Yamaha Silent guitars (steel string) - opinions??

[Cri75!]

Hi to all, I have the nylon strings one. But in a unique configuration. I strung it with a set of Thomastik KR116 , I installed a thin single coil magnetic pickup and now I have a guitar that sounds as a classical when I choose mic; sounds almost like an acoustic when I choose piezo and sounds like an electric solid body when I connect the magnetic pickup.
I love it. A classical neck with al the sounds I want!

[jwhelan56]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on getting one. I was able to snag one here locally and got what I think is a good deal on it for $450. It's the tobacco sunburst model. I really like how it plays and sounds.

Here are a few pics of it.

[Coler]

Stunning top!

(That's what you say right?)

J/k aside congrats on your acquisition I hope it plays well for you.

[KevinH]

Very cool. I'll be interested to hear your impressions after you've had it a while. Especially curious about how comfortable it is or isn't if you play seated. You got a great deal on it.

[jwhelan56]

Originally Posted by Coler

Stunning top!

(That's what you say right?)

J/k aside congrats on your acquisition I hope it plays well for you.

Sure, I'd go with that comment! It is nice looking with the small amount of burst that's on it.

[Matias.]

Bought it last October. Went to the professional luthier and he made a fret job, adjustedt the lower bridge and upper nut. They were quite high from the factory. The frets needeed job too...
The playability after trimming was suberb. I had Elixir Phosphor Bronze 11-52 set and it was like playing electric guitar. I liked very much the style and light weight of the Silent 200S. It is very comfortable play both standing and sitting. The bag is very good too.
Then I sold it. Why? The sound was not good. It is very sterile and digital. There are two pickups in the guitar. Piezo and modelling virtual pickup. Could not find any good sound. I tried to mix these good in any position. The piezo is very nasal. The virtual is boomy and unclear. It has some weird reverb in the sound and I did not use any reverb...! The sound of the virtual pu is very unclear. Best sound I found was 75 % piezo and 25% virtual pu. Playing with plecktrum the sound was better than fingerpicking and it was usable in band situations. But playing with fingers the sound was awful. No dynamics, no shining highs, no power in the lower strings, just some unclear muffle.
My amp is Fender Junior Go. I think it is quite ok with many guitars I have played with this amp. I have changed the speaker to the same that AER uses in their amps. It was a good upgrade.
My another acoustic guitar is Furch with LRBaggs Stage Pro pickup and it is many times better sounding played with fingers through the amp than Yamaha SLG200s was. This is just my own opinion of the SLG2000S. Battery life is very short and the sound get even worse when the batteries are low.
But having many Yamaha guitars and amps through the decades this model was not pleasant to me. Other was THR100H amp head.

[PeterD18DK]

Originally Posted by jwhelan56

I've always been at least casually interested in one of the Yamaha Silent guitars. I would only want one that's steel string.

Hi Jim, I live in an apartment in the city and I need a silent guitar not to disturb my neighbours. For that I use a semi-hollow that resonates and plays really good. I can not imagine that the Yamaha Silent can compete with my semi-hollow

[MJ Slaughter]

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

I just noticed you're in Grapevine. I'm about a half-hour away in McKinney.

I will be opening for Kevin Deal at The Gar Hole in Anna, TX on Saturday. I go on at 6:30pm, and I have an hour set.

If you'd like to hear what this guitar sounds like in person, that would be a great opportunity to hear it.

Also, just noticed your question about strings. It comes with acoustic strings. I'm still using the original strings on it.

I was thinking about getting a beater acoustic using a bridge pickup and an acoustic IR in my rock band and this guitar looking like a great idea for that.

What is the Gar Hole like? I'm in McKinney but have never been out to that part of Anna in a long time. Is the Tuesday open mic you spoke of at the E.J. Wills?