Hello there! I just wanted to share with you my happiness. I went today to a superb store in order to buy my new Grand Piano. Once I arrived, the dealer invited me to play every piano in the store, including K.Kawai, Yamaha, Boston, Schimmel and Shigeru Kawai. (Bösendorfer and Steinway were out of my budget, tee-hee!)
The Boston pianos seemed OK to me, but there was something missing in them, some colour in their palette; so I then tried the K.Kawais, which were quite good, but not as good as I wanted my piano to be; then tried Yamahas, although I'm not a huge Yamaha fan, and then tried some Schimmel, which had a sparkling sound, but not very "full" in my opinion, so I kept moving around until I found him... a beautiful and long Shigeru Kawai. It was an SK6 model, a 7' giant that blew me up with an incredible bass and a beautiful round bell-like treble: A true Emperor. It was indeed a very very warm tone, with a very attractive touch too. So I turned around to the dealer and I told him smiling: "this one".

My SK6 will be delivered soon. This means that until then I will probably won't be able to sleep!

The sound and touch are incredible, and so are the looks of this beauty:





Once my SK6 arrives, I will record something for you! And I will post some pictures of my Grand Piano, and not those default ones.

Thank you for reading, I just wanted to share how happy I am.

Best regards!

Alvaro.

Congratulations! She looks pretty... I'm envious

I'm looking forward to the pictures

How would you compare this to the Steinway B you had?

Congratulations Alvaro!

Beautiful piano. Yes, please do post pictures and recordings.
I'm jealous (says the owner of Piano World who still plays on a digital piano).

Congratulations, Alvaro!! The Shigerus are truly spectacular pianos. In the U.S., when you buy a Shigeru, Kawai will send a master technician to come voice it sometime during the first year. Will they be doing that for you?

Wow, it's like a dream come true to own a GP, not to even mention a 7" GP! Congrats, Alvaro! I'm envious but I couldn't imagine myself being able to fork out that amount of $ on a GP! How much USD does it cost you? Is it a brand new or second hand piano?

Nor will you be getting much sleep "after" it's delivered, is my guess.

Congrats...having such a wonderful instrument is truly inspiring!

FANTASTIC! Congratulations, and be sure to post a picture for us!

Terrific! You've been waiting a long time for this, and it's great that you've found such a dream. Yes, yes, pictures and recordings -

Cathy

Many thanks to everyone!

LisztAddict: The Steinway B was absolutely breathtaking, I haven't played a better piano than that one, but then again, it was very expensive and I had to sell it in order to get a cheaper piano. Nevertheless, the SK6 is 1cm longer than the S&S B, so, more or less, the same length, and has a really beautiful sound, it is fantastic. In some years time, who knows? Maybe I'll be the owner of a fantastic Steinway B... or D!!!

Monica K.: Indeed. I'll have it voiced and tuned regularly by a Master technician, 2-3 times per year. They're actually technicians trained by Steinway & Sons with a huge reputation.

Twinkie: It's a brand new piano, I don't usually like second hand pianos. I can't tell the exact price in USD, but from 50 to 57k, more or less.

Morodiene: You're right, I won't get much sleep after it's delivered!

Pictures and recordings will be posted ASAP!

Congratulations! I'm very happy for you.

Congratulations! Glad you were able to get such a great instrument.

The photos are interesting. I understand that this is not the actual piano, as delivered--- but I wonder, is this what the new case for the SK6 looks like? I have seen it with the ice-cream-cone legs in the past (and honestly, I prefer the more restrained look as pictured). And the casters appear to be single-wheel. The SK's I've seen have a double-wheel caster.

Not that it matters much--- pretty is as pretty does. But is sure is nice if you can have both in the same package.

Yeeeeeaaaaaa!!!!!!!

Congrats on the shigaru. Here at a local university, for senior recitals they offer a shigaru D or Hamburg S&S D. Interesting of the 1,000 or so people who gave concerts, 1/2 chose the Shigaru and 1/2 chose the Hamburg.

Make certain to keep the upkeep on it going.

Once it settles in, you might want to have the action touchweighted.

That will make playing fast, as easy as playing slow/moderate.

Tell your tech that you want a "concert" regulation, concert tuning and voicing (if your house can take it).

--usually for the home, a piano is setup to release the hammer at 1/8 inch to the string. In a concert regulation the hammer is set to release at 1/32 of an inch from the string. ==lots more control, lots more power, super pianissimos.

Congratulations again.

Bob

Congratulations Alvaro!

I couldn't afford an SK6, but I did get the SK2 (5'10") almost two years ago. I still love it, and have a great tech - just got it tuned this morning and it sound and feels wonderful.

Can't wait to see the pictures!

Many thanks to everyone!

sleepingcats: I had the chance to play an SK2 and it's for sure a great piano. I believe the sound and touch of Shigerus are great. I'm well aware the MPAs put a lot of effort in the creation of these Pianos: they are amazing!

I'll be receiving my SK6 either tomorrow or this Friday, I'll post the pictures once it's delivered!

Congrats Alvaro

Can't wait for the piccies


Lee

Thank you mate! It's going to be delivered today! Woo-hoo!!

Congratulations Alvaro! What a beautiful instrument. I am indeed happy for you and wish you many hours of playing bliss.

Dr. J - The More You Play The Better Your Day

Congratulations. A friend has a Shigeru. What a joy to play it. Gorgeous tone. You are right. The Bass is magnificent, and the treble clear as a bell. You made an excellent choice. Gaby Tu

Congratulations, Alvaro!

Like the others said, I also can't wait for the pictures (and the recording that you promised in your first post ).

Are you still in London these days or is the piano for your home in Spain?