Mikis were made by Yamaha. I have one client who has one. James James Grebe Est. 1962 Piano Tuner-Technician Creator of Custom Caster Cups Creator of fine Writing Instruments Theatre and Theatre Organ Historian www.grebepiano.com 1526 Raspberry Lane Arnold, MO 63010 (314) 608-4137 Become what you believe ----- Original Message ----- From: <pnotnr at aol.com> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:23 PM Subject: [pianotech] S. Miki Upright I am hoping that someone can give me a little information about a piano I serviced recently. It is a MIKI or S. MIKI Studio Upright. I didn't measue the height, but it was between 48 and 50 inches. I know it is a Kawai product since it has "Kawai, Hamamatsu" on the action, and the serial number (7166) is in that same lettering as in those Kawai built Howard Grands from the late 60's. (where the numbers are outlined in red) The customer brought this instrument here from Australia, and thinks it is a very special piano. It looks to me to be about 35 to 40 years old. It has ivory keytops. Pierce just makes a mention of Miki, with no serial number information. Under the listings for Kawai, the 7166 number would place it around 1932 if built in Japan (it just doesn't look that old) And if it was built in the US, that number would make the year of manufacture 1988. (but the ivory keytops and the "Kawai, Hamamatsu" sticker on the action make this unlikely) It seems like a decent piano. There is a nice impression of leaves cast right into the plate above the treble section of tuning pins. . It had many tuning pins replaced with oversized pins, The soft pedal operates a lever that pushes the hammer rail toward the strings rather then lifting the rail with a dowel from underneath. This was the first one of these I've seen (in 30 years). Can anyone tell me anything more about these pianos? Thanks. Gordon Large, RPT Hallowell, ME
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC