Should I purchase this Kawai KG-6C?

[gimmin74]

Hi,

Long time browser, first time poster.  I came across a local Kawai KG-6C built in 1975.  Don't know what a good piano is supposed to sound like but it sounded pretty good.  Cosmetically, piano looked good, couple of dings here and there but nothing major.

The private party is selling it for $8,000 (negotiated from $12,000).  He said he purchased it from a dealer 5 years ago and at that time it was "refurbished" with new hammers, strings but he was not exactly sure.  He did give me the contact at the dealer to get info though.

Is $8,000 a good deal for the 7'4" semi-concert grand?  My biggest concern is the age.  Or are there better deals to be had?

Please advise this newbie.  BTW, I don't play piano, its for my 7yr. old son who's pretty good

Thanks!

[quantum]

Have your son play several other pianos to get a sense of the variability across numerous brands and models.  It will give a better context on how much you like this piano.

1975 is not old for a piano.  There are many early 20th century pianos still in good playing condition around.  What is more important is its condition.  If you become seriously interested in the piano, hire a tech to inspect it and give an evaluation.  Make sure it is someone that you hire, not someone affiliated with the seller or dealer that did the refurbishing work.  They can give you the technical evaluation of the piano. 

What you have to decide is whether this piano speaks to you or not.  Are there other pianos you've come across that you like better and are within your budget? 


Personally, I love the KG series pianos.  The university used to have several of them.  I fondly recall the rather powerful yet lyrical singing voice these pianos possessed.  The newer Kawai models don't exactly have the same character as these. 

[gimmin74]

Thanks for the reply.  If the piano is in good condition, what do you think about the price of $8,000?  I saw a 1998 RX-6 go for $8,500 about 3 months ago, so I think there may be better deals.  Such a big purchase and afraid to pull the trigger.

[john90]

at that time it was "refurbished" with new hammers, strings but he was not exactly sure.

Hmm.
I agree with Quantum 100% here. Hopefully you have something reasonable for your son at the moment to play on. I think you need to get your son to play absolute minimum 20 different pianos in various shops. He needs to play softly and loud. You need to listen to how even his playing is in the soft and loud parts. You need to take notes on what sounds best to you, and you ought to play a few notes yourself on each one, learn a scale yourself, then get your son to explain what it is he thinks, and correlate this to what you feel. As a child of this age I knew exactly which piano I liked touch wise. Adults don't have the limited muscle power or light finger weight of a child, who can more easily detect wear in my view.

[quantum]

Thanks for the reply.  If the piano is in good condition, what do you think about the price of $8,000?  I saw a 1998 RX-6 go for $8,500 about 3 months ago, so I think there may be better deals.  Such a big purchase and afraid to pull the trigger.

The RX-6 has a very different sound than the KG.  In the scenario that either model were in the same technical condition, for the small price difference of 500 I would go with the piano you like better.  

Would I choose one over the other?  It would depend on the individual instruments in question.  I've come across KG's that were in much more refined state than brand new RX pianos that needed quite a bit of voicing work. 

If you are interested in Kawai, I would read up on the various action technologies they have developed.  The newest ones would have an advantage with the Millennium 3 action.  Some other companies would have you think less about putting "plastic" in your piano.  In my opinion the composite material in an M3 is not part of the essential sound producing or resonating part of the instrument.  Its mechanical advantage comes in stricter precision and greater tolerances to climatic change.  I've played an M3 action Shigeru, and the movement is like velvet.  

[iumonito]

You will eventually need to form a relationship with a piano technician (the person who will tune your piano every six months or so and will do other adjustments over the life of the piano).  You should form that relationship now, and have the person check it for you, and perhaps try to negotiate further reductions based on works that needs to be done.

That said, I think $8,000 is entirely reasonable for a KG-6, which, by the way, according to my notes is 6'10" or so.  The 7'4" of that series, if I have this right, is the KG-7D.  If it is really 7'4", well, the better!

A couple of additional notes.  These pianos can be rebuilt Beautifully, so even if eventually it deteriorates a lot because of heavy use (say, your son get into it and hundreds of thousands of hours of practice later you need to replace the hammers, or do some other major maintenance), you still will have an instrument that either you can have rebuilt, or you can sell to an enthusiast to rebuild.  And, you should consider that Kawais of this vintage are very very very nicely made.  This is a well-designed and well-constructed instrument; I can tell you that without having to look at the particular specimen.

Good luck!  Go grab it before someone else does!

[silverwoodpianos]

If you don’t know pianos know your piano man……it is easy to find lots of instruments for sale; used and otherwise.
The more difficult process is finding a good technician to work with.

Grand pianos have up to 12,000 moving parts; no-one here can tell you what condition these parts are in. Have this instrument, or any instrument inspected for mechanical condition and then local market value by a technician of your choice.

If the instrument was refurbished 5 short years ago ask who did the work, then talk to that person.

[gimmin74]

Thanks guys.  The theme here is to get a good tech it seems like.  My son's piano teacher will be able to help with a reputable tech I think.

Thanks for all the good advice!

[toner22]

8 grand sounds about right. At any given place I visit the grands will vary from 4 to 8 thousand with some being up to 30 if they're those big hitters.

I wouldn't say it's the deal of the century and to go out and pick it up. If you got 8 grand to spend, go window shopping, and spend hours just having the kid mess with em.  After all, it is quite a bit of cash.