Kawai, my favorite piano.

Have you ever gone through the tortuous process of choosing an acoustic piano?

I have suffered too many times the disappointing experience of having to try 20, 30 and sometimes more pianos to find one that I like…

A few months ago I was wondering why piano manufacturers do not make use of modern technology to improve the two key elements in a piano: the sound and the touch.

Especially the touch. The touch depends on the several thousand moving parts found in the action, starting with the keys and going all the way up to the hammer heads.

Let’s face it: if a piano has a marvelous sound but the touch is too heavy, slow or uneven, we will eventually not be satisfied with it. On the other hand, if the touch is balanced, sensitive and with the perfect weight, we “forgive” the piano if its sound is not what we are exactly looking for.

During the last few years, piano manufacturers have applied new technologies mainly in the material of the strings, construction of the plate, design of the soundboard with its “crown” and the material and shape of hammer heads, among other elements.

But… what about the touch?

Let me say it again: a piano with a beautiful sound can turn into an uncomfortable instrument to play if the action is too heavy, uneven, etc.

A few months ago, I found the answer I was looking for.

One Saturday afternoon I visited the piano showroom of Casa Breyer, in my opinion the best piano dealer in Buenos Aires, where I found seven Kawai grands of different sizes.

I tried them all, many times, and once again, one after the other. All of them had the same perfect, balanced and sensitive touch, with the exact weight.

I remember thinking: “there IS technology here”.

The secret behind the perfect touch of Kawai pianos: in certain vital parts of the action, Kawai engineers use a synthetic material called ABS-Carbon, which is incredibly more superior to wood for those specific parts.

In the grand models, the ABS-Carbon parts are found in the complex piece that pushes the hammer up, the backcheck and the little piece that holds the hammer to the rail and keeps it aligned (see photo). And this piece DOES keep the hammer aligned.



Compare it with the Bösendorfer action:



All the other parts of the Kawai action ARE MADE OF WOOD, contrary to what some “competitors” say. I have heard them say many times (out of ignorance or plain comercial dishonesty) things like “those actions are made of plastic”…

“Plastic crystallizes and cracks…”

Ridiculous. Those Kawai piano parts which are not made of wood, ARE NOT MADE OF PLASTIC. They are made of ABS-Carbon, one of the strongest materials in the world.

It is the same material used for airplane fuselages, golf clubs, which make players win millions of dollars, and even for bows of string instruments of the violin family.

ABS-Carbon does not crack or break and is not affected by temperature or humidity changes because it does not swell or shrink (this is vital in a piano action).

However, the most revolutionary aspect of ABS-Carbon is this: since it is a synthetic material, each piece is made with the perfect density, weight and balance, which is imposible to achieve with the noble but not always perfect wood.

The result is a sensational touch. Key velocity, response, sensitivity and control are just perfect. It is the ideal touch that all piano manufacturers very well know that piano players always expect, but rarely find because it can only be obtained in some of the pianos they make.

I have always felt that piano manufacturers know that they will not be able to sell a number of their pianos, because artisans sometimes do not “get” them as we pianists like them. In the very least, it will be very difficult to sell those pianos. I have returned to piano showrooms once and many times during long periods of time, only to find some of the pianos still standing there, while others were sold very quickly.

So I wonder: is it posible that the cost of those “unsuccessful” pianos may be covered by raising the prices of the other “better” intruments…?

On the other hand, manufacturers who invest a lot of money in advanced design and modern technology obtain such a high average of quality in their products that their final prices can be much better.

This is why we pianists must congratulate Kawai engineers and designers.

Kawai is opening up a completely new path in the technology of piano construction, and, most important, without changing the basic (and I would say “spiritual”) concept of this mystical instrument.

Of course I have bought a Kawai piano myself, and it has now become my favorite brand: the typical warm and powerful Kawai sound, and with the perfect action.

So if you are thinking of buying a piano, don’t ruin your shoes…

Try a Kawai and see what I mean.

Exclusively imported in Argentina by Casa Breyer: www.breyer.com.ar.

Many people wonder why other piano brands do not make use of modern technology. Well, the fact is that some of them actually have tried in the past, but it did not work simply because they made mistakes and stopped searching, surely afraid of losing customers or market position.

One of the most famous brands in the world had a disastrous experience back in the ‘70s with a new kind of Teflon bushing used in the rotating parts of the action. The idea was that Teflon would improve the reliability and precision of the action because Teflon is immune to temperature and humidity changes.

The problem was that the Teflon bushings were in contact with wood, which does swell and shrink!

Simple as that.

In the actions of Kawai pianos, ABS-Carbon parts are NOT in contact with wooden parts that move or are vital in the calibration of the mechanism.

There is more.

That famous brand of the Teflon bushings, had made yet another big mistake some years before.

Their technicians developed a kind of lubricant for the metal pins of the action, but after some time, the chemicals in the lubricant affected the bushing cloths around the pins. This produced a greenish substance known as “verdigris”, which hardened and in some cases ruined the action.

Once in a while, still today I sometimes come across one of these pianos, which are literally imposible to play. It is like trying to push down the paving stones of an old street.

One last comment.

Factories, importers and distributors of those instruments that open up new experiences for musicians deserve our support and “promotion”, and not only because these instruments make the experience of music so much happier…

Pay attention to something that not everybody knows: general symptoms of muscle stress, carpal tunnel trouble, problems in tendons, arm or hand pain and a high number of physical problems that eventually make us give up our playing, are basically the result of instruments which are uncomfortable, heavy, hard or simply badly made.

Only in a percentage of cases are these problems the result of poor posture.

And poor posture is in itself in many cases the consequence of dealing with a poor instrument.

I am sure you have heard many times things like “it’s better to practice on a heavy piano to develop strength and then play faster on lighter pianos…”

Nonsense!

A hard and heavy piano is a sure certificate to future tendon trouble, carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle pain and eventually quitting.

In my experience as a piano teacher I have seen these problems too many times. That explains my total support to Kawai instruments, which are here to revolutionize the experience of piano playing.