Are silent pianos any good?

[ivorycherry]

Hey guys,
So I’m going to be moving next month and with that finally buying a piano, and I can tell that my family is going crazy from me “slamming the keys” all day(especially during spring break rn). I’m playing on an upright right now. They’ve started to ask me to shut up and only play when they’re out of the house. So now I’m considering looking into buying a piano with a silent system(preferably still at least 5’8). I know Yamaha has these kinds of pianos. Are there any other brands with this system? What are the best pianos with this system? And are these silent system pianos still ok to play on even for an intermediate/advanced player? Is the sound still fine? Or are there any ways to make the piano quieter without playing with the quiet pedal thing? Any insight on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Alex

[anacrusis]

With silent, you mean a piano where you can toggle between acoustic and digital, right? My family has a silent Kawai baby grand that I worked on whenever I was home through my six years of college studies. It worked perfectly fine. My girlfriend (who's also finished college studies in piano) was considering buying a silent upright, but I don't know if it was a Yamaha or Kawai she wanted, but had to postpone does plans due to medical bills for her cat. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any questions.

[ivorycherry]

Thank you so much for replying!

With silent, you mean a piano where you can toggle between acoustic and digital, right?

Yes.

Yeah I basically can’t play whenever my family(mostly parents though) are in the house without getting verbally abused by anyone lmao. Do you know the specific model or name of the Kawai you played on? Thanks again for replying!
Alex

[ivorycherry]

Anyone? Again, ANY insight would be appreciated.

[compline]

I hope this site will be helpful to you Ivorycherry.

https://blog.coachhousepianos.co.uk/whats-the-difference-between-the-yamaha-sh2-sc2-and-kawai-atx3-silent-pianos-

[1piano4joe]

Hi ivorycherry,

Have you considered a digital with headphones? That would be the most silent option other than the keys clacking/thumping. Also, there is a volume control. You may not even need headphones if you turn the volume down enough.

My Schulze-Pollman upright has a middle practice pedal. When depressed, a piece of felt dampens the volume. It might be possible to get one of these installed on your piano but who knows if that would be quiet enough.

Is it possible to move the piano? Closing the lid would help. Where is the piano? In the family living room? Ideally, you should have a designated place where you could close the door, hopefully have a carpet on the floor (this can make a very big difference).

Try hanging a quilt/blanket off the back and put a couple of books on top to hold that blanket. If you can close the door, put a towel at the bottom so the sound doesn't escape.

Maybe practice somewhere else?

Sometimes I play my digital without even turning it on, Joe.

[ivorycherry]

Thanks so much guys for responding!

I hope this site will be helpful to you Ivorycherry.

https://blog.coachhousepianos.co.uk/whats-the-difference-between-the-yamaha-sh2-sc2-and-kawai-atx3-silent-pianos-

Thanks, I think it will be up to the prices now, because they seem the same... but, I think I might have a solution instead of a silent piano(hopefully).

Hi ivorycherry,

Have you considered a digital with headphones? That would be the most silent option other than the keys clacking/thumping. Also, there is a volume control. You may not even need headphones if you turn the volume down enough.

My Schulze-Pollman upright has a middle practice pedal. When depressed, a piece of felt dampens the volume. It might be possible to get one of these installed on your piano but who knows if that would be quiet enough.

Is it possible to move the piano? Closing the lid would help. Where is the piano? In the family living room? Ideally, you should have a designated place where you could close the door, hopefully have a carpet on the floor (this can make a very big difference).

Try hanging a quilt/blanket off the back and put a couple of books on top to hold that blanket. If you can close the door, put a towel at the bottom so the sound doesn't escape.

Maybe practice somewhere else?

Sometimes I play my digital without even turning it on, Joe.

I would rather try to avoid a digital. I used to play on one.
You gave me a good idea with the middle pedal though, my piano does have one of those. I think I know why the piano is so loud to everyone lol. It IS in the family tv/living room(which doesn’t have doors), a huge room with really high ceiling, and wooden floor. Apparently, that makes the sound really loud . I think when we move I’ll put a piano into a room(with doors) with carpet. I’ll see the new house soon and see if that solution is possible and if not I think I’ll got with a silent, either the Yamaha or Kawai.

Thanks guys for responding and for the help!
Alex

[anacrusis]

Thank you so much for replying!
Yes.

Yeah I basically can’t play whenever my family(mostly parents though) are in the house without getting verbally abused by anyone lmao. Do you know the specific model or name of the Kawai you played on? Thanks again for replying!
Alex

Sorry for not replying sooner. I'm not sure about the model, we bought the grand ten years ago so that particular variant might no longer be in production. It cost around 12 000€ (which is around 13 000€ today) which is cheap as far as newly made grands go, and expensive compared to basically anything else. A modern Kawai silent grand in that price range is likely to be comparable or even better as technology has progressed these last 10 years.You'll get a good upright silent piano at half that price, I think.

I hope you find a solution to your problem, I know it sucks when your family does not feel supportive of your playing ambitions.

[violaau]

I am a proud silent piano owner (Kawai K18-AT) for 7 years and I just went for an upgrade, still picked one with silent system.
Both Yamaha and Kawai has silent piano options, but the choice of models fitted with silent system is limited. You can also look at 2nd hand pianos, if they were directly imported from Japan, with some luck you'll be able to pick one with silent system installed.

The main motivation for me to the purchase was apartment living, I had a digital piano but the action wasn't something i wanted. Being able to have wooden keys, hammers, and practising with headsets were the best thing I could get for that piano. My K18-AT was made in 2004 and it's silent system is still working perfectly today, so the durability shouldn't be an issue if you decided to go for one.
 
alternative option is to install aftermarket silent systems - I haven't seen any so can't comment whether it's a good idea or not.

[lelle]

What are your thoughts on Yamaha silent pianos? I'm leaning towards kawai being the better brand as I have more overall positive experiences with their instruments than yamaha.

[ted]

Perhaps you could find a Virgil Practice Clavier for sale somewhere, I have used one for fifty years. Strictly speaking they are antiques but as they contradict most modern piano pedagogy the asking price probably wouldn’t be high. Aside from being silent they are terrific for building technique. Despite what the experts say I doubt I would be playing as I do at seventy-three had I not used one.

[j_tour]

Perhaps you could find a Virgil Practice Clavier for sale somewhere, I have used one for fifty years. Strictly speaking they are antiques but as they contradict most modern piano pedagogy the asking price probably wouldn’t be high.

You might have answered this already:  I was under the impression that the Virgil (great author, therefore great name for any product) Practice Clavier did emit some tones beyond the mechanical noise from the keyboard.

Could be wrong about that, or I might be confused.  Or both!

But, on a similar note, so to speak, perhaps a clavichord might be appropriate as well.  Even for a freshly constructed model, they are not much in terms of price, and by all accounts are extremely low in volume output.  For perhaps 800 USD, or so, that's about enough to buy two and stack them up, so as to play material requiring that capacity.  Roughly around that cost for two of them.  And for just one manual instrument, what, half that price.  No link, but that's what I recall.

Obviously not a modern piano, but depending on one's repertoire, I think it's a very attractive option.  And, from reputation alone, one would become adept very quickly at tuning the beast fairly often.

A good skill to acquire, so one would have that going for oneself, which is nice.

No, I haven't even ever played a clavichord, but I've been thinking of buying one just for home use and as a portable, low volume solution.

Another option is the humble, yet storied Rhodes piano.  I think the 88 key models are a bit more rare, but they can be had for fairly cheap, if one doesn't mind a model produced in the 1970s.  The advantage is that they can be serviced in terms of tuning and tech'ing fairly cheap or done by oneself.  It depends on the region one exists in, though:  IME, in larger cities in the US, they can be pretty expensive for a vintage model.

But not necessarily in smaller markets.  No, it's not an acoustic piano, nor would it sound like one, but it's a valid option.  In fact, these were originally designed to teach or rehabilitate bedridden wounded soldiers from the "comfort" of an infirmary.  It just happened to be a satisfactory sui generis sound unto itself which is ubiquitous even today in popular music.

I think a few hundred dollars for a 73-key model would be about right:  back in the early aughts of this century, there was a frenzy for "vintage keys," but that's likely cooled down.  The action is comparable to an acoustic piano, so, in addition to work one can do oneself with the aid of numerous service manuals or guides available, I think a good regular piano tech can handle any work that needs doing.  He or she may not want to work on the "piano," but he or she could certainly work on the action, if inclined.

You would need some amplification, but it needn't be loud at all, and you could use headphones or tiny speakers with a cheap power amplifier/preamp.

EDIT:  while these are terrific options, with the price and quality of 88 key hammer action keyboards these days, just go ahead and use a digital.  Under $300 will get you a board you could even bring on stage in public. 

Add a few hundred dollars worth of gear and accessories, and you can probably earn enough from the first three dozen jobs (?!) or so as a performer/sideman to pay for the whole budget setup.  Well, there's the whole CV-19 thing, but in principle, yes.

I personally cannot deal with using headphones to practice, but you can get the SPL down very low with just a modest home speaker set-up.  There are so many options now, it would be IMHO nonsense to fool with a silent system.

Unless I'm mistaken, you're a student, and not performing debut concerts for acclaim and renown.

It's good enough.  Trust me, it's fine.  And I do know whereof I speak for digital stage pianos and the Rhodes pianos.  Add about a hundred for a good sturdy, portable stand for the digital, and anywhere from about a hundred to much more for a quality case (not needed unless used for playing out regularly).  Or half or a third of that for a servicable stand for home use.  You likely won't need much for amplification and speakers for the digital for just home use, and for the Rhodes piano it's not needed to spend a bunch, if for low-volume home use. 

[ted]

You might have answered this already:  I was under the impression that the Virgil (great author, therefore great name for any product) Practice Clavier did emit some tones beyond the mechanical noise from the keyboard.

It can produce up clicks and down clicks, the intention having been to make them coincide to achieve a legato touch. I found no benefit in them and have never used them myself.

[praline]

You can get a silent system fitted to quite a few upright pianos including Bechstein.   Any good piano showroom will advise on which ones are suitable.

Re: Digital pianos.   I have recently tried the Yamaha Avant Grand N1X upright and it's superb.  The authentic action and sound of an acoustic piano featuring both Yamahas CFX concert grand and Bosendorfer Imperial.    Do try it if you have a good piano shop near you.