Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum MY NEW PIANO or KEYBOARD! - Share Your Story! My new Shigeru Kawai SK7

After much consideration I decided to part with my 11 year old Charles Walter 1500 and upgrade to a grand.

I began my search where I left off as a music major with a concentration in Piano Performance way back when in 2009- playing on Steinway D's and B's. I'd finally reached a point in my career where this was attainable. After visiting basically every piano store in Austin and San Antonio, including both Steinway galleries, I had the ability to play on multiple B's, a Bosie 214 VC, a new Yamaha sx7. I was surprised I didn't immediately fall for the Model B. The only piano I really enjoyed was the concert loaner in SA which had obviously been prepped to a high degree. I then stopped by the Kawai dealer(our last top of the trip), in SA. After playing a gorgeous but slightly unsatisfying SK5, I arrived at the SK7. The dynamic range and subtlety of tone blew me away- I was expecting to hate the Kawai/Yamaha sound instead thinking a Boise/B/Old European brand would be my preference. The action is such a joy to play and the piano sounded and felt fantastic from the beginning. I had no intention of buying that day but after an amazing offer, it was settled. Ironically, the S&S dealer in SA literally rolled his eyes and said "good luck with that" when I mentioned I was going to try this piano out.

Good luck indeed.

I hope to record with the instrument and rekindle a passion almost lost.

Beautiful instrument - congratulations - you will certainly have many years of inspired music making with this at your disposal...

Thanks for sharing your story! The piano looks stunning! It sounds like you have many happy years ahead! 🎉🎊 🎉

Very nice. I played a few of those when piano shopping. They are awesome pianos!

Was it the Alamo Piano store in San Antonio? Because if it was, I played that exact piano couple weeks ago and I was head over heals for that Shigeru! Even made a thread about it recently because it was just an awesome piano. Congratulations! That piano really is special.

Wow! Yes it was at Alamo. Anton Nel apparently auditioned the instrument and was going to use it in a performance before I bought it.

Congrats . I'm sure it will rekindle your passions. If nothing else spending that much will focus the mind! As one of my friends loves to say - all hobbies should be expensive!

Would have loved to try and SK7 when I was piano shopping but as fate would have it I found a piano I loved and needed to move quickly on it. May your piano bring you many happy memories.

Congratulations!! A few years ago, I was bitten by the same bug, so welcome to the club. To this day, I still find this piano to be incredible in so many ways. I’m Confident you will enjoy many years of happiness. Please share a recording and don’t forget to post pics and let us know your thoughts and experience after the MPA visit. I’m sure many of us will be quite interested.

Stunning piano! The handful of Shigeru Kawais I have played have all been phenomenal pianos. I love the birdseye maple on the inside of the cabinet!

For recording, do you already have audio gear? Or have you planned out what you'll get?

Edit: Also, that's kinda scummy from the S&S salesperson.

Was considering a pair of Miktek c5's in blumlein- its overwhelming researching the possibilities for recording a grand!

Congratulations! That's a beautiful piano.

It’s beautiful! Congratulations and wishing you many years of joy and new discoveries. I have just received my SK3 from Hanamatsu after a 3 month wait!. Having no showroom unit to choose from, I took a leap of faith after having a chance to play on an already sold unit. The advantage was I could request for the voicing of my liking. To my absolute delight, it is exactly as I requested (mellow and sweet). And considering it had been shipped and underwent considerable temperature and humidity changes, it came out of the box and sang with the tone and sustain I look for in a piano. Touch and regulation superb.
I have always loved Hamburg Steinway Bs (which can’t fit in my lift).
Not very professional of the S&S salesperson you encountered but he probably knew that you wouldn’t be returning! Much that I love Steinways, to me, the Shigeru has a lot of what I like about them, and in some ways more. A no brainer in terms of value….
Yet to be tuned before it has had a chance to settle in but it is already giving me hours of joy and satisfaction as we get acquainted. ☺️

Congratulations!

Congratulations on your new Shigeru Kawai!

Got some mics- TLDR; Micing a grand is hard!

The close in seemed easier, I'm not much of a jazz pianist but I think this captures the tone nicely- no EQ or effects.

Working on a Chopin video to post soon in a more classical setup.

Close in Mic Shigeru SK7

Here is some Chopin.

That is beautifully lush sounding!

Awesome sounding piano and great performance! Congratulations!

Lovely rendition of the Nocturne. Sounds great on a wonderful instrument. 👏👏

Nice playing! Congratulations on your wonderful Shigeru!