Yamaha Silent Piano

[pianowelsh]

Hi I am a teacher/performer and i am about to move to a new flat where it will be difficult to practice 6 hrs perday and teach without driving other folks in the building mad. especially as the bulk of my practice is done early morning and late evening and I have had a russian teacher in the past so I dont make a wimpy sound! What do you guys think of the yamaha silent series uprights and grands. I may not have space for a grand this year but would like your experiences of both as ive ready all the brochure speak Ive tried perfectly regulated showroom models but now id like some real opinions that havent got spin on them.  thanks

[emmdoubleew]

Wait, can you clear it up for a newbie, are these actually silent "dummy" pianos?

[pianiststrongbad]

Hi I am in the same boat as you, I'm going to probably move into an apartment in a year or so and I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me banging on my seven foot grand.  I have done some research in the last year and the Silent piano seems to be the best bet.  From what I remember the Silent piano upright which is what I will probably be going with comes in three models, the U1, the U3, and the U5.  5 being the most expensive and 1 being the cheapest.  I played on a U1 and it was nothing short of amazing.  When on the silent mode the action is different than on acoustic.  The silent mode is about fifty times better and seriously feels like a grand piano, I don't know how to describe it.  I could play Chopin Nocturnes, Liszt Etudes all to my satisfaction and I felt like the sound I was getting was incredible.  Then I switched it to the acoustic mode and it felt like a regular upright.  I think the silent mode uses a motion sensor system to somehow create the action more like a grand.  ( the salesman at the store tried explaining to me and it went way over my head).  It really does a wonderful job.  I also played on  a U5 but strangely I liked the U1 better.  As far as the Silent Grands go, I don't know anything about them other than they are out there.

[jas]

This might seem like a stupid question, but why not just get a clavinova and stick some headphones in?

[pianiststrongbad]

I've played clavinova's, while the action is weighted it isn't superb.  Also, it isn't very good pieces with big chords (the whole thing shakes).

[gyzzzmo]

I tried some silent piano's too and i liked them.
As long as you buy them new and dont 'upgrade' an existing normal piano to a silent one.
gyzzzmo

[rdiazno]

Now, I have a Yamaha U1 without Silent and recently I'm giving to my neighbours some troubles because in the evening.

My piano's shop where I bought my Yamaha U1 has a Yamaha U3 with Silent and I would like to play on it to know what kind of feeling with the Silent mechanism.

Does anyone have played on Yamaha U3 Silent ?

Is there a lot of difference to play with Silent and without Silent regarding the mechanism on Yamaha U3 Silent?

Best regards.

Roberto.

[sklebil]

I tried some silent piano's too and i liked them.
As long as you buy them new and dont 'upgrade' an existing normal piano to a silent one.
gyzzzmo

Why? I was thinking about this "operation" for my upright - is it that bad?
skl

[psaiko]

Can someone answer these two question

1) Is a yamaha U1 silent exactly identical to an ordinary yamaha U1 when not in silent mode?

2) How much more expensive (in percent) is a U1 silent than an ordinary U1?

Thanks

[ramanujan]

1) Is a yamaha U1 silent exactly identical to an ordinary yamaha U1 when not in silent mode?

2) How much more expensive (in percent) is a U1 silent than an ordinary U1?

1) Yes, it is absolutely identical. There are no mechanical parts that could interere with the piano action.

2) In germany the silent option for uprights costs 1500Euro, so if you compare that to prices in the States the silent option should cost ~1500$

Jens

[gyzzzmo]

Why? I was thinking about this "operation" for my upright - is it that bad?
skl

I heard from many pianosellers and other people that the adaption is a risk for the construction and sound. Buying a new already silenced by the manufacturer would be much less risky.

[pianowelsh]

Interesting!?!? I have to say I only tried a cheapy silent upright so far and the action was slightly more sluggish than im used to in the acoustic mode (not that thats a bad thing in terms of developing my technique at present) and it was actually better in silent mode. the reason the sound is so good is because they have apparently sampled the sound from the top of the range acoustic concert grand.  I think I should move to germany!! In the UK instruments seem much more expensive. the absolute cheapest price I could find for a silent yamaha mid range was £4500 ish!which is about £800 more than you would pay for a comparable upright from yamaha without the silent feature. the U1 mentioned above is looking closer to £6000 all in. So im thinking i'll go a bit lower down the range and save the money for a grand when I get a bigger flat. Do you know if the Kemble ones are any good. Apparently Schimmel and Bohemia also do them but I believe they are all subsiduaries of the Yamaha corporation nowadays. Is there a price difference between the various makes and is the quality markedly different??

[ramanujan]

I don't know if this is an option for you, but you can get all Schimmel pianos with the Yamaha Silent system too. Maybe the pricing for Schimmels is better then Yamaha for you?