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Hello Everyone,

Newcomer here. I'm looking at an upright Bösendorfer that comes with the Yamaha Silent System installed in factory. I wouldn't need it constantly but thought it could come in handy once in a while.
Has anyone ever tried it, and do you think it would affect/degrade the feeling or action in some cases (ppp), when not in use?

Regards,
Ann

I bought a Yamaha silent piano in 1996. I used the silent system often over the next three years, when I had four roommates, and only infrequently since then. It does not affect the action at all, as far as I can detect—as one would expect, since the movement of the keys/hammers is detected with optical rather than mechanical sensors.

I have no personal experience with the Silent System. But I have not heard anything negative from my fellow technicians about the system. You might want to ask this question on the PW Tech forum.

Hello Ann

Uprights with the Yamaha silent system have to be regulated with a much greater set-off distance (the distance between the hammer and the string at the point of escapement).

On a conventional Yamaha upright, the set-off distance is around 3mm in the bass tapering to 2mm in the treble which allows for easy repetition when playing pp. Because the set-off in a silent Yamaha upright has to be regulated as if it were in silent mode even when it is in acoustic mode, the set-off needs to be at least around 5-6mm otherwise the hammer shanks would block on the hammer shank silent stopper rail. Tuner techs would be surprised if they found a conventional upright with so much set-off. However, the Yamaha action is so good, (well I would say that wouldn't I?) that although this does compromise the repetition when playing pp, it doesn't do so quite as much as one would expect. It's something we point out to all our silent customers and 99% say they notice no compromise. Although a concert pianist probably would.

If you ever wanted to temporarily or permanently regulate the piano to acoustic only, to benefit from the standard set-off spec, your tech would need to remove the hammer shank stopper rail and then re-regulate. It would take no more than a couple of hours.

Best to check out for yourself how you feel about the action before taking the plunge.

Please note that on the Yamaha grand silent system, the action is regulated as per a normal grand (although increasing the keydip from 10mm to 10.5mm seems to produce better feel), hence there is no difference in the touch in acoustic mode. When silent mode is activated, there is a slight loss of drop and aftertouch, but no-one's ever commented to me about it.

Ann o, Yamaha produces quality systems and the Bose uprights are amazing. Perfect combination for playing anytime day or night.

Thank you all for your comments, especially Chris for his insightful description of the Silent mechanism. Too bad Bösendorfer doesn't offer the grand technology on its upright. Does the Yamaha SU7 have it?

I'll definitely check the action out in person, but given that I don't expect to use the Silent function on a regular basis, I may just end up getting a "naked" Bosie, with a small order of Yamaha digital on the side if/when needed.
I do consider both to be outstanding in their respective categories, but I can't help picturing one outlasting the other one by a few decades.

Hello again Ann

The SU7 has the SH upright system too. They haven't worked out a way yet to fit the grand action modification into the upright. I imagine that if they ever did, the already hefty premium for a silent would be out of reasonable proportion to the cost of a raw acoustic model - unless you're buying a Bose of course.

The naked Bose as a main with digital side order, if you have room, would be my choice on the menu too.

Just wanted to provide an update.
After a short but somewhat edifying search, I am now the proud owner of a Bösendorfer 120 (without Silent system).
It is such a pleasure to play and gives my frequent mistakes that famous warm, rich European sound :P

Thank you again to everyone for their advice.

Regards,
Ann

Congrats Ann! Isn't it nice to be able to enjoy our mistakes.

Congratulations!