First of all, find a studio and a teacher who has a lot of electronic equipment and understands how to use it -- and is also, of course, an accomplished violinist! I have been teaching and performing on electric violin for the past 7 years and I have a lot of equipment! My Orono location is home to a high-end studio complete with mesa-boogie stadium amp, high-end Lexicon reverb and delay units, and a host of peddles, acoutic amps, and other effects boxes (and, of course, stereo sound). I can even attach a mic to your acoustic violin with an AMT rigged set-up.
Learning to play electric violin shares many similarities with studying acoustic violin, with a few important differences. The first is that almost every acoustic violin is shaped and tuned the same way. Electric violins, however, can come in many shapes and varieties, including 4-string, 5-string, 7-string, fretted, and some with the upper bout removed entirely to allow easier playing in the higher positions. And, in fact, your acoustic violin can be "converted" into an electric by attaching either a microphone or a piezo pickup to the body. Most other electric violins use a solid body, just like most electric guitars (such as the familiar stratocaster)
While there are many electric violins on the market by large volume manufacturers, most of these just don't sound very good. You can find some of the more popular electric violins pictured below; all are recommended models.
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| Yamaha 4-String |
Yamaha 4-string. In general, I am not a fan of mass produced instruments. Part of the Yamaha silent series, this model (SV-200) features a dual piezo pickup. This is supposed to improve the sensitivity of the instrument to the subtleties of your playing, especially dynamic range. Coming in at around $1000, this instrument is cheaper than the others I will review below. I thought the instrument was indeed responsive, certainly more so than previoys Yamaha instruments. The on-board pre-amp allows for some sound manipulation on the instrument itself rather than in a separate, detached unit. The down-side of this is that it increases the weight of the violin.
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| NS Designs 4-String |
NS-Designs 4-String. NS Designs uses a proprietary piezo pickup that is designed to be very clean and sound more like an acoustic violin in its unprocessed state. While the model pictured is a 4-string, I experimented with a5-string model, and I thought that the neck was overly thick and the instrument rather heavy. Still, if you are looking for a clean sound, this might be the instrument for you. This model comes in at around $2,200.
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| Zeta Boyd Tinsley |
Zeta has earned itself a lot of hype in part because Boyd Tinseley, of Dave Matthew's band, uses this model. In fact, it is called the "Boyd Tinsley." Zeta also uses a proprietary piezo pick-up that has a very characteristic sound. If you have ever heard Santana play guitar, then you probably recognize his distinctive sound that comes from the combination of his Paul Reed Smith guitar coupled with a Mesa Boogie amp. Most of the sound coming out of that amp, no matter how the sound is EQ'd sounds "Boogified" to me. Similarly, I felt playing on this instrument that my sound would get "Zeta'd" by the pick-up. A big downside to this zeta model is that it is quite heavy. This violin is priced at around $1,700.
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| Mark Wood 7 String Fretted |
Mark Wood 7-string Fretted flying V. Mark wood recognized that trying to hold a 7-string fretted violin under the neck is quite difficult, due to the weight. Thus, he designed and patented a "flying v-shape" with a strap that fits around your torso and holds the violin up into a playing position. Though it can take some time to get used to, this design really does support the weight of the fiddle well. This model is fretted and make no mistake about it, this is a big adjustment for the classical player. In fact, if you have ever played a mandolin, you probably realize how much the frets can change things. Sliding and vibrato techniques are very difficult on a fretted instrument. are In my opinion, the frets are best for allowing guitar players and others to navigate around the usual requirement of pinpoint accuracy with finger placement which is necessary for playing in tune on the an acoustic violin. This model, which is the flagship instrument in his line of electric violins, is priced at $3500. He also makesd unfretted versions that are cheaper and preferable to some. He uses either Barbera or Schatten pickups, which are mass produced piezo pickeps that are used in many different electric violins.
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| Jordan 5-String |
Jordan 5-string flamed wood. Mr. John Jordan makes custom electric violins in almost every material and combination of material, strings and frets that you can imagine. He used to work for Zeta but started his own design studio when he became disillusioned by Zeta's increasingly commercial attitude. Jordan handcrafts each instrument using his patented shape, which eliminates the peg-box and puts machined tuners near the bridge. This is designed to make the instrument lighter. Jordan is very much the luthier of electric instruments and many of his models, particularly the ones made of wood, are very attractive. Jordan uses a variety of pickups, including Zeta's proprietary model. In addition he likes the Barbera piezo pickup for a more "Stradivarius-like" sound, and recommends this pick-up for classical musicians. For rock, jazz and pop, he suggests using the darker, more "Guarneri-like" Ashworth piezo pick-up. Like most other electric violin makers, his 5-string unfretted is his most popular model. It seems to have a thinner neck than other electrics, such as the NS Design violin. This instrument comes in at around $2,300.
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| Acoustic Violin with Pickup |
Acoustic Violin with Pickup. All of the violins described above are solid-body models. This means that the instrument has no resonating chamber and therefore produces little to no sound unless it is plugged in. Another way to create an "electric violin" is to replace the bridge with a piezo pickup bridge-mount that can be plugged in just like a solid body. The downside to this is that these pickups often do not sound as good, and feedback can be an issue. However, this option can sound quite nice and retains the shape and lightness of the acoustic violin. Common piezo models are the Fishman series and the L.R. Baggs. There are also several smaller "custom" companies that make these pickups, and it can be useful to try these if you don't like the sound of the Fishman/Baggs. This setup shares all of the same disadvantages as any other violin fitted with a piezo pickup.
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| Violin with AMT Microphone |
Violin with Microphone. Pictured above is an AMT model microphone fitted to an ordinary acoustic violin, which extends into one of the f-holes. This is designed to accurately reproduce the classical musician's customary acoustic sound. The quality of the microphone is essential since feedback can be an issue, as can the quality of the sound. This is probably the best way, however, to reproduce your acoustic violin sound for increased volume or to plug-in to units that can manipulate the sound. They have individually designed microphones for dozens of instruments and are an excellent company.
Pickups: What all electric violins share is the need for an electronic pickup to transmit your playing to a unit capable of sound manipulation, such as a pre-amp or rack unit, and ultimately to another unit capable of sound production. The two major types of pick-ups in use in today's plugged-in instruments are piezo and electromagnetic. Piezo pickups are used almost exclusively for electric violins. They have certain characteristics that some players find less than ideal. While a bow change on an acoustic violin can be completely silent to the listener, the piezo pickup will always transmit bow changes and bow noise. The reason for this is that they are sensitive to pressure as their primary means of reproducing sound, and bow pressure is always variable. Also, piezo pick-ups have a tendency to sound fuzzy. Many different piezo pick-ups exist on the market, and some electric violin companies use their own proprietary models. The other type of pickup in use for electric violins is the electro-magnetic pickup. This is the pickup found in most guitars, and is considered the ideal form of sound transmission. While it is possible to build this type of pickup into an electric violin, it requires rather extensive modifications to the electric violin's internal design and is rarely used. Perhaps in the future this type of pickup will become more available.
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| Lexicon Sound Processor |
Sound Manipulation: En route to reaching our ears, the electric violin's signal usually is passed through a unit (or more often several units) capable of sound manipulation. Many of the same devices used by electric guitar players may also be used for the violin. For instance, reverb and delay units by Lexicon can provide warmth and depth of sound, while distortion boxes can allow the violin sound to approximate that of the guitar (a la Jimmy Hendrix playing America at Woodstock). There are literally hundreds of different devices, including pedals, that can manipulate the sound. Below is one of Lexicon's top of the line reverb rack units. Computers are also increasingly used for sound manipulation, although the quality may not yet equal the finest rack units.
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| L.R. Baggs Pre-amp |
For electric violins employing a pickup, a pre-amp is necessary to intensify the signal from your violin, and to allow you to EQ the sound. One example of a popular preamp is the L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI, pictured below. Some electric violins also have on-board pre-amps.
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| Fishman Loudbox 100 |
Further sound manipulation and signal intensification occurs when the signal is passed through an amplifier. Because most amps work best with mid and low frequency tones, it can be difficult to find a good amp for the electric violin, and even then it is usually necessary to spend a lot of time playing with the EQ, or you can purchase a "pre-amp" with more controls. Pictured left is a popular Fishman amplifier, the Loudbox 100. One concern with amplifiers is that each leaves its own imprint on your sound.
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| Yamaha PA System |
For a more true reproduction of your sound, a PA system with speakers can also be used. The sound can still be EQ'd with a personal PA system like the Yamaha unit pictured below.
Sound Production: Finally, the signal, after passing through the different sound manipulation devices, is broadcast to our ears by speakers. Usually, these are built into the amp. You can also add additional speakers to create a stereo effect.
If you are looking to more or less duplicate your acoustic sound, playing electric violin may not be very satisfying to you. But for participating in a band, it allows the violin to speak with the same volume as the other instruments, and to alter the sound to fit in better with a rock or pop style of music.
That being said, electric violin usually requires a potentially rather expensive foray into electronic equipment, which can be a lot of fun but also difficult since the sound you are searching for may take a lot of time to find, and may require testing a lot of different gear. Finding "your" sound can be a journey. Some of the more neat things you can do is use a 5-string, which adds a "c string," or employ an octave pedal, which can drop your pitch an entire octave. Or you can play with distortion or a wah-wah pedal. And, while excellent technique is vital for classical music, electric violin can be more forgiving.
I do play electric violin and have an extensive collection of gear, including several different amps and lots of boxes for sound manipulation. It can be a fun way to participate in groups where ordinary acoustic violin has traditionally been absent.
