Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai announces Concert Artist CA99 and CA79 digital pianos

Just tried the CA79 and 99 at Pierre's Fine Pianos, they just came in.
I like the new cabinet styles, nice GF III action and touchscreen interface.
I think he got them first because Kawai USA headquarters are located in LA.

I found these two pics in rosewood:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSo4Na4SkHCtIdGBhv1yun_jnwnEbrGHDdutWHteSeaNeOACTxI

https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagra...92df2f7aac5a59c8bc4c8540&oe=5EDACE14

I am not 100% convinced by the colour of the material covering the speakers, but I think the rosewood colour works very nicely and the overall look of the CA79 is great.

I think the red color you see in those pictures (especially the second one) is a little brighter than it actually is. On my CN37 (rosewood version) the covering on the speakers looks more brown and dark. Consider that pictures could alter very much the colors and brightness you see.
For example, with my smartphone camera I'm not able to get a good picture of a lit fireplace with the same vibrant red and yellow colors I actually see. The colors in the picture I get are always more opaque and cold. I had an old Canon digital camera (unfortunately now it's broken) that altered the colors in the opposite way: it made the colors more vibrant and saturated than the reality. It was very very good to take beautiful pictures of flowers.

I also hate the ‘colour’ covering the speakers. It’s almost red, for God’s sake!

As magicpiano notes above, the speaker cover material colour appear brighter in pictures than in real life, and is influenced by the lighting in the room and type of camera used.

Kind regards,
James
x

Wasn't rosewood banned decades ago? Endangered species, or some such?

So I suspect there's not a speck of rosewood in a rosewood-finished piano.

Are we sticking with ‘colour’?

I assume the Satin Black isn't made of actual satin either.

Don't worry. In this price range these DP cabinets are made of chipboard material covered with panels that looks a little like rosewood. A cabinet style DP would cost 2x or 3x if it was made of real solid wood. Consider that maple wood costs about $1000 per m^3 and rosewood much more.

Nonsense! Next you'll tell me that polished Ebony isn't actually made of real ebony... but instead just plastic veneer, and they charge hundreds of dollars extra for the priveledge of deceived?!

Privilege of being deceived!

I'm sorry I brought you the harsh reality. Ebony wood is one of the most expensive in the world. We are talking about $10,000 per kg.

I remember when i bought my second handed CN24, and the owner tried to convince me that it was real wood, maybe i couldnt tell the difference, but i went with my brother wich is kind of an expert on wood (self taught guitar luthier), and he tried to kindly tell him that it wasnt rosewood. But i shut him up since the guy was so enthusiastic about thinking his DP was made from real wood that i felt i little sad to ruin it for him

Has anyone got reports of the little issue on the previous models that made some specific keys sound louder? does it still happen with some models or has it been fixed with GF3?

BTW could anyone remind me what software could be used to see midi velocities? i never checked on my CA78, but i had to lower some volumes on the virtual technician to fix that.

Speaking of Ebony Polish, I've just uploaded these images of the CA79EP and CA99 to the Kawai Global website.

CA79 Ebony Polish


CA99 Ebony Polish


More EP images will be uploaded once the full product descriptions are added.

Kind regards,
James
x

Thanks James!

Every time I look at a CA78/CA98 I fall in love with the ebony keys. Of all pianos, those Kawai keys look and feel the most like real ebony.

Regarding those pictures of the CA79 and CA99 ...

The CA79 looks SO MUCH better! If I didn't know which was which I'd guess that the former was the high-end model and the latter its low-end wannabe.

I'm dying to try the new action, although I can't fit anything but a stage piano into the room.