The Kiyola line is a collaboration with Japanese wood furniture-makers Karimoku
Roland has unveiled two new models in its Kiyola line of “artisan” digital pianos, a collaboration with respected Japanese wood furniture manufacturers Karimoku inaugurated in 2015 with the KF-10.
Inspired by “wa”, the Japanese concept of harmony, the KF-20 and KF-25 are sleek and stylish pianos designed with an emphasis on aesthetics. Each Kiyola piano is said to be a one-of-a-kind instrument with unique grain patterns and aging, the Karimoku-crafted cabinets equipped with piano technology lifted from Roland’s high-end GP and LX series instruments.
Both models feature the Piano Reality Modeling engine found in the GP and LX series and offer “warm, uniquely voiced” tones that match the aesthetics of their cabinets. Six tones are accessible directly from the piano with an additional 48 available via Roland’s companion app, which gives players access to Roland’s Piano Designer for fine-tuned sound-shaping. You also get two effects, the Ambience reverb and Brilliance, an EQ that brightens the tone.
Both models feature a stereo two-way sound system with 24W per channel. The KF-20 and KF-25 also benefit from Roland’s PHA-50 keyboard, a premium action designed to recreate the weighted, nuanced response of a real acoustic piano. (In Roland’s product line-up, PHA-50 is second only to the Hybrid Grand keyboard found in the flagship GP-9.)
