Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar 

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

Great sounds through headphones. I can't wait to do some direct recording. Easy to take along. Minimal volume without amp.

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

I am a relatively new classical guitar student who sometimes feels the desire to practice in the middle of the night. Despite the size of our house my wife grew annoyed at hearing an acoustic classical guitar during the wee hours and this a great way to satisfy both of us.

The 130NW does not have (nor would I expect it to) the tone of my Rodriguez FC, or for that matter any quality student grade classical guitar. That being said, it is easily sufficient to hear notes and chords for what they are, and the neck/fretboard are full sized in order to practice fingering, etc..

I find that the narrow "body" depth is more akin to an electric guitar and it changes my classical playing position from what I am used to. This is the only way it physically deviates from a standard sized classical guitar in terms of "feel" and positioning. I have tried using a small throw pillow behind it to move it away from my body in order to better approximate my ususal playing position.

I would urge Yamaha to create a device to clip on the upper rail that serves as the top of the guitar to move it a few inches away from the player's body. Preferably something that could be retrofitted to older guitars in the series.

The earbuds provided were terrible and in less than 3 minutes I was using my own Sony Monitor headphones.... which makes a world of difference. I don't like the quality of most of the built in FX (Reverb 1 is OK) or the fact that only one FX can be used at a time. I will explore using another device for FX at some point in the future.

When played through an amp I find the tone pleasing for music like Samba and Bossa Nova/Jazz fusion style music. I thought that the strap attachment fittings were a nice touch that recognizes other possible uses for the guitar. I haven't had it long enough to experiment with other music I would consider suitable for playing on this guitar.

It also provides a very nice and easy way to bring a guitar somewhere you might hesitate to use a more delicate classical guitar. It is fine for almost silent practice. Hi tech/space age looks. It is hardly a classical guitar substitute, but I consider it a useful tool in addition to having a real classical guitar.

All in all the Yamaha is quite worthwhile and represents good value (caught it on sale) for the money, but it could be improved without raising the cost a lot. I did not have any problems with dye coming off the fretboard onto my fingers.

I don't love the feel of the strings that came with it, but decided to use the guitar "as is" for a little while before I switch them for something better. Hopefully changing to one of my usual brands instead of these generics will improve the tone. Yamaha should break down and spend the slight amount more needed and ship it with decent if not quality strings.

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

Awesome Guitar! This guitar is absolutely gorgeous; classic, but with that modern edge. It is exactly what I wanted and better than I expected!

Very quiet... I paired it with a pair of Bose noise canceling headphones. I can sit on the couch and play while the family watches TV. On the flip side, I plug it into a Roland Micro Cube RX which gets very loud. The quality of the instrument and sound through both headphones and the amp is great! I've been very pleased!!

I've been using batteries for both the guitar and amp and have had no issues. Batteries seem to last a long time...haven't had to change them yet! No issues with the ebony fretboard either...no black fingers!

Musician's Friend customer service was fantastic. I went online on a Sunday afternoon and someone was actually there to answer my questions. Once I placed the order, everything arrived 3-4 days later.

The value and price was the best on the web!!

I'll definitely shop at MF again and refer others as well. I was skeptical about buying an instrument online, sight unseen, but this has been an extremely positive experience.

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

Awesome Guitar!! Very quiet. I paired it with Bose noise canceling headphones... I sit on the couch and play while the family watches TV. On the flip side, I plug into a Micro Cube RX and just have fun!

The craftsmanship is what you'd expect from Yamaha! No issues with the ebony fretboard...no black fingers! Guitar is gorgeous and sounds even better. It's quality and capability far exceed my ability to play it!!

Additionally, customer service at Musician's Friend was phenomenal. I connected via internet live chat on a Sunday afternoon and someone was actually online and answered all of my questions. The guitar arrived three days later! The price was the best on the web!

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

I owned this for several years and regretted it soon after I sold it. Great tone and very portable. Regarding the "blackening" of fingertips, (without being able to actually contact the person who posted that first review) one explanation might be the strings and not the fingerboard. Classical strings are often wound with a silver alloy which will tarnish. I used to play for hours at a time and my fingertips would turn black. The same thing happened when playing violin and I know that was because of the silver windings. Maybe a different type of bottom string would help. (This was not meant to be a definitive answer to the blackening fingertips issue. I never had that happen with my instrument, but have had the issue with silver alloy strings.) v/r

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

Heres the real reason I bought the SLG. I do not necessarily need a silent practice guitar as I live in a detached house. The bedrooms are far enough from my practice room that there are no issues even in late-night practice. I perform weddings, cocktail hours and dinner parties as well as gallery openings and corporate events. I had been using a rather expensive luthier-built instrument with a stick-on contact microphone. Through my Bose L-1 Compact it sounds terrific, but the mic will sometimes pop off at the worst moment. Think about the marks on my French polished top! Also, even with the Bose, if I had to sit too close to the speakers, my guitar would risk howling. Couple this with the joy of having party-goers walking into me as they raise their glasses, and you can understand why I often had jitters with an expensive guitar. I always imagined it getting sat upon. I believe I could fight my way out of a major brawl with the SLG and still be in tune for another few pieces. Also, the Bose does not have reverb (are you listening Bose??? A reverb circuit could turn an already excellent product into the second coming!) I had to carry a separate preamp with tone controls and a reverb. Now with the SLG, I carry the L-1 and the guitar. Thats it. My footstool and cable fit in the outside compartment on the gig bag. Truly compact. The sound is just as good as the regular acoustic guitar and contact mic through an amp. In fact, I have a bit more latitude with the bass and treble controls on the SLG. It is a delight to play; the feel is very close to that of a regular guitar.
The silent guitar features a full ebony fingerboard width and scale-length that the majority of classical guitarists will find very familiar and comfortable. On-board electronics feature a master volume, bass and treble tone controls, two reverb settings, an echo setting and a chorus setting. (One reverb setting is subtle, the other quite wet. The echo is useful in a room that is live but where the guitarist might want a bit of something but not reverb. I cannot imagine too many classical players opting for the chorus.) There is also a volume control for the auxiliary input in case one wishes to play along with music-minus-one track source. There is an on/off switch that works with the headphones. For using an amplifier, a quarter inch monaural jack is present. Inserting a cable into the jack switched the instrument on and removing it turns it back off. This is more useful than just reading about it may imply. The instrument comes with a very nice set of 16:1 tuning machines that function very smoothly and quietly. A great feature is the removable upper side. Removing the side (very easy, just turn two ) produces a very small package that easily fits in to the very robust gig bag that comes standard with the SLG130NW. Ear bud-style headphones come with the guitar though I use my SONY noise canceling headphones for practice. The guitar will work with either the supplied 9 volt DC power supply that is included (and has its own compartment inside the gig bag.) It also can use a 9 volt battery and gets good long life even with the bargain store batteries I use.
This guitar, while light and nicely crafted, is still a very solid feeling item. I do believe it will live up to Yamahas sterling reputation. Another reviewer mentioned that the black die on the fingerboard came off on the fingers. I believe this may have been just a sample defect as I have used my SLG for two gigs that required (no kidding) non-stop playing for three hours and although I sweat profusely, I had no discoloration to my fingertips.
I'd buy this instrument at full list price. As it is, I bought mine through Musicuin's Friend so I know I got the best deal possible. The guitar paid for itself on two wedding gigs.

Comments about Yamaha SLG130NW Classical Style Silent Guitar:

I bought this guitar to play late at night without bothering my neighbors. I like the "star trek" look of this "silent" guitar. The effects provided are rather useless, however. I do not use the reverb, chorus, echo as they do not sound really good and cannot be added to each other (its reverb OR chorus OR echo). I use a Korg Pandora PX4D instead which provides a much better sound through my headphones. The biggest drawback has become the ebony fingerboard. The problem is that my fingertips turn black! I have been playing it for a month and I do not see when --and if-- it is going to end. I have contacted Yamaha to know what type of dye they put on their fingerboard and if this was a normal issue with this product, but no answer yet. I have the feeling that it was not properly applied (or a bad dye?) and that the fingerboard will become uneven in color very rapidly. I own several acoustic and classical guitars, but this has never happened to me before. I may have to return the guitar and stop playing late at night. Too bad. I will keep you posted if I receive a word from Yamaha.