Thinking of upgrading from my RX-2 and I'm considering:

Kawai RX-5
Charles Walter 190
Estonia 190

I was hoping to get some opinions on these pianos, and even some suggestions of what else to check out in the same $$$ range. Prices are about 38.7K for the Kawai, and 33.6K for the Walter. There may be a bit more room for negotiation, but does that sound pretty reasonable?

Play them all and then you be the judge.

There are so many different tastes and opinions on this forum. It is helpful but the piano is yours to play, your to pay and yours to be happy about......

I played a CW190 when they first came out many years ago. I had just purchased a Schimmel of similar size and felt the CW was every bit the piano the Schimmel was, and that's saying something. Best of luck, those are all superb pianos. I agree with the "pick the one you like best" advise.

I'd probably be happy owning a particularly good (well-voiced and regulated) example of any of those pianos, and have played a recent example of each.

Each have distinctly different tonal goals to my ear, so it's hard to say which is best. I have found them to be priced within $5k of each other in the midwest.

No. Not to me.

Hmm. Well, hopefully there can be some more negotiating. Also, keep in mind, I would get back the full price I paid for my RX-2.

It should be interesting to play these, because they all seem to be known for the individual tones.

Oh...that is different. I thought they were cash prices without a trade.

I like all 3 of the pianos you are considering - a lot.

Have fun shopping and comparing.

The prices for the two mentioned should not have such a wide difference.

The Walter 190 is an amazing piano. I remember auditioning one a few times and falling in love with the bass in particular. It sounded like a 7 foot piano, and was amazing to hear.

Also, I remarked to my local dealer that the treble section, in particular the 'killer octave' sounded what others at the time were describing the Estonia to have purported sounded like, but that I'd never experienced myself, except for on the 168 Estonia, and only one piano at that, not the entire line. That is, that it had a certain singing quality not found on other pianos in that price range, and IMHO isn't found in some of the top of the line pianos either.

Long story short, I ended up buying a Shigeru SK2, but have dreams about the bass on the Walter. Estonia, although on my short list never made it much past the hype, and I have yet to play one that has made me think twice about my decision on the SK2. All that being said, I have wanted to upgrade to an SK5 for the bass, but even with that I don't think it compares to the Walter.
The one drawback for me now when I consider upgrading is that I'm completely enamoured with the action, not to mention the tone for about 84 of the 88 keys on the Shigeru, and the Walter and the Estonia felt rather light, or loose compared to the Kawai action.

Thanks for your thoughts! Now I'm really looking forward to trying out that Walter. I'm glad to hear about the action, too. At times, the touch on my Kawai seems a bit heavy, so something just a little lighter might be ideal

The SK pianos, per a dealer I am working with, has the actions on their SK6 set at 55-52 with an up weight of 33... The SK6 I played had an action like butter. The only other piano I have played that had action that was nicer was a $128,000 Fazioli 7' 6" grand.

If you want great action, the SK series rocks! (IMHO)

You're not too far from the factory. From what others have said in the past, if you arrange a visit there you'll be treated very warmly.

How much would that be?

I actually talked to someone there yesterday. He was a very friendly guy and invited me over to see the factory. I let him know that I was already working with one of their dealers, so I'm going to see how that turns out first. It would make for a fun trip someday, though.




It cost me around 16K back in 2008.

That's true considering the similar wolesale price for all the 3 pianos mentioned...

Happy choosing - all nice pianos!

Norbert

OK, so here we go

My first mistake was walking in to the store and immediately playing their RX-6 BLAK, lol. Let me say, that was a wonderful piano. It had the familiar Kawai sound, and felt pretty similar to my RX-2, but maybe a slightly lighter touch? Great bass

The Charles Walter 190 was also a great piano, and the touch was definitely lighter than the RX. Of course, the tone was much different. Maybe a bit bright for my taste. While I did like it, I've found that I prefer the warmer, darker tone of the Kawai.

So then I went to another store and tried the Estonia 168. This particular dealer's store apparently used to house racquetball courts. The Estonias were in one of these converted racquetball rooms...large, high ceilings & LOTS of reverb. The pianos sounded great, but it made it really hard to tell how it would sound at home. Overall, the Estonia was nice, but I really don't want to go shorter than what I have now. A 190 is on order, but might be months before it's in.

Also played a rebuilt Baldwin F (7 footer) from the 50s. This was a really sweet piano and a total pleasure to play. However, the sales guy didn't want to give me a price on it (said maybe around 30K). Then he said the amount I'd get for my RX trade-in would depend on which piano I bought. Quite frankly, the place just seemed too much like a used car dealership to me

I liked the RX-6 and the Baldwin the best. I'm able to get the original price of my RX2 on trade (16K), so bottom line is, the RX6 would run me 21.6K total. Opinions?? My biggest problem now seems to be that I'm addicted to 7-foot pianos Also, is this size piano too much for a normal-sized home?

Hi Eric,
You are making good progress in your quest to find the right piano.
I think that the trade-in offer on your 2008 Kawai RX2 is very satisfactory.
Generally, the longer grand pianos sound better and have a longer key which improves the "feel" of the action.

A 7-foot piano is not too much for a normal-sized home.

Buy the piano you like and buy it now to avoid price increases.

Good luck!

Robert.

I bring my nephew in for his clarinet lesson occasionally, and it's at the same place I bought my RX-2. This week the piano showroom was quiet, so I played the RX-6 for awhile. I agree, it plays just like an RX-2. Best way I can describe it is it has more of what makes an acoustic better than a digital. I'm not tempted though, I still love my RX-2.

Thanks everyone for all the replies I decided on the RX6. It should be here in the next few weeks, so I'll start up a fresh thread and post some pics. I will miss my RX2. It was my first real grand, but I have the feeling that I'll get over it

BTW, if anyone in the OH area is looking for a very nice, well-cared for RX2, PM me and I'll tell which dealer it's going to.

Congratulations to your choice of new piano!

Norbert

Grats! I'm jealous!

Eric,

Congratulations on reaching a wise, balanced decision! I am sure this new instrument will inspire you and enthrall you.

Best wishes,

Robert.

I'm impressed! You made it through this entire thread without a sales pitch... The door was wide open but you didn't walk through it! Wow, very impressive! Thank you! I'm pleasantly surprised!

What?!? You didn't want to wait months for an Estonia 190 to show up? Just kidding. You can just start the story now that this is what happens if you feed an RX-2 after midnight...

Congrats!

Ooo! I should try that. What should I feed it? Grey market Yamaha uprights?

Wow, very nice choice! I'm sure you will miss your RX-2, and I hope you'll get over that soon (when your RX-6 arrives shortly!). Looking forward to the pictures when thenpiano comes along!

Great choice!!
I never played a RX6, but my RX5 sounds wonderful and if 2+2=4... 6-5 must be something!
Enjoy and post some pictures!
Paolo

good choice.. you'll notice how well the bass sounds soon.. the wonderful clarity of longer strings.

having an addiction to 7 foot pianos is a good thing! Interesting that you narrowed your search to those 3 pianos. They are all good. I own a short Estonia myself... i love it. it loves me.

Thanks Those 3 brands seemed to fall within my price range, and I've read lots of good things on here about each of them. They're all different tonally, so I figured I'd try them and see if my taste changed. To be honest, they were all great. The one dealer had the Kawai and Walter in the same room, so going back and forth was interesting. After going from the Walter to the Kawai, I knew I preferred the Kawai sound (probably why I got an RX2 to begin with).

I really would've liked to hear the Estonia in my home. The dealer had it in a huge room with high ceilings (old raquetball court) so it made it kind of hard to judge. I knew I wanted something bigger than 6 feet,so that eliminated the 2 Estonias they had in the showroom (nice pianos though). Of course, they had a 9' Estonia concert grand, but that's beyond my budget

Congratulations on a fine choice.
Since the RX-6 is so much bigger than the original pianos you outlined a
quality 7 foot piano is hard to beat!!! A piano just over 6 feet will not have the bass and low tenor tone of a quality 7 footer.

Enjoy!!!!