Learning to play galvanic violin shares many similarities with studying acoustic violin, with a few prominent differences. The first is that almost every acoustic violin is shaped and tuned the same way. galvanic violins, however, can come in many shapes and varieties, together with 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 galvanic by attaching either a microphone or a piezo pickup to the body. Most other galvanic violins use a solid body, just like most galvanic guitars (such as the ubiquitous fender stratocaster). What follows is a enumerate of galvanic violins and a discussion of some of the supplementary tool you will likely require.
While there are many galvanic violins on the shop by large volume manufacturers, most of these just don't sound very good. Some of the great (and mostly handmade) galvanic violins are reviewed below. I made my selection from instruments that I have either played or owned.
In general, I am not a fan of mass produced instruments. But Yamaha makes some of the best. Part of the Yamaha silent series, the model Sv-200 features a dual piezo pickup. This is supposed to heighten the sensitivity of the instrument to the subtleties of your playing, especially dynamic (volume) range. Advent in at nearby 00, this instrument is cheaper than the others I will enumerate below. On playing the instrument, I thought it was authentically responsive, authentically more so than former 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.
Another beloved model is made by Ns Designs. This enterprise uses a proprietary piezo pickup that is designed to be very clean and sound more like an acoustic violin in its unprocessed state. I sampled a a 5-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 a good choice.
Zeta has earned itself a lot of hype in part because Boyd Tinseley, of Dave Matthews Band, uses a Zeta instrument called (what else) 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 identify his distinctive sound that comes from the composition of his Paul Reed Smith guitar coupled with a Mesa Boogie amp. Most of the sound Advent 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. And you either like this sound or you don't. A big downside to this zeta model is that it is quite heavy.
Mark Wood, an additional one "boutique" maker of galvanic violins, 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 nearby your torso and holds the violin up in a playing position. Though it can take some time to get used to, this originate authentically does support the weight of the fiddle well. Make no mistake -- adding frets to the violin is a big adjustment for the classical player. In fact, if you have ever played a mandolin, you probably comprehend how much the frets can change things. Sliding and vibrato techniques are very difficult on a fretted instrument. In my opinion, the frets are best for allowing guitar players and others well-known with fretted instruments to circumvent the usual requirement of pinpoint accuracy with finger placement which is significant for playing in tune on the an acoustic violin. The 7-string fretted model, which is the flagship instrument in his line of galvanic violins, is priced at 00. Mark Wood does not use proprietary piezo pickups. Rather, he uses either Barbera or Schatten pickups, which are mass produced piezo pickeps that are used in many different galvanic violins.
A former Zeta employee, John Jordan makes custom galvanic violins in almost every composition of material, strings and frets that you can imagine. Jordan started his own originate 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 true luthier of galvanic instruments. Many of his models, particularly the ones made of wood, are very attractive. Jordan uses a collection of pickups, together with 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 galvanic violin makers, his 5-string unfretted is his most beloved model. It seems to have a thinner neck than other electrics, which allows the classical 4-string acoustic player to make an easier transition to electric.
All of the violins described above are solid-body models. This means that the instrument has no hollow, resonating room and therefore produces tiny to no sound unless it is "plugged in." However, an additional one way to create an "electric violin" is to replace the bridge on an acoustic violin with a piezo pickup bridge-mount that can be plugged in just like a solid body. The downside to this is that these pickups can create feedback. However, this selection can sound quite nice and retains the former shape and light weight of the acoustic violin. Base piezo models are the Fishman series and the L.R. Baggs. There are also any smaller "custom" companies that make these pickups, and it can be beneficial 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, as described below.
What all galvanic violins share is the need for an electronic pickup to send your playing to a unit capable of sound manipulation, such as a pre-amp or rack unit, and finally to an additional one 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 galvanic violins. They have positive characteristics that some players find less than ideal. While a bow change on an acoustic violin can be wholly silent to the listener, the piezo pickup will always send bow changes and bow noise. The reason for this is that they use sensitivity to pressure as their former 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 galvanic violin companies use their own proprietary models. The other type of pickup in use for galvanic 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 potential to build this type of pickup into an galvanic violin, it requires rather whole modifications to the galvanic violin's internal originate and is rarely used. Possibly in the time to come this type of pickup will become more available.
En route to reaching our ears, the galvanic violin's signal commonly is passed through a unit (or more often any units) capable of sound manipulation. Many of the same devices used by galvanic guitar players may also be used for the violin. For instance, reverb and delay units by Lexicon can contribute 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 authentically hundreds of different devices, together with foot 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 and may at last replace bulky sound manipulation boxes.
For galvanic violins employing a pickup, a pre-amp is significant to intensify the signal from your violin, and to allow you to Eq the sound. One beloved example of a pre-amp is the L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic Di. Some galvanic violins also have on-board pre-amps.
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 galvanic violin, and even then it is commonly significant to spend a lot of time playing with the Eq. A beloved amplifier for galvanic violin is the Fishman Loudbox 100. An prominent consideration when selecting an amplifier is that each leaves its own imprint on your sound. Thus, trying before buying is particularly prominent with amps.
For a more true fertilization of your sound, a Pa ideas with speakers can also be used. The sound can still be Eq'd with a personal Pa ideas and it is potential to support the acoustic sound.
Finally, the signal, after passing through the different sound manipulation devices, is broadcast to our ears by speakers. Often, these are built into the amp. You can also add supplementary speakers to create a stereo effect.
If you are looking to more or less double your acoustic sound, playing galvanic violin may not be very satisfying to you. But for participating in a band, it allows the player to adjust their volume to match the other instruments, and to alter the sound to fit in great with a rock or pop style of music.
That being said, galvanic violin commonly requires a potentially rather costly 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 need testing a lot of different gear. looking "your" sound can be a long journey. Some of the more involving things you can do is to play on a 5-string, which adds a "c string," below your "g-string," or employ an octave pedal, which can drop your pitch an whole octave. Or you can play with distortion or a wah-wah pedal. And, while excellent technique is vital for classical music, galvanic violin can be more forgiving.
In the end, going galvanic can allow the violinist to share in groups where commonplace acoustic violin naturally cannot match the volume of the other instruments. In addition, the almost endless capability to manipulate the sound allows the galvanic violinist to go where no acoustic player has gone before.
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