Is a silent violin actually silent?

It's one of our most frequently asked questions: ""Does the Silent violin make any sound?"" The answer is simple: yes it does. 'Silent' is a marketing word that Yamaha created with its 'Silent' violin line way back in the 1990's is a solid-body electric violin with built-in headphone amplification.

electricviolinshop.com - Q & A: How Quiet Is A 'Silent' Violin? [Video]

What is the purpose of the middle pedal on a piano?

On some upright pianos, the center pedal lowers a piece of felt or cloth between the hammers and the strings to make the sound very soft and...

Last updated Jul 21, 2019

Is a normal work day 8 5 or 9 5?

Most people would say 9 to 5, which makes sense—that's the traditional 8-hour workday. Mar 24, 2020

Last updated Jan 29, 2018

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

It's one of our most frequently asked questions: "Does the Silent violin make any sound?" The answer is simple: yes it does. 'Silent' is a marketing word that Yamaha created with its 'Silent' violin line way back in the 1990's is a solid-body electric violin with built-in headphone amplification. However, they didn't invent any special sauce. Every solid body electric violin we sell is relatively quiet when played unplugged and considerably more quiet than any acoustic violin. So which violin is the quietest? We'll show you in the video below, but first lets talk about a few key concepts regarding the physics of sound...

>> Skip to the video

Decibels

Decibels (dB) are the unit of measure for the intensity of sound. They are measured on a logarithmic scale, which, if you don't remember from math class, means that every rise of 10 decibels equals a doubling of sound intensity. Therefore, a sound that measures 80 dB is twice as intense as a sound that measures 70 dB. A sound that measures 95 dB is half as intense as a sound that measures 105 dB. However, it's a little more complex than that as pertains to perceived loudness and human hearing. (Isn't there always a catch?) Human hearing doesn't perceive all frequencies (the lows, mids and highs that make up a sound) equally. Since we're not interested in how loud or soft an unplugged electric violin sounds to a microphone or a computer, but rather how loudly or quietly it is perceived in the room--or in an adjacent room for you late night at-home practicers--we need to apply a filter to our decibel scale to adjust for how people hear things. We do this by applying A-weighting, which adjusts the level of different frequencies to produce a weighted average decibel number (dBA) that more accurately represents how people hear sound.

The RTA meter

When we measure loudness we can get just a simple number (e.g. 73 dBA) on a readout, but even that doesn't tell the whole story. Although we've accounted for the difference between actual decibels (dB) and human perceived decibels (dBA) we have not yet accounted for how sounds of different frequencies penetrate space and objects. As it turns out, while humans perceive higher frequencies as louder than lower frequencies, higher frequencies lose intensity faster than lower frequencies over distance and through objects (like walls). When you get out of your car in the parking lot 400 yards from the stage at a music festival, what do you hear? Not so much of the defined guitar playing and vocals, but mostly the rumble of the bass guitar and kick drum. Likewise, if your neighbor in the next apartment is blasting their stereo, can you make out lyrics, or do you pretty much only hear the bass sound from the sub-woofers? Yeah, when we're talking about whether a sound can penetrate walls it is, as it turns out, all about that bass! When we analyze decibels for the purpose of sound's ability to penetrate, we want to not only see a dBA number, but also visualize what frequencies make up that sound. The tool we use to do this is called a Real Time Analyzer, or RTA meter. It shows the relative decibels over the full range of frequencies contained within a sound source.

How many coats of primer on wood?

two coats If you're painting wood without a stain or finish, use a latex or an oil-based primer for the best results. Don't over or under apply the...

Last updated Feb 20, 2021

What are the white keys on a piano called?

The white keys are known as natural notes, and the black keys are known as the sharps and flats. Jul 20, 2017

Last updated Nov 21, 2020

Promotion

Using an RTA meter, we can play different violins (unplugged) and measure not only how loud they sound in a room, but also see to what degree lower bass frequencies are present and thereby judge to what degree they will be audible in a neighboring room, which is really the whole point of the concept of "silent" practice! In this image taken from our testing video (below), shows the readouts of two different violins. The dBA levels are in a similar range, suggesting the perceived loudness in the room would be fairly similar, with the one on the left sounding perhaps slightly more loud. There is, however, a big difference in the frequencies present in each. The left-hand graph contains mid-to-lower range frequencies while the right-hand one has almost none. So, while the two instruments probably sound not too different in the same room, the left-hand instrument probably carries through walls and space further than the right-hand one does. We would conclude that the right-hand violin is a better silent practice instrument that would not bother neighbors.

Watch our demonstration of different unplugged violins

Results

Model Video timestamp Approx. dBA range for mf to ff dynamics Bridge Golden Tasman acoustic-electric violin 03:00 73 - 88 Yamaha SV-250 07:00 63 - 76 Stratton Gypsy 09:22 65 - 80 Yamaha YEV 10:27 58 - 71 Glasser carbon fiber acoustic-electric 10:55 76 - 88 Bridge hollow-body electric 12:10 68 - 81 Cantini Earphonic 13:35 55 - 66 ZETA Jazz Classic 13:54 55 - 71 NS Design CR 14:38 58 - 79 3Dvarius Equinox 15:14 50 - 70 Wood Violins Viper 16:20 48 - 65 (and into the 30's for 6th and 7th strings) Jordan 17:35 58 - 69 Aurora Silhouette 18:45 51 - 67

Violins ranked loudest to quietest

Do sets automatically remove duplicates?

Set does not allow duplicates and sets like LinkedHashSet maintains the order of insertion so it will remove duplicates and elements will be...

Last updated Nov 10, 2022

What is the best app to learn how do you play piano?

1) Pianote – Best App For Learning Piano Pianote curently dominates the piano apps market. With access to real instructors and detailed lessons,...

Last updated Nov 4, 2018

Promotion

Not suitable for "silent practice"

Fine acoustic soloist violin

Orchestral acoustic violin

Student violin

Acoustic-electric violins

Muted violin

Okay for quiet practice, but may penetrate walls due to greater presence of bass and mid-range frequencies

Acoustic violin with heavy practice mute (rubber)

Acoustic violin with heavy practice mute (metal)

Hollow-body electric violin, e.g. Bridge Violins

Good for quiet practice, unlikely to bother people in adjacent rooms

Solid-body electric violins with integrated headphone output: Yamaha SV-series and YSV NS Design CR Ultra-quiet solid-body instruments (these require a headphone amp for headphone practice) Stratton Violins Yamaha YEV NS Design NXTa and WAV violins ZETA 3Dvarius Jordan Aurora Cantini Wood Viper You can use any solid-body violin to practice without disturbing folks in neighboring rooms, and some are even quieter than others (more mass and/or less resonance tend to result in a quieter instrument). If you want a good tonal experience through headphones, then opt for an electric violin with integrated headphone output, such as a Yamaha SV or YSV instrument, or read our article about other ways to make any electric violin into a so-called "silent" practice instrument.

electricviolinshop.com - Q & A: How Quiet Is A 'Silent' Violin? [Video]

What is the easiest riff to learn?

10 Easy to learn guitar riffs for beginners “(I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION” by The Rolling Stones. ... “SMOKE ON THE WATER” by Deep Purple. ......

Last updated Apr 3, 2021

Do cuttings root faster in water or soil?

While propagating in water is probably the most common method, propagating plant cuttings in soil is the most highly-recommended way to go about...

Last updated Sep 24, 2018

Promotion

How many piano keys is enough?

Most keyboards come with 66, 72, or 88 keys. For a beginner, 66 keys are sufficient for learning to play, and you can play most music on a 72-key...

Last updated Dec 25, 2020

Promotion

Should I type with 2 fingers?

Typing Accuracy Since you need to be looking at the keys much more when typing with two fingers, you are less likely to catch mistakes as you make...

Last updated Oct 26, 2018