Shigeru Kawai SK 2 (World class piano for under 6ft.)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- This Shigeru Kawai SK-2 is probably one of the nicest examples of an SK-2 I have found, and it's also one of the best pianos that is under 6 feet in length, with very little competition in this size bracket. Its sound is solid, warm, and impressively large for its size, which is in the range that many people would consider to be "small". It has almost none of the negative characteristics of the average small grand, however, and is truly a delight to play. I found this beautiful instrument at:
Roger's Piano
12 Worcester St,
Natick, MA 01760
This is so funny. I bought this exact piano. It's coming home on Thursday. I played so many and in the end there was something about this one that just felt right. I chose it over a beautifully restored 1926 Steinway B if that tells you anything about the absolute joy this piano elicits in the player. It's incredible and Roger's Piano is the best!!!!
I love Kawai. This is beautiful, James, and so is your playing. Thanks for posting 🎶
Thank you too!
i was sold on Kawai after hearing a Chopin Etude performed on one in the 2010 International Chopin Competition.
The clarity is unreal especially for its size.
Great review/demonstration - I've no idea why I follow your channel, I don't play piano (or any other instrument very well for that matter!), but I do find it a pleasant break from my usual content to watch your channel. Thank you. :)
Welcome aboard!
So glad you posted this today as I am ordering g a new SK2 shortly. Negotiating with 2 dealers for best price. Will be some months before it can be delivered. I CANNOT WAIT!
I love music and machines. I love this channel!!
È sempre un piacere vedere quanta passione metti in tutto quello che fai. Sei un esempio da seguire. Grazie e continua così.
Nice playing James! Each Shigeru is made by hand by a certain master tech which you will find a picture of on the card attached to the piano. That is the reason for differences in temperament and not the time period it was made. The Limited SK3 Pyramid Polished Mahogany for example is made by one of the most senior techs, who is also responsible for many or the SK-EX Concert grands. Each Tech has his own personal taste for voicing. After you get the piano eventually a Kawai master tech will visit your house and address any issues you may find to suit your taste. I think they call it the white glove service. I cant wait for mine to happen although I am already extremely satisfied with my piano!
What a gorgeous piano and so beautifully in tune! Your playing is lovely and the piano's action helped your perfect execution of the ornaments in the Scarlatti.
Thank you very much! It was a lot of fun to play.
I just love the "Kawai sound". Maybe not as brooding and melancholic as some others, but so well balanced.
Its a great middle range brand, also very steady when it comes to its tuning, it detunes very slowly, less impacted by environment than other brands, very decent for study purposes.
I am getting ready to order a new SK-2 and am just so so excited I can hardly stand it! I am negotiating on price with two dealers in California :-). Your videos are so timely, I was considering a Hamberg Steinway and found James reviewing that SAME PIANO and now have decided I prefer Shigeru and will get new.
We got our sk3 from San Mateo Piano in Ca. Got a great deal, so something to consider.
James, I literally left Roger's Piano and found this Kawaii you've just played As one of the best I've heard! Came online to find more info on it and voilà! Your video showed up!!! Amazing piano!!!! I couldn't stop playing it!!!
Wow, thank you! That's super cool!
The range of tonal color you were able to create is incredible. This is an exceptional instrument and the upper register is like a 9' Shigeru., not quite as much in the middle and lower registers. The upper tone reminds me of the Fazioli sound.
It really does capture a lot of the spirit of the SK-EX. I can see what you mean by the tone being reminiscent of Fazioli.
James, it is a delight to see you have so much fun! Until recently, I had 3 favorite keyboardists, Anthony Newman, who plays k380 almost as great as you do, Daniel Chorzempa, mainly because of pipe organ music, and Luca Sestak, for his Boogie piano. Now I have to add another favorite, whom I consider to be as great as the others,, and that's you James.
Well, thank you so much! :D
This piano sounds amazing. It is interesting how you can make any instrument whether good or bad sound amazing. You are so knowledgeable and I learn so much from you. Another great post. Thanks 😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love your original test piece. Good to hear you play.
Sometimes we shouldn't underestimate some of the smaller grand pianos. I try to judge a piano as is and trust my ears. However, this Shigeru Kawai sounds lovely, delicate and with plenty of tone. An ideal grand piano for the musician who wants serious sound with limited space and including the advantages of Kawais Grand action. My personal piano, A Langlau made Feurich piano (165), is a piano in the same league, a small piano with an incredibly big tone.
And last but not least your videos are always refreshing, honest and brought with plenty of passion.
I enjoy watching and hearing you more and more.
Thanks so much!
Great video as always! I'm quickly becoming a fan of SK in general. If you ever manage to be down in the Birmingham, AL area Ellis Pianos currently has three SKs (3, 5, and 7) along with a Fazioli 228 and a few other lovely pianos. The SK-3 is one of two in North America with a pyramid mahogany finish, if I remember correctly. I personally adore both the 3 and 7 they have in their showroom. Best wishes and thanks for the videos!
I own the other SK3 in Pyramid Polished Mahogany. There are actually 16 in the world.
i have a SK-2 made in 2004/5, love it! This sounds very freshly tuned, so in tune! I don't think it's particularly voiced, very typical sound for shigeru but nicely tuned
Great review, James! Thank you very much and God bless!
That piano sounds lovely.
Great review, great piano, loved the Scarlatti!
Great guy you are, thanks for the vids bro!
James, wished I knew you was in the Boston area recently. I think you are an extraordinary human being regards music and follow your videos, which you make both informative and entertaining. I am an mature adult beginner and having major focusing problems but love music and the piano. Would definitely love to meet you or hear you do one of your videos if ever in the Boston area again. SFB
Hello James ! Yes Shigeru Kawai is definitely one of the top products in the highly competitive grand piano and upright piano market. It really has an exceptionally beautiful sound. If you ever get a W.HOFFMANN WH206P under your very talented fingers at Kim Pianos or anywhere else in the United States of America, then I would be very happy about a detailed test of this dream grand piano. It is manufactured by C.BECHSTEIN EUROPE in the Czech Republic and costs 38,900 euros in Germany, with the optional Vario Duet system it then costs 46,900 euros. But it sounds like an instrument, which costs about twice as much. So I would say that there is nothing better in this price range, especially since it can keep up very closely with the BECHSTEIN Academy models. So on to James, I'm really looking forward to your opinion on this instrument. What might be very interesting would be a head-to-head comparison between the W.HOFFMANN WH206P, the A208 and the B212 from C. BECHSTEIN.
I wonder if this undercuts the other Kawai grands like the GX. Just listening to it it sounds at least mid six, so warm. I remember my dad trying out pianos and a sk4 was very competitive with the bluthner he picked and a Bechstein.
It sounds really nice for a small piano🎹🎶
The Scarlatti was a treat. It sounded very nicely.
Thanks!
Wonderful sound indeed. Interesting to hear what a 7 of 2020 would sounds like. Must be really good. By the way, your playing was great again. I like it that you choose the cavatine and Scarlatti to play. Besides that they sounded beautiful on this piano I love that you play ‘ less known’ pieces. It shows that classical music is good and not only old and dusty. There are so many beautiful pieces out there. Thank you for sharing and playing.
Piano aside, that was a fantastic performance of the cavatine! Really liked the contrast between each section of the piece.
Thank you!
You made the piano justice. Great instrument. The pricepoint makes it tricky though, in particular if the buyer has lots of room, opening up for 7 feet pianos.
The piece your playing reminds me of the music played for silent movies. No disrespect, it's beautiful stuff.
Beautiful :)
Make a Comparison between Shigeru Kawai and Yamaha CF series.
Thank-you, James. I really love the way you played L23. The Kawai does it full justice. Have you been listening to Wanda Landowska's recordings of the same Sonata?
Thank you for posting and sharing your knowledge. I have been watching your videos for years and have learned a lot.. Charles
Cool 💯💯💯😎✌️
Very cool, thanks for watching!
Sounds very good here. I've heard some demonstrations on Shigeru Kawai where the tone actually sounds far too pure for my taste- without any sense of bite to begin the tones. Perhaps it's a matter of differences between individual instruments, but it has a really good blend here between the softer tones and those with a little more edge. My GX3 also has a very nice blend of these qualities (and records extremely well) although I haven't yet had a chance to try a Shigeru to see how big the difference might be.
One thing you should show is the difference in sound in different lid positions.
I have been told by a Kawai dealer that he has been told by Kawai (!) that now SKs can also be ordered shipped with the new ATX4 silent system, however I have not found any other evidence that this is actually true. It isn't even clear if ATX4 units can be already seen out there yet ... ah now I notice that Alamo Music in Texas got a GL with ATX4 and made a video.
i want this one.
Great Vid!
Weird question: what speakers do you use with your mp11se?
I have hard time finding sounding as good as beyredinamic headphones lol
In the studio we do not use speakers as such, we record direct and we monitor the sound through headphones or Roland KC350's.
If I had 38k € and the place I'd buy this piano. It's cute and magnificent.
Your face in the thumbnail says it all :D
Hey, welcome to Massachusetts! What are you doing here? This is such a beautiful sounding piano.
We were up here picking up a car for the America's Backroads Channel.( th-cam.com/channels/DerrrDE1taNRBNrLqRCQjg.html ). We purchased a 1935 Ford four door convertible with only two owners and just 62,000 original miles, we then were crazy enough to try to drive it back to Tennessee that we are presently uploading on the other channel.
@@ThePianoforever Oh wow that's awesome! Wish I could've met you, I live in Massachusetts!
Sounds pretty gorgeous to me and at a pretty good price point. How would it compare to a similar sized Yamaha?
Very good question! I think I asked a similar question near the end of the video, I'd be very interested to see how this stacks up against something like a Yamaha S3X which I think is of a similar size and is also a phenomenal piano.
@@ThePianoforever you did indeed mention it, I wrote it whilst you were talking about the piano and playing it :)
Hope you get the chance to play and record it
I presume the "weird synth" you purchased was the Critter & Guitari Organelle ... it's a fun little box! I invite you to seek out the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator line -- their PO-12 drum machine is a must have for ANY studio!
Indeed it was! I really have my heart set on a nice polyphonic synth, either an Arturia Polybrute or an UDO Super 6, but that won't be for a while considering how expensive those beasts are!
@@ThePianoforever The Hydrasynth Deluxe looks promising and I have heard great things about the feel of its keys.
I am 6'1" would I be a able to play this piano?
what piano do you like better, this or c bechstein grand pianos?
It would be a wonderful challenge side by side along with a high end Yamaha.
Same legs as the Schiedmayer's ! ;-)
If a 48 inch spin it can sound good, a Kawai baby grand can sound good.
How is the lenght of a piano measured?
Very carefully
When you said high end piano brand that starts with the letter s were you referring to Steinway?🎹🎶
🤔🎹 🤔
Has 8 letters, starts with S, ends with Y, and rhymes with Steinway ...
@@ThePianoforever hmmm🔎🎹🎶
@@onemoremisfit S.T.E.I.N.W.A.Y.🎹🎶
Beautiful sound!!
O my God
Is Shigeru Kawai one of top 5 piano?In your opinion top 5 pianos are...?🤔
The top five is difficult to nail down, but I would generally describe the Shigeru line of pianos as being of the highest quality available with just a few others sharing that title.
Look at recent Chopin competition, candidates are give options of Steinway D-274, Fazioli F-278, Yamaha CFX and Shigeru Kawai EX
now it's time for me to get into 6 ft under .... oh wait!!
Of course, I don't know what is next in life for you, and whatever it is will surprise and delight me, but you may want to consider what Luca Sestak does to market his music. I'll let you find his website for your evaluation as a future strategy.
Great overview! One thing that bothers me on some Kawai grands is the soft pedal mechanism shifts the entire keyboard. I think that's really lame. How does the soft pedal work on this piano?
PSS-F30 is better
I don’t understand why some manufacturers make an elite line of instruments. Shouldn’t all their instruments be made with the best materials and construction?