music and in that its library stands out although the Korg PA 300 also has but I like more the ones of the Yamaha

We are going to put all the characteristics of each of these pianos in 2 different columns so you can see them easily:

And now a video of the Yamaha PSR-S670

• The Yamaha PSR-S670 is a wonderful keyboard and has the same minimal features as the Korg PA-300.
• They are the same or very similar in price.
• Yamaha offers a security in the quality of its products and their sounds, which at equal characteristics and price, make it the most recommended option.

If you want to know more about this model do not miss our review of the Yamaha PSR-S670

Where to buy the Korg PA-300

Amazon

• Free shipping and overnight delivery with Amazon Premium.
• Full guarantee even if they are not specialists in musical instruments.
• Leader in rapid transport.
• Prices that fluctuate. On Amazon you can sell your own or other competing vendors. So the price may or may not be the cheapest. But it’s always interesting to see the actual price.

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

• YAMAHA YDP-S34 ARIUS
• YAMAHA YDP 163
• YAMAHA YDP 143
• YAMAHA PSR S770
• YAMAHA PSR S670
• YAMAHA PSR E453
• YAMAHA PSR E443
• YAMAHA P45
• YAMAHA P255
• YAMAHA P125
• YAMAHA P-121
• YAMAHA P115
• YAMAHA P105
• YAMAHA DGX 660
• YAMAHA ARIUS YDP 142
• YAMAHA PSR S775
• YAMAHA PSR E463
• YAMAHA P35
• THOMANN SP 5600
• THOMANN DP-33
• THOMANN DP-31
• ROLAND GO KEYS
• ROLAND FP-60
• ROLAND FP 80
• PIANO THOMANN SP 320
• KURZWEIL SPS4-8
• KURZWEIL SP6
• KURZWEIL SP4-8
• KURZWEIL FORTE SE
• KURZWEIL FORTE 8
• KURZWEIL ARTIS 7
• KORG PA-700 EAST
• KORG PA-700
• KORG PA600
• KORG PA-300
• KORG PA-1000
• KORG HAVIAN 30
• KORG GRANDSTAGE 88
• CASIO PX-870 PRIVIA
• CASIO PX-770 PRIVIA
• CASIO PX-5S PRIVIA PRO
• CASIO PX-560 PRIVIA
• CASIO PX-360 PRIVIA
• CASIO PX 160
• CASIO CT-X800
• CASIO CT-X700
• CASIO CT-X5000
• CASIO CT-X3000
• CASIO TDC 130
• THOMANN DP 26
• ROLAND FP 90
• ROLAND FP 30
• ROLAND FA 06
• ROLAND BK 5
• KORG SP 280
• KORG LP 380
• KORG B1
• KAWAI ES8
• KAWAI ES110
• KAWAI ES100
• KAWAI CN27
• KAWAI CN25
• CASIO CDP 230
• CASIO PDC S100

 

MIDI Keyboard Brands