Kawai pianos are just gorgeous. I’d take them over anything else, including Steinway. What fascinates me about the Kawai signature piano sound is the fact that it sounds good for any genre. I can play jazz, classical, pop, blues, and anything else on a Kawai piano, and it always sounds like I’ve got the right piano for the job. I find this impressive.
Thanks for tuning in! I agree with the sentiment. The tonal and dynamic range that these pianos are capable of is immense. This of course makes them extremely versatile and rewarding to play in all musical settings. The Shigeru Kawai pianos in particular are exceptionally musical and powerful. :)
@@MerriamPianos Yes. Also, let’s not forget their digital pianos. To my ears, these play more musically than an electronic instrument has the right to. Anyway, keep the videos coming.
@@jonathandraper7065- I’ll second this. My Kawai ES-6 has the best feel of any electronic piano I’ve played. And believe me when I say it was a long search to find it.
I'd be curious to hear your review of the GL-30, compared to the GL-10. I never got to experience what difference the size makes, and the "dual-duplex scaling"
The GL10 versus GL20 would be a compelling comparison too a they are a little closer in size. It would showcase the musical difference that duplex scaling offers. Thanks for the suggestion! We will do our best to tackle that comparison for you. :)
I'm glad to see another acoustic piano reveiw after a long break. I would love to see a reveiw of the Seiler ED-126. It holds an interesting position in the piano market and provides an alternative to the Yamaha U1 or Kawai K-300 that I think is overlooked.
Thanks so much! We're glad you enjoyed this updated review of the Kawai GL10! We are huge fans of the Eduard Seiler ED line here at Merriam Music and will do our best to tackle the ED126 and ED132 models in upcoming reviews/comparisons. :)
You're very welcome! While the GL10 is in the entry-level price category for baby grands, it is far from entry-level in terms of specs and musical performance. :)
It feels like real piano brings real magic, I love the immense variety of sounds that 88 keys can invoke, but hammers hitting strings wake up some primal bewitchment :-) The framing on this one is splendid, almost like it's staged between two mirrors, all those pianos stretching into the distance, just a bit more play with lights, and you have practically approached the cinematic quality. The second half of the success - montage, becomes pretty good too. --- Now the view on your YT creations from my heavily opinionated lens. Subtitles: I don't believe that mandating their presence on the screen is a favorable idea. If necessary, I can personally enable them from the window menu. However, the inclusion of translations in other languages could enhance your audience reach. Regrettably, the intricate and elaborate figures of speech employed to depict your impressions about the instrument make it challenging to accomplish. While observing and listening to Stu, the addition of any text on the screen proves to be distracting. It leaves me uncertain about which action to prioritize: watching, listening, or reading. Moreover, it further impedes the view of our expressive and animated Star. (ChatGPT helped me with grammatics here :-) Any tables and dense information on the screen are for me unreadable and break the flow, you could put them into a PDF file and provide a link. Good PDFs may increase ratings in the search algorithms. ru-vid.comGYkq9Rgoj8E?feature=share&t=2401 If you want to play with text, the shot from the top is half "empty". The bottom half could be used (don't cover Stu's hands) with one-two lines of bold letters. When I'm listening to music, I can read some simple information... Above all, Form Follows Function => Web Content Accessibility. Myopic (30% of the population), color blind (8%) cataracts (30% of the elderly), and so on. www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/ Every text should be easily readable on the smartphone screen, contrasty and big, I know that "blind" following artistic expression may be tempting, but working with limitations quite often brings out the best in the artist. Anyway, every step you take - I'll be watching you. 😃
Thanks so much for taking the time to tune in! I certainly agree with your sentiment about the magic of acoustic pianos. There is something inimitable about the sound produced by hammers striking strings and a solid wood soundboard resonating. :)
I'm not a piano player but, that seemed like a very fair review. I find the construction detail very interesting and totally dig the footage inside of the mechanisms. 👍
This is an impressive intelligent discussion of the considerable merits of this piano and the value offered. I agree with the maker’s decision regarding the lower registers whole heartedly because I could hear the proper integration in your demonstration. I look forward to your future content and discussions.
It’s one of the best Japanese making affordable piano. Action of this is so fantastic. Yamaha GB1K is also a very good piano but it has been many years there no any further useful changes in GB1K and there GL10 wins. All Pearl River entry level pianos are nice but I have notice that the consistency is lacking. Yamaha and Kawai maintain the standard and offer best for the price and the very important is if in future if any one wants to upgrade then resale value of the Yamaha and Kawai is much better. I have a one question how do you compare this with Steinway design Pearl River make Essex EGP155? I love GL10 because one of friend is using it and I found it’s very Musical specially very good singing tone in middle and very controlled top end only thing I have notice is the low end is not up to the mark like Yamaha GB1K but it’s clean and musical then coloured bass. Overall it’s definitely is the best. One more question how this piano compare to Chinese make Fuerich Dynamic 162
Hi! Brent here! I definitely agree that the GL10 is an amazing instrument with a fantastic action. :) At the end of the day, the choice between pianos comes down to the personal preferences of the player. With that said, I personally prefer the GL10 over the Essex EGP155. I find the tone and action to be far superior. In terms of how it compares to the Fuerich Dynamic 162, I have not personally played that model, so, unfortunately, I cannot really comment on that front. Thanks and hope this helps!
Greetings from Minnesota! Once again a Gr8 video from Merriam Piano! I always look forward to the your new discussions. Could you continue the discussion regarding the lack of duplex scaling on the GL-10. Besides cost, how much would the duplex scaling improve sound output. To my ear, the recording of the GL-10 was fantastic.
Hello from Canada! Thanks for tuning in! We're glad you enjoyed the video. Duplex scaling does add a lot of colour and musicality in the middle and upper register of the instrument. A good example of this is to compare the GL10 to the GL20 (which has duplex scaling). With that said, they are both spectacular instruments for their respective price points. :)
Good review. It is a very good piano. However, anyone looking at this level of piano should 100% look at the Mason and Hamlin Artist Series 160G. It is arguably superior in every way to your 5 points. It is longer at 5'3". It has the composite WNG action that compares to the Millenium III action at minimum if not better, it has a solid spruce tapered sounboard, rim is as thick or thicker, has double felted hammers. Not sure on the Sostenuto pedal but my guess is it has it. In addition to the bigger size it also has the advantage of a wet cast plate which is superior, and it has a better 17 ply pinblock. The SMP is $2K more but most of that will go away in negotiated price. In my piano search I have played both pianos and to my ear and touch the Mason and Hamlin is a far superior instrument.
Hi! Brent here! Thanks for tuning in and sharing your insights! Mason & Hamlin and Kawai both certainly make wonderful instruments. With that said, they offer very different flavours tonally. At the end of the day, it will come down to a matter of the player's preferences in terms of touch and tone. :)
A very useful and comprehensive review. I really like the way you explain everything for the layman/amateur without it sounding condescending, just educational. One question: you mention that the bass sound is the GL10's Achilles heel and hinted that there may be other 5ft pianos in a similar price range which perform better in the lower frequencies. As a jazz player, I would definitely be looking for good bass performance so what other pianos could you suggest in this price range, please?
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! Thanks for tuning in! I'm glad to hear that you have enjoyed Stu's wonderful reviews. The GL10 is a powerhouse instrument that greatly outperforms its size and price point. Personally, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a piano in this size category that can offer more warmth and a stronger bass register than the GL10. With that said, if you up the size slightly (GL20, GL30, etc.) or the budget, you can get into other instruments that will outperform the GL10 musically in my opinion. For me, the best baby grand piano that I have ever played is the C. Bechstein L167. It is in a very different price category than the GL10 of course, but it is a breathtaking instrument.
A mesmerising sound! I would like to see a comparison of same-size Kawai and Shigeru Kawai models. What are the differences in design, and what are the sound differences?
The GL10 is quite the piano! Also, the GX and SK series would be a more appropriate point of comparison because they are the exact same scale designs. The GX2 and SK2 would be a great comparison for instance.
I have played a GL-10 in "Ferrari Red Polish" finish as well as several regular GL-10's (in black finish). This is not to be confused with mahogany finishes, which are reddish-brown. Kawai lists 5 colors available for the GL-10, and this bright red finish is not listed. Maybe this is a limited edition finish?
@@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12 I think so... it was significantly more expensive than the regular editions, about $25,000 (regular GL-10's were selling for $15,000). It had a "felt piano" sound, kind of like what you hear on Native Instruments Noire. It must have been voiced that way because the other GL-10's sounded like regular piano sound. 🎵🎵
That is very interesting! I know there are different finish options and variations of the model available in different markets. For instance, there are Japanese made GL10 pianos available in some markets (GL10LE). Perhaps, the Ferrari Red Polish finish is exclusive to certain markets. In any case, I could see that being an attractive piano for the right aesthetic situation! :)
While both amazing instruments in their respective price categories, the Kawai GL10 and Bechstein A124 are in completely different quality categories/tiers.
Hi! Brent here! From a tonal standpoint, I think the K500 provides a slightly richer, more nuanced tone, but both pianos have a similar tone profile with plenty of warmth. The main benefit of the GL10 would be the action. Because grand actions work with gravity opposed to against it (the hammers fall to a reset position by virtue of gravity, whereas they do not with an upright piano), it will provide a faster repetition speed and more sensitive touch. The best bet would be to test out both pianos in person to determine which musical experience you resonate with more. Some players prioritize tone over action and vice versa.
Hey Stu; great review. I'd already decided on the Kawai GL10 and this video helped reaffirm my decision. I do have one question: I've seen the Kawai GL10 and the Kawai Gl10SL. How do they differ, if at all?
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! Thank you kindly! We're happy to hear that you found the review useful. Congrats on your new Kawai GL10! They're exceptional pianos and I know you will be beyond thrilled with its musical offering. The "SL" in the model name simply refers to the silver fittings. So, the difference is merely aesthetic. :)
You play wonderfully. But has anything changed in the GL10 recently? I'm considering buying the GL30 which from the reviews seems to have a deeper sound. Unfortunately I don't have the chance to try it in my area.
I'll be sure to pass on your compliment to Stu! I don't believe anything has changed with recent batches of the GL10 model. It is an exceptionally designed instrument of course. The GL30 will definitely provide more musical output both in terms of tone and dynamics given the larger scale design, which means longer bass strings and a larger soundboard. The inclusion of duplex scaling will also provide more colour and musicality in the upper register compared to the GL10. Thanks and hope this helps! :)
That is a very personal decision of course. The GP9 has the flexibility of being a digital instrument, but there is a magic that comes along with an actual solid wood soundboard and strings resonating. :)
Hi! Brent here! Thank you for the question! It really depends on which digital piano model you are talking about as different models/tone engines have different types of adjustable parameters. Obviously, the more adjustable parameters there are, the closer you can dial in a specific tone, such as replicating the sound of a GL10.
I think grand pianos around 6 feet long will have a standard bass performance. Even a 9-foot concert grand piano will start losing bass output around 60 Hz, despite the fundamental frequency of the lowest note being at 27.5 Hz (for a standard 88 key piano). Grand pianos operate in a similar fashion to Open Baffle speakers (more like DML-Distributed Mode Loudspeakers) in the sense that the soundboard is a dipole and the wavelengths of bass frequencies are so large that the front wave and back wave cancel out (at least partially) depending on a number of factors - the size of the soundboard being the most critical one. I have done some experiments with plywood soundboards and transducers, and bass output increases dramatically with a larger surface area. If you place a transducer on your largest wall in your home, you can get a bass performance similar to a subwoofer. Even though the wall doesn't move like a speaker cone, the large surface area of the wall will couple well with the air (acoustic impedance match). This is similar in a grand piano.
Hi! Brent here! There are a number of options if you are looking for more power and clarity out of the bass register. Firstly, the GL models around the 6' size (GL40 and GL50) would be an excellent choice. Alternatively, if you are looking for something more premium with even more power and musical output, the GX models (GX2, GX3, and beyond) are incredible choices as well. Thanks and hope this helps! :)
Thanks for the video I cant deside which choose grand Kawai Gl10 or upright Schimmel C-121, I have place for Grand, but which sound will be better ?thx
You're very welcome! That's a tough call. There are certain benefits to a grand piano beyond the aesthetics of course: larger soundboard, longer key sticks, and faster repetition speed. However, from a tonal perspective, a higher quality upright with higher grade materials will give you a better sound. There is also a contrast in tone between these two instruments. Schimmels typically have a brighter voice, while Kawais typically have warmer voice. With that said, from a player's perspective, I think I would personally opt for the C121.
i was looking at getting the K500 with the silent feature, and now I'm wondering about getting a 6 foot grand instead what would be my similar price option ?
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! It would be difficult to find a 6' grand with a silent system. The GL10ATX4 silent hybrid grand would be your closest point of comparison in terms of price, but it is a 5' grand instead of a 6' grand. There is a GX2AR2 silent hybrid grand model, but it is an entirely different price bracket.
While the GL10's touch is exceptional and arguably the best in its price category, it does not exactly compete with the SK models for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, there are some slight differences in the action itself. Beyond that, the key stick lengths are not the same and the amount of regulation and preparation that is completed at the factory is far more substantial on the SK models.
It ultimately comes down to costs. A feature like duplex scaling takes more time, energy, and dollars to include. Given that Kawai is trying to target a specific price category with the model, that may mean that some concessions on design elements need to happen. It is no different than say a $10K grand using a laminate soundboard versus a solid spruce soundboard. These materials and design components have hard costs to the manufacturer as well.
