Kawai ES110 Portable Digital Piano Review

KAWAI ES110 PORTABLE DIGITAL PIANO SPECIFICATIONS

• Its dimensions are (W x H x D):  51.6” (131.06 cm) x 11.2” (28.44 cm) x 5.7”(14.47 cm)
• Product weight – 33 lbs (14.96 kg), shipping weight 39 lbs (17.69 kg)

Keyboard

• 88 Weighted Keys, Advanced Hammer Action IV-F (AHA IV-F)

Sound

• Sound Source – Harmonic Imaging™ (HI), 88-Key Piano Sampling, 19 Internal Sounds, Polyphony – 192

Effects

• Reverb – Room, Small Hall, Concert Hall, Off
• Sound Settings – Damper Resonance, Voicing, Fall-back Noise, Damper Noise, Brilliance, Table EQ
• Internal Recorder – 3 Song, 1-Track — 15000 Notes (approx.)
• Registration – 4 Memories
• Lesson Function – Alfred Basic 1A and 1B
• Metronome – Beat: 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 3/8, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8, 12/8 (Volume/Tempo Adjustable)100 Drum Rhythms

Demo songs

• 12 songs

Keyboard Modes

• Dual Mode (with adjustable volume balance) & Split Mode (with adjustable volume balance)

Other Functions

• Transpose, tuning, temperament, speakers on/off, user memory, factory reset, auto power off

MIDI Functions

• Transmit MIDI Program Change, MIDI channel, local control, multi-timbral mode

Jacks

• MIDI (IN/OUT), damper (for F-10H), 2 x headphones

Speakers

• 8 cm x 2

Output Power

• 7 W x 2

Included Accessories

• F-10H Damper Pedal (with half-pedal support), music rest, AC power adaptor

Options                            

• HML-1 Stand
• F-350 Pedal

KAWAI ES110 DIGITAL PIANO REVIEW – FEATURES

The ES110 is Kawai’s most affordable digital piano and the company’s only portable digital piano in its price range. It replaces a very popular previous model but let us look at some of its features to see what it has to offer.

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Sounds

The Kawai ES110 sounds are sampled from the Kawai 9-foot EX Concert Grand Piano. It produces a realistic tone across the entire 88-note keyboard range.

It comes with Eight different piano sounds and three reverb settings to adjust to different room sizes when performing.

The impressive 192 note polyphony, quite a high number for a piano in this price range. This high number of polyphony will allow you to smoothly play complex pieces without worrying of dropped notes.

In addition to the acoustic piano sounds, there is an e-piano section which comprises of Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and DX-E piano. The overall sounds in this piano total up to 19 sounds.

Keyboard

The piano comes with 88 fully-weighted keys and the Responsive Hammer Compact (RHC) action mechanism. Here, the low-register keys are the heaviest and become lighter as you move up the keyboard.

This keyboard is also touch-sensitive, which means the harder you strike the keys the louder the sound will become. This offers a wide dynamic range and a great palette for expressive play.

Speaker

The speaker system of the Kawai ES110 comprises of two 12cm speakers  of 7W + 7W amp.

These speakers  combined with the high-quality piano sounds produce rich and clear sound accurately throughout the full spectrum of frequencies.

Despite not being as loud as an acoustic piano, the ES110 will definitely produce a convincing sound loud enough to fill up a small room.

Included Features

• Dual Mode allows you to layer two different instrument sounds so that they simultaneously play every time you press a key.
• Split Mode allows you to play different instrument sounds with your right and left hands.
• Built-in MIDI recorder allows you to record and store up to three of your performances in the internal memory.
• Lesson function has 3 built-in songbooks with song recordings for learning and practicing new
• Transpose function gives you the ability to shift the pitch of the keyboard either up or down in semitone steps.
• The fine-tuning function enables you to change the pitch of the entire keyboard for the purpose of matching the pitch of a singer or another instrument.

Connectivity

There are MIDI In/Out jacks used to connect the ES110 to external MIDI devices. These jacks can also be used to connect the piano to a computer.

Unfortunately, the ES110 doesn’t come with a USB port for connecting flash drives. However, this piano has compensated that by equipping it with integrated Bluetooth MIDI connectivity. With this feature, you can connect the piano to your smart devices wirelessly as long as they are Bluetooth supported.

Once you successfully connect with the smart devices, you can wirelessly exchange MIDI data. This will enable you to use various music apps such as Mixcraft or FL Studio, useful for  learning as well as entertainment.

Pros

• Comes with a full set of 88-weighted RHC action keys
• Features 19 built-in instrument sounds
• Provides 106 preset songs and 100 rhythms
• It is light and extremely portable
• Offers Bluetooth connectivity
• Supplies a sustain pedal with half-pedal support
• Amazing 192-note of polyphony

Cons

• Doesn’t have a USB port
• The piano lacks a display
• Has a one-track MIDI recorder only

If you’re looking for a piano with a superior sound and feel, the Kawai ES110 is definitely a worthy contender.

We recognize that this piano has some shortcomings, for example, the lack of a digital display as well as a USB port which are quite useful in any digital piano. However, the ES110 is still a good entry- level piano with plenty of features and comes at a reasonable price.

It will do well with anyone needing home practice or even gigging musicians.

If you were not sure about this digital piano before, we hope this Kawai ES110 digital piano review has affirmed its worth to you.

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.