<HTML><BODY><DIV style='font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 10pt;'><DIV> <DIV><TT>Thought I'd throw my two cents in the bucket here.  </TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT> </DIV> <DIV><TT>I tune hundreds of Kawai pianos.  I find them to be easy to tune as a rule, particularly the RX series.  I do find the occasional unstable piano, but that isn't unique to Kawai.  </TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT><TT></TT> </DIV></DIV> <DIV><TT>There are two things I particularly like about Kawai as a company:  </TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT> </DIV> <DIV><TT>1). Unwillingness to rest on laurels/willingness to do different things, notably the "plastic" actions(which are in a state of constant improvement), despite taking heat from many in the piano community. </TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT> </DIV> <DIV><TT>2).  The responsiveness and ethical nature of their tech support.  Problems are handled promptly and without alot of red tape.  They listen to tech's concerns and take recommendations into consideration.</TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT> </DIV> <DIV><TT>I have never seen a Kawai lyre I would call poorly made.  I used to use them to tip the pianos up all the time when I was a mover--unlike Schimmels lyres which would disintegrate after a couple of moves (DAMHIK).</TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT> </DIV> <DIV><TT>I get lots of 10-20 year old Kawais, even the cheaper models like the GE1, that have been let go to seed for many years.  They revive well.  They regulate easily, and respond well to standard voicing techniques.</TT></DIV> <DIV><TT></TT> </DIV> <DIV><TT>In my humble opinion, both as a piano player and a tech, comparing Kawais to Yamahas is an apples to oranges argument.  ----- Original Message ----- From: "PIANISSIMO PIANOFORTE S.L." <<A href="mailto:patrick%40pianospianissimo.com">patrick@pianospianissimo.com</A>> To: <<A href="mailto:deanmay%40pianorebuilders.com">deanmay@pianorebuilders.com</A>>; "Pianotech List" <<A href="mailto:pianotech%40ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>> Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 12:16 PM Subject: Kawai vs. Yamaha. was: near impossible tuning > Dale wrote:   I really like the Kawai grands in general. The tone is far > more interesting than it other Japanese competitor & I can do wonderful > things with the voicing . For me, (and i'm sure many others will agree) Kawai's are not very consistent in tone. Some are really nice, many are not. Yamaha's arent that consistent either, but at least the sound doesnt "distort" when played louder. As Dale just said, with most Kawais all you get is NOISE after a second of sustain. Even though many kawais seem like they have a very nice tone when you first play one, it doesnt last! > These are pianos with original hammers that have probably never had a > needle > stuck in them. Is this a hammer/voicing problem? hmm... most yamahas ive seen havent either been neddled and they dont have that problem We import many used Yamahas and Kawais, and the difference in quality is clear, the materials and the way yamahas are made are much better by FAR. Starting out with the casework for instance, while kawai lyres just fall to bits even if only a few months old, i have never seen or heard of a yamaha lyre loosen. The castors, the bolts and screws, etc, kawai ones just scream the words "cheap n nasty", no matter how many times you do and undo yamaha bolts/screws, they'll still keep the thread and the heads wont become useless. On older uprights is not uncommon to see rusty colums (legs) as they where made of metal. And on newer ones made of plastic, they kind of bend! We have now stopped using kawais for concert hire because of these things and of course tuning stability is far superior on yamahas. Action-wise (kawai).... what's all that plastic doing there??? might be ok when new, but when you need to replace stuff... pedal mechanisms often make all sorts of noises... etc etc. The only thing i can think of right now that i really like on kawai grands is the screw adjustment for the springs on whippens, quick and delightful to regulate with those! BTW the new black ABS plastic whippens are just weird!! Havent seen the Shigeru models yet, are they any better? Don't think they can beat the Yamaha S series, can they? Patrick > > > > > I don't get it. Most all of the Kawai grands I tune (which aren't that > many) > I don't really care much for. Since there aren't any new Kawais being sold > in this area most of the ones I encounter are 10 plus years old of the KG > variety, a couple of GS, one GS-70. I don't like the sustain. With the > sustain pedal on when playing an arpeggio the sound quickly fades into > white > noise and one cannot discern what scale was just played. I've done some > experimenting even, hitting individual notes across the scale with an f > blow > and I get about a second of tone before there is only noise. > > > > These are pianos with original hammers that have probably never had a > needle > stuck in them. Is this a hammer/voicing problem? > > Dean > > Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 > > PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 > > Terre Haute IN  47802 > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: <A href="mailto:pianotech-bounces%40ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</A> [<A href="mailto:pianotech-bounces%40ptg.org">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</A>] On > Behalf > Of <A href="mailto:Erwinspiano%40aol.com">Erwinspiano@aol.com</A> > Sent: Friday, March 03, 2006 10:18 AM > To: <A href="mailto:pianotech%40ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> > Subject: Re: near impossible tuning > > > >   Dittos Roger > >   Ed Normally I find Kawai a very stable piano.   I tuned a Kg-2 the other > day &  I had not tuned it for 3 years.  Except for being 6 cents flat, > enough for a pitch raise, it was in solidly in tune with itself & I > wondered > why I was there. It is also an easy piano to tune. > >    I really like the Kawai grands in general. The tone is far more > interesting than it other Japanese competitor & I can do wonderful things > with the voicing .  However on some of the grands & verticals a like have > pins do not render well. > >   Ed I don't get it & would like to know this is only an isolated incident > as I currently have a client looking to buy one of the same models > >  Dale > > After lifting, leveling, and fitting, the power, sustain, and  voicing > will > improve. > > String lifting is a skill just like tuning, I would hardly call it > indiscriminate. > > Regards Roger > > > > _______________________________________________ > Pianotech list info: <A href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" target=_blank>https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A> > Patrick Hinves Ballesta Afinador/Técnico 610442371 PIANISSIMO PIANOFORTE S.L. _______________________________________________ Pianotech list info: <A href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" target=_blank>https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A> _______________________________________________ Pianotech list info: <A href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" target=_blank>https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A> </DIV></TT></DIV></BODY></HTML>