Shigeru Kawai Comparison

[mikebechstein]

I’m not sure if this type of thing has been covered before, or even if anybody is interested, but I just tried out two Shigeru Kawai pianos. I played Dreaming from Kinderzsenen and the introduction to Grieg’s Piano Concerto.

The first one I tried was one of the best pianos (irrespective of price) I have ever tried. Everything was perfect; the sound was gloriously rich and mellow but clear as a bell and so expressive. The action was perfect and I felt I could do anything I wanted.

The second one I played was one of the worst pianos I have ever played. The action felt OK but a little dead but the sound was dull and also cheap like a poor budget upright. When I played the rising sequence of notes after the descending chords in the Concerto it all went completely mushy. After about five notes it was just a general piano sound and any further notes just added to the din but were almost not individually audible.

Both pianos had been set up by the same technician for the showroom. I was wondering if any of you had experienced surprises with quality of pianos (better or worse than expected) and also if it is common (not in my experience of other makes) for a premium brands pianos to be so very different. (I know they are all different, I was just surprised at how much.)

[schubertiad]

I have only played on shigeru kawai and it was definitely one of the best pianos i've played (i have played quite a few steinways and faziolis too). They only had one in the showroom, so i couldn't tell whether it was a fluke. I had assumed (until now) that they would all be that good.

[tosca1]

Dear mikebechstein,
Were the two Shigeru Kawai pianos that you played the identical model? As with the RX series K Kawai pianos there is a range of models.
Indeed, the general consensus is that the Shigeru Kawai pianos are extraordinary. However, each piano has its distinctive voice and feel. The differences between the two pianos could be related to the level of preparation each instrument had received. Even if it were the same technician who prepared both pianos, the time spent on each instrument is a factor.
Every brand new piano needs a settling in process to stabilize tuning and refine the regulation and voicing, if it is to be heard at its best.
I hope you complained about the unsatisfactory piano.

Kind regards,
Robert.

[mikebechstein]

Robert,

The pianos I played were (I think):
 
1.   Shigeru III - 6'1" Conservatory Grand
2.   Shigeru VI - 7' Orchestra Grand

So, apart from length, they were pretty much the same.

Number 1 was the good one and was the one the salesman directed me to first. It was the salesman, however, who directed me to the other piano and not my request to play it. I was therefore surprised as if I had been him I would have locked it up until someone had (if possible) sorted it out. He did seem to think though that bigger must be better and so he may not have had very much experience in sales (or at that branch where he may not have known the products intimately. They have two branches that I know of.)

As with any premium piano I was expecting a difference, as I said, just not that much. And, yes I did tell him what I thought of both pianos. He didn’t seem overly surprised by my negative comments and, looking back, I now feel that (strange as it may seem) it is possible that a bored salesman may have been testing me to see if I just raved about every piano or whether I new what I was talking about.

I suppose I will never know.

Mike