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Welcome to Merriam Pianos on KZfaq! In today’s video, we’ll be comparing two high-end grand pianos built by what is often thought of as the two absolute best value performance grand piano manufacturer’s today.
The pianos we’re referring to are a 6’2” Estonia L190 and a 6’2” Shigeru Kawai SK3 - both champions of the high-value, handcrafted 6 foot grand piano class.
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Background
When you look at the piano industry as a whole, it can be argued that the category that falls directly between the top factory made pianos and the undisputed best of the best elite pianos at the top, is actually the most interesting single category in the entire industry.
These handcrafted, performance grade grand pianos generally sit within a price range of about $40,000-$90,000 depending on size, and some are often regarded as the highest value hand-craft pianos available.
Estonia and Shigeru both fall into this category, and are actually quite underpriced in the context of the market as a whole given what they deliver musically. Modern innovation and technology has allowed both companies to advance their pianos very quickly in recent years, to the point that their reputations have not caught up with these highly evolved pianos. The result is a set of grand pianos that actually compare very closely to more established instruments that cost sometimes twice as much.
Piano Sound
Despite similar price points, the L190 and SK3 actually sound very different. The SK3 has an incredibly colourful sound with a massive amount of partials making up the tone, but without sacrificing warmth and brassiness in the lower register. The treble is super dynamic, and clean at the same time.
The L190 has a stronger fundamental tone, with a very pronounced initial bloom. The fundamental also persists far longer than most pianos as the sustain rings out.
Estonia updated their soundboard (interestingly untapered) and rib design quite radically several years ago, and this is a big reason why the sound blooms in the way it does. The new design requires a bit more energy for the whole instrument to get resonating, but once that energy is input, you’re left with a highly resonant structure.
The SK3 uses a traditionally tapered soundboard of high grade Alaskan white spruce - essentially the same as what you’d find in a NY Steinway. The result is a more colourful instrument that’s easier to get resonating, but lacks a bit of character in lower dynamic ranges as compared to the L190.
Overall, these two pianos are both delivering a wonderful sonic experience that, while very different, are equally musical.
Action
These two actions definitely have a different sense of weight and speed from one another. The L190 requires a little more umph to execute fast passages, perhaps as a result of a heavier hammer. The black keys are made with genuine ebony, and there’s a nice texture on the white keys.
The SK3 uses Kawai’s Neotex (synthetic ivory) texture on the white keys, and a synthetic ebony for the black keys.
In terms of the SK3’s actio, it’s of course using Kawai’s ground breaking Millennium III Carbon Fiber action. We’ve said much about this action on the channel, but to sum it up, from both a playing and maintenance standpoint, this action is very tough to beat - simply superb.
The L190’s action feels a bit more traditional comparatively, but it’s still very well executed and nice to play.
Summary
Both pianos are available in different finishes, but the SK3 is really only available in different finishes when Kawai released a special edition.
Both lines have several more sizes to choose from, from under 6 feet, to full 9 foot concert grands.
If you have a chance to compare these for yourself in person, you owe it to yourself to do so. Both instruments are simply beautiful, but really deliver different musical experiences.
It’s not fair to say one is better than the other. What is fair to say though is that we can say the reputation for high-level value each of these instruments has is very well deserved.
Thank you for watching!
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