Hey LD! Silent pianos
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I’m starting a very early search for an eventual silent piano. One that has real strings and acoustics but also has the option to shift into silent mode with headphones. I see the Yamaha SC or SH or Clavinova… anyway figured you’d have a better opinion on options than most. Halp plz
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I bought an eventual silent piano back in 2018. It had a solid year of sound production, then developed a mechanical issue where no force was being applied to the keys anymore, which caused the hammers to not move, and the strings to not be struck. It's been stuck in silent mode for a while now.
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@89th said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
I’m starting a very early search for an eventual silent piano. One that has real strings and acoustics but also has the option to shift into silent mode with headphones. I see the Yamaha SC or SH or Clavinova… anyway figured you’d have a better opinion on options than most. Halp plz
The Clavinova isn’t a silent piano, strictly digital. Excellent quality digital, but there are no strings or acoustic mode.
There are some feature differences between the SH and SC series, but the primary difference is that the SC series are going on their more entry level acoustics and the SH series goes on the higher quality series. In the verticals, the SC is on B Series and the P22. The U series and above use the SH series. Same philosophy with the grands, the GB1K used the SC series, everything above uses SH.
My advice would be to pick the piano that you want then just get the silent version that goes along with it…
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@Horace said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
I bought an eventual silent piano back in 2018. It had a solid year of sound production, then developed a mechanical issue where no force was being applied to the keys anymore, which caused the hammers to not move, and the strings to not be struck. It's been stuck in silent mode for a while now.
??? Brand and Model?
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I believe Yamaha has one of the best silent systems on the market. I wouldn't put a silent system into a very expensive piano, though - first of all, it changes the action in a negative way, secondly, it will be outdated electronic junk in 10 years.
Bechstein also has a very decent silent system IMO, but I personally would rather buy a pure acoustic piano and then a second digital one. It's not more expensive.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@Horace said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
I bought an eventual silent piano back in 2018. It had a solid year of sound production, then developed a mechanical issue where no force was being applied to the keys anymore, which caused the hammers to not move, and the strings to not be struck. It's been stuck in silent mode for a while now.
??? Brand and Model?
There are 10 defective parts, they were manufactured in 1972. Probably planned obsolescence.
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@Klaus said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
I believe Yamaha has one of the best silent systems on the market. I wouldn't put a silent system into a very expensive piano, though - first of all, it changes the action in a negative way, secondly, it will be outdated electronic junk in 10 years.
Bechstein also has a very decent silent system IMO, but I personally would rather buy a pure acoustic piano and then a second digital one. It's not more expensive.
I won’t disagree with you about buying a decent digital in addition to the acoustic, I think that makes more sense in most cases, but the Yamaha Factory Installed Systems do not change the feel. They are using continuous motion grayscale shutters and optic sensors. There is no contact with action or keys and the shutter weighs .0000003 grams. You will not or cannot feel the difference unless it’s psychological… We routinely rent our C7XSH2 to pianists for recording and performance. It’s our most demanded rental, and most of the pianists don’t even know the system is there.
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@Horace said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@Horace said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
I bought an eventual silent piano back in 2018. It had a solid year of sound production, then developed a mechanical issue where no force was being applied to the keys anymore, which caused the hammers to not move, and the strings to not be struck. It's been stuck in silent mode for a while now.
??? Brand and Model?
There are 10 defective parts, they were manufactured in 1972. Probably planned obsolescence.
Electric or acoustic?
Me/rry/Christmas
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@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@Horace said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@Horace said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
I bought an eventual silent piano back in 2018. It had a solid year of sound production, then developed a mechanical issue where no force was being applied to the keys anymore, which caused the hammers to not move, and the strings to not be struck. It's been stuck in silent mode for a while now.
??? Brand and Model?
There are 10 defective parts, they were manufactured in 1972. Probably planned obsolescence.
Electric or acoustic?
I was just making a joke about not playing anymore. The defective parts are my fingers. It is probably not a very funny joke.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
You will not or cannot feel the difference unless it’s psychological…
AFAIK, the action gets a small modification that allows for the hammers to be stopped before striking the string. Whether or to which degree that is detectable by the player can be debated, but I think it is incorrect to say that there is no influence on the action.
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@Klaus the stopper for the hammers occurs after the release. The jack has already released and the hammer is on it’s own. That’s like saying putting a net in front of the catcher changes the way the throwing motion feels to the pitcher…
Now, while in silent mode, the action may feel a little different to you but that’s due to the sensitivity level of the sensors, which is adjustable. It’s like changing the “weight” on a digital. The physical mechanism is unaffected, it just changes how much effort you need to put in for dynamic changes…
Me/rry/Christmas
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@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
the stopper for the hammers occurs after the release. The jack has already released and the hammer is on it’s own.
The way I understood it is that the point when the hammer is no longer driven by the action must be changed to prevent damage to the hammer from the obstruction. I believe it's called "let-off distance" in piano tech speak.
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@Klaus said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
@LuFins-Dad said in Hey LD! Silent pianos:
the stopper for the hammers occurs after the release. The jack has already released and the hammer is on it’s own.
The way I understood it is that the point when the hammer is no longer driven by the action must be changed to prevent damage to the hammer from the obstruction. I believe it's called "let-off distance" in piano tech speak.
It’s quite possible that the hammer line a adjusted a little differently from factory specs on the purely acoustic version, but if that is the case there would be other countering adjustments to regulate it. Otherwise, there would be glaringly obvious differences in the action, and I’ve got to tell you that much better pianists than you or I have not noticed a difference in the action…
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@LuFins-Dad thank you kindly for your quick reply. I had "grand" visions (get it?) of a grand in my house one day but honestly I don't play enough for that to be really practical for myself, my family, or the room it would take up. Maybe in 15-20 years when the kids are older and/or starting to leave, but for now I've realized an upright is what will serve our needs (for me to continue playing on, and for my kids to learn/practice/etc). As I think about the usage of it, the option to go silent is really intriguing, but certainly would try out a few in person before really going down one road or another.
Looks like the SC is about $11k and the SH is about $25k, or something near that. Who knows... this is probably a purchase that is 12+ months away, so I'll keep this all in mind then. Thanks again!
@Horace you have my thoughts and prayers
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@89th Whoa, that’s quite a bit higher than MSRP. Remember that all models of upright pianos are available as silent pianos. Not just one or two. A b1 SC2 would have an MSRP well under 9K and the U1 SH2 would be closer to $15K than $20K and nowhere near that $25K price you mentioned…
Me/rry/Christmas
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@LuFins-Dad Good to know!
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8 89th referenced this topic on
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@LuFins-Dad Thoughts on the SH3? Basically replaces optical with magnets, I believe. Looks cool. I think the closest yamaha dealer to me is Carlson's in Eden Prairie, unless your store offers free 2-day prime delivery to Minnesota.
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