Electric practice violin with plain gut strings

February 16, 2007 at 01:37 AM · I don't own an electric nor have I ever played one. However, I think it is a simple question of whether the "pickup" is

A. Piezo (under the bridge feet or somewhere in the bridge).

or

B. magnetic

If A, then gut will work. If B, then strings must be steel.

Classical guitars use piezo to achieve electric amplification with non-steel strings.

February 20, 2007 at 02:43 AM · Thanks Bilbo. Will look into this further.

March 29, 2007 at 07:45 PM · There is also 3rd type of pickup which is ceramic (I think) and picks up the vibrations just like the ceramic element record players. I know this because when I scratch or knock on the body of the instrument, it's being amplified just like on record players.

I have an electric fiddle that has this type of pickup and any string works as long as it vibrates.

These pickups usually are directly under the bridge and are found on cheap chinese made electric violins like the Sojing brand.

April 1, 2007 at 10:08 AM · I just read the alarming word Sojing. You are a classical violinist, so you want and need an instrument with which you FEEL GOOD. Here come some criteria for buying an electric. I am electric violinist for more than 20 years.

Shape:

- choose between various solidbody and skeletal instruments – but - "achtung, baby":

- certain instrument shapes are instable, tend to bend, won’t stay in tune (the treble clef shaped “things”) or were reported to break (the big S shaped products).

- If your favourite instrument has an uncommon shape – is a special shoulderrest provided? How does it fit and feel?

Wood materials and manufacture:

- neck: polished?, laquered? – how does it feel?

- fingerboard: ebony? hardwood or softwood painted black? plastic? - corrugated or even?: look along it against light

- pegs: ebony? hardwood painted black? plastic? - do they fit properly / stay in tune? – if possible test with peg compound: where it sticks to the peg after turning it several times, there is no contact to the peghole.

- Body: weight? Top-heavy? Does your favourite shoulderrest fit / does the instrument’s (rudimentary) ribs have a rim?

- the bridge is often roughly cut (esp. the feet) and a bit too high – this is fine: your luthier can adapt it to your needs (see below!).

Projection:

- is the angle neck to body OK? – measure from mid-upper-edge end of fingerboard down to the body: flat-top solidbodies or skeletals: approx. 26 mm, semiacoustics: approx. 20 mm.

- too flat projection may cause instability.

- the bridge / the strings-to fingerboard distances may be too high – in some cases a luthier cannot cut down the bridge enough (not enough wood above the heart) to make playing comfortable for you: the instrument will need a new bridge.

Pickup (transducer) / electronics:

- test your future new instrument thoroughly. It should sound fine with a STANDARD guitar amp, (Fender tube amp) when you cut the treble control frequencies on the amp a bit (because of “the screachies”: frequent piezo disease).

- most cheap up to mid-price e-violins are equipped with a cheap piezo transducer under the bridge (popular: Artec 8888). Some producers even replaced it with an even worse device.

- the Artec doesn’t sound THAT bad purely – but many producers have added active electronics to eliminate the well-known screechy character of many of the piezo transducer family products, improving the Artec sound to the worse (muffled and flat – no clearness / brilliance, no “ground”).

- also test the often provided onboard headphones amp – many make a lot of noise or are even distorting.

- Some instruments have a plastic electronics unit pinned to the bottom including potentiometers, jacks and a battery compartment. Mostly the components are very cheap, are not replaceable and tend to make nasty noise soon. Not reliable.

- Some semiacoustics have slider units (see above) or battery compartments “nailed” to the ribs or elsewhere without proper adaptation to the curvatures of the corresponding body parts.

- I have even seen semiacoustics with a Barcus-Berry piezo bridge installed the wrong way round (piezo element under the e-string).

Connections:

- have a look at the output jack(s): mini jack or 1/4 inch standard (guitar) phone jack? Headphones jack may be mini (mono signal to stereo) jack, output should be 1/4’’ jack.

- Where is the output jack placed? – On the right (bow arm) side the cable may tear down the instrument (weight on the wrong side) and interfere with the bow arm.

Forget the bow delivered with cheap e-violins: light the open fire with it or break it on purpose in a show – it’s too soft, often twisted, tending to bend to the wrong side etc….

Use your own fine bow (I believe you started with and are still playing a tradional acoustic violin).

Forget the cables supplied with cheap stuff: limited frequency range, bad shielding, bad plugs…

Forget the rosin – buy something serious for few money at your luthiers’.

The cases are cheap foam but do their job – as long as you don’t let it fall down with your instrument inside. Temperature isolation sometimes is better than with expensive cases.

Once again “achtung”: Big recommended music industry names don’t mean EVERYBODY is satisfied – many musicians spend a lot of money and only believe that THIS HAS TO BE IT – because of the price / the pain having spent much money. If you want to buy an instrument above USD 1000 make sure the company has an adequate return policy. You’ll probably need it, because very few serviceable instruments or almost none can be tested even in bigger music shops – only the big Y and F (last of low-mid price range) are represented here and there. See above.

If you go to your luthier and buy a manufactured instrument for a moderate price (USD 300 or 400) you'll have a fine basic material which FEELS GOOD and which you can electrify with a piezo bridge of your choice

http://www.barberatransducers.com/

http://www.headwayelectronics.com/

http://www.ashworthelectronics.co.uk/

http://www.barcusberry.com/

or with a magnetic humbucker

http://members.aol.com/bowtronics/

http://www.uli-boesking.de/rebo/

The magnetic PUs won't mute the acoustic sound of your instrument as the piezo bridges do.

Then think about building in the jack into the ribs of the violin

http://www.uli-boesking.de/rebo/inst_gal/Seiten/12moe_gr.htm

or using a Carpenter style jack.

http://www.uli-boesking.de/rebo/inst_gal/Seiten/03cze_gr.htm

Some systems need a preamp: you can buy an external one or go to a GOOD guitar repair shop and let them build the preamp in. I did it this way on one of my violins - the preamp is a custom design - not bigger as a thumbnail - fixed in the inside on the output jack. The battery compartment is adapted to the curvature and inserted into the ribs

http://www.uli-boesking.de/rebo/inst_gal/Seiten/14blu_gr.htm

http://www.uli-boesking.de/rebo/inst_gal/Seiten/13moe_gr.htm

As you know, on a trad. acoustic instrument you can put a heavy metal "hotel mute". This is as silent acoustically as any electric solidbody violin. For better listening you can use headphones.

April 2, 2007 at 09:25 PM · Excellent. Thanks Ulrich.

Jon