<html> Hi Kevin, Sorry, I appreciate your posts, but I need to correct a few small things. Unless your dealer is offering some funny discounts, I think the prices are quite a bit higher than the standard Yamaha pianos.  I have no idea how much the Yamaha S pianos cost, though, so maybe you meant the Shigeru Kawai is similar to them. Also, 30 grains per inch is a kind of tight for a good soundboard.  They maintain a fairly consistent 14 grains per inch, and don't want to go finer than that or the board would likely be too stiff.  The main thing about the boards is that the spruce is air-dried for so long before the final seasoning.  I think this makes a big difference in the tone. They sure are nice to play, aren't they? I sometimes spend part of my lunch break practicing on one of them.  We have a mighty nice SK-6 in the Kawai showroom right now that I have trouble staying away from. Don Mannino At 08:13 PM 1/25/01 -0700, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>    Terry wrote: How does price compare to a similar size Yamaha?   Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida <a href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</a>         Very slightly more, but have you ever seen a Yamaha "S" series? They were hand made too, and you can tell, so I believe the Shigeru's are just as good, but more reasonably priced than the handmade Yamaha's.     And for all of you that have been asking, yes, they are really "hand made". Every technician (There are only twenty) who builds these, work by themselves in a corner of the manufacturing plant. They are the Concert Techs for Kawai, training in Europe, and they also get to hand select the best materials over anything they have. The soundboards have a minimum of about 30 grains per inch.     You get what you pay for, ( as opposed to "You get what you think you're paying for".)         Kevin E. Ramsey <a href="mailto:ramsey@extremezone.com">ramsey@extremezone.com</a></blockquote></html>