Is a silent piano worth it?

[FiveHoursSleep]

We have 4 kids, all playing the piano from G1 to G7.
Atm we have a very old battered Bentley piano that goes out of tune quickly and has loose and sticky keys, it's not really good enough for the girls doing G6 and G7.
It's also in our through lounge of our semi, so the times they can practice is a bit limited ( by neighbours and people wanting to watch TV)
Last week I went and looked at a second hand silent piano, it was a Kawai and they wanted just under £3K for it.
It's a lot of money but we could just about scrape it together. But is it worth it?
Could I get one cheaper- or is that what I am looking at? DD1 is making noises about doing her diploma at some stage who knows, She's 15 and in Y10.

Can't comment on price as clueless but we have one and it's very good, only thing I'd say to bear in mind is with ours there is still a noise of the keys being 'hit' so a dull knocking/tapping noise (rythmic of course so not particularly offensive) not loud enough to not hear the tv but not totally silent iyswim

No, I know that but usually we have TVs blaring at both end of the room so that shouldn't cause too much of a problem. That wouldn't disturb the neighbours, would it?

No more than the blaring tv's I'd imagine

YES, YES, YES!!!

We have a Yamaha U1 Silent piano and it is seriously a revelation. We mainly bought it because I play, but the only time I get is when the children are in bed, so playing "out loud" isn't really a goer. We also live in a semi so it doesn't feel fair on our neighbours.

I play so much more, simply because I know I can play whenver without disturbing anyone. It's a beautiful instrument by itself, let alone with all the silent electrickery. The action is the same whether you are playing in silent mode or not, and you can record yourself playing too.

I know that Schimmel have a 50% off their Twintone silent pianos (their silent mechanism is made by Yamaha) which may be worth a look. I would not consider a silent system which has been retrofitted to an existing accoustic piano. I think they are still quite rare second hand, so not sure about 2nd hand values.

If your DD is considering her diploma (and is therefore pretty serious) have you thought about the Take It Away scheme or rent to buy? Our local dealer does a 2 year interest free rental, at the end of which you can either hand back the piano or buy it with the rental money taken off the purchase price.

I love my silent piano - I can practise to my heart's content without falling out with my neighbours.

Also, no-one needs to know if you're playing the Frozen songbook.

Actually verypunny makes a good point - if your dc like to sing along with frozen songbooks and the like - please bear in mind the singing sounds dreadful not quite so good when the piano is silent - yes dd I am looking at you and your Les Miserable songbook although it does provide plentiful blackmail opportunities when video'd by siblings

Eek, I have put a deposit down on a reconditioned second hand Kawai play anytime piano.
Not to find a good home for our old , slightly decrepit one.

New Kawai prices range from £4K to £8K, and this link gives some:

www.sheargoldmusic.co.uk/kawai-k300atx-ii-silent-upright-piano/

Yamaha also do two different 'silent' models:

uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/pianos/silent_piano/index.html#benefits

American company Synthogy produce software that turns a good digital piano into 'sampled' versions of the World's top grand pianos, including Bosendorfer, Steinway, Yamaha and others:

www.synthogy.com/index.php/products/software-products/ivory-2-grand-pianos

Update: Piano is in place and wonderful. The kids can play when ever they feel like it and the sound of the keys doesn't seem to bother anyone.
Old piano went to a neighbour whose daughter has started to take lessons.