🎹Kawai GX-2 vs GX-3 Grand Piano Comparison - Millennium III Action, ABS Carbon Technology🎹
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
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0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Playing Demo
2:04 - Overview
7:19 - Piano Sound/Tone
12:49 - Bass Range Demos
19:24 - Mid Range Demos
21:26 - Treble Demos
23:32 - Millennium III Action
#GX2 #GX3 #Kawai
Hello and welcome to Merriam Pianos on TH-cam. In today’s video, Stu Harrison is going to take us through a comparison of two of the most popular institutional grand pianos on Earth that happen to come from the same manufacturer - the Kawai GX2 and GX3.
The GX2 comes in at 5’11”, and the GX3 is slightly larger at 6’2”. Customers often ask us about this specific comparison, so we wanted to dive in and make a video that should be helpful to anyone who happens to have these two grand pianos on their shortlist.
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Background
Kawai’s GX line is very popular for people looking for a professional quality grand piano for the home, and it’s incredibly popular with universities, places of worship, and other institutional settings.
For a lot of folks looking for a professional grand piano in and around 6’, the GX2 and GX3 wind up being the last two options on the table.
The GX pianos are widely considered to be a high-performing, high-value line of instruments given the features they incorporate for the price point, including front and rear duplex, vertically laminated bridges, hard rock maple, and mahogany rims, and tapered solid spruce soundboard.
The GX line replaced the popular RX line and featured a thicker rim and extended length keysticks, among some other design upgrades.
As the larger instrument, the GX3 is more expensive than the GX2, and part of that is the larger soundboard and longer strings, but it also features some more complex carpentry.
Piano Sound
There are some observations that generally apply to the GX line as a whole that certainly apply here. The sustain is exceptional for a factory-produced instrument, the treble is strong and well defined, and there’s a ton of color.
The biggest differences between the GX2 and GX3 start to show up below middle C. The GX3 has a warm and colorful bass tone, whereas the GX2 seems to get slightly more cabinet activation in the bass register. The projection is similar, but the fundamental is stronger on the GX3.
As we move up we come to probably the biggest difference, which is the break. The break is more controlled on the GX3, which is largely a function of the increased length of the GX3. This could be an important consideration depending on the repertoire you play most often.
On to the tenor range, and we’re definitely hearing more color on the GX3, but the GX2 is still really nice here.
In the upper range, the GX2 is a little more direct with less cabinet resonance, but as we get to the top two octaves, they’re virtually the same.
Piano Action
The action feels virtually the same on both pianos, which isn’t too much of a surprise since they both use the Millennium III Carbon Fiber action. These actions come very well regulated from the factory and play nicely out of the box.
The GX3 does have slightly longer keys, but we’re not really feeling a real difference here.
Closing Thoughts
So that wraps up the musical differences between these two instruments. The GX2 checks a lot of boxes, but there are some notable advantages of the GX3, and for some people these differences will be meaningful.
If you have the space to fit a 6’2”, it could definitely be worth exploring both pianos.
Thanks for watching!
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It would be great if you could play few classical piano pieces too while comparing...
Gr8 comparison video! Have you produced videos like this comparing the GX1 & GL30, the GX2 & GL40 and/or the GX3 & GL50?
Very much appreciate all the work you have been doing explaining the technical differences between pianos. Learn so much common sense piano stuff whenever I watch your excellent videos.
Thank you kindly for tuning in! We're glad to hear that you have been finding Stu's videos helpful and educational. :)
"Everything Happens to Me" is such a great vehicle doorway I've always been partial to it. It loves reharm already advanced especially bridge it's happy to slow ballad or bop like crazy. It's also got comic not overly sentimental lyrics.
A classic standard and an excellent tune! :)
Hi Stu. Thanks to this kind of comparison I'm starting to hear subtle differences, it's a lesson to improve hearing... ? or improve upon my audio system :-)
16:24 I would like to hear all major keys in a sequence GX-2 -> GX-3, but this form of comparison may be too dry/technical for the light format that you present.
Interesting lighting accents directed on cheeks. It is Pro.
Will be there a sound demo for this - "no talking, just playing" ?
Pretty please ;-)
Can I propose an inspiration?
Your music for "Dracula" on GX-3.
Vampire hunters...
It would be interesting to hear the differences between the GL50 and the GX3
I honestly agree! I hope he sees this comment and takes it into account, as they are of the same size from 2 different product lines of the same brand, with an almost 20,000 USD MSRP price difference. Be interesting to see how they compare on the tone, action and overall level of refinement!
Honestly, I don't think you'll find too much of a difference between the two pianos. If you were to blindfold yourself and play them back to back without anyone telling you which piano is which, I bet you'd have a difficult time knowing which is which. The difference you might hear could be just from the fact that you're playing two different pianos. I just did this test with a GL40 and a GX2. I decided on the GL40 because it sounded just as good. It was a little different sounding, but I think it was just because they are two different pianos.
@@MarianoPerez I think the difference is also because the GX2 is made a littel differently than the GL40 and, the GX2 may have higher quality materials🎹🎶
All Gx series are fitted with neotex keys while no GL series has neotex. Gx is called as the equivalent factory version of Handmade shigeru.
@@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12 I was looking at the blind folded notes I took when buying a piano, and I liked the gl40 because it sounded cleared to me. But instruments are so personal, this is why they also tell you to make sure you play them. I chose the gl40 even over a shigeru, which to most people is crazy, but when I was blind folded that's what my ears told me.
Thanks one more time, Stu!
This is one meticulous thoughtful presentation, and beautifully captured sound, as far as I can tell.
While I just commented on your Hoffman Grand video that it quite blew me away by the clarity and perfection in overall picture, the GXs still sound very fine, too, and in terms of price it's like 35 up to over 40k Euro (roughly equivalent to USD) for the Hoffmans vs. 25k for the GX-2. (Seems hard to get a substantial rebate on the Bechstein MSRP, too, making up a substantial part of that difference. They do seem to have a tight grip on their dealership, and I guess it's a matter of manufacturing output, too. Boutique vs. Massive Scale.)
So in terms of being affordable, there's surely much to say in favor of the Kawai.
We'll see where my shopping goes. Anyway, your advice and presentation are fairly priceless. Thumbs up!
Hi there! Thank you once again! We're glad you have enjoyed Stu's reviews/comparisons and have found them helpful through your own process. The W. Hoffmann P series instruments are usually in a higher price category than the Kawai GX line in most markets, but they are exceptionally handcrafted pianos. At the end of the day, it comes down to the preferences of the player between these two powerhouse piano lines. :)
@@MerriamPianos It just occurred to me that for the price point of the Hoffman P, I could actually go for the SK-2. And it is roughly 7 inches longer, too. As beautiful as the Hoffman does sound, that's a tough challenge even for a 2nd tier Bechstein. … Or else, I could go for the GX-3, which is even 10 inches longer and still keep thousands of Euros / Dollars. IOW, either the Bechstein boutique instruments are directed at some elitist folks with too much money on their hands, or the Kawai folks would have to be asking for kind of dumping prices. Or it's really a result of the mass fabrication, relatively. Then again, there are not that many SK instruments either and it's mostly handicraft in high-wages Japan … sorry, I had to get that off my chest ;-) Cheers!
Always love it when a new review comes out! Would it be possible for GX1 vs. GL30 comparison? Someday I would live up upgrade my old Yamaha GH-B1 (though it sounds much better after having it voiced) but I don't have the space for anything bigger than 5' 8" at the moment.
Honestly, the GL30 is so good that you might not hear much of a difference between the GL30 and the Gx1. I didn't hear much of a difference between the GL40 and GX2. They did a really good job with the GL series, with the exception of the GL10. The millenium 3 action feels super heavy and stiff on the GL10.
Better change the hammers .. use Abel or Renner
Would interest me also 🙂
Any news on new Kawai digitals? Ordered a CA59 last April (9 months ago) that still haven’t been delivered. Now wondering if I should wait for a 2022 model. This seems nuts.
I was comparing the sound of these two Kawai pianos with the sound of a Schimmel Konzert K230, both recorded in this channel... the Kawai pianos seem to have a sound signature that I would describe as "nasal"... it reminds me of the Sennheiser HD 280 PRO studio headphones or the Audio-Technica ATH M20X... whereas the Schimmel K230 sounds more like the Audio-Technica ATH M40X, which is a "non-nasal" sound, for a lack of a better description. Some people love the Sennheiser HD 280 PRO... but I don't like that "nasal" sound very much... I prefer the ATH M40X... the Sennheiser HD 280 PRO shows a frequency curve with a bit more presence around 500 Hz than the M40X while having a bit less highs and more bass than the M40X... I wonder if this frequency response is somehow similar and maybe intended in Kawai pianos... Could it be that when somebody prefers a piano over another, they are just partial to a certain type of frequency response signature in general? So, maybe you can predict what a person will like by studying his favorite "frequency response curve". It would be interesting to give a Kawai lover a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 PRO studio headphones and hear what they say about its sound, and see if there is any positive correlation between "Kawai piano lovers" and "Sennheiser HD 280 PRO studio headphones lovers".
Stu you are the best piano reviewer on the net bar none.
Gorgeous piano playing
I will be sure to pass on the kind words to Stu for you! :)
Would love to see comparisons between GX vs SK, or perhaps Yamaha CX vs SX!
I love that idea! A comprehensive comparison between the GX and SK models or perhaps even the GL, GX and SK models would be an interesting topic to explore. Thanks for the suggestion! I will add it to the list of potential topics for future videos. ;)
GX-3 all day long! I played them last week and the GX-3 BLEW ME AWAY! Played the SK5 after and I wasn’t impressed, went back to the GX3.
May I ask why you weren't impressed by the SK5? Is SK5 not significantly better than GX3 in sounds?
No, there is no "better" piano. It's all prefrence. @@huangeric427
These are basically my favorite pianos (not including shigeru kawais, but those are VERY expensive)
Grande recensione, la ringrazio tanto, lei è molto bravo e chiarisce molto bene le caratteristiche dei due pianoforti. Chissà se un atx4 modifica la risposta meccanica...
Saluti!
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! You're very welcome! Thanks for taking the time to tune in. In my experiences, the presence of the ATX4 system does not compromise or influence the action or playability of the instrument in the slightest. Kawai does a fantastic job with the integration and installation. :)
GX3 sounds apparently much deeper than GX2 and the resonance is more natural and harmonic. GX3 sounds like more Kawai
I was in the market a grand piano. I tried a GX2 and GL40 and honestly, there was not much difference in sound to me. I think the difference I heard in my heard was either do to a placebo effect, my knowing that the GX2 is a more expensive piano. It could also be that the difference was just from the fact that I was playing two different instruments. I might have heard that difference between two GL40s. All in all, I couldn't justify the price difference between the GX2 and the GL40. Maybe the GL40 I was playing happened to be an exceptional GL40 build. Whatever the case, the GL40 was being sold at a crazy discount brand new. With the current shortage in Pianos, I would have paid about $10k more for the GX2. So I ended up buying the GL40 satin. I can't wait for the delivery date. Thank you again for all these reviews.
Did you buy the showroom piano?
@@jeanhasdenteufel3818 Yea, I wanted the piano I was playing. I must have gone to that store like 4 times so they had both pianos prepped and tuned for my last visit. I tried all types of pianos from different companies and price points: Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, etc. I really couldn't hear much of a difference from the GL40 to other mid-range pianos like the GX or yamaha C pianos. I didn't start to hear a real difference until I got to the Shigeru line, but those were double the price. Honestly, the GL 30 and GL40 sounds so nice that I was not going to be gaining all that much by spending twice the amount of money. Yes, the Shigeru had a fuller bass and it felt a little better, but not something that merits twice the price. I will be taking delivery of the piano tomorrow.
@@MarianoPerez Enjoy! I have a brand new GL30, and its a pleasure to play. Although its not perfect.
@@jeanhasdenteufel3818 The GL30 was my runner up. I couldn't make my mind up between the GL30 and GL40. On the one hand the GL30 has this beautiful intimate sound, but it does lack a little on the bass. The GL40 has better bass and an extra touch of shimmer on the higher register, but the action felt a little lighter/sluggish (which they said is just a prep thing). Yea so I struggled a lot making my choice between giving up that intimacy of the GL30 for the extra bass and shimmer on the GL40. Honestly, I was leaning towards the GL30. At the end, my wife made the choice, she wanted the satin finish and they didn't have a GL30 with a satin finish. Either way, both pianos are fantastic. I couldn't even tell much of a difference between them and the GX series.
@@MarianoPerez very nice! Congrats 💪🍾 🎉 🎹 I was looking to get a new K500 but ended up getting a a new GL10 that I connected with. Only thing I wish is it had more bass: ideally I would have gotten a GL30 but just pre ordered a brand new sports car and looking to buy a house 🏡 by my birthday so decided I didn’t want to finance and just paid cash for brand new GL10 that was delivered this week. Once I’m at my new home and got the new car delivered I would like to step up to the GL30 or GL40. How much did you get the GL40 for? I’ve been hearing of people getting them for as low as 18 grand. If that’s the case I could upgrade to the GL40 next year 🎹 🥳
Really enjoyed hearing the sounds of these instruments. We recently bought a GX-5 and couldn’t be happier. The gx series are so well made and have real warmth in them.
Sure you did 🤡
On the GX-2 I heard this "metallic" sound around 8:45 onward .....maybe a string or voicing
Not sure, but the GX-3 is a bit softer to my ear
Thanks
The extra length of the GX3 does provide a more pure and transparent sound, particularly in the lower register.
gotta luv 6 foot grands...
I was comparing piano specs. GX3 at 6'3" weighs 736lbs. CX3 at 6'1" weighs 704lbs. Steinway Model A at 6'2" weighs 695lbs. Steinway is lighter.
If you compare similar larger size grand pianos like Yamaha CX6(7' and 980lbs) and Steinway Model B(6'11" and 760lbs), Steinway is much more lighter.
My question is why the huge weight difference?
Per official website, the C6X weighs 893 lbs and the B weighs 802 lbs. The 90 difference can be attributed to many things such as a cast iron plate with more braces, thicker rims, or even the density of the wood selected. Heavier doesn’t always mean more premium.
I ended up with GX2-Aures II, delivering next month. I don’t think you could order a GX3 with Aures II.
Congrats on your GX2 Aures 2! The GX2 is a wonderful piano and the Aures technology is incredible. You will be beyond thrilled with it! Also, you are correct, the Aures 2 tech is only offered in the GL30 and GX2 model currently. :)
GX-2 doesn't sound smaller, it sounds more mellow than the 3. Each piano sound is quite unique although both do sound like brothers.
Listen to Keith Jarrett's version of this ballad on the Live At the Blue Note box. Phenomenal. The box set has some of the most beautiful intros and endings he's ever played!
Could you review the GX-5 and perhaps also GX-6? I’m considering upgrading from RX-2 after having it for 12 years. No one on TH-cam has done a review on the bigger GX series pianos. I wonder why. Is it because they aren’t good buy?
I think GX2 and 3 are just more popular because they are the good size for home use.
That's not needed. If you are serious, you will play both pianos in person.
GX-3 has a surprisingly similar tone to that of Boston GP-178, especially in the base range.
They are basically the same piano. Kawai manufacturers Boston pianos on the same assembly line as the GX series.
@@Pianoman1488 That, in no way, makes them the same. Action, materials, scale, strings, so much are different.
Hello Stu. This is a particularly great video because you are comparing almost identical pianos. I have a few comments about the individual notes and also a couple of questions for you: first, I have the impression the GX3 might be slightly out of tune in the lowest note: the GX2 sounded tight and controlled in A0, with no leaks, whereas the GX3 sounded a bit garbled, as if it wasn't 100% perfectly tuned in A0. In addition, I noticed something strange that maybe you could explain in terms in scale temperament? I don't know, let me share it with you and then you could elaborate on this: I compared the sound of both pianos against my DGX 670 (which has the samples of a Yamaha CFX). I know it is not a fair comparison because the CFX is a 9ft concert grand and these pianos are relatively small and can't produce the type of bass only a 9 ft concert grand can. Of course, it is not just any CFX, but one prepared by Yamaha for recording, so it has to be perfectly tuned and regulated to be put on a digital instrument, so it cannot have audible defects. I played back and forth the part of the video where you play A1, B1, C2, and I noticed that the Kawai's C2 is a few cents below the tuning pitch of the CFX in C2... so I have 3 theories: 1) the pianos are not perfectly tuned since they are floor samples, 2) since smaller pianos like these have more intrinsic inharmonicities due to the smaller design, they need to be tuned in a different way than a 9 ft concert grand, 3) in a smaller grand piano there are more "unwanted" pronounced harmonics (I am talking around bass notes), and being a less rounder tone than a 9 ft concert grand, it produces a sort of auditory illusion that they are not perfectly tuned. I wonder what you think about this.
Another problem I have found in several recordings, both in your channel and other channels, is a very specific type of buzzing sound in certain notes. To ensure this is not an auditory illusion of mine, I use more than one reference, meaning at least 2 sets of speakers and 2-3 studio headphones, and they all reproduce the same buzzing sound in certain notes. By the way, I used to have a piano vst called "Session Keys Grand Y" by e-instruments which I believe had that same problem in just one note, and it was so annoying that it rendered it useless (I think e-instruments has revamped it and is now selling it as "Noire", but instead of using a CFIIIS, they use a CFX). Alicia's Keys by Kontakt also had some audible defects, as those vst pianos did not have the same level of quality than some more premium vst pianos.
For example, I hear a buzzing sound in the Kawai GX2 when you play some notes around 16:56. I have a theory about this: could it be that, since these pianos are floor samples not 100% perfectly regulated for the most accurate recording, they may have some lose hammer flanges? I will cite Sean O'Shea (Kawai's official presenter) verbatim from his explanation about the Kawai GX series on hammer flanges, "the hammer flange is the crucial part that connects the hammers to the action rail. When a hammer flange remains properly aligned and tightly secured to the rail, the hammer will strike the string with accuracy. But when a flange looses or its alignment drifts, even by a millimeter, problems occur such as buzzing sounds..."
I know Kawai uses a serrated rail to secure the hammer flanges better, and also an "insuliner"... so that leaves a question to me: could it be that there is one flange screw loose, or maybe the screw does not have its lock washer? Without a lock washer, the screw will loosen overtime. Is there any other source of noise you could think of?
A piano is a large object made of wood and metal with a very high level of tension inside... I don't find very difficult to believe that something in this very complex and sensitive machine can loosen overtime, and the tiniest defects will be amplified by the largest loudspeaker ever: a piano soundboard.
I don’t know, but this recording lacks the brilliance of the tone, on both pianos.
And one interesting thing: the soundboard area of the K200 (114 cm upright) is the same as that of the GX-3 (188 cm grand)...
Does Kawai have any contender to Yamaha's SX series?🎹🎶
The Shigeru Kawai's are often priced roughly the same as the SX series which is "supposedly" a tier below, whatever that means. By offering the CF series, people mistake the SX for being an objectively worse piano. Musically, that's just not the case, and many pianists who choose between the Shigeru and the SX series when priced the same, choose the SX despite it being a "lesser" piano. So the competitor in a musical and economical sense to the SX series is the Shigeru Kawai.
Kawai has 17 grand pianos in 3 series (SK, GX, GL) and Yamaha has 16 grand pianos in 4 series (CF, SX, CX, GB/C), so you can't establish a perfect correspondence. The Yamaha CF and Kawai SK are handcrafted. The Yamaha SX is almost entirely handcrafted and sits in a category that doesn't 100% fit with Kawai series, it is like a "Yamaha CF light" or "Kawai SK light". The Yamaha CX is similar to the Kawai GX, and the Yamaha GB/GC is similar to the lower part of Kawai GL series. Some Yamaha pianos don't have a good Kawai counterpart, and vice-versa. This is due to sizes and design philosophy. I think the SX series is particularly difficult to compare directly with Kawai, and it may be best to leave it in its own category. It seems to me as if Yamaha has tried to provide a product that enjoys almost the exclusivity of a handcrafted piano, but at a slightly more "budget" level than the Kawai SK or Yamaha CF series.
@@Instrumental-Covers what part of the SX series isn't handcrafted?.
And, do you agree with another commenter who says there is not much of a difference sound-wise between the GX2 and, the GL40 and, iff there was a difference it's probably because they're 2 different pianos and, not the same piano? I hope this isn't coming out all rong🎹🎶
@@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12 For the Yamaha SX series, probably just the plate. I think the Kawai SK series is inferior to the Yamaha CF series, except for the SK-EX, at least for one reason: the method of casting the plate. Kawai uses the V-Pro pouring and vacuum method to cast the plate in all their pianos, including the SK series. Only the SK-EX escapes this fate. On the other hand, Yamaha uses Sand Casting on their CF series. So, Kawai cannot claim their SK series is entirely handmade, but Yamaha can. Checkmate, Kawai 😄
The GL-40 and GX2 have a few differences in favor of the GX2: the GL-40 has acrylic white keys, basically plexiglass... hard. The GX2 should be more comfortable to play because it uses Neotex, which is good for aircraft carpet. I have seen some Kawai grand pianos with shiny keys... not sure if the GL-40 has shiny keys. In addition, the GX2 uses a vertically laminated bridge and a blend of hardwoods for the inner rim, so the tone is supposed to have better projection and balance... how much of a difference? I don't know.
One thing Kawai never discloses is the origin of the soundboard. Stu says he was told in a factory visit several years ago they use Alaskan spruce, but Kawai has never made that statement public. Why do you think they choose to be so silent about it? You know how they give a lot of information about their supposedly better action, but the thing that actually makes the sound (soundboard)... nothing. Isn't that strange?
@@Instrumental-Covers now that you think about it it is a bit strange that Kawai does not disclose the matirials used in they're soundboard. Is yamaha that open about their action like Kawai?🎹🎶
🎼👍
I can hear on my high quality headphones that GX-3 has a slightly better sound and a much better bass.
Clearly, the Kawai piano was better mic'd than the other in the video.
Aren't both piano's in this video Kawai?
@@KhoaVo408 Yes, I didn't know how to put the sarcasm font.
Yeah it's 52k dollars by the way
gs 3 на голову выше.
It's time to remove the christmas tree
I enjoy your reviews, but please start tuning the pianos more carefully before these videos to give us a more accurate representation of the instrument.
Thanks for the kind words! We always do our best to ensure that the pianos are recently tuned and presenting well to ensure that our community members get a proper representation of what these pianos offer musically. With that said, we appreciate your feedback and will certainly strive to ensure the pianos are in tip top shape in terms of tuning. :)