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Comment by rifung | Hacker News Reader

Yes please. As someone who is the one making the noise and feels bad for neighbors, I really want better sound insulation.

I am renting a house which is much larger than I need just because I practice piano and don't want to disturb my neighbors. If not for this I would rent a place closer to work.

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They make sound insulating and deadening foam. Put the piano in a small internal room and line the room with acoustic foam: http://amzn.to/1o9CGjb Living closer to work must be worth 2 of these for $160?

An electronic piano with headphones may even be an acceptable alternative.

No. Just no.

There are full acoustic/electric hybrid pianos with mechanical actions that have the ability to be used with headphones only.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/keyboards...

I actually had one of these and can tell you that unfortunately the technology just isn't there.

The action is the same but the way it reacts and sounds isn't, and at least for classical music, learning the nuances of the sound (and pedal!) is the hardest part..

That's a shame :-(. I've never played one myself but I definitely imagine it to be superior to most/all keyboards.

Why not? In a former life, I used such pianos.

The "make it sound like a wood-and-felt-and-wire piano" issue is solved. The "make the key action feel like a physical piano" is (based on my extensive side-by-side testing) close enough to solved that -if one's concerned about bothering the neighbors with the sound of your playing and one has the money- purchasing a good model is a no-brainer.

Yeah, things like http://www.rolandus.com/products/v-piano/ are absolutely competitive with acoustic pianos. Multiple acoustic pianos, in fact.

Sorry for accidental downvote. I have an electronic piano in my flat; it works well for managing noise levels outwith acceptable hours.

I actually have an electric piano as well and even though it has a mechanical action but it still doesn't come close unfortunately.

I guess I am relatively serious for an amateur but the piano is a very difficult instrument to master and so I just feel like since I have such a limited time to practice I rather make that time as effective as possible. That means playing on an acoustic and thus making a lot of noise sadly..

Yeah, foam doesn't really "soundproof" anything. Foam is normally for sound treatment, so you get less interference when making music for mixing / mastering / recording purposes. You need extra drywall / more insulation / sheetrock / mass loaded vinyl / wall decoupling to actually block sound.

This sort of foam isn't for soundproofing, but for reflection-proofing. If you treat your room with this and make noise, your neighbors will still hear it just as loudly as before, but inside your own room, the sound will have less reverberation and echoes, making it sound more focused.

For soundproofing you need dense materials with lots of mass. Things like mass loaded vinyl, rockwool sheets, or even full-on room in a room. It can get pretty expensive [0]

I agree with the other commentor, a nice digital piano with headphones, or speakers you can adjust the volume out of would be the best option.

[0] http://www.amazon.com/Loaded-Vinyl-Square-Acoustic-Barrier/d...

There are two broad categories of approaches you use when dealing with sound. One is controlling sound transmission, and the other is shaping/controlling diffusion. In general these types of foams act as diffusers, which influences the sound inside the room, but have very little impact on sound transmission, which is what most people think of when they say 'sound proofing'. Dealing with sound transmission generally requires lots of mass, isolation, and careful attention of air-tightness. Think about how a thermos is constructed and you start to get the idea.

Honest question: can't you just get a high-quality digital piano and use headphones?

I'm not a pianist but I can tell the difference between the best sampled piano synths and a real piano so there's no doubt a pianist can too. Of course it's better than nothing but a musician could prefer living far from work than not having a real piano at home.

I actually have a high quality digital (Yamaha N1). It even has the same action as a grand piano. Unfortunately, every time I went to my lessons to play on a real grand I had practically no control. The pedal especially is completely different on a real piano.

Also there are just so much more sounds you can produce on a real piano. I know it's weird since it's a percussive instrument but for whatever reason the way you hit the keys makes a difference.

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