mallin
Newbie
Posts: 3
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« on: August 10, 2009, 06:58 AM » |
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Hi -
I'm trying to decide between a Yamaha C2 and the Kawai RX-2. My 'audition' piece is the 2nd movement of Ravel's piano concerto in G, if that helps you understand what I'm looking for. I've been at this for 3 months, and I've been to 8 dealers playing pianos.
(1) Tone: I love the way a new RX-2 sounds in the store. However, the Yamaha dealer warns me that Kawai 'voices their pianos down' so that they sound good in the showroom, but it will be muffled once I get it home. The Yamaha dealer contends that Yamaha's are made so that you have flexibility in how you voice it once you get it home, and that if I want mellow, I can have it voiced that way - whereas its hard to make a piano 'brighter'. I like warm, mellow pianos, but I want access to brightness, too. Yamahas, even the C2's and C3's I've played across several stores, are brighter (though I read that Yamaha has been trying to tone down the 'bright' reputation). I will say that the new Yamaha's I've played were surprisingly warm to me. Is it true that this is all a matter of voicing and regulation, and either piano can be adjusted to my liking?
So (Kawai James?) can I count on the Kawai tone being reliable once I get it home?
(2) Action: Both are good, but I just felt that, at the low end, the Kawai dropped off a lot lower - I could play softer. The Kawai response also felt smoother across the dynamic range - like the force:response curve was quite linear - while the Yamaha action felt a little loose (even new), and there was a 'dead range' at the low end - I couldn't access quieter tones.
Yamaha dealer's response: That's just regulation. Oh, and by the way: That new Millenium Action? Look out - the plastic will get loose eventually because it can't shrink/expand with the wood parts its attached to.
My thought is: Get the thing that feels like what you want WHEN you buy it, not after adjustments to be made later...
I'd be grateful for some help!
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