Amplify an electric violin, need some tips.

Manfred-Klose

So i recently went crazy and got a acoustic violin.
I want to run it through y guitar amp, and do crazy stuff with it.

Would like to know if anyone can point me in the right direction, what pickup should i put in, will a normal piezo be OK?
And if i run it through my pedals do i need to add a small line mixer to get the piezo level down to normal guitar level?

I played a session gig with violinist/guitarist from the band "Rooibaard", and he had a wah,delay,metal zone,eq and a small mixer at the input chain.

AlanRatcliffe

Cool! 8) Jean Luc Ponty has been using distortion, phasing and wah on a violin since the 60's. He gets some very unearthly sounds from it. You have to experiment a bit with finding the right stage volume, especially with distortion, as like any acoustic instrument, they are prone to feedback.

Fishman, L.R.Baggs, Headway, etc. - all the usual suspects make pickups for violin. I fitted a half dozen of the cheaper Fishman ones while I was doing work for them, but haven't fitted any of the high-end systems.

If you want to go cheap, find a small "Hot Spot" type contact pickup and stick it to the bridge with carpet tape. Use cable ties to fix the wire and socket down to the tailpiece - make sure you get the wire out of the way as if you move it repeatedly while playing, it will break away from the pickup and start giving problems.

Moving up from there, you have the type that fits into the wing slots of the bridge (like the Fishman V-100 and V-200) - the pressure of the strings closes the slot slightly and keeps the pickup in place. These often have a non-permanent mounting system for the jack (like the V-200) - which is based on the same clamp type system used for the chin rest, which is nice.

Going even better are the type which have a piezo embedded in a good quality bridge (Fishman V-300). Sometimes these have jacks which mount inside the violin, and obviously you need to cut the bridge to fit, so pro installation is important.

All of the above are piezo devices, so need a preamp to make them sound good. A non preamped pickup is truly horrible to hear, so don't skimp on this. You can use something made for piezos, like a L.R. Baggs Ultra DI or one of the belt pack preamps from Fishman. If you have a mixer or a Graphic EQ with a suitable (very) high impedance input you can go straight into that, but you have to keep the cable from pickup to input as short as possible.

Actually, just thinking - I have a Fishman Matrix Natural preamp lurking around here somewhere. It's made for fitting inside an acoustic guitar, but I've used it as a belt pack preamp on occasion by wiring up a battery and an input jack (the output jack is built in). If you need something on the cheap, I'd let it go for a few hundred rand (POA). You could build it into a box to use as a belt pack easy enough.

If you're chasing a more natural sound (which I know you are not, but I'm just saying...) There are better systems that pick up more of the body sound, similar to acoustic systems. Some use mics and piezos (blender types), some use magnetic and mic and some use piezo and magnetic. Generally fairly expensive though - You might as well go for a Fender FV or a Zeta violin.

Manfred-Klose

I have a thing called a ''mute'' i put on the bridge of the violin, only hear the direct notes and not the sustained note, which i think wont get feedback.
I could just go out and get an electric violin for about R1000, but i am a recovering GAS addict, so i'll stick with what i have.
I going for something where i can stick to piezo to the bridge, and attache that to a pre amp.
My violin teacher has one of those, just have to find out what the make is, so i can go look it up.

But would i need a small line mixer to get it the same volume as the input in my boss pedals?
Or would it be fine if i have a good pre amp on the violin?

I planning on doing something unique in SA, where band gives a great performance like deep purple, rush, maiden and all those guys did, in the middle on the song the drummer comes out with a drum solo, giving me time to pick up the violin and jam that through my rig, and going back to the electric guitar again.

call me crazy ???

AlanRatcliffe

My violin teacher has one of those, just have to find out what the make is, so i can go look it up.

I'm not sure what's around these days, but there used to be small, inexpensive contact transducers made by both K&K and Schaller.

But would i need a small line mixer to get it the same volume as the input in my boss pedals?
Or would it be fine if i have a good pre amp on the violin?

If you use a preamp, the signal level will be about right. If you don't, it will lose a lot of energy (especially bass frequencies) to the impedance mismatch.

I planning on doing something unique in SA

I've seen a few guys do it locally. Urban Freak was one IIRC.