🎹Essex EUP-123 vs Kawai ND21 Upright Piano Comparison & Review | Classic Studio Uprights🎹

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#EUP123 #ND21 #Kawai

Greetings and thanks for joining us here at the Merriam Pianos YouTube channel. We’ve got another comparison video for you today that happened to be possible by pure chance as we’re comparing a recently traded-in Essex UP123 built-in 2017 with a recently traded-in Kawai ND21 also built-in 2017.

Both are in like-new condition, and both received a voicing and tuning from one of our in-house technicians. Both are 48” in height, and priced very close together, so this is about as apples-to-apples comparison as can be.

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Background

We should start by mentioning that Kawai only makes the ND21 available in certain markets around the world. For instance, the ND21 is a staple of the Canadian market, but they are not available in the United States.

Interestingly, an ND21 is simply a reissue of the Kawai K-25, which was their main 48” offering in the early 2000s. Unlike the K-25 which was Japanese made, however, the ND21 is made by Kawai at their Indonesian facility.

The Essex UP123 is made by Pearl River in China for Steinway, and is sold as a Steinway branded product throughout their dealer network. Steinway has contributed the design of the Essex, but there are no Steinway parts that go into the Essex, unlike the Steinway Boston product which does receive some genuine Steinway parts.

Piano Sound

After sitting down and playing both pianos, it’s clear that they deliver very different playing experiences. The ND21 has that typical round Kawai sound, and is darker on the tonal spectrum in famous Kawai fashion. The tone really sings in the upper mid register.

The UP123 has a very loud, open tone with lots of resonance, especially in the mid-range. There’s less variety of tone though than on the ND21 which has a more dynamic tonal profile.

Most of these differences have a lot to do with hammer materials and geometry.

The bass tone on both of these pianos is also quite different. The UP123 is designed to have a more reverberant cabinet, as evidenced by the thick backposts. The UP123 also has a shorter, thicker bass string than the ND21, resulting in a woofier, more colourful bass tone.

The longer, thinner bass string of the ND21 produces a clearer bass tone, with a more distinct fundamental tone.

The treble sounds a little more closed off on the ND21 as compared to the UP123 which sounds more open.

In terms of materials, both instruments have solid spruce soundboards, backposts, though as mentioned, the backposts on the UP123 are much more substantial.

Action

The UP123’s action is quite reminiscent of some of Baldwin’s upright pianos from the ’80s and ’90s. Like those Baldwin’s, this action is great for playing at mid and high volume levels but becomes quite challenging when trying to play in quieter dynamic ranges.

The ND21 conversely offers a great level of control in the lower dynamic ranges, which has been a focus of Kawai for a number of years now. In the past, this sometimes came at the expense of power, but this isn’t really the case these days, fortunately.

The UP123 is probably about 5% more powerful when you push it, but that comes at the expense of control in lower dynamic ranges.

The UP123’s action is all wood, while the ND21 uses a composite ABS styran based action.

Summary

If you have both of these pianos in your market and this is the general price range you’re in, you should definitely have both of these pianos on your list.

The ND21 is offering a rich tonal profile with a ton of control, while the UP123 is delivering a brighter, more resonant tone.

Both are very solid options at the price point.

Thanks for watching!

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