Making an inexpensive "silent" practice guitar

Well, it happened again.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve gotten a noise complaint from a neighbor.  I thought for sure that the last one, in the previous apartment complex I lived in, would be it. I'm not that lucky I guess. A couple of months ago, in a new place, I got one again. I was upset  to say the least. What kind of loser neighbor calls in and complains about an acoustic guitar being too loud? Apparently the ones I always seem to end up next door to…

No matter. After I cooled off about the situation I decided to take action. Though I gave it a try at others recommendations, playing with a piece of cloth or foam stuck up underneath the strings was not going to be an option for me. I don’t know how a serious guitarist can deal with that. It completely kills all string sustain and your guitar ends up sounding like a banjo with a pillow stuffed inside it. Sure, its quiet, but its also terrible! I thought about getting an electric guitar and keeping it unplugged, but they are hard to hear when playing along with songs with headphones on and (more importantly) don't have the substantial body size of an acoustic I'm used to. I needed a better answer.

My solution was to get myself a cheap 100-dollar-or-less guitar that I could stuff full of material to deaden the volume without killing the sustain of the strings.  I got online, headed to Musicians Friend, and compared specs and reviews of a few bottom of the barrel acoustic guitar models. I ended up with a Fender something or other. The main selling points for me were that it had decent tuners, an adjustable truss rod, and a full scale length (the length of the strings from nut to bridge; some are longer or shorter than others).

The solution in its completed form.

Within two or three days it arrived. I just happened to have the day off work when it was delivered, so I could get right down to making it into my silent (or more accurately more silent than before) practice guitar. It ended up being a very simple process.

First of all, I had to hear what the guitar could do before being doctored. After tuning it up, it proved to be a surprisingly loud and decent sounding instrument, considering it was made entirely of laminated wood. After playing around with it for a few minutes, it was time to get to work. I took the stock strings off and proceeded to fill the body with at least 6 tee shirts, a pair of pajama pants, and one large flannel shirt. I then re-strung it with my preferred strings, tuned it back up, and gave it a go. It was perfect. Gone was the "boominess" that seems to travel so easily through walls and floors. Though it was quiet, it still had more than enough volume to be heard over headphones when playing along with tunes.

The only other modification I did was to tear off the original pickguard and tape on an unused archtop guitar's pickguard. I did this only because my playing style doesn't work so well with the traditional round soundhole. I needed something to slide my fingers back and forth on when playing faster single note material.

Stuffed and ready to play with added pickguard.

So far so good. While a bit heavy (10-15lbs) this “guitar suitcase” proved an inexpensive way to deal with that noise complaint. If you are like me, there is only so much you are willing to compromise in your musicianship- and not practicing or practicing with foam jammed under the strings is not a compromise I’m willing to make. If you are in a similar need-to-limit-volume situation, go for it. For about 100 dollars and a few old shirts, you can get back to practicing the way you want to.