Yamaha VS Kawaii Upright

[doowlehc]

My friend asked me advice on buying Yamaha VS Kawaii upright.  I know for grand pianos I prefer Yamaha much much more over Kawaii... what about upright?

I went to a piano shop and tried out some kawaii and yamaha UPRIGHT - seems like each one is different.  Here is my observation

1) Yamaha upright seems to sound richer, especially in middle to lower register.  But a bit weak in upper register
2) Kawaii - some upright sound muddle and weak, very unclear.   Some upright sound strong and richer in upper register, but lower register is still muddle and unclear.

Any observations / advice?

[fred smalls]

Definitely check out The Piano Book by Larry Fine, it gives tons of information and ratings. Personally. i prefere Kawai. I find their tone is not as sharp as most Yamahas. Their action is very strong compared to that of a Yamaha, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. It seem that Yamaha uprights are more directed to jazz and Kawai to classical. Really, your friend just needs to go out and try many, many pianos from each brand, and other brands, and search until they find a piano that they think is perfect for them.

Also, i agree with you that the treble of Kawai's is much stronger than the bass. In fact my piano (a Kawai 50' upright) had a very weak bass compared to the treble, but I liked the tone and touch so much that I asked the technician at the store if he could do anything about the bass. He took it into the back for 5 minutes and it came out with the strongest bass on an upright I have ever heard! Now, I like my bass more than my treble (it sounds like a grand ) I think he poked some holes in the felts or something........

Anyway, I hope this helps

[doowlehc]

Definitely check out The Piano Book by Larry Fine, it gives tons of information and ratings. Personally. i prefere Kawai. I find their tone is not as sharp as most Yamahas. Their action is very strong compared to that of a Yamaha, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. It seem that Yamaha uprights are more directed to jazz and Kawai to classical. Really, your friend just needs to go out and try many, many pianos from each brand, and other brands, and search until they find a piano that they think is perfect for them.

Also, i agree with you that the treble of Kawai's is much stronger than the bass. In fact my piano (a Kawai 50' upright) had a very weak bass compared to the treble, but I liked the tone and touch so much that I asked the technician at the store if he could do anything about the bass. He took it into the back for 5 minutes and it came out with the strongest bass on an upright I have ever heard! Now, I like my bass more than my treble (it sounds like a grand ) I think he poked some holes in the felts or something........

Anyway, I hope this helps

Fred, can you tell me the exact model of the Kawaii you have, and do you know what your technician did with your upright that made it sound so more richer?  THANKS!~

[fred smalls]

Ok, model number is........
Kawai Upright NS-20A
Really, I can't remember exatly what he called what he did to it, but I'm positive it was poking holes in the bass key's felts. Next time you are in a piano store ask the technician about this procedure and he can probably give you a more accurate definition of what it is.