YAMAHA UNVEILS SILENT BASS™ AT SUMMER NAMM

The Yamaha Silent Bass brings the silent play capability, amplification options and rich tone of the Yamaha Silent Series to bass players.

NASHVILLE, TN (June 7, 2000)—The highly-anticipated debut of Yamaha’s Silent Bass™ took place at the Summer NAMM trade show.

The Silent Bass is an upright, electric instrument that is sized to standard scale. The stunning tone is sure to be appreciated by players and audiences alike, while the Yamaha-developed silent technology allows bass players to practice silently anywhere. A detachable frame makes traveling with an upright bass easier than ever.

Though prototypes of the Silent Bass were shown and tested at the Midwest Band Clinic, the International Association of Jazz Educator’s Conference, the Winter NAMM trade show and the Texas Music Educators Conference, Summer NAMM was the first public unveiling of the production model. More than 50 professionals and educators took part in product evaluations of the prototypes, including several live performances.

"Our design team learned a lot during sessions with professional players and educators," said Michael Schaner, product manager, Band & Orchestral Division, Yamaha Corporation of America. "In fact, we incorporated several of the suggestions made by these individuals into the final design."

A detachable frame makes the Yamaha Silent Bass remarkably easy to travel with.

The Silent Bass joins an award-winning family of Silent String™ instruments, including the Silent Electric Violin™–honored by Popular Science Magazine with a "Best of What’s New" award in 1998–and two models of the Silent Cello™. The original Silent Cello was recently honored with a bronze medal from Mono Magazine’s "Super Goods of the Year 1999" award in the musical instruments/hobby category. It also won the Judges’ "Special Award for Design."

Not to be outdone, the Compact Silent Cello™ has won awards worldwide for its design, including the prestigious "Highest Design Quality" award at the Red Point 2000 contest in Germany and a Bronze Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and Business Week.

For more information on Yamaha Band & Orchestral products, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, 3445 East Paris Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49512; call (616) 940-4900; contact your authorized Yamaha dealer; send e-mail to info@yamaha.com; or visit the Yamaha Web site at www.yamaha.com/band.

Please send Comments and Suggestions to: (InfoStation@yamaha.com)