Digital pianos - KAWAI CS-3

Luxurious, elegant, classic – nothing says piano quite like the refined beauty of polished ebony. The evocative character of a silky smooth, rich black cabinet elevates the musical instrument to that of a piece of fine furniture, while simultaneously raising the artistic aspirations of the performer.

Kawai has been creating world-class musical instruments for over 80 years – maintaining traditional handcrafted processes while embracing original ideas, in a passionate quest to perfect the art of the piano.

The new range of premium Kawai digital instruments pursue these very same principles, marrying together stunning polished cabinet parts (meticulously prepared in our own acoustic piano finishing facility) with modern sound and keyboard technologies. The result is the Classic Series – a collection of luxurious, elegant pianos that deliver a truly exceptional musical experience.

Sitting down at the CS3, one quickly begins to appreciate the instrument’s acoustic piano design cues: the gorgeous rich black polished finish, the warm glimmer from the family name’s brushed metal lettering, and the wide music rest complete with simulated leather inlay.

However the CS3 is far more than just a handsome addition to one’s living space, for inside this finely crafted, gleaming black cabinet lies Kawai’s advanced digital piano sound and keyboard action technology, ensuring that this exceptional instrument plays as beautifully as it looks. Progressive Harmonic Imaging recreates the exquisite tonal character of Kawai’s peerless EX concert grand piano with breathtaking realism, while the responsive hammer keyboard action with Ivory Touch key surfaces and let-off simulation guarantees a remarkably authentic piano playing experience.

Complementing its beautiful appearance, stunning sound, and rewarding keyboard touch, the CS3 offers a selection of digital piano features that further enhance one’s musical enjoyment. The 3-song recorder, Dual and Four- Hands playing modes, and alternative instrumental sounds add greater variety to players’ performances. Furthermore, a convenient metronome function and integrated Czerny and Burgmüller etudes or Alfred course books ensure that regular practise is both productive and engaging for aspiring pianists.

Luxurious appearance combined with class-leading touch and tone:
Introducing the Classic Series of premium digital pianos from Kawai.

The sound of a grand piano

One of the most important characteristics of any piano is its sound. Bright, mellow, dark or warm, a fine piano is detailed and expressive, and inspires the performer to play with their utmost feeling and emotion.

The beautiful sound of Kawai’s hand-built EX grand piano is at the heart of the new CS3, with all eighty-eight keys of this world-class instrument painstakingly recorded, analysed, and reproduced as high-fidelity digital waveforms. Recording each key individually in this way preserves the rich harmonic character of the original EX grand piano, and guarantees that the sound heard when playing any one of the CS3’s keys is a faithful representation of the acoustic source.

Yet when playing a fine piano, the tonal character of each note changes dramatically depending on the amount of pressure applied to the keyboard. Therefore, in order to capture a realistic acoustic portrait of the EX grand piano, not only is each key recorded individually, but also at various different volume levels, ranging from gentle pianissimo to thunderous fortissimo. The new CS3 offers a highly detailed acoustic portrait, employing exclusive Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound technology to ensure smooth tonal transitions across the keyboard and throughout the entire dynamic range.

The touch of a grand piano

The second most important characteristic of a piano is its touch – how the keyboard responds beneath the finger tips, and the sense of connection that one feels with the instrument when playing.

The new Responsive Hammer action recreates the distinctive touch of an acoustic grand piano, with its realistic movement and rigid, springless design providing a smooth, natural, piano playing experience. The weight of the keyboard is appropriately graded to mirror the heavier bass hammers and lighter treble hammers of an acoustic piano, while structural reinforcements within the action assembly ensure greater stability during fortissimo and staccato passages.

The new CS3 also features Ivory Touch key surfaces that gently absorb finger moisture to assist the player’s performance, while let-off simulation recreates the subtle ‘notch’ sensation felt when softly playing the keys of a grand piano, satisfying the expectations of the most discerning pianists.

Features

Keyboard 88 weighted keys with Ivory Touch key surfaces
Action Responsive Hammer action with Let-off
Sound Source Progressive Harmonic Imaging™ (PHI), 88-key piano sampling
Internal Sounds Concert Grand, Concert Grand 2, Studio Grand, Modern Piano, Classic E.Piano, Modern E.Piano, Jazz Organ, Church Organ, Harpsichord, Vibraphone, String Ensemble, Slow String, Choir, New Age Pad, Atmosphere
Polyphony max. 96 notes
Reverb Room, Stage, Hall
Effects Preset
Recorder 3 song recorder - approximately 15,000 note memory capacity
Lesson Function Alfred or Burgmüller and Czerny lesson songs, depending on market area
Metronome Beat: 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 3/8, 6/8; Tempo: 10-300 bpm
Demo Songs 15 songs
Piano Music 29 songs
Keyboard Modes Dual Mode (with adjustable volume balance); Four Hands Mode (with adjustable split point)
Other Functions Touch, Transpose, Tuning, Reverb, Damper Resonance, Brilliance, MIDI Channel, Local Control, Multi-timbral mode, Transmit Program Change Number
Pedals Sustain (with half-pedal support), Soft, Sostenuto
Jacks MIDI (IN/OUT), Headphones x 2
Speakers 12 cm x 2 (full range speakers); 5 cm x 2 (tweeters)
Output Power 2 x 20W
Power Consumption 50 W
Finish Black polished
Key Cover Sliding type
Dimensions 1415 (W) x 425 (D) x 907 (H) mm
Weight in kg 55