Kawai KG-6

I have an opportunity to purchase a 34 year old Kawai KG-6 piano 7' 4" at what seems to me to be an incredible price, $11, 500 :shock:

Do any of you have any experience with this model piano? I have played many Kawai KG-2's but except for an afternoon seven years ago at the World Wide Piano Pedagogy Conference, where I played an EX (their concert grand, it was ok) and a seven foot Shigeru Kawai (it was incredible) the smaller pianos are all I've played. I think they're great pianos with cooperative actions and a nice sound. Bigger pianos are a different story. Hopefully someone can provide some first hand info on their larger models before I try this piano out on Thursday. My current piano (New York Steinway A, mfd. 1900) and I are not getting along as well as we used to. Seems like it's time for a change...

 

Have you also considered a complete acoustic restauration of your Steinway instead? If you let repair your soundboard, new strings, new tuning nails, new action, new intonation, you probably get that for the same price. BUUUUT: then you can expect to get a very high quality piano with a beautiful sound and action.

I got the opportunity to play on a 100 year old Steinway B, acoustically restaured that way. That sounded great, and the Renner action is just the best what is available today. The Kawai's action is, if I remember well, heavier, tenacious, and sorry, it simply cannot beat that Steinway action (manufacturer: Renner).

So I made the same thing on my 75 year old Steinway O, complete acoustic restauration. In my opinion , that was really the best thing I could do. I never would trade that for a new Kawai, never!

In my opinion, nothing can beat old vintage wood combined with new strings and new action. I prefer that slightly warmer sound, also more sonor sound, but also clear Steinway sound you get that way before a brand new piano sound. But is of course all a matter of taste.

 

I think you are giving the answer yourself right here. Piano action and sound is 99% of personal taste. Just take your time to test that Kawai. If you like the dynamics, touch and response, just go for it. Remember different pianos of the same brand and model can sound and respond totally differently. Personally, if I compare the Steinways and the Kawais I tried, I was always more impressed by the latter ones. The action on the Steinways I tried were too stiff to my taste, whereas the Kawais felt much more responsive.

 

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Kawai's RX series and Kawai grands in general. I've never played a KG-6, but if the sound is anything like the RX-7, I would jump to get it for that price.

But what matters is whether you like it.

Pete

 

Thanks everyone for your input; I have considered a new action for my Steinway, although it was restored in 1981 the new action has never been entirely satisfactory. The only problem with doing that is my location; the piano will have to go away and all the rebuilders also insist on refinishing the case which is not nessacary and I don't want to pay for it. It's not just the action; I'm kind of tired of the ultra bright treble. Kawai's generally have a smoother sound up there and there's also the factor of having that seven foot bass. Desicions, desicions... and then again maybe this is just a mid life crisis issue; then again, maybe change is good... :?

Whatever. I'm off to Los Angeles to play it then some time at the beach. I'll let you know what happens when I return next week! 8)

 

Go for it, man!

My piano (Kawai RX-3, 6'1") is ten years old, and the action is getting noticeably less efficient.

 

That was a great piano but not great enough; I really liked it but the soundboard seemed to be warped in one place and on the underside of the soundboard I could feel the different spruce sections that had been melded (?) together; on most pianos you can't feel that. Seemed like a defect to me. I felt that if I took that piano from the ocean to the high desert where I live the climate shock would break the soundboard, and certainly the piano would need a two to three year readjustment period. I'm keeping the Steinway; it's a good instrument, I just need to get some new hammers for it soon.

Thanks everyone for your input and advice!

 

i know like kawai's

 

i no like kawais