The sight and sound of the SK-6 captivate any audience, wherever you perform. Whether it’s a grand auditorium or your own personal studio, the style, tone and voice of the SK-6 Orchestra Grand are perfect for every occasion.
The Shigeru Kawai SK-6, instrument of profound beauty, sits proudly in the middle of the Shigeru Kawai and boasts stability, consistent touch and a rich, well-rounded tone that is the envy of finest pianos in its class.
Designed with state-of-the-art digital design tools that optimize construction and hand-crafted by our Master Piano Artisans the SK-6 is a testament to the art and science of piano building. At its heart lay a combination of premium materials, including traditionally aged spruce, maple, mahogany, and boxwood. In addition, the inner rim is a unique fusion of small-pore and large-pore hardwoods designed to enhance the tone of the piano.
Specifications:
Length: 7’ 0” (214 cm)
Width: 5’ 1” (154 cm)
Weight: 842 lbs. (382 kg)
Finish: Ebony 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
Every Shigeru Kawai SK-6 comes with a 10-year transferrable warranty as standard.
PIANOS MADE TO
PERFECTION
MAKING PREMIUM PIANOS SINCE 1999
ORCHESTRA GRAND
SHIGERU KAWAI SK-6
The components of the SK-6 are as impressive as its premium materials. A well-balanced tone is created thanks to the custom-tapered solid spruce soundboard while power, soul and character come from the piano’s hand-wound bass strings. Concert-length key sticks allow artists to play with precision, while the integrated pin block and overlapping stretcher bar provide exceptional strength and exceptional tuning stability.
The SK-6 model is part of the Shigeru Kawai’s Concert Series, a superior collection of heirloom quality grand pianos inspired by the company’s founder, Koichi Kawai.
Each new piano owner is visited within the year of ownership (COVID permitting) by one of the Master Piano Artisans for a day of dedicated in-home servicing.
Extended Keysticks
Each keystick has been extended to make playing simpler and more touch-and-response from the front to the rear of the surface.
Temaki Bass Strings
Temaki literally translates as “hand wound.” The artisan meticulously directs the winding of certain bass strings by hand for absolute precision.
All-Spruce Beams
Spruce is well recognized for its capacity to efficiently conduct and store sound energy.
The soundboards of Shigeru pianos are constructed entirely of the finest spruce, which has been aged by a centuries-old kigarashi technique that employs only time and nature to achieve a natural balance. It’s through this process that the SK 6 acquires its wonderfully distinctive tonal quality, captivating in any Performance Setting.
Crafted by specialized Master Piano Artisans (MPAs), Shiko Seion hammers are truly one of a kind. These hammers derive their name from the Japanese words for “ultimate voicing” and live up to it because of the traditional, handcrafted manufacturing process. Neither heat nor artificial hardeners are used in the process to achieve the response and expression that makes them famous.
The Konsei Katagi rim features a mix of distinctive hardwoods to achieve an exceptional balance of tone. Small-pore hardwoods that offer more brightness and projection are mixed with dense, large-pore hardwoods that give warmth and richness. By combining structurally different hardwood species, this synergy generates a strong, well-rounded tone that has become the signature of Shigeru pianos.
The key buttons on SK-6 are made from hardwood maple and are double in length than the typical key button. The result is a stronger key that provides greater energy transmission and significantly more power.
The Stretcher Over-Lap Integrated Design (SOLID) of the SK-6 provides an exceptionally rigid foundation for string tension and tuning stability. The pin block is hand-fitted to the cast iron plate, and the overlapping stretcher bar and pin block are then combined into a single structure that is securely anchored to both sides of the rim. The fusion of the pin block, plate and stretcher bar results in a framework that provides excellent strength and rigidity, the result of which provides stable, accurate tuning and thus magnificent tone.
The key sticks in the SK-6 are made of spruce, which have a favorable strength-to-weight ratio for optimum performance. Moreover, the key sticks have been extended, giving the pianist much more control from the front to the rear of the key surface. The key sticks are also thicker for strength and increased power.
The industry-leading Millennium III Action has advanced ABS-carbon components that are not affected by changes in humidity and temperature. They are extremely light yet stronger than wooden parts, so they provide quicker repetition and greater power with less effort. The responsiveness of the Millennium III action allows the pianist much more control over every note and passage, particularly when playing pianissimo.
The SK-6’s Concert Agraffes are identical to those used on the Shigeru EX Concert Grand Piano and are machined from billet brass rods for optimum strength. As a result, you’ll get an exceptionally impressive tone.
The word temaki in Japanese literally translates to “hand-wound.” The artisan meticulously guides the winding of specific bass strings by hand for precision and tension, ensuring rich character and excellent depth of tone, in the unhurried temaki technique.
Spruce is recognized for its exceptional sound-conducting qualities. However, it is generally considered to be too valuable to be used as a structural material. Using premium components is paramount to the legacy of Shigeru Kawai, thus all of the underside beams on SK-6 pianos are constructed entirely of top-quality spruce.
Boxwood is a very hard and strong wood that effectively transmits higher frequencies through the bridge to the soundboard. Unlike the smaller Shigeru pianos, the SK-6 features Boxwood bridge caps, to augment projection in the treble that blends well with the more powerful bass tone of larger pianos. This refined feature of the SK-6 speaks to Shigeru Kawai’s never-ending quest to improve the piano.
THE PREMIER PIANO OF JAPAN
Length: 7’ 0” (214 cm)
Width: 5’ 1” (154 cm)
Weight: 842 lbs. (382 kg)
Finish: Available in Polished Ebony
| Size | Length | 7’ 0” (214 cm) |
| Width | 5’ 1” (154 cm) | |
| Height | 3′ 4″ (102 cm) | |
| Weight | 842 lbs. (382 kg) | |
| Touch | White key surfaces | NEOTEX™ |
| Black key surfaces | NEOTEX™ | |
| Action | Millennium III Action with Carbon Fiber | |
| Hammers | All underfelted | |
| Sound | Soundboard | Solid Spruce, Tapered |
| Agraffes | 1-54 keys / Shigeru Kawai concert agraffes | |
| Duplex scaling | Front & Aliquot | |
| Beams | 4 | |
| Exterior design | Pedals | Damper, Sostenuto, Soft |
| Casters | Double, Brass | |
| Lid props | 3 | |
| Fallboard | Soft Fall Closing System | |
| 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've had the privilege of playing many of the world's finest pianos. However, the action of the Shigeru Kawai is far superior to anything I have experienced. It allows my fingers to connect with the very soul of an instrument whose timbre and resonance are absolutely breathtaking. Playing this instrument is pure joy!"
Contemporary Pianist & Composer, Shigeru Kawai Artist
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.”
