Yamaha SLG100N Silent Guitar

A pretty interesting guitar. It's the solidbody equivalent of a nylon string guitar. While they were at it, Yamaha added a couple of neat features. A headphone amp with reverb, a CD player in (with volume control) and a removeable section for easy travel. A very cool idea. Everything seems to be put together well, with high quality components. Two features missing, however: a tuner and a truss rod. A decent tuner would go a long way towards making this an ultimate travel guitar. As it is, I'll have to drag my TU2 with me, which really is too big to fit in the gig bag. The truss rod, I mention only because tuning shifts if you drop the D string, which is kind of a pain. Also included with the gig bag is a pair of ear buds , which you will immediately replace with headphones, and an AC adapter, which is an excellent idea, because of the drain from the digital reverb. The gig bag includes a space for the adapter, a nice touch.

Sound is very nice. Does it sound like a $5K+ Ramierez? No. The sound is at least equivalent to any electrified full-bodied classical of a comparable price. What's really nice is Yamaha figured out on how to cut the sustain somewhat to make it feel more natural. Reverb sounds are very good, especially for the price. Bass and trble controls are effective. The headphone output, though, is weak. The sound amplified is quite nice. Fingerpicked parts and solo lines sound excellent, though full chords are weak, when amplified, less so through headphones. There's not a lot of noise. I planned on purchasing this so I would have a nylon string for live use, and have an excuse for a travel guitar, and it fits the bill quite nicely.

Excellent work. The action was a touch high compared to a steel string, but I think that's so you can be a bit more percussive with the lower tension strings. Anyway, it plays fine with the factory setup. The neck is wide, like a classical (duh). I wish the neck was shaped a bit more up by the nut.

I would feel comfortable playing this guitar live. I'm pretty aggressive on the strings, but I'm actually gentle on the instruments. The back section with the electronics seem like polycarbonate, relatively rugged for a plastic, but if you step on cords, I'd run it between your strap as a strain relief. Yamaha doesn't seem to be targeting the instrument for the performance market, though. It's plenty rugged for silent practice, the intended market.

Haven't had to deal with Yamaha on this instrument, but they've been very easy to deal with in the past.

An excellent new concept for an instrument, very well done for version 1.0. I've been playing electric and acoustic for a couple of decades, and am now performing in an acoustic duo.

Probably the only negative thing which I will say about this instrument is that it is quite thin on electronics. It has only a two channel eq and the only effects are reverb. It seems to me that it would have been fairly simple to include some more audio processing options. In terms of the guitar oriented features, there are a few florishes such as some beautiful tunning keys. The top of the frame is removable pretty easily and the strap pegs double as screws to hold it in place. The fretboard is accessable all the way up (there are 19 frets). There is a bag which comes with the guitar which is fairly large for me (I was initialy interested because I do a lot of air travel & wanted something which would work as a second carry on.) Oh, one other thing, Yamaha gives you some very crapy earbuds to use (& no battery, there is a wall adapter though) - c'mon guys.

Here is the best aspect of this unique instrument. The guitar produces a surprisingly nice (natural, well toned, clean and even) sound even when played straight into a mixer. With some acoustic processing it is even better (well, I was disapointed with the two reverb setting, so I'm talking about external effects). I would say that it sounds better than any other nylon string a/e guitar (in e mode) which I have played. (I have a Takamine 132 which is great and I'd place this one ahead.) You will be amazed at how legitimate the rendition of classical pieces are. Now here is the bonus which put this over the top for me: because there is no feadback (and the piezo is very clean) you can get some amazing and unique sounds playing with distortion and effects. (Basically you get a very wide dynamic range.) Best in my opionion are heavily distorted grungy rhythm sounds and moderatly overdriven jazz/blues settings. Be sure not to use the built in reverb with effects, all they do is add noise. Sorry if I'm getting misty here, but this is a very stimulating instrument. Thank you Yamaha.

I am not a setup guru. The action is on the low side for classical which makes it easy to play, and in my opinion produced great sound. The fretboard is rosewood and looked virtualy perfect.

It seems pretty solid to me. I was surprised how natural it feels to hold and play. In any case, it is pretty new and I have not had a chance to abuse it yet.

I have had no experiances.

I am a midlife crisis guitar player, with limited abilities (at least so far) and lots of gear (the good thing about doing this as an adult). I play in a lot of styles; classical, folk, blues & rock. I have two other classical guitars (a Takamine a/e and a Yamaha), two acoustics (Takoma & a baby Taylor) and five electrics, including a Steinberger travel guitar. I travel quite a lot and am always on the lookout for travel gear. This is actualy not the ideal travel guitar because it realy only gets narrower, not shorter when you break it down. However, the other aspects of this remarkable instrument more than make up for it. If you want something unique and trouble free to play on stage, or you want a different rock sound, you should consider this. (For the ultimate travel electric, I strongly vote for Steinberger. Also, the Baby Taylor is a beautiful choice and is smaller to transport than this product.) Of course, I always love my most recent guitar the most, but this one is very special. Really.

2002-Paid $449.00 US
Rosewood neck
Graphite composite body
Piezo pickup in bridge

I really like the sound of this guitar. Well balanced and not too loud or trebely (like some of those other guitars with piezo's.) Great for live gigs and little hassle toting it around. Also, makes recording a snap! (no mics!!.)

Guitar was set up quite well. I noticed everybody agreed, the neck plays like a dream. The body frame will take getting used too and will require some adjusting in your lap. However, the advantage to a thinner frame is that you can reach over easy with the right hand. The machine heads are great quality. The neck is very flat and fast. The electronics box is constructed of a light gauge plastic which may cause some concern, but nowadays, everything is thin and light. With care, it'll hold up.

It will hold up fine in a gig. I think this is the future of instruments. Guitar players are always the last ones to get with the program. We are just way too traditional. Standup bassists have been playing with similar instruments for a while now with wonderful success. Why do you think Ned Steinberger created the headless bass before the guitar?? Many are saying this guitar is for practice and nothing else, but I think Yamaha will beg to differ. Take it on the road! The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do!!

Never delt with them.

I've been playing guitar for 18 years and teach guitar as well. Heck yes I'd replace it if it were stolen and tracked the guy down who took it, too!!! The coolest thing about it is that there's nothing else out there like it. Makes you feel like an innovator! Coolest thing about it was the price. I really think they'll go up. Quality is great and the idea will catch on soon.

I feel this guitar is a professional instrument. First; it has a great natural tone when played unplugged. When appropriately amplified it has a natural tone that dosent need EQ or notch filters. it sounds right. PS I am not a extremely experienced, 21 vintage guitar owning motherf***er. I am the walrus...

You can use the CD inputs as a monitor input from your PA and with a pair of those little earphones you can create a little complex monitoring system.

I.E. dude your getting a dell, kind of thing.

plays like your best friends girlfriend. Sweet and spicy...

Play your ass off and then take it apart and push it into a gigbag and your on the plane to the next town. Good night Cleveland we love you...

I have a set of powered monitors from 1987 that i bought used. They never even had a glitch and their used 5x/week. Did I tell you that they sat in a inch and a half of water and after drying off for one week went back to work like nothing happened.
Yamaha... tough and buff...

Top horn pushed in my chest just a bit and I do like a tuner in the product BUT I looked at my self in the mirror with this guitar and I was just the coolest thing on earth. cant say that with a martin dreadnought D 28.

Keep in mind, this is not a performance level instrument. It has good ,albeit, basic electronics and appears to be reasonably well assembled. It's main feature is the portability and ease of disassembly. For the standard classical player the body is the correct shape however a bit thin requiring some adjustment in the seated position to play realistically.

Through headphones it is a fine sound. Not as good as a concert level instrument but serviceable.

The factory setup was quite good and required only minor changes to achieve reasonable action and intonation. The fit and finish are reasonable for a $500.00 instrument. Nothing extra...

This is not a performance instrument but seems durable enough for a practice guitar. It may even fit in an overhead compartment on an airliner. Don't try to check it as luggage or you'll end up with matchwood...The simple and solid construction will standup to normal playing demands easily.

Haven't used.

Serious classical player for many years. Other instruments include Ramirez R3 and 1A Especial. Fun guitars are a rebuilt Guild T50 and old Alvarez Yairi DY46

just bought it recently...feel a bit guilty about not getting real classical..used to play...one thing that stands out about it, is the feel and action of it...if you play classical or any fingerstyle you'll like this aspect of it

the sounds are simple...personally i kinda like the sound...it's very simple..but with classicals it's usually somuch about the character of it..it's innovative though

like i said earlier the feel of this thing is great...the neck and string action...the neck's not quite as wide as a standard nylon..it plays awfully easy

people don't normally put classicals through much abuse anyways...because it has no body it's more or less useless for the percussive style of flamenco...and not haaving the body there ..well y'know...as far as gigs, well it will get a few looks..because it's an odd-looking instrument..can't see the damn thing...the people that've seen it in my house usually remark "what is it?"

haven't dealt with em

been playing for awhile...i'm still not sure i shouldn't have just gotten a regular nylon, but I've got an acoustic i can string with silk and steel strings that works well...not sure if i would buy it again or not...i love the way it plays. The neck is real stiff..i mean it plays like a breeze, this part of it is worth emphasizing..i hate that it's not a real classical (not to be too sentimental or anything but sometimes it seems to me more of a device, a little musical oddity than a real guitar)...i've played a few classicals and not to overstate anything but it plays real well...i wish it had the same action and feel and a body to it...if you're not anal about it it's really an enjoyable guitar to play...probably lose a lot of character of sound and rasguedos just don't work well with this guitar because of the way it is i guess...hell if you got a few extra bucks it's a pretty interesting little instrument

The previous review listed most of the features. Considering the price of the Silent Guitar, its a relatively feature ladden for a nylong string acoustic-electroc. Its nice that it comes with a gigbag, AC adapter and earphones. The neck on this guitar is very fast and comfortable.

Considering the SLG100N consists of only a neck and thin body which is the width of the neck, the unamplified tone is pretty nice (the guitar is NOT really "silent," just quiet in comparison to a regular acoustic).

Amplified through a 15 watt solid state practice amp, the SLG100N sounds really good. Its not the same tonal quality as a good classical guitar of course, but its definitely a useable nylon string acoustic sound nonetheless. The on-board reverb is a nice feature too. You could definitely use this guitar in a live setting and I HOPE that it will work well for direct recording.

The tone through headphones was not as good as through an amp in my opinion.

The guitar was set-up perfectly for me. Unlike most classical-electric guitars, the neck on the SLG100N is very comfortable and the action is low. Great for burning up the fretboard for solos and nice access to the upper frets.

Since there's no real body to speak of, its seems silly to address the issue of finish. However, the guitar seems to be well constructed and sturdy overall

I have no idea, as I just purchased the guitar. It seems like it will be pretty durable if taken care of.

I've been playing guitar for at least 30 years, part of this time professionally. I primarily play electric solid body guitars. My goal is to use the Silent Guitar for practice, as a travel guitar, and for home recording for nylon string acoustic sounds. However, I think the guitar also sounds good enough to use for live use. This is a very innovative musical instrument that Yamaha has created.

NOTE: I almost didn't try one of these guitars out because of the futuristic look. However, I immediately loved the neck on this thing. It was an easy decision to buy the SLG100N after playing it for about 20 minutes or so.

Made by Yamaha for quiet practicing with headphones this is a nice little instrument. Maple body, Mahogany neck, Rosewood fingerboard. All solid. Also has a sort of guitar shaped frame, the bottom one non-removable, the top one is removable.
The electronics are in a plastic box on the back and have a digital reverb with off-room-hall sound. There are Volume, Treb and Bass (passive) knobs, a headphone out with it's own volume as well as an aux out with it's own vol. The pick up is a B-Band and has a nice natural sound through the head phones and even sounds quite good through an amp. There are no string to string trim pots (like on the Gibson Chet) and the Bass seems slightly quieter than the treble strings, but livable.

Quiet operation. Sound is good (as I said above) the reverb, though not adjustable sounds good

The finish is the kind that has some dips in the grain on the back of the neck. The front looks great. I think it was an error by Yamaha to not make both frame pieces removable. I also forsee the maple horn on the lower frame (which seems to by attached with two screws) coming lose at some point. I think the frame also tends to bite into your arm where you rest it. The frame could have been shaped to be quite comfy, but it it rather sharp in that spot. The black plastic box that holds the electronics is totally cheese-log and is the weakest link. I suspect that it would be easy to shatter the area around the jack and there would be no way to fix it other than to get a new plastic box. Perhaps Yamaha will make a deluxe performance model. Also the carving where the neck transitions to the peghead is a bit rough. All that said it is a clever design, weighs nothing and I am sure Yamaha can correct these flaws on future models (I hope so anyway). Also, it could be said..what do you want for $450.00

I think of Yamaha as usually bulletproof products but I have my doubts about how bulletproof this is. It is, of course just made to practice with, but because it looks cool I will have to take it on the gig. So, we'll see.

No Idea. But, Hey Yamaha I'd love to consult with you on developing a performance version of this.

I have played for 33 years...give or take. My other guitars include: Gibson Chet Atkins Classic, Classic by John H Dick, Mapson Jazz Standard, Klein Electric, 53 Tele, Gibson 335, Gibson 330, 3 by Tom Holmes. Amps:Fender - "66 Vibrolux Reverb, Vibro King, Benson, Dredgetone, AER Compact 60.
I love the look of the Yamaha and the weight. It sounds quite good too. I just wish it were better built. But there isn't anything that comes close in this price range so overall...it's great.