Just received my small part of the legacy of our friend Shigeru - may Buddha rest his soul in his most pianistic paradise! This instrument is like the grain of mustard seed in the Gospels: the smallest in its line, but within it growths the amazing sound of a Shigeru Kawai concert grand piano, so that all the composers can lodge under its shadow...
(Just exaggerating a little... :) I really wonder how it could manage some really transcendental etude, like Liszt's ones - probably not the best, but at this price you probably shouldn't expect that. But if I will be able to find out personally one day even that it could not extraordinary, it will be also due to this lovely instrument... And, actually the reviews I've seen show that it does quite well also with advanced-difficulty passages, )
I choose the ES-60 because of a lot of reviews presenting it as the best instrument in this category, even better than more celebrated models as Roland FP-10 or Yamaha P-145; and I was not disappointed. Better or not, it's certainly a splendid instrument and I'm extremely happy with it.
At this price point, it really shines, for 3 reasons:
1. Wonderful piano sound - ample, rich, warm, colorful, lavish - really top-notch. Very powerful bass. ( But I really love the Kawai SK-EX piano sound, while others may not - it's a matter of personal preference.)
2. Excellent quality of sound, due to powerful speakers and high polyphony. Clear, ample, rich, distortion-free..
3. Very enjoyable key action (maybe a little too light, but this is easy to adjust from the settings).
I also like a lot the simple and elegant design, the very good quality of the other 14 sounds than the pianos; and it's easy to use (takes very short time to get used to- and it's even easier with the piano app). It's quite light to be portable enough; the headphones output is placed comfortably in the front, not on the back. It also comes with a 3 months free subscription to Skoove, which is nice and useful for beginners.
Evidently, the pianistic experience is the central focus of this instrument, and I think Kawai has amazingly succeeded in creating a piano for beginners with almost the same quality of piano sound and key action as more expensive models, like ES-120, and at a very accessible price.
I absolutely love it! Great to have an instrument not only of excellent quality, but with which you can feel like in a symbiosis!
However, not all it's perfect (and, at this price, it could not be): it has no Bluetooth at all; only 3 reverb effects; the sustain pedal is the usual cheap plastic model at this price range - functional, but not very comfortable, and should be replaced; the 30 (good and usable) rhythms are a little difficult to access, you have to scroll through a lot of them to get the one you want. But these deficiencies should be accepted at this low price, and I think they really pale besides the wonderful pianistic experience!
In conclusion, it's a wonderful instrument for beginners, and probably very enjoyable even for more advanced players. I'm really in love with it
