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Yamaha b series upright pianos

Can you hear the difference? Yamaha's b series pianos

Can You Hear The Difference? Yamaha's b series upright pianos

In this video, we review 3 upright pianos from Yamaha’s b series. These are the most affordable pianos from Yamaha, and they come in 3 sizes:


  • The b1 is the smallest, with a height of 43 inches. This is a terrific piano for folks who have limited space, or are just starting out on their first piano.
  • The b2 has a height of 44.5 inches, and is a great “Goldilocks” piano, not too small, not too big, and for a lot of folks it’s “just right”.
  • The b3 is the tallest, with a height of 48 inches. This is a great option for folks who are more serious about the piano, and want to get a great sounding instrument at an affordable price.

One of the questions we get a lot is, what difference does the size of a piano make? Well, the piano makes its sound from a wooden hammer covered in felt striking a metal string. According to physics, the longer the length of string, the richer sound you will get, due to the extra overtones you hear, as well as a longer vibration time. The size of the soundboard, which is a thin piece of wood that covers the back of the piano, will also determine the overall sound quality and volume, since it acts as an acoustic amplifier. As an experiment, we’re going to hear these 3 different sized pianos back to back. See if you can hear the differences between them!

Option: SC2 Silent System

The SC2 is a new Silent System from Yamaha is an options available for all the b series pianos that lets you use headphones to play the piano completely silently. But what’s really cool is that through the headphones, even the smallest b series piano sounds like a 9’ CFX concert grand or Bösendorfer Imperial Grand! The SC2 Silent System features a sleek updated interface and uses smaller headphone jacks that are the same size as the ones you use on your smartphones or computers. To put the piano into silent mode, press the middle pedal and lock it to the left. The SC2 is now compatible with Yamaha’s UD-WL01 wireless lan adapter, which you can insert into the piano’s front USB port. That means that you can now control your Silent Piano using Yamaha’s amazing Smart Pianist app, available at no extra cost for iPhones and iPads. Smart Pianist makes it easy to navigate through all the new instrument voices, and even gives you options to customize the sound of the piano through the headphones, down to tuning individual strings if you’d like! The Smart Pianist app also contains a large library of sheet music. What’s more, you can even create chord charts from any song in your iTunes library! There are even options to record yourself and save your songs. In short, the Yamaha b series pianos are terrific, affordable instruments. And with the new SC2 Silent system options, you can enjoy the best of fully acoustic pianos paired with amazing technologies.


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