Kawai KG2E

My Kawai KG3E was made in 1990. I traded in my Kawai KG1E for this piano along with a cash differential to move from a 5' 4" instrument to a 6' 1" instrument. First, I live in a large city and visited many new and used piano dealers in the area and spoke with a number of technicians to get recommended brand feedback. Kawai and Yamaha were the most frequent brands recommended for reliability and build quality.

As I understand it, my KG3E piano had been well cared for (kept in a climate controlled environment, used in a home, kept clean with the top down when not used and lightly used ).

My piano is a 6 foot model. The bass response in our home is full and warm. The piano tone overall has been voiced warm as well. The sound has been and remains consistent across the keyboard. The piano holds tune amazingly well. The action touch is moderate, perhaps somewhere between a Steinway and current Yamaha and Kawai models. Finally the piano has a good dynamic range.

The technicians I spoke with shared that the late model KG Kawais are "work horses" with found in many clubs, churches and commercial venues throughout Dallas. The general opinion was that they are extremely stable and reliable instruments to buy. What I was told is that pianos really wear out from heavy use and the climate conditions they were stored in, not from age.

Personally I recommend the older KG line of pianos as they are excellent values, I've had very good luck with them, and the technical community in my area thinks highly of them. I get the feeling that the new piano dealers really wish these pianos would simply go away. Perhaps these stable used instruments are competing too much with newly made pianos?