Kawai GS-40 grand piano | 1986

[@CharlesLangSamuel]

Tapered soundboard means the edges are thinner than the center, allowing more free movement, supposedly at least (grain of salt as with all piano technical claims). Steinway calls it diaphragmatic sound board. In this recording I do feel like I can recognize a particular aspect of this sound from my Steinway with diaphragmatic sound board, a certain delicateness and sensitivity in the attack. Still I don’t know whether it’s proven, because some designers just talk about stiffness being the important thing, which presumably can be adjusted by other means than tapering.

[@RobertsPianosHouston]

Very interesting Charles thanks again for great insights

[@2Hearts3]

I bought a GS-50 in January 1983. I loved it, and regret having sold it years ago. The GS series was Kawai's premium piano at that time, and is very difficult to find now.

[@RobertsPianosHouston]

Sad to hear about loosing your GS-50, this piano is very special, a concert pianist is currently interested, trying to find a way to but this or a black ebony G2 we have in stock, it has been interesting to watch him compare both the G2 much more mellow. Evan

[@josephfleetwood3882]

Regarding tapered soundboards, and following on from what CharlesLangSamuel says, I think the Steinway diaphragmatic soundboard does actually allow for freer movement of the board, and that's part of the reason why the American Steinway sound seems to growl and distort at very high volumes. Far more so than the Hamburg Steinway. The Hamburg Steinway now has something similar to the New York soundboard but it's a bit thicker. There have been times in Hamburg's recent history when they did not use the diaphragmatic soundboard, and some Steinways from Hamburg had boards that were uniform thickness. They sounded like Steinways but they were probably cleaner in tone (not better or worse, just different). I think Estonia pianos don't taper their soundboards, and I'm not sure if Blüthner does. Bechstein do taper their soundboards in the Konzert series, I don't know about the academy series. Piano Restorations tend not to taper their soundboards but you can ask for it. Most older pianos, before WW2 in Europe did not have tapered soundboards but the aesthetic in tone was so different it's impossible to compare really. Anyway, I like the sound of that GS-40, it's nice and clear, and it'll make a beautiful instrument for someone for sure. It does sound a little bit like a Steinway as CharlesLangSamuel notices although I think it's more Hamburg-ish. I used to have a KG-2 a long time ago and it sounded like an older Steinway O.

[@RobertsPianosHouston]

Thank you for adding your knowledge here Joseph, I didn't know that it's possible the tapering could (as you say potentially) cause distortion, I will look out for this, just been offered a Steinway M. As for the GS-40, it's quite bright, do you like a brighter tone to play it down when needed, yet get power from, or do you preffer a smoother more mellow tone? I'm tempted to tone it down in a few days. Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Best from Houston, Evan