johnstaf I think it's just lack of interest. Kawai couldn't stop anyone from doing it. I think I read something about one a while back. I can't remember what it was called.
I think this is the answer.
In my opinion, Kawai exists in an interesting place between boutique brand and name brand.
Kawai isn’t a true household name, yet. They’re solid in the industry, but certainly aren’t at the level of omnipresence held by Steinway or Yamaha. Despite Kawai’s first market share, there are still many who walk into a piano dealer and will have never heard of Kawai before, or walk into a concert hall and don’t recognize that name on a piano.
Kawai isn’t associated with “prestige”. Their top line, Shigeru Kawai, does command reputation and status…but, not their entire line. Nowhere near the level of “old-world” gentlemen like Bosendorfer or Bechstein, or the new bons vivant Fazioli (who has made a name for themselves with their opulent aesthetic and design). And brands like those have cultivated the idea of prestige across their lines; not just in their top offering.
Kawai instruments are rather general in tone and timbre. Nowhere near as unique as Bosendofer, Fazioli, or Ravenscroft. I’d say most ears couldn’t tell a Kawai from the other standard-sounding pianos - they lean into the territory of tone and timbre that Steinway famously occupies, but sans Steinway’s mythos.
So, Kawai is known but not omnipresent, beautiful but standard (without being the standard) and not particularly unique, and aren’t generally associated with prestige.
And that’s what hurts them in the VST world, because most VSTs go for:
The Standard Experience, to sound like a regular, well-voiced, well-tuned, beautiful sounding, good-old fashioned piano: Steinway and (recently) Yamaha rule here. Why make a Kawai, which sounds very similar to those two, when you can sample the new power-player Yamaha, or the ever-popular de-facto-piano Steinway, both of which have more famously been associated with “good old fashioned pianos” than Kawai has.
Unusual Sound, a piano with a unique tone and timbre that stands out from the standard sound: Bosendorfer’s rich tenor, twang, and wobbling metallic bass - Bechstein’s plucky treble and highs - and Fazioli’s rich almost grainy timbre. Or the “felt” trend which has become popular. Why make a Kawai, which is rather middle of the road, when if users want unusual, they’ll choose something else.
Prestige Experience, a VST aimed at giving us poors (lol) the experience of playing an instrument associated with the “upper class”, the savoir-vivre, the “blue-bloods”, the wealthy…that history, legacy, and money. Steinway, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Bluthner, and a few others command that association. Kawai doesn’t.
So, I agree it’s interest. Kawai is a solid brand making wonderful pianos. Anyone should be pleased to own one of their acoustics, and indeed many are since they seem to be doing very well for themselves and have built a firm market share with many devotees. Fine instruments. But, generally, they don’t particular score high in the parameters that most VST-makers and VST-users are searching for.
I certainly wish Kawai was more known and renowned.
. Hype up the story and mythos around the entire brand, the history, the culture, and the prestige, the way they do with the SK line. And, of course, start throwing some instruments at the competition circuit and the concert halls, the way the other brands do.
