MP-11 SE : Exceeds all expectations

excellent instrument with a great variety in settings including brilliant and sharp to mellower/ lounge-ier piano sounds even though the namesake Shigeru setting is actually really all I need. I may imagine this but it sounds very kawai-esque, which was quite the transition from having played on yamaha stage pianos. It took some getting used to but I mean - that's to be expected when getting a new instrument I think.

It comes with the usual other instrument settings, the strings are "okay" (to be fair, i have yet to find one setting that could do a string section any justice so I might be biased here, it's still one of the better ones but yeah, that is literally the only part I'd not expect too much of) but every (other) setting is tastefully made and usable. There are even some fun ones that can be layered or used with a split keyboard which is great for layering tracks. I personally mainly use the piano sounds but I can imagine someone enjoying the other ones as well.

The keyboard plays naturally and the combination of different sounds and the option to change the responsiveness of the keys allows to completely transform the playing experience.

Downsides:

Pressing the sustain-pedal creates a shattering sound that is virtually only audible using headphones but still irritating. I haven't found a way yet to turn it off. At 34kg it is quite heavy and cases take some time to manufacture.

The multitude of ways to tweak the different settings is at first quite overwhelming but the price point should have indicated already that this instrument would be overkill for a beginner anyway.