Hi everyone. I was hoping to get some input from the group. Looking to take the plunge and buy a Yamaha 2000 6ft C3 Disklavier Grand. My questions for the group:

1. Being 2000, is it almost a guarantee the electronic part will fail in the next few years? I dont really care about the player part, more the silencer as this lets me practice at night/morning. It seemed to work fine in the store, does anyone have a similar experience here?

2. Does anyone have a ballpark range of what this should go for? I was able to get it down to 18k. Let me know your thoughts.

3. Does anyone recommend or not recommend to put in a dehumidifier. We live in Florida

I really look forward to the help.

Welcome to PW! 😁

I am less experienced so I will let others answer the questions.

Oh man... Florida and pianos! I’m in Arizona so it seems okay for me but not sure about Florida!(never been)

Is this from a dealer or private? I’m guessing dealer because you said “store”.
Did you ever try and ask the dealer about humidity? (if that’s the case)

It’s great that you were able to get it down, but not sure if it’s a good/bad price.

Happy piano buying 🎹 and hope you get a great one!

If the electronic part fails you won't be able to hear yourself play. The electronic parts include the optical sensors to detect key movement, and a sound engine to convert the key movement into audio sound that you either hear through your headphones or speakers. Regardless of which fails, you won't hear anything when you wear headphones or use speakers. It's possible there is some failure mode that would only affect the playback/record functionality, but I wouldn't count on that. Given that it's 22 years old, the likelihood is increasing that there will be an electronics failure. The good news is the analog part will always work.

Yes it is from the dealer. Yeah i figured the C3 alone without it would be worth maybe 16-18 so i think taking the gamble with the silencer and player system isnt the worst. I came across another site that did say if it malfunctions and the box needs to be replaced it can be sent to a company called TAP who fixes this and send it back.

20 years for an electronic part is about the life expectancy. Of course it depends how much it has been used. Repairing is possible, it all depends of the nature of the problem. If it is a minor component, it is easy. Optical sensors are not eternal either.

I tried doing this research when making a decision on a Disklavier too. sounds like you have the right general idea.

There are various things on the silent system that can fail;

The solenoid for the hammer stop rail. Should be straightforward to fix.

The led emitters in the optical sensing system may start losing brightness and go or of spec. 10-20 years seems to be when this starts happening. You either get Yamaha to replace the module, or you replace the led emitters yourself if you have smd soldering experience, I've seen some people do that here.

Hardware fault in the sound engine components, such as electrolytic capacitor failure on the various circuit boards, or hard drive failure. Both at or beyond life duty cycles. You know about TAP, so you probably know as much as anyon on what your options are here. There's a guy Richie Hayes on YT who did a lot of Disklavier videos and knows his stuff.

Price wise, at 20+ years I think the best you should expect is $0 premium for the hardware. It's just a liability at this point, and I would approach it with the dealer as such. Particularly as Yamaha no longer seems to support the old models.

Humidity in Florida
You will likely need a de-humidifier but I would recommend doing a little research on the room where your new piano will live: use a hygrometer to measure the RH snd record on a log. Then you can decide what you need to do to keep the humidity stable over time.

If you really need the silent, I wonder if it wouldnt be simplier to buy a used Yamaha and install a brand new silent system on it.

Is there a used C3 for under 18k thats at least 2000? I couldnt find any

I can’t find any either. Could you either increase your budget or expand your search list to other models/brands?! Looks like $18,000 in Florida will get you around 1980

The cost premium and brand limitations are a necessity if you are looking for a to your silent or player system from the factory (basically you have Yamaha and Kawai). That's a huge advantage Ford brand new porno. But for 20+ year old electronics, I would think that any such advantage they have held have all been exhausted by now..

I would agree with the idea that you can significantly expand your potential market beyond the specific makes/models that have these built-in, and look into installing something aftermarket like a Adsilent, as an option.

Or just focus on getting the spastic piano you want, and get a separate digital piano for when you need to play silently.

I have never played an aftermarket silent system, but if I remember correctly, adding them sometimes unwanted changes in the action feel. Is that correct?

Yes. There is always some difference in feel while in silent mode. But the most recent Yamaha/Kawai and some aftermarket systems make it so that you do not have to sacrifice the keyfeel (letoff point and aftertouch) *while in acoustic mode*, which is the best compromise imo. Having acoustic mode hobbled in order to get silent play is a bad outcome, but that doesn't need to be the case now.

The thing is, I'm not sure if older Disklaviers from ~2000 have this "quick escape" system (as Yamaha calls their solution)?

Also the sound engine from 2000 is probably quite old and outdated now, and you can get much better in a cheaper digital standalone like a P-515.

Thanks much!

That’s just crazy!

Not just Florida- i am seeing that everywhere, which is why i thought 18k for the Disklavier C3 is not that bad, because even if the silent system breaks the piano itself is probably worth a little more.

Although I really would love it if the silent mode can hold up. I guess i am just trying to get a reasonable expectation on how long it will hold, does anyone think it can keep going for another 5-10 years?

I think it is reasonably impossible to answer to that question. Could be several years or one month. In that sort of situation, I would want to know what would be my options if it does fail. I am not technical enough to answer the questions, but I am sure you can find some answers. I guess a number of people have had silent systems by now.

1-Assuming worst case scenario that the electronic part fails and cant be repaired for whatever reason. Is it possible to just replace the box with another new electronic box and at what cost.

2-same with optical sensors. Can they be replaced easily on site. Cost ?

Florida is a far cry from piano Mecca 😊