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But I have to play hard to get the hammer to strike, otherwise I get no sound out of the piano.

I'm exaggerating (in case that wasn't obvious), but I've always found them stiff. Some pianists like that, though.

But the Shigerus . . . wow, I think the SK-6 or -7 is my dream piano. They are beyond amazing.

[quote ]But I have to play hard to get the hammer to strike, otherwise I get no sound out of the piano. [/quote]

No you don't. So assuming that you are trained pianist; Pianos like a Shigeru, Bosendorfer or anything very smooth it is a rare luxury. Think about the practice rooms and venues where you play far worst pianos than ANY new piano in the in today's market. If what you said is true, all pianist will be crippled!!
Also I wonder about when you had the opportunity to try that many Kawai pianos GL GX and SK and got enough time playing so hard to the point you got stress fractures. So technically you blasted the Shigerus and then GX and GL and then you felt injured.(all in one sitting where??)

Kurtmen, you're taking my comments very literally. I said that I was exaggerating, and I even quoted Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby to underscore that I was joking about the degree of stiffness.

Having said that, yes, I absolutely find them stiff.

I've played them in private homes, churches, and in a variety of showrooms. And I've also visited a Kawai factory store not too far from where I live (where I got to try the Shigerus).

Some pianists prefer stiff because it gives them more control.

originally posted by 90x

I assumed then you are in Huston? Kawai's factory store is in Huston... There are plenty of places to buy a piano in Huston or near Huston. Are you trolling?
Also I read on another post that you wrote, you had lessons as a kid, and now you are playing on a digital piano so you are getting back into it... now you play in churches and all kinds of places??

posted by 90x So according to what you said, you spent a fortune in airplane tickets... so nothing left to buy a piano.

Trolling is not cool...

Kurtmen,

You just can't handle criticism of your brand, so you make these silly accusations of trolling and you creep my posts. It doesn't look good. This kind of stuff shows up in search results when people look up your business. If you're going to behave like that, you should at least do so anonymously when not representing your real-life identity and business.

Yes, the major piano dealer in the Houston area, Forshey, went out of business. They carried new and new-er used Estonias and Mason & Hamlin pianos. And I've found it extraordinarily difficult to find new-er used models of those pianos locally. No other local dealer is an authorized retailer of those models (new with some new-er used), other than Collora up in Dallas, which is a 5 hour drive or . . . you guessed it . . . a flight!

Yes, I took lessons for 10 years as a youth, and I've played continuously ever since then. During the course of those decades, I've played on countless pianos. Yes, in private homes, churches, and showrooms. Is that odd? More recently, yes, I've sought a piano teacher to take my playing to the next level, especially now I'll be buying a real piano.

Yes, I've begun looking nationally to find the right piano. Why is that controversial? I've saved a small fortune to buy a great piano, so I don't mind flying to find the right one, especially if I can get some price transparency before I buy a ticket. To illustrate, on PianoMart right now, a 2013 Shigeru Kawai SK-6 is selling for only $45,000.00. Your asking price is probably over $80,000.00, plus taxes and shipping. And that's fine! But, heck yes, it's definitely worth it for me to pay a couple hundred dollars on a plane ticket to check out a piano if it'll save me $40,000.00! Math is awesome.

A piano is a lifetime purchase, so spending money on plane tickets to find the right piano is a drop in the bucket, especially considering the potential savings.

Regarding Houston's piano market, I won't name any names, but the post-Forshey piano dealers in Houston (other than the official Kawai, Steinway, and Yamaha dealers) have been underwhelming. And I'm not the only one on this forum who has expressed this sentiment. Further, Houston's sales tax is exorbitant, so buying from a private seller--yes, even in another state--will save me thousands of dollars. I don't know why basic math is so controversial.

Yes, I own a weighted key digital pending my purchase of an acoustic. I bought it during undergrad and grad school because, like many students, I didn't have a whole lot of extra money or space to buy an acoustic. I just didn't have $60,000.00 of discretionary cash during those years. Sorry about that! Your snobbery about this is disheartening. Now, many years later, yes, I'm fortunate enough to have some significant discretionary cash and am shopping for an acoustic.

Yet this is all somehow trolling?

Methinks you are the troll.

And, regardless of any of that, Kawai pianos are still stiff.

This has also been my experience with Kawai and it's too bad because I really like their tone.

Stiffness is friction in the action. A tech can regulate any make and model piano to correct that, but the work isn't cheap. Stiffness also goes away with playing, and high mileage pianos all tend to get too loose. So, it's probably best to start a little on the stiff side.

Surely there must be a university somewhere that has Kawai's in their practice rooms. Those would be the ones to try....

I haven't had that experience at all, except with the old KGs.