Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kawai K200 vs. Yamaha P22

I own a K-200. Although my level is very low, I can tell you it has some wake points.
First of all, it's loud,with a shrill sound. It doesn't have a delicate palette of colours from pp to ff. In fact it's closer to f than to mf in normal playing.It's quite difficult to get a pp out of it, specially in the bass.
In the ff range, it reaches the limit soon.
It has weird metallic ressonances wich I didn't like.
Mine was voiced down to a mellower tone. In the process, those metallic overtones have been tamed to an acceptable point, but some clarity has gone, too. Sound is fatter now, but there's a little "squash" in the attack (how to say it?).Like a punched ball.
The mechanism is noisy. You can clearly hear the sound of the hammers beating the strings.
The mid and upper range are nice,though, and it can sing with a pretty colour. But the bass is just so-so, specially in the transition area.
I like the sound when I press the left pedal, more. Then it shows a warm tone, really beautiful.

The keybed and mechanism are great to me,feel responsive and are in the heavy-but-fluid side.Very consistent.

I mean, it's good enough for me (in fact it's much better than me) but I won't buy it if I were a grade 10 student.
But hey, it's an entry upright model.Good for what it is.

mabraman,

Just so nobody gloms on to an incorrect notion, some or all of these issues are problems inherent in most short uprights and not particular to the K-200.

Just talked to the dealer, the U1 is sold already...

Izut, there are other U1s out there. Take your time and enjoy trying out different pianos.

Izut: since your daughter seems to be able to make a choice by playing the 2 pianos, why not let her do it?

Personally I don't think the U1 is a better piano than the P22.

And how the Kawai stacks up against either one, most likely will depend on personal preference.

Good luck in your choice!

Norbert

Yeah Norbert, I would like to do that, but the two pianos are in the different stores.

I'm going to have to disagree with Norbert in that the U1 is a superior piano to the P22.

The U1 is made in Japan, while the P22 is made in Indonesia. The U1 is taller with a superior scale design and is one of the world's most popular and best selling pianos.

No doubt. I was sure he meant this (old) U1 was inferior to the new P22.

It's fine to disagree on these things, no sweat.
In fact Steve may well be right.

I'm still remembering the US made P22's which were very fine pianos.

If these models are now made in Indonesia and considered a "drop off" from before, it's hardly because Indonesian workers are inferior to US workers.

It may be the insinuation [for marketing purpose..] but the real reason may well be a different design in conjunction with different materials.

It's increasingly hard to understand the corporate mindset behind all these things.
It's what you get when offering varying quality under same name.

To me, it's getting too complicated to figure it all out.
Admittedly, others may be better at that.

Hopefully this including well informed customers.

Norbert

Izut,
I would suggest that you try a used U3. They are typically sold for only a little more (5-10%) than a U1, and it is possible to find similar condition examples at the same price. Most would say the U3 is better, although some would prefer the U1. Why not find out for yourself before you buy?

Hi all...I was thinking about buying a new P22 in satin ebony but I thought they were all made in Georgia, USA? Did they move production? Would a used P22 built in Georgia be better than a new one built in Indonesia...if indeed they are?

Thanks!

Phil

Yamaha built P22 pianos for the US market in Georgia until the early 2000s, then in either Taiwan or China, and now in Indonesia for the last few years.

I get to tune a newer (Indonesian) one next to some late 90's (US) ones here at the university. The newer one is definitely nicer, but it has not suffered as many years of the ravages of time and institutional use that the older pianos have. I notice a lot of false beats in the treble of late 1990s ones we have around the building. However, they take a beating and keep working.

Thanks Terminal...

I found on the Yamaha corporate site that they built in Georgia until 2007. My dilemma is that I can find a P22 to play before I buy. The eealer here in Boise has to order one out of LA. I refuse to buy a new piano without playing it first. My tech/tuner thinks this would be the best piano for me right now and I'm taking his word for it but I don't know how to try one short of going 450 miles to a bigger store, buying it there if I like it and hauling it back.

Hey BoisePhil;

I'm a big a fan of Yamaha pianos as you can get, however there have to other instruments comparable to the P22 that are available in your area for audition?

Having said all of that, we played the P22 and loved it a year ago. However, we found a used Yamaha upright at a much better price.

Since a piano purchase like this could be a 10-30 year investment, what's a 450 mile drive in your beautiful neck of the woods?

Make it a kind of "piano buying roadtrip". If you end up playing a piano you really like, hopefully that dealer will be used to longer delivery trips and it won't add a large cost to your purchase.

Keep us informed!

I too played a Yamaha P22 at a church a year or so ago. It was a nice instrument, particularly the key touch. The tone was nice too, not too bright or too mellow. I'm sure it was one of the older ones, likely built in Thomaston Ga.

About the only way to really tell which you'd like the best is to be able to play them both side-by-side, which might be hard to do (but not impossible).

Also, I think the Kawai pianos are very nice pianos as well. Personally, I don't think you could go wrong with either a Yamaha or Kawai in good condition.

Good luck!

Rick

+1. They both make excellent, solid instruments.

Off on my 450 mile piano roadtrip in about 8 hours! It's actually a beautiful drive across the high desert to Reno. A dealer in Reno has a couple U1's I'll check out. Then a dealer in the Bay area has a new satin ebony P22 on the floor that they just got a couple weeks ago. Their price is lower than the dealer here. Sweet.

Phil

Well...never made it past Reno. Went to Carpenter's Piano where I met the owner Willard, a really wonderful guy. Played all the B model uprights, a few U1's and a few U3's. I didn't care much for the B's or the U1. The new U3's were nice but just before I left fell in love with a 70's vintage U3. One owner, local Reno piano (very similar climate to Boise) and the touch and tone are fantastic. After a call to my tech, I went and got a U-Haul trailer and towed it home. Price was only a couple hundred more than a new P22 and I think I'll be very happy with this piano. Geez it's a tank. It must weigh 400-500 lbs. i'll give a report once it gets settled in and tuned again.

Congratulations, Phil!

Enjoy your new-to-you piano!

Rick