Hello there,

I live in an apartment and have played a digital piano (Yamaha ydp-160) for around two years. During the daytime I sometimes play at its maximum volume, which is pretty loud, and I've never had any complaint from the neighbors. Recently I've decided to buy an acoustic piano (probably an upright around 48"), and I'm worried about the noise and the neighbors.

Do you think that the decibel level of an upright is more that my digital (at its maximum volume)? If yes, how much?

P.S.: My digital piano has two 20 Watts speakers.

I appreciate your help.

Despite what the DB SPL level of the DP in your room is, having a large chunk of vibrating wood and metal directly connected to the floor (that may link to your neighbours apartment) might be the killer.

That said. It looks like the Yammy you were using was floor based. I suppose unless you have a very well insulated (built properly) apartment then there is going to be some spill. Having the option to turn the volume down on a DP or run it through headphones is the very reason I bought the FP-7F rather than an upright..!


Regards. Rimmer

If you live in an apt. building, that all but rules out an acoustic piano. These things can be heard a block away and will drive the neighbors nuts. You might be able to play your digital at full vol. during the day occasionally and get away with it if the neighbors are away at work, but I'll bet you play it mostly at a lower vol. or with headphones at other times.

Note what will happen with an acoustic. You won't be able to play it at night or early in the morning like you can with your digital, so in my estimation you are not getting your money's worth at all, since you can't play it like it was intended to be played. Then why are you buying it? Makes absolutely no sense to me.

There is of course no comparison. The acoustic will vibrate through the floor and walls quite differently than the dp.

That being said, I live in an apartment, and I switched from digital to acoustic.

Some points to consider:
1. get an acoustic with a silent dp option system. I have that and it is great for early mornings, late at night, or even when I'm doing something really boring that would grate on the nerves of the most sympathetic listerner!

2. Warn your neighbours. "I'm planning to get an acoustic piano" . Note, you are not asking their permission, but letting them know. Make it clear to them that you don't want to drive them mad, and should they need some quite, they should be free to ask you to stop playing (if they want to sleep, have a headache, feel sick)

3. Don't put the acoustic on a wall that has pipes, or the elevator shaft - this will simply help with increasing the transfer of sound to other apartments.

4. Offer to take requests

Good luck.

You could have both. Lots of people in apartment buildings have acoustic pianos. It is possible to be considerate of your neighbors and still play a musical instrument.

An acoustic piano and a digital are not really the same kind of instrument at all, not in feel, not in sound, not in capabilities. It is a great thing to be able to use the special abilities of both.

What the construction of your building is like, where you put the piano, and the way you play makes it hard to predict in advance whether your neighbors will hear, or whether they'll be bothered. But if you're rocking out now with your DP cranked up all the way, your upright may very well get by.

Yes an acoustic piano is louder than a YDP160. Quite a lot louder. As speakers go those in the ydp160 are not very powerful

I think there are ways to make an acoustic piano quiet (felt pads over the strings) and a few things you can do to keep the sound from being transmitted (Like breaking the solid connection between the piano and the floor with some kind of springy or rubber material. But really if you like to hit the keys hard the sound will go through walls.

That is the best two things about a digital piano, the volume control knob and the headphone jack.

Check you rental agreement. They might have some rules about noise