Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum K. Kawai K48A from 1970 (Made in Japan)

Is this piano worth getting? Very dusty inside, with bits and bobs under the keys on the keybed, good case, and a wonky key. Expensive to move and clean/tune. Hasn't been played or tuned in over a decade and a half. Original owner who bought it for children.

I have a Kawai K48A from 1969. Depending on condition (and price), it is more than worth getting. The K48A was one of Kawai's best virticle models at the time. Mine has the original, one-piece ivory key-tops.

I purchased it from the estate of a professional pianist/church organist/piano teacher, and she kept it maintained very well. Her son, who I bought the piano from, said it was his late mother's pride and joy, and one of the last items to be sold from the estate.

Here is a pic...

Good luck!

I agree with Rickster...
It has nice potential. Without hearing a technician's evaluation it's difficult to know how much it's worth or how much it would take to rehabilitate.

You mention it's expensive to move. Is it upstairs or something?

Hi
Thanks for responding. Yes, it's upstairs and the move will be more than the asking price. How much is too much for this kind of piano? It plays ok (except for wonky key), but it's very, very dusty. It's been left to sit for over a decade. Ribs on back were solid, but didn't know what to look for in the soundboard so no idea if cracked. I also heard replacement parts for Japanese Kawai can be hard to find. Just wondering how much is too much to invest. Thank!!

If I were you, I'd have the piano evaluated and appraised by a professional piano technician. It will cost about $100 or so, but will answer many of your questions. These pianos, refurbished and sold by dealers, can cost as much as $3K to $4K or more. This same piano new, would probably cost in the range of $8K to $10K.

I'm just guessing here, but I figure you are looking at about $500 to $1000 for the piano and around $500 for moving. the dust can be cleaned and vacuumed away, and the wonky key can be fixed. The piano may be a good buy or not. It's difficult to assess over the Internet.

But I'm far from any kind of used piano price expert.

Good luck!

Rick

Value is totally dependant on condition, so if you want a definitive answer, you'll need the technician - Rickster's right. I think it's money well spent. In your home, and repaired, for $2500 or less would be a clear win, IMHO. Depening on the techician's advice it might be totally reasonable to go higher.

Kawai is one of the world's larget piano builders, and although they are using different actions now, I would be shocked if there were any parts that weren't readily available or made/repaired. Keep in mind total restorations on pianos 100 years old are very common.

Thanks for your replies. $2500 is more than I want to risk. I have a line on a new Kawai (not sure about the model) for $2400 with delivery, tuning and a 5-year warranty included. The K48a might have a crack or need some other repair I can't see. Bringing a tech is going to be tough because it won't be a private evaluation.

I have a line on a 10-year old Strauss which is more reasonably priced and given its younger age, may be less risky. It looks great in photos and has been described as being in "excellent" condition. Will need to check it out and am trying to find out it's tuning history. If I can get this for less than $1000, is this a good deal? I know these pianos are made in China but can find very little info on them.

How do all of these stack up to used Essex Steinways which are selling around here for about $3-3500?

Also, Rickster, were you trying to sell your Kawai at some point? Thought I saw an ad online. If so, why?

Thanks!!

I have had the Kawai K48A for several years, and it is possible I may have listed it for sale and then changed my mind. I vaguely remember listing it for sale for a short time.

When you have the PAS (piano acquisition syndrome ) like I do, or at least used to have, it is not unusual to buy and sell as part of the hobby.

As far as the why, it is probably because I found another piano I liked better and would have to sell one to make room for another one. Currently, I have 3 grands and 1 upright, the K48A. I have had as many as 6 pianos at one time. I happen to like pianos and used to enjoy tinkering with them and working on them.

In regards to the K48A you are looking at, it sounds like you are more interested in something newer that looks good, with no dust. You deserve a brand new piano. I say go for it!

For me, part of the fun is finding a diamond in the rough and cleaning years of dust and other "objects" (hair-pins, coins, tooth-picks, candy rappers, bubble-gun cards, etc...) out of it and giving it a good tuning; or, finding a good bargain on a nice used piano close to home. Just call me the "Indiana Jones" of piano archeology (just kidding ). But I do love a good piano adventure!

Good luck!

Rick

I don't think it's advisable to buy any used piano without an inspection. If you can't do the inspection it makes sense to move on to something different.
I don't know what Strauss is, so someone else might be able to correct me here. But what I'm hearing is: 10 year old piano from China, of unknown manufacture. An older Kawai is relatively low risk. You just jumped out of the risk frying pan and into the risk inferno. If you're afraid of the Kawai, run away from this piano.
Essex is an entry level piano. I don't think it's a bad entry level piano, but it wasn't designed to compete with the K48, for example. To compete with that quality you'd need to go to the Boston line (ironically... the Bostons are made by Kawai).

Rick, perhaps the PAS has gone into remission?

Perhaps. And, probably a good thing. Of course, 4 pianos is still enough to keep me busy.

I had a few days off work last week. I tuned my Yamaha C7 and my Baldwin R. Wow, do those two pianos sound great! Nothing sounds better than a well tuned piano! Heck, playing a well-tuned piano can make a not-so-good piano player sound good.

There was another thread here on PW recently discussing the Strauss/Strauss & Son piano, now made in China. I looked but couldn't locate the thread. I believe I'd try to stick with a top-brand name in a used piano, or buy something new of whatever brand, if you can afford it.

Rick

I have come late to this party.

If you decide to get a piano that is dirty, just get your tuner in, and when he/she opens it up, get the vacuum in action.

On Strauss pianos from China- I have a lot of experience of those. I spent 10 years in China. At the last place where I worked all the pianos were Strauss. If someone were to arrive at my door, now, with a Strauss piano of any type, and offer to give it to me free, I would say no. Of the ones which I have encountered, 2 of which were brand new, none of them was any good. Perhaps their export models were better than the ones for the domestic Chinese market. Perhaps we were just unlucky.

Hi PhilipinChina! Thank you to you for some info on the Strauss brand. It's very difficult to find. Are they cheaply made? Bad sound? Sounds like you're voting for the Kawai! No one seems to be as concerned as I am about the dust. When I looked at the piano, I found coins and nails under the keybed. I'm not worried about vacuuming up the dirt, but I am worried that a blowout by a vacuum will lodge these bits into other parts of the piano. Maybe I just don't know enough about piano mechanics. When I told one tuner about the piano, he told me that in addition to tuning and cleaning, I'd need the keys refinished. I think they are ivory. Can ivory keys be refinished and what should that cost? Do I even need to do this? The keys looked a bit worn and had yellowed a bit, but overall it still looked ok to me. I also want to say thanks to Rickster and MusicPassion. This forum is awesome and soooo helpful to newbies!!!.

Hi PianoMomCan,

As long as you want advice here on PW, we will keep giving advice! That is what makes this forum interesting and educational (and, it's free ).

Yes, real ivory key-tops, though a matter of some politically-correct/incorrect controversy, can be refinished, cleaned, polished, and/or replaced. Cost is something difficult to guess, unless a piano tech member here is willing to chime in with a cost approximation. Again, it depends on the actual condition of the real-ivory key-tops.

Based on my impression of your questions and posts here so far, I think you would be much happier with a used piano that is already cleaned and refurbished, or a new piano. There are risks and rewards in buying a used piano like the Kawai K48A upright you have described here. If you cannot do some of the cleaning and refurbishing of the piano yourself, I'd suggest getting estimates on having the work done by someone who is qualified to do it.

I don't mean this in a harsh or rude way, but you can't have it both ways; either you buy used, as-is and do most or all of the rehabilitation and refurbishment work yourself, or you buy something from a piano dealer that has already been restored/refurbished. It is going to cost you more if you buy from a dealer, but the piano should be more apt to meet your satisfaction standards.

This is just my opinion here, based on your comments and questions so for, but if I were you, I'd look for a newer pre-owned piano or one that has already been refurbished by a professional or buy a new piano.

I thought the Kawai K48A was no longer on your short-list, but if it is, I'd find a piano technician who can look at it and give you an estimate on what it would cost to have it brought up to par, per your satisfaction standards.

Good luck!

Rick

Strauss pianos which I have seen were badly made out of poor materials and were badly finished. The sound they made was grating on the ear. They lost their tuning very quickly and one of them lost the tuning of all the top notes at the same time which made me suspect a plate failure. Apart from those points they were OK.

I had a Japanese made Kawai in my apartment. It was years old but was several leagues ahead of the Strauss. Very few people go wrong with a Kawai. In the unlikely event of problems developing the company do stand behind their products.

Hi all
Thanks so much for your help. Rick, I understand what you are saying and have come to the same conclusion. Thanks for helping me along. On that note, what would be a good price for a mint 50" Kawai BL-51? What about a Kawai Ce-7n? Both dealer pianos. Thanks!!

Perhaps it would be good to start a new thread with the new prospects. More people will see the new pianos being considered.

Pianomom, both of those kawai's are older models. the issues to sort will be, in addition to how they play and sound, their age, what use and conditions they were put to, and whether any parts were replaced or refurbished over their potentially substantial lifetimes. when they left the factory, the BL-51 started life as a more serious instrument than the console CE 7.