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Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone could advise me regarding the silent piano packages (as in the box and accessories). I was looking to turn my piano into a silent piano like the Yamaha B1, etc, but was wondering if i could acquire the package and fit it myself. I know how to do it, it's pretty simple really, and i don't want to pay thousands just to have someone else fit it. Is there anywhere i can buy the package on its own? I'm going to call Yamaha and Kawai on Monday and see if they offer it, but thought i might post here first and see what everyone says.

Many thanks in advance.
Al

Are you a technician? I don’t believe Yamaha or Kawai sells items like that directly to consumers. Also, depending on the age of your piano, DIY efforts like that may void your warranty.

Have you spoken to a tech or your local dealer either about the feasibility or cost?

Neither Yamaha nor Kawai sells their system as a stand alone unit. PianoDisc and QRS do sell stand alone systems, but probably will not sell one to a consumer.

These after market systems require the ability to properly remove and regulate a piano action. They also usually require some routing to properly fit a record system. Professional piano technicians will not risk installing these systems without paying for proper training, which usually requires an investment of time, travel, and money. I wish you the best of luck to do it properly the first time with no background, experience, or training.

Definitely NOT a DIY project.

Given that you want to be able to practice silently, perhaps the best option is to leave your acoustic piano unmodified, and buy a good weighted velocity sensitive slab digital and some headphones. That way you get silence, a different action feel to practice on, and you save wear and tear on the acoustic. The slab is also easily portable, in case you go traveling, or play a gig where your slab is better than the house piano.

For your information.

Yamaha retrofit Silent unit. https://jp.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/piano_units/index.html
Kawai retrofit Silent unit. http://www2.kawai.co.jp/tp/related_goods/detail.asp?id=30299014

How to install Yamaha Silent unit to your Piano. https://goo.gl/photos/uR1awNRu2e3SbAXu6

Pro-TAC,

Thank you for this. It appears from the website that you show that in Japan, Yamaha sells three different units that are retrofit units. I assume you did the installation. The systems appear to be similar, but not exactly like the units that come preinstalled from the Yamaha factory to North America. It is also quite complicated, needing to modify parts of the piano that I would not want to do, like moving the position of a hammer.

In North America (and I believe in Europe as well) Yamaha provides no silent system for retrofit. I do not think the Kawai system is available as a retrofit either.

Just curious, do you work for Yamaha or are you an independent technician?

Thank you again for this.

I worked at Yamaha, but now I am independent.
Yamaha has sold Disklavier retrofit unit since 1982 and Silent retrofit unit has been on sale for around 1994 in Japan.
I guess I've installed units on over 400 pianos.
Yamaha sell SG type retrofit Silent units now . Unit number is different depending on the piano type you install.
For U2 type piano, only you need to change the height of the hammer. (It is not listed in Yamaha's installation target list)
Why does not Yamaha sell retrofit units abroad?
I guess that installation training and maintenance are troublesome for Yamaha.