Electric violins

March 25, 2023, 9:19 PM · I don’t play electric violin but I do play electric guitar. You will not have to worry about adapting to the source of the sound. I’ve never given it a thought.

March 25, 2023, 9:58 PM · In terms of rhe source kf the sound, you could use headphones. If you are very concerned you could get an electro acoustic violin.

Electric violins are a bit of a different beast. You do not feel the resonance in the same way, etc. Not quite the same instrument. Yes, that way they can mess with technique, but it is usually not an issue.

March 25, 2023, 10:54 PM · You could practice on an electric violin and listen through earphones (of any sort).

I have never played an electric violin but I did try an electric cello once (over 20 years ago) with headphones and it sounded like a cello and played and felt like one. I have played cello for more than 70 years - (so I know what one sounds like). It seems reasonable to assume an electric violin would react similarly.

March 26, 2023, 7:39 AM · Andrew, your opinions are usually spot on. The ekectric instruments I have tried would not be confused for their acoustic counterparts.

When you say sounded like, how similar was the sound? If it was very similar, what instrument did you try?

March 26, 2023, 7:39 AM · Andrew, your opinions are usually spot on. The ekectric instruments I have tried would not be confused for their acoustic counterparts.

When you say sounded like, how similar was the sound? If it was very similar, what instrument did you try?

March 26, 2023, 8:13 AM · Mark, by "sounded like" I meant it was within the range of cellos I had played.
The instrument was an Italian brand, whose name I do not recall.

Interestingly, it looked nothing like a cello, but it felt like one when being played - all the right contacts with my body parts.

March 26, 2023, 9:40 AM · Thanks for your advice! What’s a good electric violin to start with?

March 26, 2023, 9:50 AM · It depends on what you are looking for in an instrument. If you want something relatively close to an acoustic and just want to get your feet wet, the yamahas are good choices.

If you want something different than an acoustic, more strings, bass range, etc. There are a lot of options. The Viper is one of the top of the line models.

March 26, 2023, 10:01 AM · I have experience with a couple of electric "silent" violins -- a generic Chinese one that runs about $100, and the more professional NS Design Wav4 which runs about $750.

As you note, with no amplification playing these is pretty similar to playing a violin with a brass practice mute. It's fine for certain practice settings, though because of the lack of sound response it's better for left hand practice than bowing.

Amplified -- if you're an experienced string player you will probably hate the sound. The NS Design is considered a high quality electric violin but the sound is pretty awful to my ears.

If you are looking for an amplified violin for performance, I would look into adding a good quality pickup to a decent acoustic violin.

The one thing these silent violins are good for is travel. The NS Design is basically a fingerboard with minimal body so it can fit in a backpack on the plane, and you have none of the complications of trying to bring a violin case. Join it with a short 3/4 size bow and you can travel anywhere.

March 26, 2023, 12:16 PM · Will the violin with the amp turned off cause me to have a negative change to my technique if I practice on the instrument without the same kind of volume response?

--> No, I practice on my electric all the time when I don't want loud violin under my ear. It's pretty much the same as a "mute violin" which have been around for centuries.

I would assume that this is similar to practicing and acoustic violin with a giant mute on.

--> Sort of, the biggest difference between it and a muted acoustic is the string feel. Electrics strings have a distinct feel to them that is different. Hard to explain...

Finally, if I do have the amplifier, turned on, how do I get used to the sound coming from an external device? That is a few feet away from me and pointing, possibly in a different direction than the F holes would?

--> I like position the amp to the left so it's roughly inline with my fiddle, makes it a bit more similar to the sound stage you'd get with your acoustic. Important: you'll have to stop paying attention the sound of the instrument under your ear and pay attention to the amp, think that you are playing the amp instead of the fiddle.

--> A few pieces of advice:

Get a fiddle that you can use your own shoulder rest and chinrest. It will fit better and be much more similar to your acoustic experience.

I would steer away from the Viper since it is held much differently and wouldn't be very similar to your acoustic fiddles. Also expensive. I find the NS Design violins to be poorly balanced and don't like their fixed chinrest and shoulder rest.

Have your luthier redo the set up to your specs. Usually the factory set up is no good.

Understand that the pickup and the tailpiece is 99.9% of the sound. Do NOT get a violin with a single crystal embedded in the bridge, get the Barbera Twin Hybrid (or similar). It's used on most of the high end solid bodies and is why they sound good. The body does not matter for the sound.

I put a pernambuco tailpiece on my electric and it made an outsized impact (for the better) on the sound and response.

Get a good amp, one with tubes (get good tubes). Not too loud, unless you are gigging, 5 - 15 watts should be plenty. I would not recommend getting an acoustic or PA or keyboard etc. amp, get one made for a solid bodied instrument.

Get a pre-amp, I like the Fishman Platinum.

Understand that a satisfying e-fiddle and amp, especially for someone who is experienced, will cost you some thousands of dollars. Thinking you can go in and cheap it out will leave you with an rig you will not want to play.

Finally, remember that a solid body will *not* sound just like a louder acoustic. If you bought a Stratocaster and expected it to sound like your Martin dreadnought, you are doing it wrong. An electric should sound like a bowed Strat, not a Strad.

March 27, 2023, 11:43 AM · First, understand that you are asking this on the wrong forum. An excellent source of information is https://www.electricviolinshop.com You can call them and ask them questions and they are the experts. A lot of classical players are going to look down their noses at electrics, or at the very best compare them to acoustics. You can't just plug an electric violin in and judge it by the sound it makes at that point. The tone of an electric violin also depends on preamps, effects, and amps. You will see demos of the untreated sound of a particular electric violin model, but you can't go by that as the final result. One of the big perks of an electric is the vast array of effects that are available. You may not be into distortion, phasers, flangers etc. but as a classical player you may appreciate reverb, delay (echo), looping or even impulse response where you can make your electric sound like a particular acoustic violin (more or less) if your desire is for your electric to sound acoustic! You may want 5,6 or 7 strings. Electric makes this possible. You will be able to play in musical environments where you would not usually be heard.
As to will it feel strange having the sound come from elsewhere? You will get used to that very quickly. I always hear somebody on here saying that practicing on an electric is going to do some harm to your playing. I've never found that (after 40+ years playing some form of electric) and I think more time spent playing is good, and we are adaptable human beings after all. If a sax player can double on clarinet or even flute and not see it as messing up their sax playing, I don't see why we as intelligent violinists can't be adaptable too. How different if feels may depend on the instrument you choose. Left hand won't make much difference, right hand you generally don't have to drive the violin as much but this gives you access to new colors that come from being amplified - we think of playing an electric so that we can play louder but we can also play much quieter and be heard. I think it opens new doors rather than closes them.
Even with the amp turned off I seriously doubt negative effects. Some electrics have completely solid bodies but others (Bridge for example) have some kind of semi-resonant chamber. There is a lot more to choose from these days fortunately.

Edited: April 4, 2023, 10:08 AM · I once tried a Zeta violin.
It had a pickup at the top of the bridge (similar to an LP cell?) under each string.
Through headphones, the untreated tone had a rosinny "grain" and could be moulded at will through impulse responses, equalisation etc, and without the hollow whining sound I associate with most electric instruments.

Edited: March 30, 2023, 6:17 AM · "Silent" violins are not silent. You don't need headphones or an amplifier to practise on one.
The effect it will have on your technique will depend on how much money you spend, and maybe also on the genre of music you play on it.

How much to spend?
I had a Zest - £100, unplayable.
I have a Hidersine - £200. This is about the starting price for something that is playable.

I have a dirt cheap bass practice amp. I'll probably get a Marshall 15W guitar practice amp one day - they are very good value.

March 30, 2023, 9:31 AM · I regularly coach a high school student string quartet that plays 21st century repertoire for electric stringed instruments.

As a simple introductory model, the Yamaha YEV-104 is a very economical but well-made electric violin that is a good starting point at around $700. The design and setup are such that it feels very similar to a regular acoustic violin so the acclimatization is fairly simple for most players. The violist in the group plays the YEV-105, the five string version of the electric violin with the C string. The cellist plays the SVC-50, their entry model for electric cello.

We were fortunate to acquire a number of decent amplifiers and a growing collection of effects boards/pedals, that greatly expand the tonal possibilities of the instruments, akin to what electric guitarists enjoy.

Edited: April 3, 2023, 3:20 PM · I was interested in getting an electric violin to experiment with multi FX AND to give my ear a break by moving the violin away from my ear (yes, I could have bought hearing protection for that ear). I also thought an electric violin could be handy to practice through headphones when in hotel rooms. (Pandemic came along and we traveled a lot less, so this need faded for me.)

I read lots of good comments on the relatively inexpensive Yamaha YEV-104 so bought that. I already had a Tonedexter preamp that goes a long way toward making an acoustic instrument with a pickup sound more like the instrument is mic’d. I bought an image for the Tonedexter that was specifically for the YEV-104 and the tone was greatly improved over just using a good preamp. I also bought some wireless transmitter/receivers so that I wouldn’t need to have a cord hanging from the YEV-104 to the Tonedexter. I have a few multi-FX systems and they are a lot of fun with violin. My primary source of amplification is a Fishman Loudbox Artist - two channel with basic EQ, FX, and phantom power. I have other options, but this is what I usually use.

Overall, I was very pleased with the system. HOWEVER, I almost never use the electric violin! It is so much more immediate to just pick up an acoustic violin. If I start playing out more (with the right folks - old timey groups probably wouldn’t be the right place), I might put the electric system to use.

April 4, 2023, 12:09 AM · Daniel
I would highly recommend that you speak with Matt Bell at the Electric Violin Shop (mentioned in Christopher’s post above). He is a classically trained violinist and a well-known electric violinist. He can answer every possible question that you might have and suggest equipment if you decide to embark on this journey. The website also has a number of YouTube videos that he has done on choosing a violin to best suit your needs, as well as amps and pedals.
I have three electric violins, as well as an acoustic violin with a pick up/mic system from Ithaca strings. An amplified violin will never give you the resonance and feedback of an acoustic instrument.
The effects that can be achieved with various effects pedals and an amplifier are simply amazing and great fun to play around with. But unless you have a group of like-minded musicians to play amplified music with, I suspect you will quickly return to your acoustic violin, which provides an unmatchable source of resonance and accompanying visceral and emotional pleasure.

April 6, 2023, 11:02 AM · @Bruce McAuley, "your acoustic violin, which provides an unmatchable source of resonance and accompanying visceral and emotional pleasure."

I'm going to respectfully disagree. A well thought out rig using high quality components can be an absolute tone machine. A real pleasure.