An electric violin is a violin that has an electronic way to send out its sound. The term is best used for a violin that is specifically designed to be electric, with internal pickups and a solid body. It can also describe a violin that has an electric pickup added, though the terms "amplified violin" or "electro-acoustic violin" are more precise for this type.

History

Electric violins that use electricity to make sound louder have been used since the 1920s. A musician named Stuff Smith, who played jazz and blues, is often credited with being one of the first people to use devices called pickups and amplifiers on violins. In the 1930s and 1940s, companies like the Electro Stringed Instrument Corporation, National String Instrument Corporation, and Vega Company sold electric violins. In 1958, Fender advertised an electric violin, and the first model is shown at the top of this page. However, Fender stopped making it before production began. After Fender was bought by CBS, electric violins were produced from 1969 to 1975.

Barcus Berry has made electric violins since the middle of the 1960s. In the early 1970s, a scientist named Max Mathews started working on an electric violin, which was finished in 1984. During the 1980s, more companies began making their own versions of electric violins, such as RAAD, The Amazing Electric Violin, and ZETA. Since the 1990s, many companies, both well-known and new, have had more success selling electric violins.

Description

Acoustic violins can be used with special devices called pickups. These pickups may be attached to the bridge or body of the violin, or placed near the end of the fingerboard. Another option is an electrodynamic pickup, which is installed under the fingerboard. This placement avoids interfering with parts of the violin that create sound, helping to keep the natural tone of the instrument intact.

To reduce loud noises caused by the hollow body of the violin when amplified on stage, some instruments use a solid body instead. The sound quality of an unamplified violin depends largely on the natural vibrations of its hollow body. However, the way the sound is captured by pickups can affect the tone of an electric violin, making it sound more "raw" or "sharp" compared to an acoustic one. This type of sound is often used in rock, pop, and avant-garde music. Some violins have "semi-hollow" designs, which include a sealed, hollow chamber. This design helps create a sound similar to an acoustic violin while reducing the risk of feedback.

Solid-body electric violins are usually designed with simple shapes to keep them lightweight. Modern violins often use materials like kevlar, glass, and carbon fiber in their construction.

Electric violins are sometimes considered experimental because they are less common than electric guitars or basses. This has led to many different designs, including violins with extra strings, frets, machine heads, and special strings that produce lower or higher pitches. For example, luthier Yuri Landman created a 12-string electric violin for the Belgian band DAAU. This instrument has four groups of three strings, each group tuned to the same note, creating a chorus-like effect. It also has an additional pickup near the tailpiece to enhance the sound of the strings.

Acoustic violins with five strings are becoming more common. Electric violins can also have five, six, seven, or more strings. Solid-body violins can handle the extra tension from additional strings without damaging the instrument. Extra strings usually include a low C for five-string violins, a low C and low F for six-string violins, and a low C, F, and B♭ for seven-string violins.

Electric violin signals are often processed electronically, similar to an electric guitar, to create different sounds. This can include effects like delay, reverb, chorus, or distortion.

Today, electric violins are being used to help improve music education. For example, NBC recently highlighted a music camp that combines rock music with orchestral performances. Mark Wood, who was named "person of the day" on Today, uses electric violins in his rock performances. Proceeds from these events are donated to school music programs. NBC noted that combining classical instruments with rock music is helping students develop a new appreciation for music.

Pickups

Electric violins may use magnetic, piezoelectric, or electrodynamic pickups. Magnetic pickups, similar to those on guitars, need violin strings with iron-containing materials, such as steel, in their wraps or cores. Some single-coil magnetic systems are available, but the small size and curved shape of a violin limit where coils can be placed. One unique system uses the string itself as a pickup. This system works with standard acoustic violins, as long as the strings are made of materials that conduct electricity, such as synthetic or steel-core strings.

Piezoelectric pickups are often less expensive and more commonly used. These pickups come in shapes like ceramic discs, cylinders, or plastic films. They sense vibrations directly, sometimes placed inside or on the violin’s body, or near the bridge. Some setups include separate pickups under each string in the bridge. A few systems use transducers in different directions to tell if a string is being bowed or plucked. A switch can then be used to choose the preferred playing mode.

Piezo pickups have high output impedance and must connect to a high impedance input on an amplifier or a powered preamp. A charge amplifier works best to reduce noise and prevent sound loss in the cable. Preamplification is often done with an external device, though some electric violins have built-in spaces for preamp circuits.

Amplification

Amplifying an electric violin works in the same way as amplifying a guitar. Both instruments create sound that travels through a cable to an amplifier or PA system. Because of this, few amplifiers are made specifically for violins, and those that exist can often be used for guitars instead. Most electric violin players use regular guitar amplifiers. These amplifiers are trusted because they have been used for many years, although not all may produce the best sound. Some people prefer the softer sound of tube amplifiers compared to solid state amplifiers or digital PA systems for violins. Just like guitar amplifiers are used with electric violins, guitar effect pedals are also used with electric violins to change the sound.

Genres

The violin is commonly used in classical music, but electric violins are mainly used by classical performers when playing modern classical music. Electric violins are more often used by musicians in non-classical genres such as metal, rock, hip hop, electronic music, pop, jazz, country, new-age, and experimental music.

Electric violins are frequently used in folk rock. One well-known musician who plays this instrument is Dave Swarbrick. The folk metal band Turisas also uses the electric violin in their music. Another Finnish folk metal band, Korpiklaani, includes electric violin parts played by Jaakko Lemmetty. The instrument has also been used in modern musical theater, such as in the play Whistle Down the Wind by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Some popular bands that use electric violins include Zox, Operator Please, Doll Factory, and the pop punk band Yellowcard. In the 1970s, Urban Blitz of the protopunk band Doctors of Madness used the electric violin in a unique way, along with a baritone Violectra.

Musicians like Tracy Silverman and Daniel Bernard Roumain have made the electric violin popular by using a loop pedal. This device allows them to layer sounds and create music on their own, similar to a one-person band. These artists use various techniques and pedals to produce a wide range of sounds, including arrangements of rock and hip hop songs.

Classically trained violinist Emilie Autumn has used the electric violin extensively, especially on her album Laced/Unlaced.

In Brazil, the electric violin is used by musicians such as Marcus Viana, who plays in the symphonic prog/progressive rock band Sagrado Coração da Terra and in Transfonika Orkestra, among others.

Some Irish fiddlers use electric instruments. The fiddle is a key part of music in bands like Flogging Molly and The Levellers. Eileen Ivers played a blue Barcus-Berry electric fiddle during her tours with Riverdance in the 1990s. Later, she used a custom-made blue ZETA Music Systems Strados acoustic-electric fiddle, which ZETA later sold as the "Eileen Ivers Signature Series."

Daiana Mazza, a Brazilian violinist, plays in various genres, including rock, Brazilian music, gospel, jazz, and folk. She has worked with groups such as Braia, Kernunna, Carol Carolo, Os Minervas, Leonardo Araujo, Transfonika Orkestra, and Sagrado Coração da Terra.

Compositions

• Igor Krivokapič Concerto for electric violin and orchestra (1993, revised in 2019).
• John Adams The Dharma at Big Sur, for electric violin and orchestra. Inspired by and written for electric violinist Tracy Silverman.
• Terry Riley "Palmian Chord Riddle," concerto for six-string electric violin. Commissioned by the Nashville Symphony for electric violinist Tracy Silverman.
• Charles Wuorinen Concerto for Amplified Violin and Orchestra — 1972.
• Nico Muhly Seeing is Believing, for six-string electric violin and chamber orchestra. Written for Thomas Gould, Nicholas Collon, and the Aurora Orchestra.
• Ed Wright Crosswire for electric violin and live processing. Written for Electroacoustic Wales.

MIDI violin

In the mid-1980s, Zeta Music created an early version of a violin for Laurie Anderson. This violin used a special device and connection system to send MIDI data, which allowed the violin to control electronic music instruments. The design was later improved and sold as a product. Unlike most similar systems at the time, the Zeta device could separate the sound from each string into individual audio channels. Using a multi-pin cable connected to a pitch-to-MIDI converter, this allowed the violin to send multiple musical notes at once through separate MIDI channels.

In 2010, Keith McMillen, who helped start Zeta Music, introduced the StringPort, a device that connects polyphonic violins to computers via USB 2.0. While no other companies make dedicated polyphonic violin-to-MIDI systems, many general-purpose pitch-to-MIDI systems and computer accessories are available today. Monophonic pickup-to-MIDI systems, made by companies like Roland and Yamaha, have been sold for many years and can be used with standard electric violins. These systems usually only detect one note at a time, but with special pickups, some polyphonic control is possible. Certain pitch-to-MIDI interfaces from Axon/TerraTec can provide full per-string polyphony by connecting to the multi-pin output of the Zeta MIDI pickup.

Artists who have performed using MIDI-enabled violins include L. Subramaniam, Jean-Luc Ponty, Charles Bisharat, Drew Tretick, Gregory Docenko, Dorothy Martirano, and Boyd Tinsley from Dave Matthews Band.