Hybrid piano is the most confusing label in the piano world, because it is used for two quite different instruments. Both are relevant if you want real piano feel and quiet practice in the same instrument. Here is the plain English version from The Piano Gallery in Faringdon, Oxfordshire.

Type one: a digital piano with a real action

Instruments like the Yamaha AvantGrand series (NU1X, N1X) take the complete mechanical action from an acoustic piano and pair it with digital sound. No strings, no tuning, always played through speakers or headphones. Your fingers get the genuine mechanism; your ears get a recording of a concert grand. New, an NU1X costs around £4,500 to £5,000. Used ones appear for considerably less, and we occasionally have them in stock: our recent used Yamaha AvantGrand NU1 sold at £2,495 (as of March 2026).

Type two: an acoustic piano with a silent system

This is a full acoustic piano, strings and all, with sensors and a headphone mode built in. Play it normally and it is simply a piano. Engage silent mode and the hammers stop short of the strings while headphones carry the sound. Most people find this is what they actually wanted when they searched for a hybrid. Browse our silent pianos in stock, typically £4,000 to £7,000 used.

Which should you choose?

• Choose an AvantGrand style hybrid if you can never make acoustic noise (a flat with thin walls), want zero tuning, but refuse to accept a normal digital action.
• Choose a silent acoustic if you can sometimes play out loud. You keep everything that makes a piano a piano, and it holds its value better.
• Choose neither if you never need silent practice: the same money buys a far better straightforward acoustic piano from our used piano stock.

Hear the difference for yourself

Descriptions only go so far with instruments. At our Faringdon showroom you can play silent pianos in both modes and compare them with standard acoustics side by side. Stock changes weekly, so if you are after a used hybrid or silent piano specifically, get in touch and we will tell you what is in and what is coming.