Kawai 612681 219316846 2008-06-14T17:23:26Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other :''This article is about the Kawai Musical Instruments. For Kawai village in NWFP of Pakistan, see [[Kaghan valley]]. For'' kawaii'', the Japanese concept of "cuteness", see [[Cuteness in Japanese culture]].'' [[Image:Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing (headquarters 1).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Headquarters of the Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing]] The '''Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd.''' (河合楽器製作所 ''Kawai Gakki Seisakusho'') {{tyo|7952}} of [[Japan]] is best known for its pianos, electronic keyboards & electronic synthesizers. The company was established in August, 1927, and is headquartered in [[Hamamatsu, Shizuoka]]. The [[Kawai K5|K5]] and [[Kawai K5000|K5000]] [[digital synthesizer]]s employed [[additive synthesis]]. Kawai also bought [[Teisco]] in 1967 in order to start building guitars. ==Developments== ===Pianos=== Kawai has introduced a new technology in piano construction dubbed [http://www.kawaius.com/PDF/ABS_Superior.pdf ABS styran and carbon]. Piano actions have long been limited to wooden construction (usually maple for its inexpensive strength) as no other material has been found to be more practical or feasible. Kawai makes several claims with its ABS styran and carbon piano action construction, and many today believe this construction to be superior.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} ===Synthesizers=== Kawai started manufacturing synthesizers in the beginning of the 1980s under the brand name of Teisco. These instruments were all [[analog synthesizer|analog]] and included the following models: [[Teisco 60F|60F]], [[Teisco 110F|110F]], [[Teisco 100F|100F]], [[Teisco 100P|100P]], [[Teisco SX-210|SX-210]], [[Teisco SX-240|SX-240]], and [[Teisco SX-400|SX-400]]. At some point, Kawai stopped using the "Teisco" brand and so some of these products can be found labelled either Teisco or Kawai. During the second half of the 1980s, Kawai developed and released a number of digital synthesizers. The most known of these is the K series: [[Kawai K1|K1]], [[Kawai K1|Kawai K1mkII]], [[Kawai K3|K3]] (filters and envelopes are analog), [[Kawai K4|K4]] and [[Kawai K5|K5]]. Except the K5, which is an [[additive synthesis|additive]] synthesizer, all instruments employ [[subtractive synthesis]]. Uniquely for their price range, all instruments feature [[aftertouch]]. Kawai also manufactured [[19-inch rack|rack]] versions of most of these instruments, and an external programming device, [[Kawai MM-16]]. [[Kawai XD-5]], a [[drum]] synthesizer based on the K4 engine, was produced in 1989-1990. Later developments resulted in [[Kawai KC-10]] and [[Kawai KC-20|KC-20]] (produced in the beginning of the 1990s), both are simplistic PCM synthesizers. In 1996 Kawai released the [[Kawai K5000|K5000]], an additive synthesizer that greatly improved on the K5 and is now regarded as one of Kawai's very best instruments. It was manufactured in three versions: K5000S, which had 16 knobs for real-time control and an [[arpeggiator]], K5000W which added a [[sequencer]] but lacked both the knobs and the arpeggiator, and the K5000R, a rack version with an arpeggiator, but no sequencer and no knobs. A Knobs Macro Box was sold separately for use with the W and R models. Kawai originally planned to release K5000X, which would combine the features of the S and W models with a 76-key keyboard and enhanced memory, but this was cancelled in the late 1990s due to K5000's bad sales. Shortly thereafter the company stopped producing synthesizers. ===Stage Pianos=== * EP2 * MP9000 (discontinued) * MP9500 (discontinued) * MP4 (discontinued) * MP8 * MP5 * MP8II ===Grand Pianos=== * EX - 9' * RX-7 - 7'6" * RX-6 - 7' * RX-5 - 6'6" * RX-3 - 6'1" * RX-2 - 5'10" * RX-1 - 5'5" * GE-30 - 5'5" * GE-20 - 5'1" * GM-12 - 5' * GM-10K - 5' * SK7 - 7'6" * SK6 - 7' * SK5 - 6'6" * SK3 - 6'1" * SK2 - 5'10" ==See also== * [[piano]] * [[synthesizer]] ==External links== * {{en}} [http://www.kawai.co.jp/english/ Kawai Corporate site] * {{en}} [http://www.kawaius.com Kawai America Corporation] * {{en}} [http://www.shigerukawai.com/] {{Japanese Electronics Industry}} [[Category:Synthesizer manufacturing companies]] [[Category:Piano manufacturing companies]] [[Category:Companies headquartered in Shizuoka]] [[Category:Companies established in 1927]] {{musical-instrument-company-stub}} [[de:Kawai]] [[it:Kawai]] [[ja:河合楽器製作所]] [[fi:Kawai]] [[sv:Kawai]] [[uk:Kawai]]