OFFLINE Yamaha SLB300PRO Silent Double Bass

Full Description

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Designed for a Pure Acoustic Tone and Feel

Like all other Yamaha Silent Basses, the SLB300 Pro has a hollow body with side slits that mimics the acoustic resonance of an acoustic double bass while maintaining a quiet volume. The SLB300 Pro features an improved bridge using Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E) on the wood. A.R.E is a special process which Yamaha uses to artificially age the wood to achieve a tone and resonance that would only be found on older instruments that have been played for many years.

What's special about Yamaha Silent Basses in general is the design that allows you to play the instrument without needing to adjust your technique to it. The instrument feels like an acoustic double bass thanks to the natural woods used and the traditional style bridge. Often on electric uprights a plastic bridge is used however this won't sound or feel the same as a traditional bridge as they are designed to flex and move with the strings.

Upgraded materials and build quality

The SLB300 Pro features enhancements to the materials and build quality that makes it feel better as well as sound better. The fingerboard is made of ebony which is rare to find on double basses in general. The neck is a curly maple with beautiful natural patterns on it. The body has an antique like finish with a tactile grain that feels vintage. The tuning machine heads are gold plated for an extra premium feel and the control panel has a tortoise shell appearance to further refine the look.

Yamaha also improved the design of the tailwire on the SLB300 Pro. Each wire originally used 49 0.22-millimeter strands but on the SLB300 pro this now uses 343 0.06-millimeter strands of wire. This increases the flexibility and contributes to the soft body resonance that is similar to acoustic instruments.

Digital technology that replicates natural acoustics

The SLB300 range uses modern advancements in digital technology to enhance the sound of your instrument. Yamaha's Studio Response Technology (SRT) is used to analyse and capture the acoustic properties of acoustic instruments. This is then added live to the sound of the Silent Bass to enhance the quality and increase the acoustic sounding nature of the instrument. This is a genuine simulation and no samples are involved so the individual nuances of your playing is enhanced with this technology.

The SLB300 Pro uses a specially designed and optimized SRT Powered System that achieves levels of acoustic reality never seen before in the Silent Bass range. Yamaha also have included microphone simulations into the SRT Powered System. There are three types of microphones you can choose from and then blend the wet and dry signals together. These types are:

1. Rich – A vintage tube microphone
2. Simple – A dynamic microphone
3. Warm – A tube microphone that emphasizes low range and increases warmth

Like all Silent Basses before it the SLB300 Pro has bass and treble EQ knobs which allows you to adjust your tone to any context you need.

Yamaha

Yamaha are well known for their superb electronic instruments. The Silent Strings series also includes violins, violas and cellos. They also produce the Silent Brass series of practice mutes which allow you to plug in headphones for practicing brass instruments like the trumpet and tuba. If you're a classical guitar player, then they also produce a Silent Series guitar for you too.

Yamaha 5 Year Extended Warranty

As a premium brand, Yamaha are proud to offer a free five-year extended warranty when the purchase of your instrument is registered within six months of purchase. Please visit the Yamaha website for the full terms and conditions and to register your warranty.

3 Months Free Tomplay Premium Subscription

When you register your instrument you can get a three-month premium subscription to Tomplay where you can access over 40,000 scores with backing tracks. You are able to filter by musical style, composer, difficulty and accompaniment type and interact with the scores. The pieces are all recorded by professional musicians and you can control the tempo and even record yourself playing. If you wish, you can also print and annotate your score and create loops to focus on those more difficult passages. For more information, please see the Yamaha/Tomplay website.

Specifications

• Size: String Length 1,040mm (41")
• Neck: Curly Maple
• Body: Spruce/Mahogany
• Frame: Beech (Detachable)
• Finger Board: Ebony
• Peg: Worm gear type (Thick type)
• Tailpiece: Ebony (Reverse Type)
• Bridge: Maple with A.R.E (Height Adjustable)
• Pickup: Piezo Pickup
• Strings: D'Addario Helicore Hybrid Light
• Electric Controls: Volume control knob, Treble control knob, Bass control knob / Bypass button, Blend control knob / Microphone type switch button
• In/Out Jacks: Line Out
• Power Supply: AA battery (alkali or nickel hydrogen) x 2
• Battery Life: Alkaline - Approx. 32 hours, Nickel hydrogen - Approx. 26 hours
• Weight: Approx. 7.0 kg (15 lbs. 7 oz.)
• Accessories: Soft case, Mute, Allen wrench