Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kawai model numbering confusion

I'm confused by all the older Kawai model names - say 80s and 90s - as far as which are the better models and what are the differences between them all, even after googling and searching here.

Can anyone explain them, or point to info clarifying it all?

These are all the models I found so far in my target size range:

GM1 4' 9"
GM2
GE1 5' 1"
GE3 5' 5"
KG 1 A 5' 4"
KG-1C
KG-1E 6' 4"
KG-2D 5' 10"
KG-2S 5' 10"
KG-3E 6' 1"
RX-1 5' 5"
CA-40 6' 1"
NX-40 6' 1"
GM 10 5' 0"
GM20 5' 1"
GS-30

(edit to add: well sorry, the formatting of that didn't survive being pasted)

There seems to be a lot of accessible information on the internet about these various models of Kawai grand pianos.

The KG models (good), came before the GS range (better). The RX series began about 1995 and they have been superseded this year by Kawai's newest GX grand pianos.

If you are looking for an older Kawai grand piano, its condition
and history of care and maintenance will determine how good it is. Suffice to say that Kawai has built its fine reputation on the pianos it produced over the past 30 years.

Robert.

In addition to what Robert states above, GM usually denoted their entry level grands while GE is the step up, but still more price-oriented than the KG, GS, RX, SK, etc.

Maybe this chart from the http://kawaius.com website will help you, bolt:

http://www.kawaius-tsd.com/pages/old_grands.html

You might find earlier editions of The Piano Book at your local library, which discuss these models.

I found this link today, it's quite good:

http://www.pianofinders.com/educational/shortguide2.htm

So far this is the best resource I've come across as it really goes into some amount of detail. It also references the useful Kawai link that Jeff provided (thanks Jeff).

Actually the reference is slightly different:

http://www.kawaius.com/oldmodels.htm