K AWA I G R A N D P I A N O

R E G U L AT I O N M A N U A L

Vol 1.6 2013/1/15

Piano Laboratory

Supervisor Kazuo Goka

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 Index

1. Tighten Plate Screws ................................................................................................ 3

2. Action Location ........................................................................................................ 4

3. Ease Keys .................................................................................................................. 5

4. Bed Keyframe ........................................................................................................... 7

5. Travel, Angle Hammers........................................................................................... 8

6. Space Hammers to Strings ....................................................................................... 9

7. Space Levers to Knuckles, Wippens to Capstan Screws .................................... 11

8. Repetition Spring .................................................................................................... 12

9. Jack Alignment, Height.......................................................................................... 13

10. Key Height .............................................................................................................. 14

11. Hammer Blow Distance......................................................................................... 15

12. Hammer Rest Rail .................................................................................................. 16

13. Hammer Letoff ....................................................................................................... 16

14. Hammer Drop ......................................................................................................... 17

15. Key Dip ................................................................................................................... 17

16. Back Checks............................................................................................................ 19

17. Back Stop ................................................................................................................ 20

18. Repetition Spring (recheck) ................................................................................... 20

19. Balance Rail Studs .................................................................................................. 21

20. Damper Lift ............................................................................................................. 22

21. Damper Stop Rail ................................................................................................... 24

22. Damper Pedal.......................................................................................................... 25

23. Sostenuto ................................................................................................................. 26

24. Una Corda ............................................................................................................... 27

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1. Tighten Plate Screws

The plate will have countersunk screws which

should be checked for tightness using ratchet
handle with Phillips No. 4 head, or similar. On a
new grand piano the screws should be checked
carefully, because the bolts are lubricated when
installed and can be over-tightened. Even on an
older piano we would not expect to get much more
than one quarter turn on some of the screws.

For Shigeru Kawai pianos only, plate screws have 2

types. There are hexagonal head screws around
the outside, countersunk Phillips screws on the
pinblock section. These should be tightened with a
17mm socket for hexagonal screws and Phillips No.
4 head for the countersunk screws, as with the
regular Kawai models.
*Note: Shigeru Kawai pianos now use a machine
bolt around the rim perimeter. This is threaded
into a steel plate support, and should not need to be
tightened.

*Some old Kawai pianos use 14mm screws around

outside and a pin block area.

Caution: Do not tighten the nose bolts.

Other case parts such as hinge screws, music desk

glide screws, lock bar screws, etc. may be tightened
as required.

BE CAREFUL TO NOT OVER TIGHTEN

SCREWS. THEY CAN BE OVER-TURNED OR
BROKEN.

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2. Action Location

Hammer No. 88 should strike the string 2.16mm

- 3.0mm from the capo bar. The final location
should be chosen by the sound.

To move the action forward glue a shim (thin wood

veneer) onto the hard wood block at the back side of
the Keyframe. To move the action back, file the
wood block. After the block is set correctly, then
adjust the keyframe guides in the cheek blocks to
match.

If most hammers are aligned towards the left from

strings, glue a shim (wood veneer or thick paper) to
the back side of Action Block.

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3. Ease Keys
3.1 Front hole bushing

While holding the balance rail, check the lateral

movement of the keys in the rest (up) position.
Also check with the keys in the pressed (down)
position. Proper gap should be 0.2 mm to 0.3mm,
with a small but clear “knock” sensation.

Easing a tight front hole bushing using key pliers

3.2 Balance hole and balance bushing

Check the lateral movement of the keys in the rest

position (up) and in the pressed (down) position.

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Ease any tight balance hole bushings with key
easing pliers.

Lift up the Key back 1 – 2mm and release. It

should fall down slowly by its own weight, without
sticking. For best results, key should fall more
slowly in humid season, and a little faster during
dry season.

If the key sticks then ease the balance hole. This

process must be done carefully until the key moves
with the desired ease, but is not too loose.
*Do not ease the front and back of the balance rail.
Only ease the sides of the hole by turning the
easing tool inside the key so that the flat surfaces
face front to back, then apply pressure to the hole.

*If the balance hole is loose on the pin, apply a few

drops of alcohol and water (Isopropyl 70%) to the
hole then set aside. Once it is dry, re-fit it to the
pin.

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4. Bed Keyframe

Raise all of the bedding screws so that they are not

in contact with the keybed.

Place the fingers of one hand against the front rail

and keybed, then tap the keybed with 3 fingers of
the other hand. Listen for a knock noise and feel
for movement between the front rail and the
keybed.

If there are loose areas, pull the keybed out and

trim the tight areas with a plane or sanding block.
As you remove wood from the tight areas, the loose
areas will settle down and become tight

* Note: It is normal for the keyframe front rail to

lift up at the ends during dry weather. Be aware
of the relative humidity when bedding the
keyframe

For the back rail, remove the keys and tap on the
action bracket supports to check for knocking. If
needed, trim the bottom of the back rail at the tight
areas with a hand plane or sanding block, which
will lower the loose areas and eliminate knocking.

Adjust the pressure screw in the cheekblock for

light pressure on the guide pins. This will prevent
knocking of the keyframe during dry weather.

*Note: Keep the balance rail bedding screws

raised until later in the regulation process. This
prevents errors in setting the key height and key
dip.

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5. Hammer Travel & Angle

Lift a group of hammers by hand or with a straight

edge and look for sideways movement as the
hammers travel upward.

When the hammer was down, the hammer was

evenly spaced. When raised, the hammer has
moved to the side, indicating that it is not moving
straight up.

Place a piece of travel paper between the flange

and hammer rail on the same side of the screw as
the direction the hammer is traveling. Differences
in thickness or length of paper will determine the
degree of correction.

*Note: the travel paper should not be visible once

the flange is screwed back into place.

Check the hammer angle at rest position. If the

hammer molding space is equal but hammer tip is
not equal, the hammer is angled.

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 Checking hammer angle – spaces between
hammers must be equal and parallel at the “rest”
position.
If an error is detected then the shank can be heated
up and then carefully and very gently twisted back
into the correct alignment position.

*Do not use excessive force as this will stress the

flange and possibly damage the bushings.

After the hammer angle is corrected.

6. Space Hammers to Strings

For single and bi-chord notes, the hammers should be
centered under the strings.

*Note: Double-check that the soft pedal is adjusted to

allow the action to return all the way. Press the soft pedal
and insert a strip of paper between the keyframe and the
action stop block. Release the soft pedal and the keyframe
will return and trap the paper strip. The paper should be
firmly gripped and cannot be pulled out until released by
again pressing the soft pedal.

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The contact point of the hammer is centered under the
bichord strings.

In the trichord note section the bass side of the hammer

should overlap the left string 1mm.

For easy hammer spacing, put 1mm shim (metal ruler)

between keyframe and action stop block.

Use the Hammer flange spacer under the pin block while
looking down between the strings.

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 Adjust the left edge of hammer to be even with the left
string. After all hammers are spaced even with the strings,
remove the metal ruler from the action stop block.

7. Space Wippens to Knuckles, letoff buttons and Capstans

The knuckle should be centered on the repetition
lever, the capstan on the repetition cushion and the
jack on the regulating button.

To adjust lateral position of the wippen, loosen the

screw and shift the wippen over, or insert a piece of
traveling paper behind the wippen flange on the
side that you want the wippen to move towards.

To position the jack tender under the let-off button,

insert traveling paper underneath the side of the
wippen flange that you want the jack to move
towards.

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 When spacing wippens, use a mirror to watch the
jack tenders, and also verify that the wippen heels
are centered on the capstans.

8. Repetition Spring
Strike the key normally and slowly release. The
repetition spring should carry the hammer back up
in a slow, easy movement without jumping or
catching. If the movement is too slow, dislocate the
top section of the spring and pull upwards.

If the movement is too fast, press the spring

downwards as shown.

*When pressing or lifting the spring, you need to

only change the shape of the coil portion of the
spring, not the shape of the curve area.

*Always re-check the spring strength with the

action in the piano.

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9. Jack Alignment, Height
Align jack

Align the back of the jack (nearest the hammers) to

the back of the wood core of the knuckle by turning
the jack screw in or out. When checking the
alignment, be careful of your eye angle to make
sure the jacks are aligned correctly.

Repetition Lever height

The top of the jack should be placed slightly lower

than the repetition lever (0.1 mm to 0.2mm).
When turning the regulating screw, depress the
repetition lever to avoid damaging the felt button
and pad.

To check repetition lever setting:

To check the repetition lever height, with the

hammer in the “rest” position gently and slowly
press down the jack heel. The hammer should
barely move. If it drops but doesn’t return when
the jack is released, then the repetition lever is too
low. If the hammer does not move when the jack
heel is pressed, then the repetition lever is too high.

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10. Square and level Keys
Should be 66mm to 68mm from Keybed to the top
surface of the white key, depending on the model.

Set sample keys at each end, then level all keys

with a straightedge.

MODELS NEOTEX
SKEX EX GS100 68.0mm
SK-7 RX-7 68.0mm
SK-6 RX-6 RX-A RX-B 66.0mm
SK-2.3.5 RX-2.3.5. 66.0mm

Place thicker punchings lower on the pin, and

thinner punching paper above, just under the felt
punching.

Square the keys so that the top surfaces are

horizontal, by tapping the balance pin side to side.

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 Adjust Black Key Height 12.5mm from White key
top.

11. Hammer Blow Distance

Set sample hammers to the correct blow distance
at both ends of each section. Hold the blow
distance gauge between one hammer and the
string, then adjust the capstan on the next
hammer so that it matches the sample. The blow
distance should be 46mm.

Once sample hammers are set, slide action out and

regulate the capstan screws in the remaining
hammers to form a straight line.

Level Hammers in each section using the capstan

screws.

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12. Hammer Rest Rail
Set the hammer rest rail 5mm below the hammer
shanks in the rest position.

13. Letoff
Adjust hammer letoff Distance.

To improve accuracy, place a light directly above

the string and watch the string’s shadow on the
hammer felt.

Press each key down slowly with one hand while

adjusting the letoff dowel with the other hand to
set the letoff distance.

In the bass section letoff should be 2.0mm - 2.5m,

middle and treble 1.0mm - 1.5mm.

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14. Hammer Drop
Regulate each hammer so the drop screw touches
the top of repetition lever at the same time the jack
should touch the regulating button. The initial fall
distance of the hammer will be the same as the
letoff.

*Make sure to re-check this with the action in

position in the piano itself.

15. Key Dip

15.1 White Key Dip

Using a dip block, 10.1mm, depress each key and

compare with height of the neighboring key. Add
or subtract punchings until desired dip is achieved.
Put paper punchings under cloth.

*Make certain that the same pressure is used

throughout the key board. Move back and forth to
re-check your finger pressure as you regulate.

Another way to double check for evenness is to

push down 3 keys with 3 fingers using same
pressure and compare the Dip.

*Thicker paper lower, thinner paper upper.

Maximum of 4 of any one size.

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15.2 Black Key Dip

Set the black key dip by comparing the feel of the

aftertouch in the white keys with that of the
neighboring black keys. Remove or place
punchings underneath until the aftertouch feel is
the same. Put paper punchings under cloth.

*When checking aftertouch, the dampers should be

lifted up with pedal

Thicker card and paper should be lowest on the

pin, thinner paper upper. There should be no
more than 4 of any one thickness paper.

Black keys should be about 2mm higher than

white keys, when black keys pushed down to
bottom.

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16. Back Checks
Correct backcheck angle.

If setting the backchecks to the correct specification

(15mm from string) results in the hammer tail
dragging on the backcheck during fortissimo
playing, then the backcheck angle is too steep.

When key is played and the hammer is in

check, tap the hammer down into the
backcheck. If the hammer can be pushed down all
the way, then the backcheck angle is too vertical.

Alignment

Using bending pliers, space the back checks so they

are even and square to the hammer tails. The back
check wire must be bent twice, once at the bottom
and the opposite way at the top.

The backchecks must be uniformly spaced and

their back surfaces parallel to the hammer line

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17. Backchecks
The hammer top should be an average distance of
15mm from the strings with the key is played and
the hammer is in check. Set the outer key of each
section then align the other keys.

Check to see that the hammer tails do not drag on

the back check by moving the key with one hand
and pushing down on the hammer with the other.
If the tail drags, adjust the angle of the back check
again.

18. Repetition Spring (recheck)

Re-check the repetition spring regulation after

setting the backchecks.

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19. Balance Rail Studs
When regulated correctly, the balance rail studs
(glide bolts) should just touch the keybed, but not
lift the balance rail. Knock on the tops of the keys
while turning the screw, lowering the studs just far
enough to stop the knocking noise.
Then lift up on the hammer rail with one hand
while knocking on the tops of the keys with the
other hand. Check for even pressure for each of the
studs.
For left side stud, push Una Corda Pedal slightly to
check.

Start by setting the stud at the tenor break (just

above the bass section), then set the bass end and
recheck the tenor break stud again. Then move
towards the treble (right) side, re-checking the
previous stud each time.

Then re-check them again with the damper pedal

pressed down.

Finally, adjust the 1 or 2 hidden studs underneath

using pliers or 12mm wrench.

A long straightedge can be used to set the hidden

balance rail studs.

Finally recheck all the studs using the knock test

from above.

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20. Damper
Alignment

Adjust the dampers so they are seated squarely on

strings.

Make sure the dampers travel straight by bending

the damper wire twice.

Keep the damper wire and damper head parallel.

When you push up damper lever slowly the

backside of damper should lift up very slightly
earlier than front side.

The damper wire should be at right angles to the

bottom surface of the damper head, but the
damper head should still lift slightly from back
first.

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Level Damper Levers

Loosen all damper block screws, and adjust

damper lever capstan to make the damper levers
same height. Place a ruler on top of the damper
levers as shown to assist in adjusting the capstans.

Place a 2mm thickness paper punching between

the pitman and the damper lift rail.

Initial Damper lift

Adjust pedal rod head to set the sample damper

levers so that they start moving when the hammer
is 23mm (1/2 blow distance) from string.
Tighten damper wire screws for sample damper
levers in each section.

Reinstall the action and check the damper lift.

Once the samples are set, tighten all damper wire

screws, then remove paper punching and correct
the damper head alignment.

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 Damper lift with Pedal

Once dampers are tightened and aligned, recheck

the dampers for even lift with the damper pedal.
To adjust, loosen the screw in the damper
top flange and move the lever up or down.

*Do not use the capstan screws for this adjustment

21. Damper Stop Rail

Press a black key and lift the damper head to see
how much movement is remaining. (1 to 2 mm is
permissible)

Make certain that the damper levers will not touch

the sostenuto rod even if the lever is lifted up
strongly.

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22. Damper Pedal
Adjust the damper tray height.

There must be slight lost motion in the damper

pedal (approx. 1 to 2 mm), which is adjusted using
the head of the pedal rod.

The head and pedal lever should be adjusted to

create lost motion at the damper lever.

Tighten the bottom lock nut with 10mm wrench

while holding the pedal rod with the other hand.

Pedal Stop Capstan

The dampers should be lifted to the same height

with the pedal as they are with the black keys.
Adjust the pedal stop capstan so that the pedal lift
matches the black key lift.

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23. Sostenuto
Set the height of the sostenuto rod to be slightly
higher than the tabs on the damper levers.
Then adjust the sostenuto bracket screws so that
the rod does not cover the tabs when viewed from
above. Tightening the bottom screw will bring the
rod closer to the tabs. Tightening top screw will
bring rod away from the tabs.
*Adjustment should be uniform across the rod
from bass to treble.
*When one screw is tightened, the other should be
backed off by the same amount to avoid
unnecessary tension.

Adjust the lift height (sostenuto rod angle) with the

capstan under the keybed. The sostenuto pedal
should hold the dampers at the same height as the
key.

*Test by pressing the pedal and striking

non-sustained keys with forte blows to make sure
they will not catch.

*Check that sostenuto function works for all

dampers.

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24. Una Corda
When the una corda pedal is pressed all the way
down, the hammer should strike only 2 strings in
all 3-string notes (tenor and treble sections).

The left string should not be struck.

Shift pedal

Adjust with the nut at the top of the pedal rod so

there is no lost motion in the pedal. Adjust the
screw in the right cheek block so the action will
shift, allowing the trichord hammers to clear the
left string, and all hammers should strike the
strings halfway between string marks.

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 KAWAI GRAND PIANO SPECIFICATIONS

Key Key Dip Blow Let Off Drop Back

Model Height Distance Bas. Mid. Tre Bas. Mid. Tre Check
KG2C-5C 67 10.5 46 3.0 2.5 2.0 3.0 2.5 2.0 17
KG8C 67 10.5 46 2.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 B16 MT14
KG1D-5D 65 10.5 46 2.5 2.0 1.5 2.5 2.0 1.5 B17 MT15
KG7D 65 10.5 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 B16 MT14
GS30 65 10.5 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 B16 MT14
GS50 65 10.5 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 B16 MT14
GS70,80 67 10.3 47 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
GS100 68 10.3 47 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
GS40,60 65 10.3 47 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
RXA,R1 65 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
GE1,GE2 65 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
KG1E-6E 65 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
KG1A-6A 65 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
R0,R1,R2 65 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
GM2,GM10 65 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
GE20,30 66 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
RX1-6 66 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
RX7 68 10.3 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
SK2-6/GX1-6 66 10.1 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
SK7/GX-7 68 10.1 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
EX 68 10.1 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15
SKEX 68 10.1 46 2.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 15

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