Buying Kawai-Good price?

[hey5848]

Hey I was just hoping there would be some people knowledgeable in pianos out there because I just reserved a grand piano and want to know if the price is too much or if the piano is too old.

Here is the description:

Kawai Brand
5 foot 10 inches
1982-1983
Satin finish
No real apparent scratches, only a handful of minor minute hairline scratches
$7,500 + the transportation cost and tuning.

I want to know if the piano is too old and if it will just collapse on me. It would be great if someone knows the average lifetime of a piano.

Thanks in advance 

[amelialw]

well I have a Kawai Grand that's much newer then that and my parents only bought it for $10,000

[prongated]

...for $7500, I think you can do better than that. For a start, Kawai didn't make great grand pianos like they do now back then...

Have you searched for Yamaha's C-series from around about the same year?

Life of a piano depends on how it has been and is being looked after. You can't figure out the former from a 25-year-old piano in most cases...

[iumonito]

The piano is not too old, and in my opinion Kawai made very good pianos around that time.  That's a KG-3, isn't it?  If it is, it has a nice, hard maple rim, instead of the modern mahogany one (softer).  Chances are the action will need to either be adjusted or replaced, depending on how picky you are (you don't sound very picky).  Depending on how much it has been played and how frequently it was voiced, it may need either just voicing, perhaps filing and reweighing the hammers, or replacing the hammers altogether.  If you like the sound, chances are none of those need to be done right away.

I would take this piano over an equivalent Yamaha, even 10 years newer, sight unseen.

If you have the space, though, a slightly bigger piano will give you much nicer sound.

[Axtremus]

That's a KG-3, isn't it?  If it is, it has a nice, hard maple rim, instead of the modern mahogany one (softer).

A 5' 10" Kawai would be a KG-2 rather than a KG-3.  Modern Kawai RX series use Matoa for rim material, not mahogany.

In any, don't go by "specs"... go play the actual piano, go play lots of other pianos around the same price, then pick one you like best.

[iumonito]

Thanks, Ax.  I agree with your point about sound vs. specs, although if you know specs you can get yourself a really nice piano that only needs a little love.  It is a question of faith in your tech: I know mine could make the right design sound the way I like it.

With design, you really can't teach tall.

P.S.  I thought Matoa was a type of Mahogany.  Oh well.  I have been wrong about things like that before.

[thalberg]

I'm selling a Boston 5'3'' less than 2 years old barely touched, satin.  Wanna talk?