Silent Pianos

Silent pianos

Want to play a real acoustic piano at any hour without disturbing anyone? A silent piano is an upright or grand with a system that stops the hammers just short of the strings, so you can play through headphones instead.

At Richard Lawson Pianos, we stock new and pre-owned silent pianos from Yamaha and Kawai, from compact uprights for practising at home to full-size grands. Every one comes with a 5-year guarantee and no-quibble returns.

If you’re not completely happy, you have a 30-day trial in which you can change your mind.

What is a silent piano?

In normal mode, a silent piano is a fully strung acoustic instrument. The hammers strike the strings exactly as they would on any other upright or grand piano.

You usually engage silent mode with the middle pedal. A rail then moves in front of the hammers and stops just short of the strings, so the keys move as normal but the strings stay silent.

Sensors track how you play each key, and a sound module turns that movement into a sampled piano sound that you hear through headphones.
Switch silent mode off, and it plays as a normal acoustic piano again. That’s why silent pianos are often described as bridging the gap between the desire for a ‘real’ piano and the practicality of a digital piano.

How do Yamaha and Kawai silent systems differ?

Both brands fit the silent system to their new pianos at the factory. The differences are in how each one reads your playing, where its headphone sound comes from and how you adjust its settings.

Yamaha’s current systems are SH3 and SC3. You’ll find SH3 on pianos such as the U1, U3, YUS series and C series grands. SC3 comes on the more affordable b and B series uprights and the GB1K grand.

Both use non-contact sensors under the keys that track each key’s movement continuously. Yamaha grands with SH3 also have sensors on the hammers to pick up very slow keystrokes and fast trills.

Through the headphones, you hear samples of Yamaha’s CFX concert grand and the Bösendorfer Imperial.

Kawai’s current system is AnyTime ATX4. It’s available on models including the K200, K300 and K500 uprights and the GL10, GL30 and GX2 grands.

Rather than reading the keys, ATX4 uses optical sensors on the hammers, which Kawai calls its Integrated Hammer Sensing System. Its main piano sound comes from samples of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand.

You adjust its settings through Kawai’s PianoRemote app on a phone or tablet, and it has Bluetooth MIDI and audio built in.

The silent system is only part of the decision. Whenever silent mode is off, you’re playing the acoustic piano underneath, so we’d always suggest trying both brands in the showroom.

You can browse each range on our Yamaha silent pianos and Kawai silent pianos pages.

Silent piano or digital piano?

A digital piano makes all of its sound electronically. A silent piano is still a fully strung acoustic piano, with digital playback added for when you need it.

That means you get a real acoustic action under your fingers rather than a weighted keyboard built to imitate one. Without headphones, the sound comes from strings and a soundboard, not speakers.

A silent piano also needs tuning like any other acoustic piano, which a digital piano doesn’t. It costs more too, both than the same model without a silent system and than most digital pianos.

If you only ever plan to play through headphones, a good digital piano may be the better buy. If you want an acoustic piano with the option to play quietly, a silent piano gives you both in one instrument.

Should you buy a second-hand silent piano?

It can be good value, as long as you listen to it first. Our pre-owned silent pianos range from recent models to refurbished instruments that are several decades old.

Older silent systems use earlier sensors and sound modules than the current generation. Listen through the headphones as well as acoustically before you decide.

Refurbished silent pianos go through our 113-point check before they go on sale. They come with a 5-year guarantee, which covers the piano but not the silent system.

You can view our pre-owned silent pianos here. The website shows only part of our stock, so ask the team about others in the showroom.

Can a silent system be added to a piano?

Often, yes. We’re agents for PianoDisc, AdSilent and Genio silent systems, and our trained technicians can fit these to the upright and grand pianos we sell.

Find out more about retrofitted silent systems, or ask the team whether one would suit a piano you already own.

How much does a silent piano cost?

The price depends mainly on whether it’s an upright or a grand, whether it’s new or pre-owned, and which model the system is fitted to.

Refurbished silent uprights in our current stock start at under £5,000. A new Kawai K500 ATX4 is £10,995 and a new Yamaha U1 SH3 is £11,795, while new silent grands such as the Yamaha C5X SH3 cost over £40,000.

We offer 0% finance on many of our pianos, subject to terms and conditions, and part exchange if you have a piano to trade in.