Is there such a thing as a quiet acoustic ?

riffpowers · October 2020

I’ve been feeling the urge to play acoustic again.
i miss my seagull 12 string and takamine 6 string .
as great as they sound, as the majority of my playing is practicing at home , I could do with something that is a bit quieter but still sounds good.
Is there such a thing ?

Winny_Pooh · October 2020

I use a Taylor GS mini for this application, travels well too!

Some mahogany martins are pretty mellow too, the 00015 is nice

Keefy · October 2020

Yamaha used to do a ‘silent’ acoustic with onboard headphone amp. Aria also did one called the Sinsonido.

munckee · October 2020

Martin JR.

BluesLover · October 2020

Taylor GS mini strung with 10's. Quieter and easier to play.

Musicwolf · October 2020

Keefy said:

Yamaha used to do a ‘silent’ acoustic with onboard headphone amp. Aria also did one called the Sinsonido.

I bought a Yamaha SLG largely for this reason. Also makes a handy travel guitar.

thermionic · October 2020

Surprised at the recommendations for the GS Mini, I wouldn’t say mine is quiet. Yes it’s comfortable to play, travels very well, and sounds good played gently... but it packs a punch when I strum it. It’s noticeable how I can feel the back vibrating against my body, I have bigger and more expensive guitars that don’t behave like that.

Have you thought of about a nylon string guitar? I’d imagine a parlour would be a good option as well.

Whistler · October 2020

How quiet are you aiming for? A soundhole feedback-buster plug will reduce how much sound gets out of the soundhole so will quieten the guitar a bit.

Kittyfrisk · October 2020

If you can, try a Vintage V300 MHG. Lovely mellow 'Martin-ish' tone & very affordable

Moe_Zambeek · October 2020

Strings can make a difference. Thomastik Plectrums for instance are quite a quiet string. Those on a small bodied Martin (00) were much quieter than regular PB strings.

Cirrus · October 2020

+1 for a soundhole plug, that'll take a lot of the resonance out of the sound.

TrevinDevon · October 2020

I'd certainly prefer a muting device such as a soundhole plug over a 'quiet' guitar. That way you retain the choice to crank it up if you want to.

ICBM · October 2020

I've always found the Yamaha APXs have a pretty weedy acoustic tone. They have the advantage that you can plug them in too.

GTC · October 2020

I was just about to mention muting devices when I see that others have beaten me to it. With them you will compromise volume and tone without compromising the guitar - and they are cheap.

Soundhole plugs seem the best option although I've never tried one - with the added benefit of reducing feedback risk on electro-acoustics. I don't like the idea of the string-damper type although I've never used them either.

Another possibility when you want a quieter unplugged acoustic sound could be to try a thin-bodied electro acoustic

Epsilon · October 2020

As an anecdotal observation, I've found koa to be quieter than other tonewoods. Certainly seems to reach a volume ceiling at a lower point than rosewood in my experience.

ToneControl · October 2020

Keefy said:

Yamaha used to do a ‘silent’ acoustic with onboard headphone amp. Aria also did one called the Sinsonido.

Yamaha still do, I bought the classical version recently

ToneControl · October 2020

Epsilon said:

As an anecdotal observation, I've found koa to be quieter than other tonewoods. Certainly seems to reach a volume ceiling at a lower point than rosewood in my experience.

Not the one I've got, quite loud really

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Is there such a thing as a quiet acoustic ?

Comments