Ive been playing piano 6 years and have passed my grade 8 exam, I have a yamaha clavinova electric piano. Is it a good idea to upgrade to an acoustic now or is this not necessary?
I am thinking about Yamaha u3 or u1 reconditioned pianos as I'm on a budget...are these trustworthy instruments or have they been shipped over from Japanese music schools and done up to look nice again?
Also thinking about a silent piano (acoustic but you can flick a switch and plug headphones in and it works like an electric) - anyone have any views on these pianos?
I don't know a great deal about pianos..wha do you think of Kemble, kawaii and Yamaha in general?
Much appreciated

Congratulations on your exam!

Go play a bunch of pianos; read a bunch of threads here.
You'll get opinions. You'll have favorites.
Consider your space and your budget and how many times you are likely to move in the next few years.

Have fun!

+1

After you've done all that be sure to post your location and your approximate budget

Enjoy your continued piano studies and piano shopping!

There is nothing like a genuine acoustic, however, I must admit that I enjoy occasionally transposing the Clavinova. Most musicians are comfortable in some keys, and not so much in others. Unless you can only play while reading, you may wish to transpose just to make it sound warmer or brighter. I don't play in A, E F#, or B. These are common string instrument keys. When I play with them, I cheat!. I still like my Yamaha electronic, and it truly has a decent touch. Since I got my grand, I don't play the electronic as much, but it's very handy for playing midi piano rolls. I guess my point is , if you have the room, and eventually buy an acoustic, you might want to keep your present digital piano as well.

I'm not a good pianist but I'm way more comfortable in "sharp" keys than I am in flat ones, probably because I started with rock and the keys you mention are very common rock keys. Now that I am playing more classical I am getting more comfortable with the Flatted keys. Incidentally I strongly dislike the key of F, because of the awkward fingering.