So-called 'silent' or headphone practice is a point of confusion for many customers. We are often being asked:
- Is this violin silent?
- How loud is the violin unplugged?
- Can I play this violin through headphones?
- Can I use Bluetooth headphones (or earbuds) with this violin?
- What do I need to practice through headphones?
In this explainer, we'll answer all of these questions and cover everything you need to know about 'silent' headphone practice!
Is this violin silent?
SILENT™ is a branding term used by the Yamaha Corporation. Yamaha has created entire lines of SILENT™ instruments, including guitars, digital pianos, orchestral strings (violin/viola/cello/upright bass), as well as digital woodwind instruments and SILENT Brass™, which are digitally eqiupped mutes for acoustic brass instruments.
Yamaha's SILENT™ branding has been so effective that it has become eponymous with the idea of headphone musical instrument practice!
When someone asks us "is this violin silent?" we must first clarify whether they are asking if it is able to play through headphones, or if they're asking whether it's without acoustic sound. Many people who ask this question are under the impression that the term 'silent' means actually silent--it does not.
When you play a Yamaha SILENT Violin™ or any other brand or model of electric violin, you will produce sound acoustically. Drawing a bow across a string in anything other than vacuum will produce at least some sound. How loud that sound is depends on the construction of the instrument, which leads us to our next question...
How loud is the violin unplugged?
In electric music parlence, unplugged means played acoustically (remember MTV's Unplugged concerts from the 1990s?) or, simply, unamplified. Acoustic instruments--the traditional ones that are designed to play loudly enough for an audience to hear without amplification--are of course loud on their own. This is especially the case with soloistic instruments like the violin and cello, for which composers write concerti and that can fill a concert hall with sound, even above the accompanying orchestra!
The reason acoustic stringed instruments are loud on their own is the resonance of their body, the top and back vibrating openly with the help of string tension and a bridge and soundpost to pass sound between them, and open f-holes to help project that sound into the room. You can practice acoustic instruments more quietly with the aid of a heavy practice mute (made of rubber or metal), but it is pointless to play an acoustic-electric instrument through headphones, since you can't really quiet it enough to justify using headphones, and you don't need the headphones since you can hear it on its own.
So what about fully electric instruments--how quiet are they? Like guitarists, we use the term solid-body to describe electric instruments without a resonating chamber. Most electric instruments we carry are of the solid-body variety and are based on a solid piece of wood (or sometimes other material like acrylic or carbon fiber). The means of producing sound is a transducer, aka 'pickup,' which converts the vibrations of the string into an electrical current that can be amplified.
Without much body resonance, solid body instruments are very quiet when played unplugged, although they are not silent. Watch our video demonstrating the relative loudness of an acoustic violin vs. a Yamaha SILENT Violin™...
In this next video you can hear several different solid-body violin models played and compare their relative loudness (unplugged). The video covers and expands upon a lot of the info we've already discussed, so feel free to skip around to different playing examples. Use your ears as well as the RTA meter in the corner of the video to compare how loud/quiet these violins are...
A final word on the topic of "how loud is it unplugged?" -- The major factor is the solidness and density of the violin's body. Some electric violin makers intentionally create a hollow, semi-hollow, or partly chambered body design, as opposed to a completely solid body. Their reason for doing this is to allow some body resonance to accentuate the overtones present in the signal produced by the pickup. This in turn allows for a more resonant, full-frequency tone when playing direct into an amplification system, resulting in a more organic tone right from the instrument's output, before you even get into processing the signal.
The trade-off to semi-hollow or chambered construction is that it won't play as queitly unplugged. If you aren't concerned about being heard by others when practicing, then this is not an issue, but if you're goal is the quietest possible unplugged practicing experience, then avoid an instrument with chambered body resonance (e.g. Bridge Violins, any acoustic-electric violin).
Can I play this violin through headphones?
The short answer is: yes, you can play any violin in the world through headphones! Now, as discussed above, with acoustic-electric and hollow-body electric instruments, there would be no point in doing so, as you can hear just fine without headphones, and you can't make them quieter without the use of a practice mute. But, for all other electric instruments, you can connect headphones and hear yourself, while others cannot, but...
...the caveat to that statement has to do with whether you can connect headphones directly to the instrument, or whether some other device is required in order to make use of headphones.
For players interested in a quiet practice violin, the benefit of certain models is that a powered headphone output is built directly into the instrument or included control box. These models include the Yamaha SILENT™ series, the GEWA Novita violins & cellos, and the NS Design CR-series violin, viola, and cello.
The Choice For Headphone Practice-Only (Not Performance Capable)
The Yamaha YSV104 model does not have a direct headphone output, but rather comes with a small powered control box to which you connect headphones. The control box, called the STV-2V Personal Studio Module, has two built-in reverb modes and an auxilliary input (AUX IN) that allows you connect an external audio source for play-along practice. the YSV104 and its Personal Studio Module are not designed for connecting to amplification gear so, while we recommend the YSV104 as a great practice-only instrument, we do not suggest getting it if you wish to also play amplified.
Violins Using External Preamp With Headphone Jack
The Yamaha SV-250/SV-255 violins also do not connect directly to headphones, but rather through an included external preamplifier. This preamp has a headphone output, allowing you to play through headphones, however, it doesn't have a reverb effect, so the sound is dry and very direct. There is no AUX IN
Instruments With Built-In Headphone Outputs
The Yamaha SV-200 violin, SVV-200 viola, SVC-50/SVC-110/SVC-210/SVC300 cellos, and the SLB line of upright basses strike a great balance between headphone practice and amplified performance. They include a direct headphone output and onboard reverb effects, but no AUX IN.
The GEWA Novita 3.0 violin and cello has an onboard headphone output and AUX IN for play-along to musical tracks, but no onboard reverb effect.
The NS Design CR-series instruments all have headphone jacks for silent practice and self-monitoring during amplified performance, but no AUX IN.
If you want a quiet instrument that you can connect headphones directly into, any of the below are excellent choices!
Can I use Bluetooth headphones with this violin?
No. The answer is 100%, unequivocally no. That sounds absolute, but it's true, and the reason is latency, which can range from 32 milliseconds to 300 milliseconds or more. Latency is the delay between when you play a note and when you hear it. Bluetooth is a protocol for compressing and decompressing data for wireless transmission over very short distances using very low power. It's perfect for listening to music from your phone through earbuds, but it is highly problematic when monitoring your own playing, where even a few milliseconds of latency can be noticeable and confusing.
If you want to understand how much latency there is with Bluetooth audio, try pulling up a YouTube video on your phone, and connect your audio to your car stereo via Bluetooth. If there is speaking or singing in the video, you'll notice that the person's lips mouth the words very noticeably early than you hear the words coming through your car's speakers. Now, imagine your brain attempting to practice the violin effectively while hearing notes a noticeable length of time after your hands played them. It just doesn't work.
Therefore, the short answer is you must use wired headphones when practicing, which will allow you to play with zero latency.*
*As always, there is an exception to this rule. In this case, BOSS has designed a very specific product that allows you to play through headphones wirelessly with almost no latency at all. It is called the WAZA-AIR, and it uses radio frequency transmission (RF) to connect your violin to the WAZA headphones using a small BOSS wireless transmitter. Not only does this grant you wireless headphone practice, but the WAZA-AIR includes an amazing suite of effects and spatial technology for 3D in-room sound. If you're a serious and dedicated electric player who needs the best possible quiet practice solution, you can't do better than using the BOSS WAZA-AIR with your solid-body electric instrument!
What do I need to practice through headphones?
It may seem funny to end rather than begin here, but unless you skipped to this section, you've learned what quiet practice truly is and is not, about how some instruments come equipped with headphone outputs, and what type of headphones you can (wired or BOSS WAZA-AIR) and cannot (Bluetooth) use with your instrument.
Now we get to expand upon the ways you can practice through headphones. The wonderful thing is that you don't need a headphone output on your instrument in order to play it through headphones! All electric instruments (solid-body instruments with a pickup and an instrument level 1/4" (7.8mm) output), can be played through headphones--the difference is that you will need a headphone amplifying device in order to do so.
As mentioned above, the pickup(s) on your electric instrument convert your strings' vibrations into a small electrical current, and this current travels out of your instrument through a connected cable. Now, when we say "small electrical current," we do mean small. This current is nowhere near strong enough to power anything, be it loudspeakers or even headphone speakers. The signal from your pickup must be boosted--amplified--in order to power headphones or speakers.
In order to boost your signal to power headphones, you will need to plug into any device that outputs a signal at headphone-level strength. How will you know whether a given piece of equipment can output at headphone-level strength? Easy--it will have a headphone jack!
Our current pick for best headphone practice add-on is the BOSS KATANA:GO. The KATANA:GO is a very small device that plugs directly into your instrument's 1/4" output jack. It amplifies your signal for headphones, which plug directly into it. It also has a full suite of amazing onboard effects, so that you'll have a highly realistic and rewarding practice experience.
Another great choice is a multi-FX processor with headphone output. Similar to the BOSS KATANA:GO, using a multi-FX gives you the benefit of adding effects. Even if you aren't trying to go nuts with distortion, simply adding a small amount of reverb and/or delay will drastically improve your playing experience by giving a sense of space to your sound, so it isn't so overly close and present in your headphones. A really affordable and compact multi-FX option we recommend that has headphone output is the Line 6 POD Express.
Lastly, if you're on a shoestring budget, a bare bones headphone amp such as the Electro-Harmonix Headphone Amp will allow you to connect headphones. Basic headphone amps such as this don't typically have anything in the way of effects or EQ, so be prepared for a very in-your-face direct sound coming through your headphones. It won't sound altogether natural and spacious, but it will get the job done in a quiet-practice pinch.
The above options by no means exhaust the possibilities. As mentioned, any device that accepts an instrument level input and has a headphone jack will work. Some are more convenient than others, and some boast great tone and practicing features while others do not. In addition to headphone amps and multi-FX processors, you can also use a desktop USB interface, which is designed for getting audio signal into your computer for DAW recording. Interface units have preamps and headphone outputs for monitoring. You can use one by itself for headphone practice, but it is really useful in conjunction with a DAW (e.g. GarageBand, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton, Reaper, Cubase, FL Studio, etc.). We like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for its value, versatility, and included software bundle.
Last, but in no way least, is a great choice that we recommend for many players--a practice amplifier! Any amp with a headphone output can be considered a practice amplifier, although all are suitable for playing aloud, and some are designed as performance-worthy amps that just happen to have a headphone output feature. While not as compact as any of the aforementioned solutions, a practice amp provides a lot of versatility, as you can amplify for performance or play quietly through the headphone output, and amps typically offer anywhere from a handful of useful effects to full onboard effects suites.
Below are three of our favorite great-sounding, compact practice amps, the Yamaha THR5a acoustic amp, the Yamaha THR10II with electric guitar amp models and effects, and the Fishman Loudbox Micro acoustic amp. The choice is not limited to these three, as any amps in our catalog that have a headphone output feature will work just as well.
