SHIGERU
KAWAI SK-2
HANDCRAFTED. ELEGANCE.
EXCELLENCE
– THE PREMIER PIANO OF JAPAN –
SHIGERU KAWAI SK-2 GRAND PIANO
Classic Salon Grand
CLASSIC SALON GRAND
SHIGERU KAWAI SK-2
The Shigeru Kawai SK2 Classic Salon Grand Grand Piano is a handcrafted masterpiece and the first model in Shigeru Kawai’s premium line of grand pianos. While it may be the smallest piano in the SK showroom, at almost six feet in length it rivals any premium piano of its class with piano with a superb richness of tone and timeless design.
As with any Shigeru Kawai piano, the SK-2 is handcrafted with exquisite premium components, hand-assembled by our Master Piano Artisans. The SK-2 benefits from a solid spruce soundboard, mahogany hammer moldings and a maple bridge. All of the SK-2’s massive underside beams are crafted using the finest spruce, despite most piano builders using lesser materials.
The highly acclaimed Shigeru Kawai SK-2 model is the choice of talented musicians, teachers and demanding pianists the world over. In addition, with sustainability at the core of every Shigeru Kawai piano, the SK-2 is handcrafted in the Ryuyo grand piano factory – the world’s first ISO14001 certified piano factory.
Specifications:
Length: 5’ 11” (180 cm)
Width: 5’ 1” (152 cm)
Weight: 714 lbs. (324 kg)
Finish: Ebony Polish or Sapele Mahogany Polish
Features: Kawai Millenium III ABS-Carbon action ~ “Shiko Seion” hammers from New Zealand and Australian wool ~ Tapered and tuned solid spruce soundboard ~ “Temaki” Kawai-made hand wound bass strings ~ Hand notched bridges ~ Hand planed ribs ~ Thinned hammer shanks ~ Rock maple and mahogany rim ~ Bird’s eye maple inside rim ~ Agraffe duplex scale ~ Aluminum action rail ~ Nickel plated tuning pins ~ Solid brass hardware ~ 10 year warranty
The Shigeru Kawai SK-2 comes with a 10-year transferrable warranty as standard.
PIANOS MADE TO
PERFECTION
MAKING PREMIUM PIANOS SINCE 1999
CLASSIC SALON GRAND
SHIGERU KAWAI SK-2
It also boasts Shigeru Kawai’s unmatched components, including a custom-tapered soundboard, Shiko Seion hammers, Konsei Katagi rim, Stretcher Over-Lap Integrated Design, Shigeru’s acclaimed Millennium III Action and a dual-pivot damper design.
Millennium III Action
Shigeru Kawai SK-2 pianos have a beautiful, exquisite sound that comes from their handcrafted, custom solid spruce soundboard.
Shiko Seion Hammers
Shiko Seion hammers are created exclusively by our specialized Master Piano Artisans, who take pride in their creation.
Concert Agraffes
The SK-2’s Concert Agraffes are individually machined from billet brass rods to provide maximum precision and strength
Kigarashi Soundboards
The SK-2’s hand-carved soundboard is made using only the highest quality spruce and aged in a traditional kigarashi process. This is an intensive and laborious process that uses only time and nature to bring the wood into a state of natural balance. The result, however, is an exceptional and distinctively deep tonal resonance.
Shiko Seion Hammers
Shiko Seion hammers derive their name from the Japanese words for “ultimate voicing”. They are created exclusively by our specialized Master Piano Artisans, who take pride in their creation. Without the use of heat or artificial hardeners, each hammer is hand-pressed and voiced, in a melodious, well-balanced tone.
Konsei Katagi Rim
The Konsei Katagi rim is made from a unique combination of distinct hardwoods that provide an exceptional balance of tone. The inner rim uses small-pore hardwoods with excellent brightness and projection characteristics are blended together with dense, large pore woods for warmth and fullness. This combination of structurally different hardwoods has become the hallmark of Shigeru pianos and their wonderfully euphonious tonality.
Concert-Length Key Buttons
The key buttons on the Shigeru Concert Series are made of hardwood maple to increase stiffness and improve energy transmission. The oversized key buttons on the Shigeru Concert Series are designed to maximize power and energy transfer. Another critical feature of this model is the longer lever which allows better control and more even weighting of the keys.
Stretcher Over-Lap Design
Stretcher Over-Lap Integrated Design (SOLID) makes for an extremely solid foundation. In SOLID construction, our artisans hand-fit the pin block to the plate, which is integrated with an overlapping stretcher bar into a solid structure and fastened to the rim. This results in the Shigeru Kawai SK 2’s exceptional strength and rigidity that makes for stable tuning and excellent tone.
Extended Keysticks
Each keystick is extended to make playing easier and provide a more even touch from the front to the rear of the key. For Shigeru Kawai SK-2 Grand Piano keysticks are also built with a taller profile for greater strength, offering improved performance.
Millennium III Action
Our industry-acclaimed Millennium III Action is renowned for its state-of-the-art ABS-Carbon components which generate quick repetition and high power with less effort. ABS-carbon parts and Kawai’s aluminium action rails are impervious to changes in temperature and humidity, resulting in a more stable, trouble-free action. Millennium III Action is considered one of the best piano actions available, exciting both piano technicians and pianists alike.
Concert Agraffes
The Shigeru Kawai SK-2’s Concert Agraffes are individually machined from billet brass rods to provide maximum precision identical to those employed on our famous EX Concert Grand Piano. This small but important detail provides precise positioning of the strings, resulting in a clear powerful tone.
Temaki Bass Strings
The name Temaki literally translates as “hand wound.” The Temaki technique is a laborious one, taking time to wind specific bass strings by hand. This meticulous process produces rich character and excellent depth of sound.
All-Spruce Beams
Spruce is considered to be exceptional for its ability to transmit and store sound energy. However, is typically thought of as being unsuitable for structural usage due to its high cost. On every new piano, all the back frame beams are constructed entirely of the best quality spruce.
Specifications
THE PREMIER PIANO OF JAPAN
Length: 5’ 11” (180 cm)
Width: 5’ 1” (152 cm)
Weight: 714 lbs. (324 kg)
Finish: Ebony Polish or Sapele Mahogany Polish
Size comparison
Resources
| Size | Length | 5’ 11” (180 cm) |
| Width | 5’ 1” (152 cm) | |
| Height | 3’4″ (102 cm) | |
| Weight | 714 lbs. (324 kg) | |
| Touch | White key surfaces | NEOTEX |
| Black key surfaces | NEOTEX | |
| Action | Millennium III | |
| Hammers | All underfelted | |
| Sound | Soundboard | Solid Spruce, Tapered |
| Agraffes | 1-54 keys / Shigeru Kawai concert agraffes | |
| Duplex scaling | Front & Aliquot | |
| Beams | 3 | |
| Exterior design | Pedals | Damper, Sostenuto, Soft |
| Casters | Double, Brass | |
| Lid props | 3 | |
| Softfall | ✔ | |
| Music rack | Position | 5 positions |
| Hard Finish | – | |
| Lock | ✔ | |
| Other features | Stretcher Over-Lap Integrated Design (SOLID) | |
| Longer Keys | ||
| Steel-reinforced keyslip & keybed | ||
| V-pro plate | ||
| CORE system | ||
| Vertically laminated treble bridge | ||
| Longer period of natural drying process | ||
| Select hand-wound bass strings | ||
| Dual Pivot Damper Action | ||
| Spruce beams | ||
| Reinforced Hammer Shank | ||
| Hand-craft Process | ||
| Final voicing by MPA (Master Piano Artisan) |
“I insist on a Shigeru Kawai for my recordings, my concerts and my home. It is the only piano I want to hear my music played on.”
Adrian Farrugia
Shigeru Kawai SK-2
Shigeru Kawai Artists
Unparalleled Legacy. Unsurpassed Craftsmanship. Unrivaled Advancement.
Shigeru Kawai STORY
Shigeru Kawai was born on July 28, 1922 in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. He entered the piano business as a young man in 1946. Although he was a member of the Kawai family, Shigeru spent his early years learning the piano building process as a regular worker. He put in long hours laboring diligently in the manufacturing area, sometimes sleeping overnight in the factory as an expression of his dedication to the craft. He loved the work so much that, in later life, he would often remark, “Creating pianos was the greatest job I ever had!”
“Koichi taught Shigeru the “methods of origin” by which pianos are built entirely by hand. He would often say, “As long as you are building pianos, you should strive to build the finest ones in the world.” Shigeru listened attentively to Koichi’s every word.”
Explore SK Grand Pianos
A Shigeru piano is much more than the intelligent application of material, labor and design. It is an art form born not from the head, but from the heart. Thus, the craftsman does far more than simply “build” it—he brings it to life.
The sensitive nurturing of every part, every joint, every subtle nuance vests each piano with an intangible quality—a soul—that lives on from generation to generation. And those who own one of these musical instruments know that they possess not merely an instrument, but a partner in the musical pursuit of dreams.