Kawai vs Steinway vs Yamaha - Semi-Concert Grand Piano Comparison

Not a fair comparison. The B didn't sound tuned or prepared, the C7 (which is not in the same line/range as a Model B/C or Shigeru Kawai... you'd be looking at an S6 or S7 for more of a fair comparison) seems to belong to the era of bright and brittle Yamahas of the 70s-90s (usually very easily fixed with a new set of hammers) and the SK7 is definitely the newest and most underplayed of the 3.

I like how the steinway sounds soft and velvety. The Kawai and Yamaha sound too pristine and clinical to me.

😂 kawai is a waist of a 7ft. The bass is struggling to produce. And at one point he looks to his left hand like he trying to find some thing thats just not there.

I am going deaf and the distortion in the kawai sounds just like my ringing ears. Clarity of bass and treble yamaha any day of the week.

Thank you for the demonstration! I really enjoyed it! As a professional piano tuner for over 40 years, I would say that each of these instruments is wonderful. But to my ear, The Shigeru Kawai is superior in balanced and even clarity, and power throughout. I've not tuned one; I've tuned a lot of Steinways, Yamahas and Kawais for various individuals and concert artists. The late George Winston, for whom I tuned at a certain venue every year for 15 years, preferred Steinway but was also happy with the Kawai RX-6 model the theater rented from the local Kawai dealer for whom I work. God bless!

For sure kawaii wow.

The touch to the pianist is the most important as it is what t

In this video, I like the Steinway more.

Yamaha

Interesting how well the yamaha records above the other 2. However, an SX should have been compared with the other due to match their price points. But the C7 does fine here. I think an SX would be worlds better than the other two. They are amazing instruments.

Yamaha just stands out here because the guy is playing pop music. It is simply the most familiar sound and the best piano for the kind of music that he is playing (you are talking about the legendary C7 Yamaha that is by far the most recorded grand piano in history)

The recording of the Yamaha seemed to hit limit/compression points on that mic. Maybe the Yamaha is louder.

I honestly couldn't tell a difference at all outside of the first test where the last play seemed slightly less sharp.

Nice comparison.
via this demo, I think:
Steinway B: vintage soft and warm low string sound and sweet warm high notes, all the sound and frequency are stable, compatible and smooth.
Kawai SK7: Clear and clean high notes sound, more woofer bass cames out. Low sound is very stable and high notes are lively vivid. (I'd love it)
Yamaha C7: Clean and bright high note, strong low string sound. All the sound are very near to my ears.

This is a somewhat unfair comparison - the Kawai model is not comparible to the Yamaha C7 - you might have used a Yamaha CS, handbuilt model. The Kawai is somewhat quirky and not entirely suitable for all styles of music.

All 3 pianos sounded great especially with Ted playing so beautifully. Reminds me of pianist David Lanz

Shigeru Kawai for the win. Can't go wrong with any but the only concern for Shigeru (in the extreme long term if used as an heirloom) is the availability of original parts for repair. Steinways are ubiquitous as are original parts. The Shigeru Kawai is produced in extremely limited numbers.

cual es el primer tema que tocaron ? excelente comparacion a mi parecer los tres pianos suenan espectaculares.

I’ve owned a Yamaha, Steinway,and Baldwin acoustic pianos. Of those three I prefer the Baldwin. But when listening the Kawai in this video, I think that wins hands down.

The reason you see Steinways in concert halls is (a) Steinway provides them at a special prices to the hall owners along with guaranteed service when needed, and (b) many top drawer pianists are "Steinway Artists" and thus will not play any other brands.

The Steinway was a bit out of tune.

Even that I am happy Steinway owner, I must admit that Steinway hasn’t really evolved like hundred years when we don’t talk about those teflon nightmares. Probably they someway think that don’t touch to anything that already works. But at the same time european ones like Bösendorfer have updated their models and best thing to date I have tried has been Bösendorfer 280VC. What comes to Japanese ones, both are products of companies that have the greatest attention to details and both are innovative companies to develope their products. I assume that most of here have done their homework and know, that Kawai as company was born when mr. Kawai was dissapointed with the quality of Yamaha. The interesting thing is, that when brand new Yamaha arrives, its quite ready to start its life. But when brand new Steinway comes, it requires actually quite a lot work before you really know is it boy or girl. Some would say, that’s because Steinway owners are more professionals and demands more from voicing and tuning. Maybe. Maybe not. I only know, that I ones played in the room where was sis concert grands; three Steinway D’s, one Blüthner, Bösendorfer 280VC and Yamaha CFIIIS. All were unique, all were fantastic and all had their own characters. One was superb for Goldberg variations and one for Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata and so on. Bösendorfer was love at first sight and was very versatile instrument. But they all were extremely good ones and alone without comparsion and competition each of them was satisfying experiences to play. I would have taken any of them if I would have had money and space.

I can only tell that Yamaha is non-comparable to the other two. Factor in the price, I think Kawai definitely wins!

Yamaha.The clearest sound,most overtones,great bass response throughout.The Kawau close second.I didnt like the Steinway,sounds muddy in this video.

Wow, that Yamaha C7 blows my mind, first place without question!! The tone is unreal and the bass notes are soooo awesome... The harder it's played, the more it comes alive, the better it sounds! The Kawai comes in second place for me. The Steinway sounds more classical, but almost dull and slightly thin on tone IMHO.

They're all beautiful 🎹🎶🎶🎶☺☺☺

The Steinway B is not 7 feet long. It is 6 feet, 11 inches. So this is not exactly a fair comparison. You should have used a Steinway C if you could find one. But for the 7 foot 6 inch comparison you should try a Fazioli f228. It has the others beat.

I bought a 2016 Kawai baby grand for my daughter and it sounds so beautiful. So much better than the more expensive ones. I'd take the Kawaii over Yamaha and the Steinway any day due to pricing and key action.

Wow, I think the Shigeru Kawai almost dominates this comparison.

Thanks for sharing this video. I just bought 7ft Steinway, where can I possibly know what model type and where to find the exact year made, please? Thanks

I was the adult choir rehearsal pianist at a large church. The piano was a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand. The rest are toys in comparison.

The yamaha sounds ""thin'

I heard that Yamaha's pianos have been assembled by the KIGUMI which is the Japanese traditional assembling way due to the humid climate of Japan.

It would be interesting to hear a German Steinway in the mix alongside the US version, they're such different instruments.

Really enjoyable comparison though.

It’s an unfair comparison for Yamaha C7, which is an old, discontinued Yamaha model.
You should use Yamaha S7X or at least C7X model to compare with the current Steinway B or Shigeru Kawai SK7.
Both Yamaha C7X and S7X will have a much more warmer and mellow tones compared to old C7 model.

Also, the Kawai looks brand new, while both Steinway and Yamaha look like used one.
Please try to use all brand new pianos for future fair comparison.

They all sound great - I play on a 1990 Kawai KG-2E, 5' - 10" • Satin Ebony • Still enjoy playing this Piano.🎹
• Cheers from the Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂

To me, the Kawai sound is the closest to the old Bluthners (of 100 years ago) of which I used to own one.

I really liked the C7X, but I am curious why you did not demonstrate a S7X or CF series Yamaha. Also, the Steinway was a bit smaller than the other 2, was there a more comparable model in the Steinway lineup?

The Steinway B isnt actually Steinways Semi Concert Grand, that would be the Steinway Model C, however it is much harder to come across. Also IIRC the model B is infact 6'11 not 7'0 as you stated in the video, I just checked mine as well and it comes up to 6'11 too...

I'd rather hear the pianos NOT mic'd up. Mic'd up would be good if you're recording with the piano, but I'd rather hear them as someone in an audience would hear them. Also, if the pieces were shorter, and played back to back to back, then it would be a more fair comparison.

This is a very old Steinway, but it still has that classical sound. Kawai is not so bad. But both Kawai and Yamaha seem much newer.

The touch and response of the Keys is just as important as the tone. when a piano can "talk back" to you touch wise and sound wise you've got a keeper.

I'm sorry you guys didn't include M & H. I played my Senior Recital on an almost new, meticulously prepared M & H BB (7') and it was the finest non-9' piano I've ever played or heard. The sustain went on seemingly forever- I had to re-pedal some pieces after practicing on a S&S B!

I think the Kawai sounded the best imo and I think he felt the Kawai the most from his body language

Sorry guys, y’all do great work, but the change in Mic placement changed the sound dramatically. I wish you could do the same with keeping the Mic placement exactly the same on all pianos. That’s the only True comparison.
Keep up the great work! 😊

The Steinway sounded out of tune compared to the other 2, so hard to judge it. It did not sound good at all probably due to the tuning issues. The Yamaha recorded the best, but the Kawai has a richer tone.

Yamaha is my choice. and Kawai a close second. to me the Steinway has never sounded quite right in the lower registers. Nice presentation but I suggest announcing each piano just before playing them. It's hard to read the emblems on the front of each of them.

How can you compare them if they are recorded differently ? Steinway and Kawai with mics in XY arrangement and Yamaha with mics pointing to treble and bass sides

The placement of the mics for Yamaha is different than other two. Big difference in perception. Cannot really tell if the tone is better or worse