Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai CA95 - The Inside Story, With Pictures

Had reason to have a Tech come out and attempt a minor repair. The "G" above "Middle C" has a twang to it the other keys do not. If earphones, or recordings, it is clear as the others. When using the keyboard, it is there.

So, here is what is inside these beasties. My sincerest apologies to assumptions I made earlier about how these are made inside.




After the back board is removed.



After the top board is removed. Pretty uniform - for sure.



After the panel by your knees is removed.



The transducer is anchored to the back board. The other end of the transducer, is attached to the soundboard.



What I call the HandiPanel.



The board for the Sound Engine.





The Sound Engine Board with and without flash.



The panel by your knees.



The panel above your feet.



The top panel with the midrange speakers - four of them.





Amplifiers

One for the Tweeters, one for the MidRange and one for the Transducer.





Power Supply stuff



An adapter panel. Located beneath the Sound Engine. The black cord veers right to the amps. It is quite long and is coiled up and tied to the bottom.

+++

Hope you folks enjoyed this.

Very nice Jon, thanks for sharing your pix!

Added to the Nekid Pichures thread.

Wow, that soundboard looks real! So many boards and wiring harnesses, I'm kind of surprised at how "bits and pieces" the CA95 construction is. Looks like lots of plastic in the key action? And the obligatory aluminized chipboard key base even in a home model.

Were you able to find what was causing the buzzing / rattle / whatever? Unwanted resonance can be a bear to track down.

Now I feel dirty. :X

<<Wow, that soundboard looks real! >>

It is ... The Transducer does wiggle this sucker, and it does make the lower sounds in the room more voluminous.

<<So many boards and wiring harnesses, I'm kind of surprised
at how "bits and pieces" the CA95 construction is.>>

Not really. It is no different than other digital contraptions. Each cable/assembly has a purpose.

<<Looks like lots of plastic in the key action?>>

Each individual key is solid wood and the Keybed Frame and individual Hammers are indeed a plastic. Kawai has used plastics and composites for many years now and these components are absolutely stable.


<<And the obligatory aluminized chipboard key base even in a home model.>>

The entire cabinet is made of a high density chipboard. Very hard, very heavy, I might add. This protects from warpage. The aluminum shields protect the circuits from stray RF things eminating from outside the box.

<<Were you able to find what was causing the buzzing / rattle / whatever? Unwanted resonance can be a bear to track down.>>

Sadly, no. The Tech tightened every screw etc he could see. And G is still different than the rest. So, I will have to get used to that, I guess. But he and I did agree, it is indeed mechanical and not electronic.

Thanks!

Here is the Kawai Grand Feel. Note the wood and the plastic.

I wonder if the midrange speakers have a natural resonance? Or does it seem to be coming from the soundboard? If you can't tell where it's coming from you might try unplugging one speaker at a time to see if it goes away.

The Tech did the combinations to see if it could be tracked to a speaker or amplifier. We also shifted the keyboard up a half step and a full step and down as well. The "Twang" shifted with it. This is not a serious problem - just an annoyance.

We decided on a couple of things. One, wait a few months and take the pulse then. Two, I will go to a local music store and try 1-2 other 95's to see what they sound like.

Thanks

I wonder if I will be able to spot these issues when I do get my CA-95 (seeing as I'm a total beginner). Is this something only a trained ear/finger can spot?

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The CA 65 and 95 are wonderful pianos. Play them and do not get too nit picky of key spacing nor whatever until you are familiar with it. In my case, that specific note was a bit sour compared to the others. That was aggravating. Hence, a call was placed.

But, do not search for things that may or may not be there ... Enjoy it ...

Hi McBuster,



Is the above mentioned 'shifting of the keyboard' that you tried a mechanical or electronic change? In the latter case, I think the issue cannot be a mechanical one, right?

Ciao,
Paolo

Not sure if you were referring to me, but anyway -- I'm not out to search for tiny details, I have heard enough here about how the keyboard of the piano is constructed. I'm just wondering if I will be able to find real but not so obvious problems.

Im surprised to see no toroidal transformers, more expensive than regular square transformers but they produce a cleaner signal with virtually no hum or feed-thru

Electronic using the Virtual Technician. Mechanical would appear to be very difficult to do.

Real vs Not So Obvious

Hmmmm ... Imho, these are fantastic instruments and of the CA63 and CA93 and now the CA95 I have owned, this Twang in a couple of keys was all I have ever found. Is it "Serious"? Not at all. A "Show Stopper"? No. On a One to Ten - "Irritating"? I find it a Three.

My whole goal here was to find one speaker with the screws needing one more twist. And done. We will see what six months brings.

If the tonal characteristic of the note in question moves up/down when transposed, it's almost certainly a component of the original sample, and therefore not a mechanical issue.

Kind regards,
James
x

Hmmmm ...

I thought the opposite. If one key plays the note that sets the mechanical side abuzz, moving that note to another key would do the same thing. Right?

Assuming the key mechanism is not at fault, but some other mechanical component that lights up at a certain frequency from sound produced by the speakers, which key was used would have no bearing.

Do you hear the 'twang' in headphones as well as speakers?

James
x

@KawaiJames
It could still be a mechanical issue in the sense that something mechanical is resonating -- excited by a very specific partial in one particular note. I'm always amazed how a particular note on my acoustic can excite buzzes outside the piano -- e.g., a window blind, a light fixture, or a part of the piano's cabinetry. We've all probably seen this, so I suppose this is an obvious point.

Yes, I know what you mean guys.

Hmmm...well, the headphone test is probably the best way to find out.

James
x

As I stated at the top, using headphones, or a recording, the Twang dissappears.