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Industry-leading Grand Feel III wooden-key keyboard action
■ Ivory & Ebony Touch key surfaces, 3-sensor, let-off, counterweights
■ Brand new and exclusive SK-EX Competition Grand piano sounds
■ Premium audio processing and amplification technologies
■ High-performance speaker system with TwinDrive soundboard■ Latest Bluetooth® MIDI and Audio v5 wireless connectivity
■ Modern 5″ LCD touchscreen display embedded within cheekblock
■ MP3/WAV/SMF playback, record, and overdub to USB
■ Spatial Headphone Sound for enhanced depth and realism
■ Contemporary upright cabinet design with Soft Fall fallboard
- Feel Inspired
- A piano that will encourage enthusiastic players to become accomplished pianists, and transform living rooms into grand concert halls. This is the ambitious philosophy behind Kawai’s latest Concert Artist series – premium instruments that capture the essence of playing a magnificent concert grand piano, and inspire musicians to realise their true artistic potential.
- The Touch of a Grand Piano: Grand Feel III wooden key action
- Embracing many of the long-established principles associated with an acoustic piano, the Grand Feel III keyboard action utilised by the CA901 combines realistic materials, motion, and mechanism to recreate the exceptional touch of the finest concert grand pianos.
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Long wooden key
Counterweight
Balance pins
Weighted hammers
Let-off mechanism
Triple sensor
Ivory Touch key surface
Ebony Touch key surface
All eighty-eight black and white keys are crafted entirely from long pieces of wood, with finely textured ivory and ebony-like surfaces applied to absorb moisture and assist control. Each wooden key pivots smoothly on a balance pin – the ends rising and falling to replicate the familiar ‘seesaw’ motion of an acoustic piano action. When pressed, the back of the key lifts, triggering a grade-weighted hammer to strike a pressure switch. The amount of force applied to this switch is then measured, and the corresponding note played with authentic tonal character and volume.
SOUND
- The Sound of a Grand Piano: Shigeru Kawai SK-EX
- Eponymously named after the company’s second president, the Shigeru Kawai range of luxury grand pianos were conceived as the next step in evolving the art of the piano. Each world-class instrument is hand-crafted by experienced piano artisans, using the finest available materials to ensure optimum touch, tone, and artistic expression.
Widely regarded as ‘the premier piano of Japan’, the flagship SK-EX grand piano graces the stages of concert halls and musical institutions around the globe, receiving universal acclaim for its tonal clarity and exceptional dynamic range. The magnificent tone of the SK-EX is at the heart of the CA901, with the latest model featuring two distinctive recreations of this peerless instrument.
- SK-EX Competition Grand
- The brand new SK-EX Competition Grand captures the sound of the latest generation SK-EX-L instruments, that in recent years have achieved success at the Chopin, Hamamatsu, and Sendai international piano competitions. This piano sound possesses a brilliant, clear tonal character, with a distinctive thick attack, and is specifically recorded from the pianist’s position.
- SK-EX Concert Grand
- The SK-EX Concert Grand captures the sound from an earlier SK-EX instrument, and is characterised by a warm, sensitive tone, and wide attack with rich reverberation. The tonal elegance of the SK-EX Concert Grand neatly complements the brilliance of the latest Competition Grand incarnation, allowing performers to enjoy the contrasting qualities of both sounds.
- SK-EX Rendering sound engine
- In order to faithfully reproduce the stunning sound of a Shigeru Kawai grand piano digitally, Kawai has developed SK-EX Rendering. This special, piano-only sound engine focusses the Concert Artist’s DSP power, combining multi-channel, 88-key sampling with the latest resonance modelling technology to deliver pure acoustic piano authenticity. When SK-EX Rendering is selected for either the Competition Grand or Concert Grand sounds, players can choose five differently prepared piano characters, ranging from Classic and Brilliant to Romantic, Rich, and Vintage.
- Multi-channel Sampling
- While digital pianos typically employ single-point stereo sampling, the SK-EX Rendering engine’s multi-channel sampling captures the sound from different points of the Shigeru Kawai concert grand.
This modern technique not only allows a broader range of tonal characteristics to be recorded and reproduced, but also improves the connection felt between the keyboard and piano sound, resulting in a more lively and authentic response to changes in dynamics.
- Full Resonance Modelling
- This naturally expressive Shigeru Kawai sound is further enriched by newly developed resonance algorithms, which physically model the complex tonal interactions produced by the strings, dampers, and various other parts of an acoustic piano.
Unlike other resonance simulations, SK-EX Rendering generates resonances for the damper pedal and all 88 keys progressively (i.e. in gradual amounts, not simply on or off), allowing the Concert Artist to behave – and therefore be controlled – more like an acoustic piano.
- Harmonic Imaging XL sound engine
- Accompanying the dedicated SK-EX Rendering pianos, the CA901 also features the flexible Harmonic Imaging XL sound engine, which offers a broader selection of instrument voices, and the ability to combine sounds. Harmonic Imaging XL also showcases a selection of alternative acoustic pianos captured with full 88-key stereo sampling.
- The Kawai EX full concert grand piano has frequently been selected by professional pianists in such prestigious events as the Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein international piano competitions, while the Shigeru Kawai SK-5 chamber grand and Kawai K-60 upright allow performers to enjoy the contrasting tonal characteristics of various different piano sizes and voicing configurations.
- Personalised piano adjustments
- The knowledge and skill of an experienced piano technician is essential to bring out the best of a fine acoustic piano. In addition to tuning each note, the technician also performs numerous regulation and voicing adjustments that allow the instrument to truly sing.
The CA901’s powerful Virtual Piano Artisan function simulates these refinements digitally, allowing discerning musicians to shape aspects of the selected piano’s character to suit their personal preferences.
Perform touch weight and voicing adjustments, regulate hammer and key release noises, and fine-tune string, damper, and cabinet resonances. It is even possible to adjust the precise tuning, volume, and character of individual notes – all in real-time.
- Rich sound selection
- Supplementing the beautiful acoustic piano voices, the CA901 also features an excellent selection of additional instruments, ranging from electric pianos and drawbar or church organs, to strings, human choirs, and synth pads, inviting musicians to add greater variety to their performances.
Furthermore, the Dual playing mode also allows two different sounds, such as grand piano and strings, to be layered together for a richer, more luscious tone, while the Split and Four Hands modes divide the keyboard into two independent sections with separate sounds for each. The volume balances and other settings for each playing mode can also be easily adjusted using the instrument’s intuitive touchscreen interface.
SPEAKER SYSTEM
- As the flagship model of the Concert Artist series, the CA901 features a powerful hybrid speaker configuration that combines premium driver units with Kawai’s highly-regarded soundboard speaker technology, delivering crystal clear treble frequencies and warm, resonant bass.
- Premium speaker drivers
- In addition to premium audio processing and amplification hardware, the CA901 also features a high specification speaker system, developed by audio specialists. Premium speaker drivers were selected for their flat frequency response and ultra-low distortion characteristics, ensuring the most accurate reproduction of the original Shigeru Kawai SK-EX grand piano, while diffuser panels help to disperse the sound more evenly.
- TwinDrive Soundboard Speaker System
- Complementing the premium quality drivers, the CA901 also incorporates the latest version of Kawai’s highly-regarded soundboard speaker system. This unique audio technology embraces the rich, harmonic qualities of wood by using transducers to channel sound energy onto a large soundboard, in order to produce a more natural, organic tone. Long wooden ribs securely attached to the soundboard further broaden the frequency range and volume of the resonating sound, resulting in a remarkably authentic playing experience that immerses the performer, and faithfully reproduces the tonal ambience of an acoustic piano.
FEATURES
- The Variety of a Digital Piano: Convenience & Flexibility
- Complementing the instrument’s class-leading Grand Feel III keyboard action and stunning SK-EX Rendering piano sound engine, the CA901 also offers a strong selection of digital features that further enhance one’s musical enjoyment.
Full Bluetooth® V5 connectivity and USB audio record/playback allows musicians to extend the functionality of their piano, or play-along with their favourite artists, while the convenient metronome and integrated lesson functions, featuring classical etudes and Alfred course books, ensure that regular practise is both productive and engaging for aspiring pianists.
- All functions are accessible from the CA901’s 5″ anti-glare touchscreen display, which allows sounds and settings to be selected from an attractive user interface simply by tapping or swiping the display with a finger.
The screen can also be set to fade out and turn off automatically while playing, thus preserving the instrument’s acoustic piano-like appearance, and minimising any visual distractions to the performer.
DESIGN
- Premium quality upright piano cabinet
- The latest Concert Artist instruments are housed within premium quality wooden cabinets, with tapered legs and rounded edge details contributing to the instruments’ light and modern character. As the flagship model of the series, the CA901 adopts a contemporary upright piano-inspired cabinet design, featuring a broad, simulated-leather lined music rest and Kawai’s Soft Fall closing mechanism.
- As the flagship model of the Concert Artist series, the CA901 features a powerful hybrid speaker configuration that combines premium driver units with Kawai’s highly-regarded soundboard speaker technology, delivering crystal clear treble frequencies and warm, resonant bass.
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DIMENSIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
Keyboard ・ Grand Feel III action
– 88 wooden keys
– Grade-weighted hammers
– Ivory Touch white key surfaces
– Ebony Touch black key surfaces
– Let-off simulation
– Triple sensor key detection
– 88-key Graded counterweightsPedal ・ Grand Feel Pedal System
– Damper (with half-pedal support)
– Soft (with half-pedal support)
– Sostenuto* Depending on market location. | † Power consumption information.Specifications are subject to change without notice.