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Kawai FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Kawai instruments, product features, and other topics.

FAQ

Why can I hear other sounds from notes on my digital piano, including faint resonances and noises?

Digital PianosHybrid PianosSound

A

Your Kawai digital piano is a sophisticated electronic musical instrument and is designed to reproduce similar characteristics to that of a concert grand piano. We have sampled (digitally recorded) the various individual harmonics, string resonances, vibrations, mechanical noises, and damper resonance which all contribute to the overall tone of an acoustic piano. When you play a single note on the piano, you can hear these sounds. In some areas of the keyboard they may even sound percussive and perhaps unmusical. When they are all working together however, these sounds combine to reproduce the beautiful tone of a concert grand piano. Musicality appears as the overtones and colours of the instrument come alive.

You may notice these characteristics are more dominant amongst the livelier frequency registers above middle C. In the bass section of your piano, you will hear the different characteristics of the makeup of the bass strings as they vibrate when played with different velocities. As these notes are formed from much thicker strings in the instrument, they have a more metallic characteristic compared with other areas around the keyboard, just like the concert grand piano it is sampled from.

Kawai offers a choice of different sampled piano voices that blend these characteristics together in different ways, with options to adjust the sound using the powerful Virtual Technician function. We would encourage you to explore the various options in your instrument as you may find that your favourite piano sound is not necessarily the first one that is selected when the instrument is switched on. Go ahead and explore!

Think of the piano like an oil painting, look closely and you will see the brush strokes, stand back and you can appreciate the masterpiece in all its beauty.

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