Kawai Musical Instruments


Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. It is best known for its grand pianos, upright pianos, digital pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was founded in August 1927.

History

Koichi Kawai, the company founder, was born in Hamamatsu, Japan in 1886. His neighbor, Torakusu Yamaha, a watchmaker and reed organ builder, took him in as an apprentice. Kawai became a member of the research and development team that introduced pianos to Japan. Yamaha died in 1916, and in the 1920s the piano industry faltered in Japan. New management took over control of Yamaha's company, Nippon Gakki Co., and began to diversify its production line. This led Kawai to leave Nippon Gakki in 1927 and found the Kawai Musical Instrument Research Laboratory.
After Koichi Kawai's death in 1955, his son, Shigeru Kawai became company president at 33 and expanded production facilities. In 1980, he opened the Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory. Shigeru Kawai was president of the Kawai company from 1955 to 1989, chairman from 1990 until 2002, and a company consultant until his death in 2006 at 84.
Shigeru Kawai's son, Hirotaka Kawai, was appointed president in 1989. He integrated advanced robotics into the manufacturing process, established Kawai manufacturing facilities around the globe, and oversaw the introduction of several new series of grand, upright and digital pianos.
The Kawai Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company distributes acoustic and digital pianos to over 80 countries.

Products

Pianos

Since the 1970s, Kawai has pioneered the use of alternative materials to improve the consistency and stability of piano performance. In 1971, the company began to use acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a composite material, for parts of its piano actions to overcome the problems associated with the use of wood. Kawai design engineers reasoned that the tendency of wood to shrink and swell significantly with changes in humidity made it less than ideal for use in a piano action, where exacting tolerances must be maintained to ensure stable piano touch. So they gradually replaced selected wooden action parts with ABS parts that they believed would remain more stable, particularly over time as their pianos age.
According to Kawai, scientific tests conducted by Professor Abdul Sadat at California Polytechnic University in 1998 found Kawai's ABS action parts to be stronger than comparable wooden parts and far less susceptible to shrinking and swelling due to humidity. Kawai advertises that its use of composite parts makes its piano actions more stable and consistent than those made by other manufacturers.
In 2002, Kawai introduced its Millennium III grand piano action with ABS-Carbon, a new composite material that combined ABS with carbon fiber. The new material increased the strength of Kawai action parts, reducing their weight, which made the overall action operate faster. The addition of carbon fiber also increased the stiffness of ABS-Carbon action parts, allowing the action to produce more power for the player with less effort. Kawai contends that these advances in materials and design help its Millennium III action respond more accurately to the player's intentions with greater consistency over time.

Grand pianos

Kawai grand pianos have evolved steadily over the decades from the Model 500/600 built in the 1960s and 1970s, to the KG Series in the 1980s and early 1990s that became popular among teachers and institutions. During these years, Kawai grand pianos earned a reputation for long-term, stable performance even in heavy use. In 1996, Kawai introduced the RX Series grand pianos featuring the Ultra-Responsive ABS Action. The RX Series continued to evolve with the introduction of the Millennium III Action with ABS-Carbon in 2004. In 2009, the RX BLAK Series debuted with a new Acoustic Resonant Solid Spruce soundboard and the addition of Phenolic Stabilizers on the hammers that further enhanced the precision of the hammer strike for improved tone and consistency. The RX BLAK Series pianos also incorporated many cosmetic changes.
In 1999, Kawai introduced the Shigeru Kawai grand piano series. These pianos are handmade by highly skilled technicians in a separate facility of Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory in Hamamatsu. Shigeru Kawai pianos are recognized as one of the best pianos in the world and are used in concerts and piano competitions all over the world alongside pianos manufactured by companies like Bösendorfer, Steinway, Yamaha and Fazioli. The Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano was introduced in 2001, and chosen as the official piano of the 2002 International Tchaikovsky Competition.
In 2013, Kawai introduced the GX BLAK Performance Series line of grand pianos. In Japanese, the word kuro suggests wisdom, experience and nobility. Improvements include a stretcher-overlap integrated design and Konsei Katagi blended rim design for improved tone projection.
In 2015, Kawai introduced the GL Series line of grand pianos.
The current Kawai Grand Piano product line consists of the following models:
  • Shigeru Kawai
  • * SK-EX:
  • * SK-7:
  • * SK-6:
  • * SK-5:
  • * SK-3:
  • * SK-2:
  • GX BLAK Performance Series
  • * GX-7 Semi Concert Grand Piano:
  • * GX-6 Orchestra Grand Piano:
  • * GX-5 Chamber Grand Piano:
  • * GX-3 Conservatory Grand Piano:
  • * GX-2 Classic Salon Grand Piano:
  • * GX-1 Classic Grand Piano:
  • GL Series
  • * GL-50 Conservatory Grand Piano:
  • * GL-40 Classic Salon Grand Piano:
  • * GL-30 Classic Grand Piano:
  • * GL-20 Classic Baby Grand Piano:
  • * GL-10 Classic Baby Grand Piano:
  • EX Concert Grand Piano:
  • CR-40A Crystal Grand Piano:

    Upright pianos

Kawai upright pianos are divided into four classes - K Series Professional, Designer Series, Institutional Series and Continental Series. Kawai K Series Professional Uprights range in height from. All have Kawai's Millennium III Upright Action with ABS-Carbon.
The current Kawai Upright Piano product line consists of the following models:
  • K Series Professional
  • * K-800:
  • * K-700:
  • * K-600:
  • * K-500:
  • * K-400:
  • * K-300:
  • * K-200:
  • Designer Series
  • * 907 Designer Studio:
  • * 607 Designer Console:
  • * 508 Decorator Console:
  • Institutional Series
  • * ST1:
  • * 506N:
  • Continental Series
  • * K-15:
  • *ND-21:

    Digital pianos

Kawai digital pianos are divided into 7 classes - CA series, CN series, KDP series, ES series, MP series, VPC series, and DG series.
The current Kawai Digital Piano product line consists of the following models :
  • CA series
  • * CA901
  • * CA701
  • * CA501
  • * CA401
  • CN series
  • * CN301
  • * CN201
  • KDP Series
  • * KDP120
  • * KDP75
  • ES series
  • * ES920
  • * ES520
  • * ES120
  • * ES60
  • MP series
  • * MP11SE
  • * MP7SE
  • VPC series
  • * VPC1
  • DG Series
  • * DG30

    Keyboard actions and features

ModelGrand Feel IIIGrand Feel CompactResponsive Hammer III Responsive Hammer Compact II Responsive Hammer Compact Responsive Hammer Lite Ivory Touch surfaceLet-off simulation / escapementCounter­weightsSensorVelocity curvesAmplifierSound sourceSoundsPoly­phony
ES60yesLight, Normal, Heavy, Off2 x 10WHarmonic Imaging17, SK-EX192
ES120yesLight, Normal, Heavy, Off2 x 10WHarmonic Imaging25, SK-EX192
ES520yes3Light, Normal, Heavy, Off 2 x 20WProgressive Harmonic Imaging34, Grand Pianos: Shigeru Kawai EX, Kawai EX192
ES920yesyesyesyes3Light 1-4, Normal, Heavy 1-4, Off, User2 x 20WHarmonic Imaging XL38, Grand Pianos: Shigeru Kawai EX, Kawai EX, SK-5256
KDP75yes2Adjustable Touch2 x 9WHarmonic Imaging15, SK-EX192
KDP120yes3Light, Normal, Heavy, Off2 x 20WHarmonic Imaging15, SK-EX192
MP7SEyesyesyesyes3Light+, Light, Normal, Heavy, Heavy+, Off, User-Harmonic Imaging XLSK-EX, SK-5, EX256
MP11SEyesyesyes3Light+, Light, Normal, Heavy, Heavy+, Off, User-Harmonic Imaging XLShigeru Kawai EX, Kawai EX, Shigeru Kawai SK-5256
CN201yesyesyesyes3Light, Normal, Heavy, Off2 x 20WProgressive Harmonic Imaging19, SK-EX, EX192
CN301yesyesyesyes3Light 1-4, Normal, Heavy 1-4, Off, User2 x 20WProgressive Harmonic ImagingSK-EX, SK-5, EX256
CA401yesyesyesBass Region3Light, Normal, Heavy, Off2 x 20WProgressive Harmonic ImagingSK-EX,EX192
CA501yesyesyesBass Region3Light 1-4, Normal, Heavy 1-4, Off, User2 x 50WHarmonic Imaging XLSK-EX, SK-5, EX256
CA701yesyesyes3Light 1-4, Normal, Heavy 1-4, Off 2 x 50WSK-EX Multi Channel, Harmonic Imaging XLSK-EX, SK-5, EX256
CA901yesyesyes3Light 1-4, Normal, Heavy 1-4, Off 3 x 45WSK-EX Multi Channel, Harmonic Imaging XLSK-EX, SK-5, EX256
DG30yesyesyes3Light 1-4, Normal, Heavy 1-4, Off, User2 x 20WProgressive Harmonic ImagingSK-EX, SK5, EX256
VPC1yesyes35 Presets for virtual Software Pianos, Editor for Mac and Windows