Tradition and technology are indispensable elements of piano tone. Tradition lays the foundation for our distinctive tonal character. Technology empowers it with life, breadth, and depth that lasts from generation to generation.
The soundboard is the heart of a piano. Its purpose is to transform the vibrations of the piano’s strings into a rich, resounding tone. Kawai uses only straight-grained, quarter-sawn solid spruce for K Series soundboards. Each soundboard is strategically tapered to maximize its tone producing capability. Only those that meet or exceed our demanding quality standards are selected for use in our professional upright pianos.
The piano’s soundboard is placed under tension to create a slight curvature—or crown—that dramatically increases the production of sound. K Series pianos feature full-length ribs that are securely notched into the rim liner on all sides to preserve the soundboard crown over time. The ribs also distribute sound energy more evenly across the soundboard to optimize its tone-producing capabilities.
Contour Bars reshape the speaking area of the soundboard to resemble the contour of a grand piano soundboard while reflecting sound energy back into the center for increased tonal power and sustain.
All K Series hammers are T-Stapled to preserve hammer shape and fitted with an added interior layer of underfelt to support the creation of exceptional tone.
Bridges transfer the vibrations of the strings to the soundboard. K Series bridges are made from select hard maple, individually notched for a clear, powerful tone quality. Height is carefully set and matched to the iron plate for correct string pressure and optimal tonal transfer.