KAWAI UPRIGHTS — ACTION, BEAUTY AND DESIGN

The Millennium III Action

The revolutionary Millennium III Upright Action represents the third evolution of piano touch. Combining modern material science with innovative new design concepts, Kawai has developed an action with a feel and consistency that is unmatched. We cordially invite you to experience the pre-eminent piano action of the third millennium.

Kawai made history in the early 1970s with the introduction of piano actions featuring ABS Styran — a strong, stable material that solved many of the problems associated with wood (most notably, shrinking and swelling) in the fine workings of an action. ABS Styran brought a higher level of piano stability that earned high praise from pianists worldwide.

Over the next two decades, the designs were steadily refined and improved until the unveiling of the Kawai Ultra-Responsive ABS Action in the mid-1990s. This new action, with its intelligent use of ABS Styran and other composite materials, continues to out-perform conventional "all wooden" actions in reliability, durability and long-term consistency of touch.

The Millennium III Upright Action represents the next evolving step in upright piano technology. It was created to enhance the three performance elements that professional pianists desire most — speed, control and power. Innovative new materials and designs made possible dramatic advances that offer an exceptionally satisfying experience for the player.

For the Millennium III Action, Kawai scientists developed a new material called ABS-Carbon, created by the infusion of carbon fibers into ABS material. ABS-Carbon is incredibly strong and lightweight — properties that allowed Kawai to make the action parts lighter without sacrificing strength. The lighter design makes the Millennium III Upright Action exceptionally fast and effortless. The repetition and and ease-of-playing is superb.

The Millennium III Action features several core components that are redesigned with lighter mass and structural enhancements to optimize speed, repetition and control. Every exacting detail of the action was analyzed and adapted to create an intimate interface between the artist and the music. While the key weight is comparable to most other high-end upright actions, the ease of expression is extraordinary.

At the start of development, Kawai engineers focused on the need for exceptional repetition — a feature highly-prized by professional pianists. To improve repetition, the action parts needed to be made lighter in weight. But there would be a side effect. Reducing weight alone could result in parts that were not as strong. Therefore, the engineers reasoned that the parts must be made stronger before they could be made lighter. The infusion of carbon fiber into ABS increased the strength of the material by 90%. This enabled ABS-Carbon parts to be stronger, even though they were made lighter in weight.

With lighter ABS-Carbon parts, the Millennium III Upright Action was made faster — approximately 16% faster than a conventional wooden action. Reduced weight enables it to respond with incredible quickness and ease. The "static weight" (the weight required to depress a key initially) is in line with the standard touch weight for most top-quality upright pianos. But the "dynamic weight" (which measures the effort required to move a key that is already in motion) is enhanced dramatically. Professional pianists have described the overall movement as "swift, effortless and wonderfully responsive." Additional power was a natural byproduct of adding carbon fiber to ABS material. Carbon fiber makes ABS-Carbon not only stronger, but also more rigid. Because rigid parts tend to transfer energy more efficiently than pans that "flex," ABS-Carbon sends more energy to the hammer with every keystroke. In short, the player is able to produce more power with less effort.

The jack is the pivotal link between the key and the hammer. Its shape and design can strongly affect the way a piano "feels" to the pianist. For the Millennium III Upright Action, the jack was redesigned with a slimmer, lighter tail that further reduces weight in the action and offers the player unparalleled control for pianissimo playing.

Innovative Design

K Series soundboards are made of solid quarter-sawn spruce, carefully chosen and scientifically tested to exceed Kawai's demanding resonance standards for superior tone. For the K3 and K2, the soundboard area, string lengths and number of ribs are maximized to exceed the specifications of other pianos and provide greater power and resonance.

Mahogany hammer mouldings are a feature of K8, K6 and K5. Mahogany is a superior choice for hammer mouldings because of its high ratio of strength to weight. Mahogany hammers are light weight and extremely responsive.

The duplex scale (K8 and K6) enhances harmonics in the treble range adding brilliance and richness to the piano's tone.

Agraffes (K8 and K6) ensure accuracy in string alignment, spacing and angles to produce greater uniformity of tone and consistent "speaking length" for each note.

K Series weighted and balanced keys feature Kawai's exclusive NEOTEX key surfaces formulated with cellulose fiber. NEOTEX offers the smooth, understated texture of natural ivory and ebony — and a semi-porous silica-filled surface to absorb the hand's natural oils and perspiration. It resists cracking and fading over years of use — and is static-resistant to prevent the build-up of unwanted dust. The result is a beautiful, long lasting key surface with exceptional playability.

Our ultra-slow, "Soft Fall" fallboard closing system with dual-damping mechanism protects hands and the piano's finish from the harm that a jarring close might cause.

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