Are Boston Pianos Really Just Kawai Pianos?

Designed by Steinway & Sons but made by Kawai? Are Boston pianos really just Kawai pianos? Well...yes, but actually no. Boston is a company and brand owned by Steinway & Sons and you will see the phrase “designed by Steinway & Sons” blazoned across the fallboard. Steinway created Boston Pianos so they could offer a piano at a lower price point than their pricier standard line and Boston pianos fall in the midpoint of pricing between a Steinway piano and their lower-priced Essex piano. Although manufactured by Kawai, Boston pianos employ many different design elements. For example, Boston uses traditional all wooden action, while Kawai’s grand pianos use the Millennium III Carbon Fiber enhanced action. Today we have for comparison Boston 5’1” GP-156 and 5’5” Kawai GX-30, both Japanese built entry-line pianos manufactured by Kawai. As usual, we additionally suggest going to see and play these instruments in person but let's take a look and listen to find out if a Boston piano is really just a Kawai piano.