Electric violin

An electric violin

An electric violin is simply a violin with an electronic output signal. The term can refer to an acoustic violin with an electromagnetic transducer or pickup of some sort, but usually refers to a fully electronic instrument.

Many instruments have a solid body, which helps prevent feedback from hollow body resonances under high amplification on stage. However, the timbre of an acoustic violin is created directly by these resonances, and this is why an electric violin has a much more "raw" sound than the other. than an acoustic one, depending on how the signal is captured. Normally, electric violins have a minimalist and non-traditional design, in order to keep the weight as low as possible.

They are often seen as "experimental" instruments, being less established than electric guitars and basses. Therefore, there are many variations on the original design, such as frets, extra strings, sympathetic strings or baritone strings that sound one octave lower than normal, all this without including the different electronic effects to shape the pure sound, depending on the interpreter preferences.

An electric violin with 5 or 6 strings is much more common than an acoustic instrument. The typically solid body also accommodates the tension caused by extra strings without putting too much stress on the instrument. The extra strings are usually a low C string with 5 strings, a low C and a high B or a high string for 6, and a low C, low F and high B string for 7.

The signals from an electric violin normally go through an electronic process, just like an electric guitar, to get the desired sound. It can be reverb, chorus, distortion, or any other effect.

Vanessa Mae, a contemporary violinist, has said that she prefers an electric violin to a traditional one because of its greater potential.

Pickups

Because it (usually) has metal strings, the sound of the violin can be captured with magnetic or piezoelectric pickups, the latter being the most common. They are used to detect physical vibrations, sometimes in the body, but more commonly in the neck. Some violins have a separate pickup (or even two) inserted into the bridge under each string. This has some amplifiers to be able to hear its sound correctly.

A special mention deserves the classical but electrified violin. Its acoustic potential is unmatched since it can sound like the typical electric violin or like what it really is, an acoustic violin. An example of everything exposed here can be found in the external links: