Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Any reasons, other than cost, NOT to go for a hybrid?

I've been back playing piano about 2.5 years. I've only got a DP and I'm looking to get an acoustic in the next few months.

With the DP I use the headphones a LOT, so I am tempted by the idea of a hybrid so I could still play with headphones at night/early in the morning/when working the same 2 measures over and over/etc.

My question is this - apart from the cost element, are there any reasons why I *wouldn't* want to go with a hybrid?

Are there any drawbacks? Is the acoustic piano impacted in any way by the inclusion of the silent features? Etc Etc

Additional info:
It will definitely be an upright, a grand is out of the question
Budget prob €5k - €8k
If I don't get a piano with silent feature, then of course I can keep using my existing DP but space would be a bit of an issue.
Existing DP is a slab Roland FP-5 about 12 years old. It's served me well but it's a fairly basic model. I would expect the silent feature on a new hybrid to give a much better experience (however I haven't tested that much).

It was explained to me in two different shops that the addition of the "silent" functionality indeed changes the behavior of the action.

Basically, it requires the hammers to be placed 5-7mm further away from the strings which reduces the control you have over this part of the path the hammer takes.

After this was explained to me, I understood why I felt a difference between the action of a piano with and one without silent feature.

It was explained to me that it is absolutely no problem to return the piano to "normal" behavior after taking the silent function out.

From my perspective, if I ever buy a acoustic, I will buy with silent. Because I expect that I will still have to practice, practice, practice a lot. And some of that must be in the evening. Or with headphones on to block out audiobooks of my children :-)

Once I reach the stage (if ever) where the change in action has a negative impact on my progress, I'd take the silent function out.

One thing, though: an acoustic with silent is not silent, because all the part of the action make noise. In fact, no DPs, not even the cheap ones, have an action that is as loud as that of an acoustic.

You probably need your partner to listen to the noise an acoustic makes, when silent, to see if that is acceptable.

A silent feature will affect the action, meaning the hammers will be positioned further away from the strings in order to accommodate the silent feature mechanism.

Basically, you will have a less responsive acoustic action. For some, it makes no sense to pay more for a worse acoustic instrument. For others, they will favor the duality of being able to practise silently and acoustically when the need arises.

What I've heard, and the two posters before me seem to confirm it, is: The action will change if the silent system is built in afterwards.

However, if the silent system is built in the piano from the start, the different is less noticeable. That's what the dealers I spoke to told me, and my personal experience seems to confirm this.
On the other hand, I have a grand piano (Yamaha C2 SG), so I don't know if the difference is smaller than with an upright.

But one thing I noticed: Even if there is a small difference in touch between playing the piano with or without silent system: A good acoustic with silent system still has a better touch than most digital pianos.

So my advice would be: Go for an acoustic with a built-in silent system. The Yamaha system is supposedly the best silent system. Other pianos in your price range might include: Kawai, W.Hoffmann, Schimmel International/Wilhelm Schimmel, Young Chang.

But most important: Try out the piano before; with and without silent system. Most dealers have Yamaha silent pianos; if you go to a music exhibition (like the Frankfurt Musikmesse), you have lots of opportunities.

One of the shops where this was explained to me was Steinway & Sons. This was also the shop where I could play the same piano with and without silent side by side. The silent system there was added in the factory.

So, maybe it is worse in a piano where the silent system is added locally, but in any case you can feel it. How much of an impact it has on control and playing an learning I can not judge.

This and given that an acoustic with silent makes more noise than a DP, for me requires to more carefully look at what should be accomplished with the silent function.

How do you need to be silent? Silent enough for people in an other room? That works. But if there are people in the same room, that want to concentrate on reading or school homework, the acoustic is too noisy. Maybe event a DP is too noisy.

Do you need to be a bit silent and block out your environment (headphones)? Then thats good enough.

The only reason I would go for a silent system would be if I didn't have enough space for both a digital and an upright. I found that the additional price of the silent system in most pianos was more than the cost of a reasonable digital piano. Also, if you are only looking at uprights with a built in silent system, then you will be limiting your selection drastically. A lot of brands don't offer silent systems, and most used pianos won't have one installed - so you would be ruling out the potential option of buying a lightly used upright.

If you can work out a way of accommodating both your digital and an acoustic, go for a non-hybrid. If space is that much of an issue, go for a hybrid. The action may be slightly less responsive, but it is arguable how much of a difference this will really make in the long run. Once you have only one piano at home, you no longer have the point of reference of the other pianos in the showroom, and you will probably be too busy enjoying playing to care about what you might be missing out on. It probably goes without saying, but just make sure you play the actual piano you are buying before purchase to make sure that you do enjoy playing on it.

I believe grand pianos are noticeably less affected by silent systems than uprights are. So it's better to get a silent grand than an upright if you can afford it/ have space for it.

Thanks all for your very helpful comments. I'm not expecting to make a purchase before the spring and I plan to try out lots of pianos before I do.
I've tried a few Yamahas, Kawais and Young Changs - those are what my most convenient piano retailer stocks. Probably some other models too, but those are what I remember.
I'm not a fan of the Young Changs I've tried (and one in particular I've played quite a bit as I stayed somewhere that had one).
On the Yamahas I noticed I had to go up the price range quite a bit before feeling I was playing something I liked. That was before I read up on the different models, but I'd hazard a guess I liked the U models a lot more than the Bs.

My lessons are on a Kawai upright, next time I'll check what model.

I'll need to go round some other places to try out more models, and get a better sense of what I'm after.

I'll make a point of trying out similar models with and without silent to see if the difference in acoustic mode is that noticeable to me, and of course to try out the hybrids in both acoustic and digital mode.

I'm not sure whether sellers here will install the silent feature in existing pianos - I had assumed that if I wanted a silent system then I went Yamaha or Kawai and bought one that came that way, so I'll investigate my options there.

Cost is a big consideration, and certainly a strong reason to go acoustic only. Space is a factor, but accommodating a separate upright and DP would be feasible with a bit of imagination. A grand is right out for both cost and space reasons.

As regards how silent I need it to be, not disturbing people in other rooms would be the necessary level. It doesn't need to be so quiet that someone could study in the same room for example.

Lots of food for thought, thanks again.

I played a few YAMAHA U3 sized pianos with silent system a few years ago - second hand. At the time I was contemplating moving to a small apartment (which I didn't). I could detect no appreciable difference unless I wanted absolute full volume, but that could have been the regulation or acoustics of the showroom too. With pianos, no 2 are the same, so a better adjusted one with a silent system could suit you better than one without.

I've played a YAMAHA and Hamburg STEINWAY grand with the silent system (YAMAHA was built in, STEINWAY, I believe was a later addition) - again, both played much the same as others without the silent option.

Try some out - see what you like.

I have a Yamaha upright with the silent system installed at production time. I play a Kawai upright of similar size at my lessons. I don't notice any significant difference in the acoustic action between those two pianos.

The noise of the silent system is a bit funny (clunkety clunk) as the hammers are prevented from hitting the strings - but it isn't very loud. My husband watches tv in the same room, sitting less than 10 feet from me and it doesn't disturb him.

What I do notice is that when in silent mode, the feel of the piano is lighter - still weighted, of course, but there is a difference in the feel between playing in silent and acoustic. In the end it might not be much different than moving from any given acoustic to another,but I don't have a lot of experience with playing other pianos.

I am perfectly happy with my piano, and the silent mode is a relationship-saver - both with the family and the neighbours!

I own a Yamaha NU1 Hybrid. Had I had the room in my apartment, I would have purchased a YUS5SG (Yamaha upright with Silent system). That way, I would have had the best of both worlds in the truest sense.
Not withstanding, the NU1 serves me perfectly. The action mimics that of an upright. I can play it silently and, I can connect it to my Macbook when I compose (I use Sibelius) and that is a huge plus for me.
I also own a Grand Piano which right now is being housed elsewhere until I relocate upon retirement to a home with plenty of space. I do go and play it at least a couple of times a month. There is a difference in the action between both pianos. The Grand is much more responsive to touch as well as sound, being acoustic. If you can, I would suggest an acoustic piano with a silent system. I know they are very costly. If not, a Hybrid fits the bill until you can. I plan on keeping my NU1 for its MIDI attributes. Either way, being able to play is better than not playing at all. By the way, Roland has a new Hybrid, the LX-17. Give a look.
Good luck to you.

Ya, personally, acoustics are what you want to get if you want a rewarding touch and sound during your practising.

Too much practising on a digital will actually hurt your technique. You will need to play on an acoustic regularly if you want to stay in tip top shape. Plus they're just more rewarding to play. Any serious pianist will tell you as much.

I can vouch for my Yammie AvantGrand N3. The action is almost identical to my Yammie G3 grand. No "silent system" to affect the action; all sound production is digital.

I've had it for several years, no problems and plenty of enjoyment. And it regularly fools me into thinking I'm playing a real acoustic grand. Doesn't look bad in the living room either, and takes up a minimum of space.