Over the years, if you were after a solid upright piano at the high end of quality, most players would start by looking at the well-known European makers. Japanese companies have built up plenty of respect for their work in schools, studios, and concert settings, but when it came to the very best uprights, things still leaned heavily toward those traditional European roots.

Kawai’s Master Series is an exciting leap forward that presents a new piano category: artisanal Japanese-made uprights acoustics. They’ve taken the same attention to detail and high standards they use when building their Shigeru Kawai grands and brought that thinking over to this line of stunning uprights. Each piano is assembled with real care for the minute details that count; utilizing modern materials where they help with long-term stability, while keeping the tried-and-true methods that give every piano its own soul and character.

The Kawai MS130 is the middle-sized offering from the Master Series. It presents excellent balance between power and expressivity, offering an impressive dynamic range without being too overpowering for home use. At 51 inches tall, it has the kind of scale and sound projection that works well in larger living rooms, teaching studios, or music rooms that just can’t quite fit a grand. It looks impressive on paper as a full-sized upright, but the real story hits you when you sit down and start playing. There’s a depth and expressive range here that takes it way past what you’d expect from most large uprights, it really does feel like a serious performance piano.

The MS130 comes equipped with Kawai’s Millennium III upright action. The company has been swapping in ABS-Carbon composites in the right spots instead of sticking purely with traditional wood. That change significantly helps the whole mechanism stay steadier when the weather shifts, less swelling or shrinking with humidity and no noticeable change in how it plays. In fact, these innovations enhance the overall feel and response of the action.

What stands out when you play it is how fluid and reliable the touch feels under the fingers. Repetition is quick and precise, and the action gladly handles the full spectrum from the gentlest pianissimo to strong fortissimo without ever pushing back. Genuine ebony takes care of the black keys, while the white keys use NEOTEX with that simulated ivory texture. Your fingers just stay comfortable and don’t slip, even after putting in a few solid hours of practice.

Most folks know Kawai for giving their pianos a warmer, rounder voice, which is quite different from the brighter edge you often hear with other Japanese makes. The MS130 takes that signature character and expands it. When you sit down and play across the keys, the tone feels nicely balanced and musical throughout. You get good weight and richness down in the bass, plus a clear, singing quality up top that works well for serious classical pieces or when you’re playing jazz and lighter pieces.

A solid spruce soundboard, backed by a strong reinforced frame and posts, gives the whole piano a solid foundation to sing from. The dynamics respond very well; the sound stays full and even, without getting thin or overly harsh no matter how hard you push it.

Every hammer on the MS130 is underfelted. That helps each note start with a nice clean attack and then fade out smoothly instead of just stopping short. They’ve voiced them to suit the piano’s overall character, so you get enhanced definition and presence without any harsh bite sneaking in. It ends up giving you more control over how each note actually speaks, whether you’re barely touching the keys or really digging in with some power.

Right at the heart of the instrument sits a tapered solid spruce soundboard. With the larger size and the way the structure is built, the MS130 ends up with a remarkably rich and resonant tone for an upright this tall. The bass picks up extra warmth and weight with solid sustain, while the middle and upper notes stay clear and articulate without turning muddy or too bright.

The cabinet on the MS130 has a clean, charming design that fits naturally into most rooms and carries a quietly sophisticated look. One fine detail is the lift-up top board, which reminds you of a grand piano and can give you a bit more projection when you lift it. Inside, you’ll notice bird’s-eye maple accents on the sideboards that add a refined touch, quietly nodding to the Shigeru Kawai grands.

Other nuanced details add to the overall impressive specs of the piano including hand-wound bass strings, a pressure bar with a stainless bearing bar, and the ability to use the muffler and sostenuto pedal together, something that is not common on every upright. All of it adds up to an instrument that will certainly hold its tuning and its voice for an extended time, while providing an incomparable musical experience to players of all levels.