The Millennium III Hybrid action represents the latest milestone in Kawai’s rich legacy of piano innovation, and serves as the centre-piece of the Novus NV12. It comprises almost 10,000 individual parts, each playing a crucial role in allowing the performer’s fingertips to express feeling and emotion through music.
Based on the GX series’ proven action design, Millennium III Hybrid retains the composite parts and extended key sticks of its acoustic cousin, while replacing the traditional felt hammers with individually-weighted ABS equivalents. As a hybrid piano, there are no metal strings inside the Novus for these hammers to physically strike when the keys are played, therefore their precise movements are instead captured using high-resolution optical sensors mounted above the action.
Millennium III Hybrid delivers all of the benefits of a premium Kawai grand piano action within a digital instrument. This feat of modern engineering allows pianists of every level to enjoy the unmatched feeling of playing an acoustic grand piano, regardless of the time of day, or the size of their home.
The Novus NV12’s precision-engineered ABS hammers have been designed for structural stability and optimum keyboard touch-response.
Each individual hammer is grade-weighted to mirror the heavier bass and lighter treble hammers of an acoustic piano, ensuring that the NV12’s key touch-weight feels the same as a well-regulated acoustic instrument.
The precise movements of each hammer are measured using high-resolution optical sensors, providing greater accuracy than conventional key-based sensor systems.
This more advanced approach closely reproduces the mechanical flow of an acoustic piano, and allows rapid pianissimo passages with mordents or trills to be performed with greater fluency.
The Novus NV12’s beautiful chrome plated pedals and exposed pedal rods are sourced from the same GX series instruments as the premium Millennium III keyboard action. Moreover, in addition to featuring a full grand piano action, the Novus NV12 is the only hybrid instrument in its class to also incorporate a real grand piano damper mechanism.
There are no metal strings inside the Novus to require physical damping, as the instrument’s sound is produced digitally.
However, in order to reproduce every aspect of playing a grand piano, the NV12 retains the damper mechanism behind the keyboard action, with graded weights attached to each damper lever replicating the load of traditional wood and felt parts, as the keys and pedal are pressed.
This innovation allows pianists to not only hear how the damper pedal affects the Novus’ generated sound, but also feel the various mechanical interactions through their hands and feet.
Such attention to detail is unprecedented in a digital instrument, and further reinforces the NV12’s objective of delivering a true grand piano playing experience that is indistinguishable from the real thing.
The spirit of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano is at the heart of the Novus NV12. Each world-class instrument is hand-crafted by experienced piano artisans, utilising the finest available materials to ensure optimum touch, tone, and artistic expression.
Widely regarded as ‘the premier piano of Japan,’ the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX graces the stages of concert halls and musical institutions around the globe, receiving universal acclaim for its magnificent tonal clarity and exceptional dynamic range.
Shigeru Kawai is also frequently provided for official selection at some of the world’s most prestigious music competitions, including the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan.
At the 10th edition held in November 2018, three of the six grand finalists selected the SK-EX throughout the competition, including 1st prize winner Can Cakmur.
In order to reproduce the stunning tonal qualities of the Shigeru Kawai concert grand piano digitally, the Novus NV12 incorporates Kawai’s latest SK-EX Rendering technology.
This advanced piano sound engine combines the well-established process of sampling with the modern approach of physical modelling, to produce a piano sound that is both rich in natural acoustic character, and dynamically responsive to the player’s musical desires.
Developed by Kawai R&D’s highly experienced audio engineering team, the NV12 features specialist filtering and amplification components designed for high-resolution sound reproduction.
These technologies improve tonal clarity throughout the dynamic range, while helping to preserve the unique harmonic characteristics of the Shigeru Kawai piano.
The Novus NV12 introduces the innovative PentaDrive soundboard system – a groundbreaking, speakerless design that brings piano sound to life in a uniquely natural way. Instead of projecting audio from fixed points, five carefully positioned transducers energise a large 135 × 60 cm wooden soundboard, reinforced with four ribs to optimise resonance.
This approach allows the entire soundboard to vibrate, producing warm, resonant tones that radiate throughout the instrument, just like an acoustic piano. The result is an immersive, three-dimensional sound field with authentic projection and character – exclusive to the Novus NV12.
In addition to housing the keyboard action, damper mechanism, and pedal system, the Novus NV12’s stunning cabinet incorporates a number of refinements that capture the presence and sophistication of a grand piano.
With its increased depth, elegantly rounded back, and luxurious ebony polish finish, the NV12 is designed to serve as the centrepiece of any room, while its thoughtful proportions and refined acoustic design ensure it remains a practical instrument for modern living spaces.
The NV12 adopts a true grand piano-style topboard, which can be set to one of three positions: fully closed, partially raised with the short prop, or fully open with the long prop.
This feature not only enhances the instrument’s visual and tonal authenticity, but also heightens the sense of performing at a traditional grand piano, reinforcing the NV12’s identity as a premium instrument.
The NV12’s grand piano-inspired music shelf is both elegant and practical, offering adjustable forward and backward positioning to suit different playing needs, or the option to remove it entirely.
Its broad surface comfortably accommodates large scores, while the accompanying music rest can also be angled to one of six positions, ensuring optimal visibility for pianists of every stature.
Further elevating its design, the NV12 features a newly refined centre column and pedal lyre, more open and graceful in appearance while remaining structurally robust.
In addition, the instrument’s substantial fallboard adopts the same construction and motion as a grand piano, incorporating Kawai’s Soft Fall system with dual-damping mechanism to ensure a smooth, ultra-slow closing action that protects both the instrument’s finish and the player’s hands.
While the Novus NV12’s core features are unquestionably derived from an acoustic piano, the instrument neatly incorporates various additional technologies that provide the modern conveniences of a premium digital piano.
These features are primarily controlled through the NV12’s touchscreen LCD, which is discretely embedded within the instrument’s left cheekblock. This high resolution touchscreen allows sounds and settings to be adjusted from an attractive user interface simply by tapping or swiping the display with a finger.
For piano purists, the screen can be set to fade out and turn off automatically while playing, thus preserving the Novus’ classic appearance, and minimising any visual distraction to the performer.
Unlike an acoustic piano, the Novus NV12 provides a variety of options for connecting to other devices. Headphone and audio jacks allow the instrument to be played in silence, or for the sound to be amplified for halls and other large settings.
USB ports allow audio and MIDI data to be saved to a USB stick, or transferred to and from a computer directly using the Novus’ built-in audio interface. The NV12 also supports the latest Bluetooth® functionality, providing an effortless way to connect and enjoy smart devices wirelessly.
The NV12 allows the user-friendly touchscreen interface to also be accessed via the dedicated PianoRemote app for iOS and supported Android devices. The app connects to the piano wirelessly via the Novus’ integrated Bluetooth, providing an effortless way to change sounds, or enjoy the vast array of built-in music content from the comfort of an armchair.
