<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2919.6307" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>How does price compare to a similar size Yamaha?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Terry Farrell<BR>Piano Tuning & Service<BR>Tampa, Florida<BR><A = href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</A></DI= V> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: = 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:DonMannino@mediaone.net" = title=DonMannino@mediaone.net>Donald Mannino</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 25, = 2001 12:13 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: S. Kawai</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=3>Hi Dave!<BR><BR>As Kevin so aptly = described them, the Shigeru Kawai pianos are Kawai's new hand-made line of = grands.  They are the same scale designs as the larger RX pianos, but are built = differently and with some different materials.  Since they are hand built = they are very limited in quantity, so there are presently less than 20 dealers = in North America.<BR><BR>They come in 5 sizes, SK-II (5'10"), SK-III (6'1"), = SK-V (6'6"), SK-VI (7') and SK-VII (7'6").<BR><BR>The soundboards are made = from long-term aged Japanese spruce (air-dried a minimum of 5 years before = final seasoning), and have cold-pressed hammers and hand-wound bass strings = (wrap is fed by hand instead of numerically controlled string machine).  = The cabinets are somewhat different, with round legs and some fancier = features - but it is the sound and touch that really makes them nice.<BR><BR>The = actions and dampers in the Shigeru Kawai pianos are installed and regulated by = Kawai's concert technicians in Japan, so they come from the factory quite well = regulated and voiced.<BR><BR>As you might expect, they cost quite a = bit more than the standard RX pianos.  Although Kawai has had other = limited production models in the past (like the original GS models and the R - = 'Artisan Select' models), these are built similarly to the EX concert grand.  The added labor really adds to the price.<BR><BR>Don Mannino<BR>Kawai Piano Company<BR><BR>At 09:05 AM 1/24/01 -0600, you wrote:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite type="cite">Ok Don, tell us, what is = the S...... (can't remember how it's spelled) Kawai that is advertised in the = January Journal (pg 33)?<BR> <BR>dave<BR><BR> <HR> David M. Porritt<BR><A = href="mailto:dporritt@swbell.net">dporritt@swbell.net</A><BR>Meadows = School of the Arts<BR>Southern Methodist University<BR>Dallas, TX 75275<BR> <HR> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>