Kawai Classic Artist Grand Piano with Bench RX-2 [Ebony Polish]

Description

RX Artist Grand Pianos

Kawai RX-2 Classic Grand Piano
The RX-2 is one of the world’s best-selling grand pianos offering superb tonal depth and resonance, and a classic size to grace any home, studio or performance venue. The 5’10” (178cm) RX-2 combines the stately presence of a classic grand with an exquisite clarity of tone unmatched by other pianos in its class. With a rich history of international acclaim, the RX-2 is the popular choice for homes, schools, churches and teaching studios. It offers superb tonal depth and resonance to suit a variety of musical situations, and a graceful beauty that will add ambiance to any home, studio, or performance venue.

The RX Series is a unified line of superb instruments offering one consistent level of exceptional grand piano performance. Each RX Grand Piano is the result of uncompromising craftsmanship, honed by generations of experience and refinement. Together, they represent a remarkable selection of instruments offering a lifetime of musical pleasure. It’s excellence has been recognized as the winner of MMR Acoustic Piano Line of the Year (RX Series Grand Pianos) for three years continuous (2003, 2004 & 2005)!

TONE

The Soundboard
The soundboard is the very heart of the piano’s tone. Its purpose is to transform the vibrations of the piano’s strings into a beautiful, resonant tone. Kawai uses only straight-grained, quarter-sawn solid spruce for all grand piano soundboards. Each one is tested with state-of-the-art equipment to measure the speed at which sound energy travels through it. Only those soundboards that exceed our demanding resonance standards are selected for use in Kawai grand pianos.

The CORE System
CORE is an acronym representing “Convergence for Optimum Reflected Energy”. Convergence refers to the way the piano’s strength centers – rim, plate and underside beams all focus toward one central point at the heart of the instrument. This focus creates an incredibly strong “core” foundation that maximizes the reflective capabilities of the inner rim. The material used for the inner rim is also critical. The harder the inner rim material, the more sound energy will be reflected back into the soundboard for optimum resonance. RX Series inner rims are made of Matoa, an extremely dense hardwood that ensures maximum reflection of sound energy, resulting in greater tonal power and sustain.

Bridges
Bridges transfer the vibrations of the strings to the soundboard. RX Series bass bridges are made of the highest quality hard maple or beech. Treble bridges are vertically laminated with 13 layers of maple and mahogany for maximum strength and optimal transfer of sound.

TOUCH

The Revolutionary Millennium III Action
Kawai made history in the early 1970s when we began to introduce piano actions featuring ABS Styran – a strong, stable material that solved many of the problems associated with wood (most notably, shrinking and swelling) in the fine workings of an action. Over the next two decades, these designs were steadily refined and improved until the unveiling of our “Ultra-Responsive ABS Action” in the 1990s. This action, with its intelligent use of ABS Styran and other composite materials, continues to outperform traditional “all wooden” actions in the areas of reliability, durability and long-term consistency of touch. Now, in celebration of the 21st century, Kawai is proud to introduce the third generation of the piano action…the Millennium III. This revolutionary new action utilizes innovative materials and design techniques to provide even greater satisfaction to the player.

ABS -Carbon
The infusion of carbon fibers into ABS material makes our exclusive ABS-Carbon parts incredibly strong and rigid. The controlled orientation of the fibers produces tremendous directional strength—helping to create an action that is vastly superior to traditional all wooden actions in terms of stability and durability. Plus, the added rigidity of ABS-Carbon helps reduce energy loss in the action mechanism – offering the player more power with less effort.

Micro-Engineered Design
The Millennium III action features several core components that are redesigned with lighter mass and structural enhancements to optimize speed, repetition and control. Every exacting detail of the action – as minute as the microscopic surface texture of the jack – was analyzed and adapted to create an intimate interface between the artist and the music. While the key weight on the Millennium III is comparable to most other high-end piano actions – the incredible ease of expression, especially for pianissimo playing, is extraordinary.

Extruded Aluminum Action Rail
The following elements of the action rail ensure proper hammer alignment for stable, consistent touch and tone:

• Extrusion – The “extrusion” process creates an action rail that is both strong and consistent.
• Stability – The rail is permanently locked in place and supported by a minimum of five (5) die-cast action brackets.
• Dual Beam Rail Design – An “F-shaped, dual-beam” design provides rigidity to maintain proper hammer position and alignment.
• Serrated Surface – The serrated ridges along the rail surface provide necessary friction to hold the hammer flanges in place and preserve hammer alignment.
• Insuliner – The exclusive Insuliner maintains hammer alignment by holding the hammer flanges in place at the critical end point.

NEOTEX™ Key Surface
Kawai’s exclusive NEOTEX keytop material made of cellulose fiber offers the smooth, understated texture of natural ivory and ebony… and a semi-porous, silica-filled surface to absorb the hand’s natural oils and perspiration. Since NEOTEX is used for both the sharps and naturals, the feel of the keys is consistent across the entire keyboard. NEOTEX resists cracking and fading over years of use and is static resistant to help prevent the build-up of unwanted dust. The result is a beautiful, long-lasting key surface with exceptional playability.

OTHER ELEMENTS INCLUDE

Rim and Beam Construction
The RX Series rims are built using cross-binding and lamination techniques to form a structure that is, pound for pound, stronger than steel. The beams are made of select hardwood laminates, glued together under pressure, making them virtually isotropic (equally strong in all directions) and impervious to weather changes and warpage.

Plate Construction
The plate is the acoustically-neutral, iron superstructure of the piano over which the strings are tensioned. All RX Series plates are molded using the Vacuum Mold Process (V-Pro). Added strength comes from the plate’s Crossbone Design. The result is a plate which is strong, stable and beautiful.

Keyslip
A piano’s “keyslip” is the long, horizontal piece of wood that covers the front faces of the keys. Because it is made of wood, a keyslip can warp or bend with changes in humidity, causing keys to stick. RX Series keyslips are reinforced with a steel inside liner that prevents warping or bending in any direction. Keys move freely as the keyslip remains straight and evenly distanced from the key faces throughout the life of the piano.

Mahogany Hammer Mouldings
Mahogany hammers are lightweight and extremely responsive. Found on only the finest grand pianos, mahogany is used for hammer mouldings on the entire line of RX Series grand pianos.

Hard Finish Music Rack
The music rack must support a variety of music books and music writing implements. Kawai’s Hard Finish protects the music rack from being scratched or marred – preserving the piano’s beauty. The Hard Finish Music Rack is an exclusive feature of all RX Series grand pianos finished in Polished Ebony.

“Soft Fall” Fallboard
The RX Series fallboard is designed with a dual-damping mechanism so sensitive that it was dubbed “soft fall”. The ultra-slow closing system protects hands, fingers and the piano’s finish from the harm that a jarring close might cause.