REVIEW - Kohler KD5 Digital Baby Grand Piano - New LOW PRICE on this Gorgeous 5' Long Digital Grand Piano

UPDATED REVIEW - April 4, 2013 - The Kohler KD5 piano is NOT AVAILABLE at this time based on info I have received from the manufacturer. If it should become available again I will update this review. If you would like to know about alternative pianos that are available, please contact me.

I recommend the newly reissued Kohler KD5 digital Baby Grand Piano with built-in CD player/recorder at its new lower price (see price info below). This model is a limited edition piano and is only available in the US. I played this full size 5' deep digital baby grand about five years ago when it first came out and just recently again and was quite impressed with it...except for its original price at almost $7000. As of December 1st, I will be able to show you how to acquire one of these beautiful pianos for only $3999 in either polished ebony until when quantities are gone. This new lower price makes the KD5 more competitive in the lower price digital grand piano market, particularly because of its larger 5' baby grand cabinet and 360 watt 3 channel built in stereo speaker system. 

The Kohler KD5 is from the Kohler/Samick acoustic piano company (left pic), a well known acoustic piano manufacturer out of South Korea. Their US headquarters is based out of Nashville, TN and the Kohler piano brand is over 100 years old and is owned entirely by Samick. The KD5 has authentic baby grand cabinet specs unlike the other brands of digital grand cabinets under $5000 which are "hybrid" cabinets.

A very unique aspect of this piano is that it has a built-in CD player/recorder. However, the keys on the piano DO NOT move up & down automatically from the CD because this model does not have a moving key "player system" built into it. Originally the KD5 was supposed to have the more expensive moving key system in it but Kohler decided to put that in a different model called a KD7 (which I have also reviewed on this blog). Otherwise the KD5 & KD7 are very similar. The KD5 CD player does allow you to play your favorite CD's through the piano's impressive sound system for listening entertainment or playalong with the piano, and you can even record your performance on the CD system and play it back, which is very cool. The CD player/recorder gives the KD5 that extra edge other piano don't have, including regular acoustic pianos. The player system also comes with a remote control unit for easy operation.

The KD5 incorporates 30 digital instrument sounds (including a good selection of impressive acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organs, strings, choir, and other sounds) all produced by the Korg pro keyboard company which is well known for their very high quality instrument sounds used in their pro keyboards. That means the instrument sounds are high quality and impressive to play and listen to. The sound control buttons to activate the 30 instruments are located on the left side of the keyboard and the piano volume and tone controls are on the right side of the keyboard. They are simple & easy to use as well as being "minimalistic" in design so they blend in fairly well on the piano cabinet.

The KD5 has a MIDI output is a very cool feature for those people who want to have an interactive music experience with these external devices that are available these days. The 5' deep (from front to back) baby grand piano furniture cabinet (left pic in polished mahogany) is an authentic acoustic baby grand cabinet as I mentioned earlier and it has a full size pedal assembly, full size thick piano legs, a full size dual level lid, and a full size grand key cover. The cabinet also incorporates a higher quality Sitka spruce soundboard (for an organic natural sound disbursement) with a built-in huge sounding speaker system which includes one 10" subwoofer, 5 additional speakers of different sizes, and three separate amplifiers totaling a whopping 360 watts of power  which is 3 times the power and fullness than the other digital grands in this price range. What that translates to is a big, full, rich tone with deep bass, good clarity in the middle, and clean high notes without sounding too brassy. The speakers are built right into the sound board and blend in very nicely and seamlessly. Quite impressive.

The hammer key action in this piano is very nice and produced by the Fatar piano action company in Italy unlike smaller digital grands in this price range that normally have low quality Chinese key actions. The Fatar company is well known for producing high quality piano hammer key actions for digital pianos. This key action feels good and has actual wood keys just like an acoustic piano, moves smoothly, has graduated weighted keys that get slightly heavier as you play the keys from left to right, and is fairly quiet compared to many other digital pianos I have played. So the playing experience on this piano for those who play would be a satisfying one as far as key action goes.

Kohler KD5 speaker soundboard

In my opinion, the only downside to this piano as far as specs is concerned is the fact it only has 60 notes of polyphony. Polyphony is how many notes can play or be heard at the same time (that's the simple explanation). This becomes more important if you happen to be a more advanced player or are needing to layer two sounds together often for manual play in complex music. 128 notes of polyphony memory would have been better and and certainly an advantage to higher skill playing levels. But if you are like most people including younger or older piano students, 60 notes of polyphony should be more than enough unless you think you'll be playing lots of keys at one time up & down the keyboard and using lots of pedaling along with layering two sounds. But when it comes to playing straight acoustic piano sound (and there are many variations), or any other single instrument sound like the electric piano sounds of a Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Yamaha, and other famous pianos, this piano will keep up with most playing and songs.

The KD5 is a unique mix of technologies that for most people who play at recreational intermediate levels or less, will be a great piano to own because it does sound impressive with full piano sound coming through this extra large built-in sound system. And if you also want this piano for it's looks and CD playing abilities, it's equally impressive, especially for its new lower price until quantities are sold which I imagine won't take long. Is this piano a replacement for a Steinway, Yamaha, or Kawai acoustic baby grand or the quality you get from one of those pianos?...absolutely not! But does the KD5 offer a satisfying playing experience for beginner through intermediate recreational players...yes it does. Please contact me directly for more info on this piano and how you can get one while they are available.

If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864

REVIEW - Samick SG210 Digital Grand Piano - A "Best Buy" in the lower price range

UPDATED REVIEW - Feb 13, 2013 - The Samick SG210 piano is discontinued and no longer available. 

I recommend the Samick SG210 (aka SG210 Symphonia) 4'1" digital baby grand in the digital baby grand category for higher quality features in a lower price range (under $3000). The SG210 piano is offered by the Samick piano company, a well known acoustic piano manufacturer out of South Korea who has built and sold acoustic pianos throughout the world for over 50 years. Their US headquarters is based out of Nashville, TN (upper left pic). I was impressed when I recently played the SG210. Generally speaking, this model is discount priced on the Internet at about $2988.

The SG210 is, in my opinion, a very simple piano but one that has the features most people want; quiet & responsive graduated piano hammer key action which is built in Europe by a well known piano key action company, good pedal movement from the 3-pedal unit, good dynamics and velocity for more expressive tone response, a powerful 120 watt audio system that delivers very good volume, easy to use & functional digital features and buttons, and an attractive cabinet with a 2-piece hinged lid, sliding key cover, and custom brass hardware. And at 4'1" from front to back, this piano has enough size to really look like a small baby grand without overpowering the room for its size.

Some of the other features of this piano (left pic) are adjustable touch sensitivity controls, 16 good quality instrument sounds including classical grand piano and pop/jazz piano, layer & split sounds, 2-track MIDI recorder, LED display, headphone jack, MIDI output to iPad or laptop computer using USB adapter, reverb for concert hall effects, and key transpose function. The SG210 has 64 notes of polyphony which is about standard in this price range for digital grand pianos (128 note polyphony would have been better), but that should be enough for playing most songs unless you are a more advanced player and then I would say you should probably spend more money for an upgraded brand & model if you want the baby grand look. But for most people, this piano is a nice one and far better than the "off-brands" in this price range found through stores like Costco, Sams Club, Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, and others.

There are the other lower priced digital baby grands out there under various brands like Adagio, Suzuki, Williams, and others, and I have played them all. But just because a piano may look pretty on the outside does not mean it's good on the inside. And this 4'1" Samick SG210 (left pic) in polished ebony has the right balance of looks, performance, digital features, and good construction in its price range. As I mentioned earlier, it is a simple, easy to use piano and does not have drum rhythms, automatic chords, USB flash drive input, or LOTS of extra instrument sounds. But it does have what is most important in this price range for a digital baby grand and that should be of primary importance when making a decision on which piano will best suit your needs.

The Samick company also offers some upgraded models with more "bells & whistles" which I have reviewed here: Samick SG110, 310, 450 Digital Grand Pianos

Of course you could always get one of the better, higher priced models from Yamaha, Roland, or Kawai as they are definitely upgraded instruments over the Samick models, but you'll be spending a lot more money to move up to that level. However, if you do have that kind of disposable income to spend on a piano, then I would recommend you consider those brands & models too. But in the "under $3000 price range," the Samick SG210 is one certainly worth considering and it would look, play, and sound great in the home as compared to many of the other brands in that price range in my opinion. If you can live without the grand piano look, then there are certainly other good digital piano options for less money in a regular upright piano style which would also give you a great piano playing experience.

Regardless of what you decide is right for you, please contact me if you have questions. Also, I will tell you how to save lot of money over internet and store discount prices on digital pianos.

If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864