Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kawai KS3F vs Kawai BL61

Hi there, I used to own a Kawai BL-31 before I moved to Australia and now I’m looking for a Kawai upright piano. I came across two refurbished Kawai uprights, a Kawai KS3F and a Kawai BL-61. Their conditions are absolutely fabulous and they are both similar in price (AU$4800 for the KS3F and AU$5100 for the BL-61). Which one should I go for?

The one you like the best!

Without the serial numbers I'm not sure, but I believe the KS models are older than the BL, but condition really means more than anything - the differences between the pianos internally are not much.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some overlap in the production, but the KS-series succeeded the BL's. I believe the BL-61 is the direct predecessor to the KS5F of similar design. The 52" BL-61 would have the height advantage over the KS3F (~50"), so tend to have a better bass if all other things were equal. I agree with Don; they would be very comparable in my book as well as far as quality and design, both being from Kawai's upper series when new, so go with the one you like the best.

Hope this Kawai model list helps~

Hi there, I haven’t played a Yamaha upright before so I’m not familiar with their series. I recently came across a YUS3608357 as well. May I know the comparison between this Yamaha upright and the Kawais I’ve mentioned above?

The above link provided for Kawai also lists Yamaha model numbers for you. The Yamaha YUS is also a good quality piano (assuming it is still in good condition) and you can think of it as equivalent to the Kawais in effect. However Yamaha and Kawai pianos have a very different family sound so I suggest playing a couple of examples of each and you will probably have a distinct preference for one family over the other.