Voicing up Shigeru Kawai SK3

[Cy Shuster]

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Avery,

I wouldn't count too heavily on email alone.  With spam filters and all, =
there's a fair chance these days that it might not have made it through. =
 Try another contact method: phone, fax, snail mail.  Isn't every =
Shigeru supposed to get a visit from a factory rep?

I've sure liked the ones I've played.

--Cy Shuster--
Rochester, MN
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Avery Todd=20
  To: Pianotech=20
  Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 7:37 PM
  Subject: Re: Voicing up Shigeru Kawai SK3


  Hi St=E9phane,=20

  There's not much I can tell you about this (I could, but I won't!) :-) =


  My university bought a 7' Shigeru about 1-1/2 yrs. ago and it still=20
  hasn't been "serviced" like it was supposed to have been. A Kawai=20
  tech was recently in town to service some "sales" and I even sent an
  e-mail requesting (again!) that ours be serviced as promised when one
  buys a Shigeru. No one even responded to my e-mail!  Well, that was=20
  the end of January and so far, no one even has contacted me to have =
that=20
  done! So, I'm sure "that" tech has long since gone back home! It was=20
  supposed to have been done the next time one of their techs was in =
town,=20
  according to the dealer!=20

  As you might be able to guess, I'm not very happy and at this point, I
  wouldn't recommend anyone buy a Shigeru based on those "promises"!=20

  Sorry. It really surprises me and most of all, disappoints me!=20

  Avery=20

  At 03:31 PM 2/19/04, you wrote:

    Hello,
    =20
    I own a brand new Shigeru Kawai SK3 that the Kawai technician in =
France has
    made, according to me,  too deep voicing on notes in the treeble =
range (octave 5 to 6).
    =20
    Although he disagrees with that, the tone is slightly too mellow in =
this range,
    from pianissimo up to mezzo forte. At pianissimo or piano, the =
higher partials are
    reduced compared to neighboring octaves (impacted notes are from 55 =
to 69),
    and the attack looks a bit dull.
    Those higher partials are coming back with more strength on the key. =
However,
    these notes always require slightly more strength to produce a =
balanced sound.
    From Mezzo forte up to Forte, things are OK (overall loudness and =
tone quality
    is well balanced)
    =20
    The technician made several filing with very limited improvement. =
I'm not a
    specialist, just a pianist - but my engineering background and what =
I learned
    reading your very interesting posts, tell me that there has been =
likely too much
    deep needling in the higher section of the shoulders.
    =20
    The Shigeru hammers are cold-pressed and are considered as =
medim/soft in
    europe. May be they are not  very robust to extensive voicing.
    =20
    I'm wondering what could be the best solution to recover some power =
to these
    15 hammers : dry ironing, juicing or changing those 15 hammer heads =
?
    Kawai says the tone will not be even if I change only a sub set of =
hammers
    (they don't want to replace either full set of subset anyway...).
    =20
    Have you experienced changing subset of hammers in this range ?
    Which hammer head brand would you recommend for those Kawai pianos =
(softer
    than Yamaha...) ?
    Do you think dry ironing would make it ? (actually the recovery =
level I'm expecting
    is not that big and the felt thickness is small in this range, so =
this could work).
    =20
    Many thanks for your feedbacks,
    Sincerely yours,
    Stephane Hanriat
    stephane.hanriat@free.fr
    =20
    PS : This being said, the SK3 is an outstanding instrument. Action =
is close to
    perfection, overall tone is wonderful, rich, not too harsh like =
Yamaha and the
    softer hammers give you great control and margin in the way you =
produce louder
    sound.
    =20
     
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