What's The Point Of Yamaha's Silent Guitar & How Much Does One Weigh?

It can often be challenging for musicians who need to practice regularly and singer-songwriters who might get inspired at all hours, not to disturb those around them. In a shared space with family or roommates, the SLG series silent guitar, which is 80 percent quieter than a standard acoustic guitar, according to Yamaha, won't have the occupants of the next room pounding against the wall or asking you to play quieter.

Of course, this instrument is only at a low volume to those around you. Plug one of the best over-ear headphones you can buy into the silent guitar, and you alone will be met with a rich sound signature at the volume of your choosing. In a traditional acoustic guitar, the resonance emanates from the body of the instrument, but Yamaha has managed to reproduce this sound with a bodiless design. Using emulation technology called SRT, the silent guitar features the same tones, natural note decay and sound warmth as a traditional acoustic. 

While the silent guitar can recreate the sound of an acoustic instrument, it's much more portable. It weighs 4.6 pounds, which is actually just slightly heavier than Yamaha's FG830 Dreadnought, a large full-bodied acoustic model at around 4.3 pounds (1.99 kilograms). But a large section of the silent guitar's frame comes off, enabling you to travel with a smaller and more manageable case. In fact, according to the manufacturer, this instrument easily slides into the overhead storage bin of commercial airliners.

While there is no definitive process for songwriting that'll work for everyone, one of the keys to producing music is capturing it as inspiration strikes. Unfortunately, quickly recording a traditional acoustic guitar can involve several adjustments, such as microphone placement, cord management, and ruined takes due to external noise. The SLG series offers a more straightforward approach without sacrificing a natural-sounding tone. The onboard electronics of the silent guitar offer a line out, which allows you to plug the guitar directly into a recording interface. You don't even need to purchase any software to get started; there are plenty of free guitar recording programs that'll help you preserve your ideas before inspiration fades. 

In addition, the silent guitar also includes some features that streamline the songwriting process, such as a built-in chromatic tuner, reverb, and chorus effects. Regular tuning is a must to get your guitar sounding its best, but a stand-alone device or a software plug-in isn't always the most convenient option. Yamaha's silent guitar offers access to tools that can improve and shape the sound, without requiring additional steps before recording. In addition, some effects like reverb, depending on their complexity, can require significant processing power from your PC hardware. Utilizing the guitar's onboard effects can help reduce the demand on a song with many tracks.