Practicing Quietly

geese_com

I know that this is a little bit of a necro bump, but today I put a FretWrap (https://gruvgear.com/products/fretwraps-1pk) by the bridge and it works great to mute the guitar to work on right hand technique. I was looking for a solution for practicing while watching TV and just happened to have a FretWrap sitting around. You can kind of hear the notes enough to hear what you are playing. It does not work well however for rhythm practice.

KlausUS

The AJL silent is expensive, but it keeps your marriage alive. If you have a big house and you can play in the west wing of your mansion, you won‘t need it. Other than that it free’s you up regarding practicing time And it feels exactly like a Gypsy Guitar. I always think about „old McDonald had a farm“ played 5000 times by my little son on piano before we got a E-piano with headphones - so no regrets on this investment.

vanmalmsteen

I remember being quite bummed out about my Paris swing guitar, because it had a pretty darn good tone but no volume to speak of. But I came to find the biggest weakness was also its greatest strength! It’s my go to instrument when I can see that my act is wearing thin around the house

everett

I got an AJL S&P (silent & portable) guitar because I (used to) travel a ton and also live in a small house with my family. Ordered it last year and turns out it’s the perfect quarantine instrument. Maybe S&P meant “shelter-in-place”?

playing this through a milkman “the amp” and a Stimer sounds really great. Nice for recording late night using direct out into an interface.

It’s a really well made instrument and has a good feel. We did agree on some custom details that never made it into the guitar, which was a somewhat disappointing experience when you pay for a handmade instrument...c’est la vie.

Buco

I'm so impressed with the AJL design, it's incredibly elegant.

I wonder what would it take to get a cheap donor guitar and deconstruct it to turn it into a silent instrument... still wouldn't be cheaper than the used silent Yamaha but you'd get the scale length we're used to.

Lango-Django

Or... for 300 bucks you could buy a used Asian Selmac knockoff and stuff it full of towels...?

Buco

That's what I was sort of thinking Will. Exactly, find a $300 Selmac but instead of just stuffing with towels, go a step further and deconstruct it. Start say with removing, or mostly removing the back. And then maybe use some material to further deaden the top. Today I saw a video with AJL silent guitar prototype and that's pretty much what he did at first, removed sections of the back and deadened the top.

https://youtu.be/5W--c92HVI8

Chiefbigeasy

I picked up a Yamaha Silent, but haven’t used it much. It does the job, though, and sounds great through good headphones or plugged in to an amp.

Anyone interested? I figure somebody is stuck inside and needs a quiet practice instrument more than I do.

kimmo

Hi,

Buco wrote: Today I saw a video with AJL silent guitar prototype and that's pretty much what he did at first, removed sections of the back and deadened the top.

AJL did much more than just that. The top is laminated, very heavily arched and thick - at least double thickness compared to a standard GJ guitar top. The neck joint is also different, more like an archtop joint, detached from the top (sorry for the dust in the pic). All this is to help strengthen the construction, as the back really isn't supposed to hold all stress and tensions together. And then the top is padded on the inside, but that's just for deadening the sound.

The end result is dry, silent(ish) acoustic sound, not at all pleasant or lively, but rather dead. Amplified, on the other hand, it's plug and play, instant Django47. It's very feedback resistant because of the non-vibrating top, and you avoid the extra hassle having to mount external pickups etc. And did I mention it could be for sale, if anyone truly feels the compulsive need ?

And here's some snippets from Samois etc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALdiOKgD06w

best regards

Kimmo

Buco

Hey thank you for commenting @kimmo

It wouldn't be Ari Jukka if it was plain and simple. That's a fantastic guitar. I always wondered what would that detached fretboard extension do to a Selmer style instrument. It looks very cool here. I imagine this guitar sounds acoustically somewhat similar to the laminated electric archtop. Is that about right?

Excellent playing on your own demo, I like it a lot!

Someday I'll come visit you guys, preferably during the January festival. I have relatives in Oyer, was there in 2005.