1. The Rim - 2:17
2. The Wood/Soundboard - 5:44
3. The Bridges - 8:22
4. Duplex Scaling - 10:56
5. Keystick Length - 12:31
6. How the Action is Prepped - 14:53
7. The Finishing Touches - 18:50
8. Master Piano Artisan Connection - 21:10
9. Batch Made - 22:02
10. Visit From Piano Artisan - 23:58

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#ShigeruKawai #Kawai #GrandPiano

Welcome to another new piano video from Merriam Pianos. In this video we’re looking at the Shigeru Kawai, hand-made grand pianos, and focusing on 10 interesting facts about these superb instruments.

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The Shigeru Kawai grand piano series is the very top musical product that Kawai produces. The series consists of the 5’11” SK-2, 6’2” SK-3, 6’7” SK-5, 7’ SK-6, 7’6” SK-7 and finally, the 9’ concert grand SK-EX. Over the years, the Shigeru Kawai series has essentially functioned as a test bed for various experimental piano building techniques and new technology, with a gradual trickle down effect wherein features pioneered in the Shigeru series have ended up throughout Kawai’s entire line up.


Fact #1: The Rim

The rim of any grand piano has several roles to play, including tonal projection, stability of construction, stability of tuning and overall durability/longevity of the piano as a whole. How the rim is produced in conjunction with the woods selected for the construction are vitally crucial to the final tonal and structural results the piano is capable of producing.


Fact #2: The Wood/Soundboard

Kawai uses solid spruce for the soundboards for all of their pianos, but with the SK-7 and SK-EX, they use select Ezo spruce from a small remaining stock pile. The process used to dry this spruce truly defies all economic sense; rather than using kilns or any other accelerating drying methods whatsoever, this spruce is dried in open air dry racks for well in excess of 5 years before the wood is worked with at all. This ensures maximum stability in a variety of climate conditions, and greatly reduces the possibility of the wood splitting. Very few companies engage in a process this time consuming.


Fact #3: The Bridges

The bridges in the Shigeru Kawai pianos, according to several Kawai insiders, are essentially reproductions of the Hamburg Steinway bridge design. This isn’t something you’ll find in a press release, but unofficially, this happens to be the case as the Hamburg Steinway bridge design is viewed by many as the absolute optimal way to design a bridge.


Fact #4: Double Duplex Scaling

Another interesting thing about Shigeru’s is the use of double duplex scaling, which means not only a duplex length on the back of the bridge, but also a duplex length on the front of the piano as well, just in front of the capo. This results in an incredibly colourful treble range. Often, even with super expensive pianos, the upper treble can sound a bit ‘noisy’, meaning uncontrolled or out of tune harmonics, and a hue of white noise surrounding the fundamental pitch. Utilizing the double duplex and managing the avoid this pitfall truly speaks to the precision these pianos are built with.


Fact #5: Keystick Length

What’s not so common knowledge is what Kawai has done with the keystick lengths; every Shigeru Kawai, from the SK-2 to the SK-7, has the exact same keystick length as the 9 foot SK-EX. What advantage does this give? Well for concert level pianists, having a 6 foot piano in the home that can approximate quite closely the feel of a 9 foot concert grand is of course hugely advantageous. For everyone else, the extended keystick reduces the difference in repetition speed and the sense of weight between the front of the key and the back of the key. This means, these actions are much easier to play on any part of the key.

Fact #6: How the Action is Prepared

Fact #7: The Finishing Touches

Fact #8: Master Piano Artisan Connection

Fact #9: Batch Made

Fact #10: Visit from Piano Artisan



Conclusions:

All in all, Shigeru Kawai pianos are some of the best value instruments available on the market, and nevermind dollar for dollar, these are definitely some of the most satisfying pianos you can sit down and play.

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