proud owner of a sk2! my apartment is not big, it just about fits, also even if it fits, the sound can get too much for a small space. love the warm, round tones, perfect home piano
I'm going to have to echo the other comments and say that the larger piano sounds much better to my ears. I've played one of their pianos before, but couldn't tell you which model. I can only imagine what these magnificent instruments look like, as I cannot see. It is always a pleasure listening to you test out some amazing pianos like these two.
SK-5 is my favorite on the ES-8. I've edited it to be a bit brighter. The lower octaves are so woody :) It's perfect for Moonlight Sonata. Edit: As on queue, 12:30 ^_^ Nice playing! I like your interpretation!
Both pianos sound wonderful. SK5 is about 35% pricier than the SK2 by MSRP (~ USD 20K), so for that money, I'll take the SK2; that bass for a 5'11 is beautifully impressive on its own.
Would love to have either one, including the required space! First thing to do when the kids move out: buy a grand. Until then, I'll stick with the ES7.
An SK-5 and an SK-2 will DEFINITELY be tuned to different stretches! You will never see two different-size pianos used together in a concert setting, because they can't be tuned to match across the keyboard (or if they were, one of them wouldn't sound in tune with itself).
In your first test piece I got the impression that the SK2 had a longer sustain in the treble. It could be a function of the brighter voicing. Both pianos are excellent. The tone of the smaller model can be improved a bit with further voicing but there is a limit due to its size. Longer strings in general will produce a better tone.
The Shigeru Kawai SK-5 sells new for roughly $55K. A lot of money but a very reasonable price compared to the Yamaha CF series or the higher end European makers.
They both sounds fantastic although in the early start of the video there was some extra noise also do I got the impression that there where one or two notes different pitched ( do I even write that right?). But they sound great. I like the 5 a tiny little bit more because of the deep notes on the other side the high notes on the 2 are super bright and almost echoing. So there is only a small difference between them? That’s interesting. In my memory the difference was always huge. Although I can’t remember if I ever played this brand but definitely other big and small ones. Interesting and thank you for sharing and playing.
Can you do a review on alesis recital begginer semi weighted I'm very curious of what will be your opinion pllsss!! 😊 And which one is better, alesis recital or williams legato 3?
Short bass strings turn to mud faster... Still, the "small" Kawai played real bass notes North of the bottom B... pretty impressive. 14:15 James noted voicing could be different... Same piano in center was neat. Bottom line: physics rules... and at 5'11" (vs 6'7"), the SK-2 is not small. Interesting how a little (?) bass gain at this point requires huge size changes.
Nice comparison James. The SK-5 is actually 6’7” and the SK-2 is 5’11” which makes the smaller piano even more impressive than you thought. Do also note that you can take 1 inch off those measurements for the actual size of the scale design as both models have the extended key lengths by 1.334 inches.
A great revue as usual James! How about a revue of the Kawai GL 10? I would be interested in your thoughts on that one, as it's on my wish list. Cheers Steve.
I cant believe I am first.... started playing one year ago and found your channel. I am shopping for a used old grand. Maybe more reviews on older pianos?
First one to comment..................James I really like the testing piece that you play...............the melody is so soothing and engaging at the same time................would love to see you just play a longer version of that piece on your favorite piano/synthesizer
I wonder if I painted the name Shigeru in front of Kawai on my KG2C it would improve the tone?😉. Seriously, I had a 1979 KG2C for about 25 years that was very hard to control dynamically. I sold it and bought a 1993 KG2C one year ago because it played far better than the 1979. When I played it before I bought it it was in a smaller very acoustically different room (carpet and 8 foot ceiling with many books on shelves) than my large (2 car garage) sized room with no carpet (just a rug) and vaulted ceiling and not much furniture. I put a rug under it to warm it up, but it still has a rather thin tone, a bit too ...not tinny but not bright either...just not warm treble. I wonder what a good voicing would do .... I am a little apprehensive about too much needling because I don’t want it to sound muffled either. It also needs a bit of regulation -it has a few keys that have a very slight “bobble” (my term for that sound on Glen Gould’s recordings😊). What would you recommend to warm up a KG2C?
Like them both but the SK5 has richer mid range and bass. Used my best pair of headphones for this and was mildly surprised at how nice they both sound. My local hospital has a Kawai grand sitting in the lobby that I have played. Do not know the model or age but it sounds like crap and plays like crap.
The SK5 can hold its own againstt any fine European piano. The SK2 sounded like two pianos melded together: the treble of one, icy-cold and the mid-range and bass a bit too reticent (vis-a-vis the treble) for my liking.
Really fun comparison. Interesting how similar the instruments are. Upper and mid range are nice and clear. The bass sounds somewhat brassy and lacks character though but seems like a great instrument to learn on. Someone has to take the place of Baldwin in the US market - maybe these instruments?
I am a huge fan of clear treble and strong base, so kind of combination of these two. But once again it all depends on the type of music. I cannot say which one I like more. My first impression after hearing your treble test song was that I strongly prefer the smaller one - the treble on the bigger one was just bland. Everything changed after the bass test song - this bland treble sounded absolutely amazing with deep bass, and the smaller piano render of the song felt just empty. So, if I was to choose one of them, I'd probably go with the SK5, I love bass too much ;)
