Emery, Thanks for the info, you got an awesome deal!
The ones above are sub 5k. However, it makes sense for me to check out a Kawai dealer in the NY area and unfortunately there is only one.

You guys got terrific deals. Today I checked out GL-10 at the only Kawai dealer in the NY area and the price couldn't be brought down below 11K and that does not include cost of delivery.

Yeah, and no sales tax in Oregon I wonder if it would make sense to get one here and have it shipped.

Went ahead with the preowned Kawai GE-1. Couldn’t be happier! Terrific action and beautiful warm tone. It sounds so much better in my apartment with the high ceiling.

I want to thank everyone in the Piano-world forum for your amazing help and insight, which made my dream come true!

Best!

Congratulations on your new piano! Enjoy.

Congratulations. I have been following this thread. Kawai is an excellent made (I am biased) and at the end of the day, what you hear at the player seat is what matters the most!

Congrats APP. I love my Kawai and hope you have many happy years with yours.

Congratulations and welcome to the Kawai family!

Congratulations on your new Kawai!

Congratulations on your new 🎹 piano! Since you took your time and checked everything out, I’m sure you’ll be delighted for years to come!

Thank you all! More I am playing it, more I am falling in love with it. From my recent experiences, I guess I’d never go back to another brand. Kawai’s sound (in most cases) matches my personality. The tone around the middle to higher register is so intense and romantic! The second and third octave do have few “tubby” sounding notes, which would be an easy fix.

Meanwhile, I also had an opportunity to play a Shigeru Kawai. I got blown away!

Overall, it’s been worth the wait and somehow, well - call it gut feelings, I knew from the very beginning that I am going to get this piano.


Best!

Glad you're noticing Kawai's unique sound, and that it's not just in my imagination! I've loved that velvety sound since I played my friend's Kawai grand 40 years ago, and never forgot it. There's just a mellow, smooth quality about it that I like, so when I finally could buy my own acoustic piano, I knew it would be a Kawai grand.

Listening to some Oscar Peterson recordings on his Bosendorfer, I notice his piano has a similar smooth sound. Now I'm sure most will think I'm nuts comparing a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand to a consumer grade Kawai, but to my ear, there is a similar mellow, velvety quality in the sound.

I've never played a Shigeru, but have various SK samples on my digital. It seems that smooth Kawai sound is present on those pianos as well. What did you find on the Shigeru that was different? Did it still sound Kawai-like? I hope to actually try one some day.

Velvety sound is the right way to put it. I like the darker temper of Kawais. Strong fundamentals. Moody!

The SK is absolutely mindblowing, even in my untrained hands, it never fails to impress with its evenly toned voice across the registers, mellow yet gets bright enough for artistic expressions. It has the character of fine aged wines


Best!

Congratulations! You made the right choice. I have loved the Kawai sound and feel since I first tried them in the 1990's. I finally bought mine last year and loving it more each day. I'm sure your grand sounds great. You're going to have many years of enjoyment.

I also agree that there is a lovely, distinctive Kawai tone in their range of acoustic pianos. Personally, I find their sound warm, mellow, rich and yet clear, which suits them to playing various musical styles and genres.
Congratulations on your choice of piano and on finding a piano you love!

Kind regards,
Robert.

In addition, I probably got one of the best techs in the city has been able to convince him to look after my piano. Masayuki Takaku is a Juilliard Technitian and an amazing human being. He did two rounds of tuning+voicing of the lower tenor register. I earlier mentioned that some tenor notes had bit of tubby sound, especially the D# which is the first string right after the Bass-Tenor break. He has been able to recover the strings to their near original “singing” tonal quality, including evening out the dynamics across all the registers! The piano sounds incredible. D# still has bit of tubbyness. He wants to work on it gradually- I am so happy with his approach.

Soon, I will start putting some videos in the YouTube and paste the link here for you all to see

Best!

All the best to you with your piano.I had a Kawai grand for
many years.I just loved it, so did many friends and piano students.
Best wishes.