Kawai VPC1 Virtual Piano Controller

Product Description

Touch

At the heart for the VPC1 is Kawai’s latest RM3 Grand II wooden-key keyboard action, which combines realistic materials, motion and mechanism to recreate the exceptional touch of the finest concert grand pianos. All eighty-eight of the VPC1’s keys are crafted from lengths of wood, with finely textured ivory-like surfaces that absorb moisture and assist playing control.

The RM3 Grand II keyboard action also boasts a new triple-sensor key detection system that improves repetition speed and responsiveness, allowing a greater range of expressive control from staccato to legato playing.

Complementing the VPC1’s ultra-realistic RM3 Grand II keyboard action is the included F-30 triple pedal accessory.  This sturdily-built unit recreates the functionality of the damper, sostenuto and soft pedals of a grand piano, allowing discerning musicians to take full advantage of the unlooped sustain and stunning modelled resonances found in modern virtual piano packages.

Connecting

The VPC1 connects to a Mac or PC using a single USB cable, drawing its power directly from the computer and doing away with unnecessary power cables.  Standard MIDI IN/OUT connectors are also provided, allowing the VPC1’s outstanding keyboard action to control hardware MIDI devices such as sound modules, workstations or microsynths.  It is even possible to combine both USB and standard MIDI communication, controlling software and hardware instruments simultaneously from the same keyboard.

Most MIDI keyboard controllers require a degree of customisation in order to perform effectively with different virtual piano packages.  This typically takes the form of manual ‘touch curve’ adjustments and a considerable amount of trial and error.

However the VPC1 has been developed to offer a seamless ‘connection’ between piano keyboard and software sound ‘out of the box’, with Kawai partnering with leading virtual piano developers to establish the Approved Touch Curve program.  Under this initiative, Kawai’s experienced keyboard engineering team prepare custom touch curves that are optimised for the RM3 Grand II keyboard action, then tested by the developers using their own VPC1 before receiving final approval.  The VPC1 ships with Approved Touch Curves for Ivory, Pianoteq, Galaxy and Alicia’s Keys packages.

Customization

While the VPC1 is designed to offer an unrivalled ‘out of the box’ experience, Kawai also understands that many virtual pianists and software musicians enjoy customising every aspect of their setup.  For these users, the VPC1 includes a dedicated software editor, providing greater control over touch curves, key velocity offsets and advanced MIDI routing.  Individual setups can be created for different scenarios, stored to one of the VPC1’s five memory presets and recalled without a computer using a simple key assignment.

Clearly the VPC1 has been developed for one thing only: to deliver the finest virtual piano playing experience.  This philosophy is reflected in the board’s design, with the VPC1 adopting a classic, smart and professional appearance.  There are no knobs, faders or wheels to distract the virtual pianist from their performance, just a power button and eighty-eight smoothly finished black and white keys. As a testament of Kawai’s rich acoustic piano heritage, the VPC1 also includes something that all other MIDI controllers overlook: an attachable music rest – allowing ambitious players to perform century-old masterpieces using the very latest software and hardware piano technology.