SLG200S

[Big.Al]

Disclaimer 1: Apologies for Non-Guild Content

Disclaimer 2: I decided to post this in the acoustic section. Although it's technically an electric guitar, the onboard SRT electronics are designed to make it a "virtual acoustic" guitar when its connected to headphones or external amplification.

Hi folks. Maybe a couple of you remember me. I haven't posted much in the last couple of years.

Well, with my retirement and the pandemic still in full swing and winter weather finally arriving in the upper Midwest, my lovely bride and I are spending a LOT more time under the same roof. Although my Guild dreads sound great to me, I'm sure she doesn't want to hear my fumble-fingered practicing all day . . . so I decided to try a quieter solution. I have a Yamaha Silent Guitar arriving via FedEx today. The YouTube videos and reviews I've found have been quite positive about the latest version of this guitar. Anybody here have any experience with one of these?

 

[Nuuska]

Interesting - at first glimpse for a brief spell it looked like it was clear solid-body.

Waiting for your report of it.

 

[walrus]

...my lovely bride and I are spending a LOT more time under the same roof. Although my Guild dreads sound great to me, I'm sure she doesn't want to hear my fumble-fingered practicing all day . . .

Disregarding the pandemic, this is why for years I have often played electrics unplugged around the house. Guild Bluesbirds (chambered) in particular and now my Sadowsky Semi-Hollow have great "softer" yet dynamic unplugged sound.

walrus

 

[Big.Al]

Disregarding the pandemic, this is why for years I have often played electrics unplugged around the house. Guild Bluesbirds (chambered) in particular and now my Sadowsky Semi-Hollow have great "softer" yet dynamic unplugged sound.

walrus

Thanks! I also have an 1980s MIJ solid body Fender Squier guitar that I don't plug in anymore. I have been using for quiet practice for the last couple of decades.

Since my church isn't having live music during the pandemic, I haven't been playing outside of the house. This gives me more freedom to practice and learn some new stuff without needing to constantly bone up on the next weekend's music. For the last few weeks, I've been trying to finally master using metal/plastic finger picks so I can ditch the long-ish right hand fingernails I've been sporting much of my adult life. The finger picks are working pretty well now on my dreads but I keep crashing into the pickups on the Squier, especially with the longer Acri Picks I've been trying lately.

I'm hoping that the silent guitar will work well with the finger picks and that it will work well plugged in when choir resumes. Strangely, my cheapo MIJ Squier seems to have become semi-desirable and I could sell it for several times what I paid for it second hand back in the late '90s. If I like the steel string version of the Silent Guitar, maybe I'll sell off the Squier and use the cash for the nylon string version.

And . . . Flash Bulletin . . . a peculiar cardboard monolith just appeared on my front porch. I brought it inside. After it warms up, I'll open it and find out what alien looking object might be lurking inside.

 

[Big.Al]

. . . . Oh . . . and I'm hoping that the Silent Guitar will sound good right out of the box. At least I shouldn't have to wait very long for the top to open up.

 

[Big.Al]

Okay . . . the box is opened and I've started to play the guitar. Initial impressions:

1) It's a classy looking instrument, but not traditional. It's more like elegantly understated modern art or art deco industrial design. I hadn't seen one in person and I didn't know how well the black finish would look. It looks kind of sophisticated. I like it.

2) The build quality seems excellent. It seems very light, but solid. Again, it's not built like a traditional acoustic guitar. There are some exposed joints and fasteners, but they look tasteful in their own way. The central body of the guitar is gloss black. The front of the headstock is some kind of dark wood or grained Formica-like material, semi-gloss finished. The mahogany neck and rosewood laminated body ribs are open-grained satin finish.

3) The medium c-shaped neck is very comfortable. The whole guitar is comfortable. The set-up right out of the box seems pretty good. The action at the 12th fret is right where I like it. The 5th and 6th string nut slots could come down a miniscule amount, but they are fine for now. It has standard .012 light gauge acoustic strings. The 24-15/16" scale length is a little shorter than my acoustic Guilds. This makes for a little lower string tension and easier playing. It's a little neck-heavy, but not to the point of being a problem.

4) The guitar itself is quiet, but not silent. Unplugged, it sounds about like an unplugged solid body electric guitar.

5) The onboard SRT acoustic mic modeling effect through a pair of Apple ear pods is good, Sound through my Loudbox Mini was okay at first, but the longer I played it, the less I liked it. There was a hollow nasal quality to the sound that I couldn't tune out or play around..

It's boxed up and ready to be returned.


Edit . . . I originally tried it using my Loudbox mini sitting on the concrete basement floor. I tried it again with the amp elevated on top of a desk. With that and and the midrange turned down a bit, it sounded a lot better. The onboard effects are nice too. I'm going to play it for a couple more days before I decide whether to keep it or return it.

Edit: I'm definitely keeping it!

 

[Big.Al]

If anybody's interested, here's a recorded sample of the guitar plugged straight into the desk with no EQ or added effects. Sorry for the mistakes, My bride arrived home and I didn't have time for anymore takes . . .

Silent Guitar

 

[SFIV1967]

That sound sample sounds great!

Ralf

 

[bobouz]

Nice that you ended up bonding with it - something different for sure!

Yamaha’s tuning-fork logo has always been one of my favorites when it sits alone atop a headstock. I started playing a bit late at the age of twenty, so had it on my first guitar, a 1971 FG-160.

 

[Nuuska]

Well well

With that sound - and nothing to support feedback - that would be a fantastic gigging guitar in loud environment.

 

[Big.Al]

Again in case anybody is interested, I updated the link above (and below) to a little better sound file with slightly different settings and better fitting finger picks. It was recorded plugged straight into the desk, with a little of the built-in Hall reverb. I wish I could get rid of the pick noise, but I guess that comes with not using bare hands and fingernails.

This odd looking thing is an absolute hoot to play!

Silent Guitar

 

[GAD]

Sounds great!