Embracing many of the time-honored principles associated with an acoustic piano, the Grand Feel III keyboard action encased in the CA901 combines realistic materials, motion, and mechanism to faithfully mimic the exceptional touch of the finest concert grand pianos.

All eighty-eight black and white keys are made entirely from long pieces of wood, with finely textured ivory and ebony-like surfaces, effectively absorbing moisture and assisting with control. Every wooden key pivots smoothly on a balance pin – with the ends rising and falling to replicate the familiar ‘seesaw’ motion of a traditional acoustic piano action. When pressed, the back of the key lifts, triggering a grade-weighted hammer to strike a pressure switch. The amount of force applied to this switch is then measured, and the corresponding note played with authentic tonal character and volume.

The Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano was conceived in the never-ending quest in evolving the art of the piano. Earning a reputation as the ‘premier piano of Japan,’ it commands the stages of concert halls and musical institutions around the world, receiving universal accolades for its exceptionally brilliant clarity and incomparable dynamic range. The SK-EX has frequently been selected by professional pianists at such prestigious events as the Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff international piano competitions. With its majestic tonal range and wonderfully responsive touch, the SK-EX can best be described with one word – incomparable.

In order to faithfully reproduce the stunning sound of a Shigeru Kawai concert grand piano digitally, Kawai has developed SK-EX Rendering. This unique, piano-only sound engine focuses the Concert Artist’s DSP power, combining multi-channel, 88-key sampling with the latest resonance modeling technology. The result is unmatched pure acoustic piano authenticity, not found in any other digital piano. There are now two versions of SK-EX Rendering: The SK-EX concert grand piano or the exciting new Competition Grand piano, each offering five different variations.

The knowledge and skill of Kawai’s Master Piano Artisans are unsurpassed, and their experience is essential to bring out the best of a fine acoustic piano. In addition to tuning each note, the Master Piano Artisans also perform intricate regulation and voicing adjustments that allow the instrument to truly sing.

The CA901’s powerful Virtual Piano Artisan function simulates the essence of these refinements digitally, allowing discerning musicians to mold various tonal aspects of the selected piano’s character to suit their personal preferences.

One may adjust touch weight and voicing, regulate hammer and key release noises, and fine-tune string, damper, and cabinet resonances. It is even possible to alter the precise tuning, volume, and character of individual notes – all in real-time.

The CA901 incorporates specialized components designed specifically for high-fidelity audio reproduction. With leading-edge technologies such as a custom designed piano sampling filter and a dual DAC system, the Concert Artist’s dedicated power amplifiers reproduce the Shigeru Kawai grand piano sound with uncommon clarity, boldness, and power. The high-performance discrete headphone amplifier ensures a phenomenal listening experience when playing in privacy.

The CA901 also incorporates the latest iteration of Kawai’s highly regarded soundboard speaker system. Using the rich, harmonic qualities of wood to produce the piano sound, the CA901 uses transducers to channel sound energy onto a large soundboard, in order to produce a more natural, organic tone. Long wooden ribs attached to the soundboard further broaden the frequency range and volume of the resonating sound, resulting in a remarkably realistic playing experience that immerses the performer in the full tonal spectrum of an acoustic piano.

The TwinDrive system represents the third generation of Kawai’s soundboard technology, and features an improved primary transducer redesigned to deliver more power and volume.

Moreover, a secondary transducer, mounted towards the treble end of the soundboard, helps to further expand the tonal range produced by the soundboard beyond the existing low frequencies, allowing mid-low and even mid-high ranges to benefit from the broad, acoustic properties of wood

A full selection of digital features complements the instrument’s class-leading Grand Feel III keyboard action and stunning SK-EX Rendering piano sound engine. These attributes combined further enhance one’s musical enjoyment.

Full Bluetooth® v5 connectivity and USB audio record/playback allows musicians to extend the functionality of their piano, or play-along with their favorite artists. The user-friendly metronome gives players the choice between a variety of time signatures or 100 rhythms to help keep time. Integrated lesson functions, featuring classical etudes and Alfred course books, ensure that regular practice is both productive and engaging for aspiring pianists.

All functions are accessible from the CA901’s 5″ anti-glare touchscreen display, which allows sounds and settings to be chosen from an attractive user interface by tapping or swiping the display with a finger.

The screen can also be set to turn off automatically while playing, thus preserving the instruments’ acoustic piano-like appearance, and minimizing any visual distractions to the performer.

In addition to standard USB jacks for connecting to computers or other instruments, the CA901 also features integrated Bluetooth® V5 MIDI and Bluetooth V5 Audio technologies that allow the instrument to communicate with supported smart devices wirelessly.

After pairing with a phone, tablet, or laptop, CA901 owners can enjoy a wide variety of enjoyable music-related apps that enhance their playing and learning experience. The user may also stream audio from songs and videos directly through the instruments’ premium amplifier and speaker systems without the need to connect additional cables.

The CA901 permits the user-friendly touchscreen to also be accessed via the exclusive PianoRemote app for iOS and supported Android devices. The app connects to the piano seamlessly via the Concert Artists’ integrated Bluetooth, providing a convenient way to change sounds, or enjoy the vast array of built-in music content from the comfort of an armchair.

The CA901’s convenient lesson function allows aspiring pianists to learn piano with Bach, Beethoven, Beyer, Czerny, Burgmüller, and Chopin etudes. Also embedded is a collection of songs from the popular Alfred’s Basic, Adult, and Premier course books

With a strong emphasis on acoustic piano realism, the Concert Artist also features traditional finger exercises, warm-up drills and scales.

Kawai’s Grand Feel Pedal System fortifies the Concert Artist’s reputation as the most realistic digital piano available today. Known for their attention to detail, this unique Kawai feature accurately replicates the position and individual weighting of the damper, soft, and sostenuto pedals of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano to greatly improve the CA901’s acoustic piano-like authenticity.

Moreover, it is also possible to adjust the half-pedal sensitivity of the damper pedal, and effectiveness of the soft pedal using dedicated Virtual Piano Artisan parameters, allowing experienced pianists to tailor the instrument’s response to match their individual pedaling technique.

The CA901’s Spatial Headphone Sound (SHS) technology enhances the depth and realism of the instrument’s sound when enjoying the piano through headphones or earphones. The player can choose one of three different acoustic presets that adjust the spatial positioning of the sound, while also helping to reduce auditory fatigue when using headphones or earphones for extended lengths of time.

In addition, the CA901 permits players to specify the type of headphones in use, such as Open, Semi-open, Closed, In-Ear, Canal, etc., to provide an optimal listening experience.