Electric Violins – An Overview
During recent years the use of electric violins has become more common in theatre productions, pop music and live performances. Despite this fact many musicians know very little about them. This article is going to discuss whether the e-violin is just a gimmick or whether it is great instrument in its own right. The following few paragraphs are going to discuss a little about the history of electronic violins, how they work and which models are worth buying.
The term electric violin refers to a violin which uses an electronic output system to produce its sound. Many of the instruments which are regarded as electric violins actually use electronic pickups to produce their sound, although this isn’t the case in all models. Despite their post-modern veneer and recent surge in popularity, e-violins have been around for many years, the famous jazz artist Stuff Smooth was one of the first performers to play them frequently.
The majority of electronic violins have solid bodies; this is to reduce any feedback which may be produced by the notes resonating in a hollow body. This is rather common during live performances which amplify the notes of the instrument significantly. There are a couple of models on the market which have semi-hollow bodies, but these are required to have sealed resonating chambers in order to reduce feedback, most manufacturers simply don’t bother with this.
The majority of electronic violins use magnetic or piezoelectric pickups. The magnetic pickups featured on violins are much the same as the ones used on electric guitars, however, in these cases the strings need to contain ferrous. Most of the e-violins on the market today use piezoelectric pickups because they are a great deal cheaper and they are easier to come by. Piezo elements actually work by detecting the vibrations of the strings, these elements can actually differentiate between in the different strings being struck. There a few sophisticated electric violins which actually have elaborate electronic systems in place which can determine whether a string was plucked or bowed.
Although violins are most prominently used in classical music, the electric violin barely features in any classical performances. In fact, the only time one is actually used is during modern classical music, this is usually to provide a slight post-modern flavour to the music. E-violins are commonly used in hip-hop, rock, and metal and new age music. Many popular bands such as Turisas and Dave Matthews band use them rather regularly in their music.
If you’re interested in purchasing one of these instruments you may wish to look at the SV130 Yamaha electric silent violin. Unlike many of the instruments on the market, this Yamaha electric violin is a serious piece of equipment. This instrument has an amazing sound quality and can be played through either an amp or headphones. One of the best features about this model is that players can actually listen to music via the Aux-In jack and actually play along to it. The SV130 4 4 electric violin will set you back around £699 ($1100), whilst there are far cheaper models available; very few can match the sound quality of this model.
In conclusion, electric violins have been around for almost 100 years. Although they aren’t features much in classical music, many of today’s popular music does feature them in one form or another. Although there are some really great e-violins out there, readers should be warned that some models have merely been introduced to cash in on the gimmick. If you really want a serious instrument to add to your collection, I would definitely advise you to consider the SV130 Yamaha electric violin.
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Tagged With 4 4 Electric violin, Electric silent violin, Electric Violin, Electric Violins, history of electric violins, semi-hollow body violins, use of electric violins, Yamaha electric violin
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