Yamaha's N1 Hybrid Piano - Personal experience, Regulation, Maintenance, etc.

[andreslr6]

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I last posted in this forum.

I've been thinking on getting a new piano. I currently have a Hyundai baby grand in almost un-playable conditions, I want to fix it well enough so I can sell it and get a new piano. Of course I started looking for acoustic pianos until I found out about the hybrid ones from Yamaha.

Yesterday I went to a piano store nearby were they have the whole series of the Yamaha Hybrid pianos, from the NU1 to the N3, and I sat and played for one hour on the N1. I really liked the feel of the action and how responsive it was, they have a CF3 in the same room so I could easily compare them right away, and really, the difference was as minimal as that in 2 CF3's; the CF3 having a little bit more of a 'fleshy' feel than the N1.

The sound quality was of course better in the acoustic one, but the sample from the N1 is good enough, it sounds just as what it is: a sample of a grand piano. And the responsiveness was just as good in both. I tried different styles of music, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, some Prokofiev to test the percussive effects, but what really shined was the dynamic range, specially in Scriabin, the op.57 pieces sound great in that piano, and with the response of the action you really feel in extreme control of the touch. You can even make the harmonics vibrate by silently pressing down the keys like in a real piano, lol.

Anyways, I really don't care much about having a real acoustic piano RIGHT NOW, I prefer an instrument that allows me to have a more private practice session and one that won't bother any neighbors at 3:00 AM.

So... my only concern with the N1 has to do with the maintenance, specially regulation since it has a real grand piano action with hammers and all those tiny parts. According to the salesman, it doesn't require any kind maintenance. Of course, it's more than obvious that it doesn't need any tuning, but to anyone out there, is this true? does it really need NO maintenance? not even regulation? he said that that's what Yamaha told them, but I'm really doubtful, it seems odd to me that the action and the keys won't eventually misalign or need regulation after hours and hours of practice. And if it does in fact need regulation, is it the same kind of regulation as in a real piano? can any professional technician regulate a Yamaha N1?

Thanks, and also I would like to know if anyone here has had any experience with these pianos, good and/or bad. And if anyone knows the answer to my questions, I would be very thankful if you could respond, it's the only thing stopping me right now from buying it in the near future.

[lhorwinkle]

Yes, of course these pianos need maintenance.  (The salesman lied.  Surprise!)

I won't buy from a liar.  I'd shop elsewhere.

[pianist1976]

I don't own one of these but using logic:

The action is not exactly identical to a grand's. It has no shanks (no need to voice) and no dampers. It's not an upright like action but grand's like, so there are no springs or screws that may loose. There's also no need to tune. Because of that, my guess is that the maintenance, if needed, must be minimal, and no more than what regular digital pianos need (maybe the optical sensors may get dusty or move after years of intense use? Who knows, anyway this may happen also on a regular digital piano). For example, my grand piano is 14 years old and it's action never needed to be adjusted as uprights sometimes need. It has only needed one voicing and regular tuning (neither of them needed on the Avantgrand).

It's also my guess that the Avantgrand's action is far more durable and solid than regular digital piano's like the typical old Clavinovas' sticky keys, just as it's very difficult to find sticky keys on an acoustic grand piano.

[andreslr6]

Thanks for your responses, I'll keep searching just in case. I'll ask my piano technician too, although for him it'll be like loosing a customer lol.

[bronnestam]

I tried the Hybrids and I was a bit disappointed, in the aspect that they did not differ much from the pure digital (Yamaha baby grand) I already have. On the other hand, I like my digital piano a lot. But I also tried the Silent versions and they were of course terrific. 

Just my 0.02$ opinion, of course.

[jianxli]

Why not buy an acoustic and then add a silent system, e.g., PianoDisc? In this way, you have the real acoustic key touch, and won't disturb your neighbours.

[outin]

Why not buy an acoustic and then add a silent system, e.g., PianoDisc? In this way, you have the real acoustic key touch, and won't disturb your neighbours.

Just a little warning:
At least with my piano, the touch of the piano is affected by the silent system (it's factory installed). This is probably because the hammers need to be set further from the strings than they would normally be. I find my piano uncomfortable to play. But this seems to be individual, not everyone seems to mind.