I'm not sure it this has been asked here before or not, but lately i've been thinking a bout learning to play the fiddle. I'm 17 and play the guitar, banjo, tin whistle, metal concert flute, and oboe with decent technique so learning to play wouldnt be too much trouble.
Would it be alright to start on an electric violin/fiddle or would I be better off starting on an acoustic one? What brand/models of electric violin would you reccomend, are there any that I should avoid? Price is some consideration here and I think a good electric fiddle is going to cost less then a good acoustic.
Electric fiddle
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Joseph E. Smith
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It is my opinion that you are best advised to learn on an acoustic instrument as it will teach you how to bow properly, something I feel an electric instrument will not. A great deal of the fiddle's tone is a direct result of good bowing, pressure, speed that cannot be fully realized on an electric instrument, which has to rely on pickups for tone and volume.
There are plenty of good fiddles out there for very reasonable pices, as I haven't been in the market for a fiddle for years, I can't direct to them accurately....but, run a search and see what you can turn up. Good luck to you, and welcome to the boards.
There are plenty of good fiddles out there for very reasonable pices, as I haven't been in the market for a fiddle for years, I can't direct to them accurately....but, run a search and see what you can turn up. Good luck to you, and welcome to the boards.
Hmmmm, that's an interesting question. I have an electric, I really love it, but I don't think I'd want it without having a primary acoustic. The tone is not the reason I say this. Although they rely on electronics for amplification, they still produce enough sound that you can hear when you are bowing like crap--especially if you are plugged into an amp. The electronics are very sensitive to how well you bow. In any case, to get off a rabbit trail, the problem is that you become entirely dependent upon electronics to make enough sound for anyone to hear. If you ever want to play with anyone outdoors, you can't. If you want to jump into a local session, you can't. They can be very limiting in that regard. And despite what I said about the bowing, I do think that through the amplification system you lose some expression. You can make an electric sound fantastic, but I don't think they have the same level of character you can get out of an acoustic. The acoustics can have so much more complex a tone and respond much more dramatically to subtlety. If you plan to stick to traditional fiddling, you definitely want an acoustic.
Okay, as for the benefits of electric: I play regularly with amplification and an electric is A LOT more convenient than pickups, which generate feedback a little too easily for my taste. You can add effects if you desire, and though I've never done it, you can plug them in to your standard guitar pedal and tweak them a bit, add a little distortion, whatever strikes your fancy. If you need a quiet practice instrument, they are perfect--you can hear them well enough to hear what you are doing, but the sound isn't usually loud enough to travel through walls. And as you mentioned, it is a little cheaper to buy a top of the line electric than a really great acoustic. That's not to say that you can't get a great deal on an acoustic, though!!!!
To sum that up, I think you'd be better off with an acoustic, but it's worth weighing the pros and the cons and deciding what you think would be best for your purposes.
To answer your question regarding makers...
AVOID FENDER. I haven't played one, but I've spoken with enough people that have. And I haven't heard one positive comment. Not one.
Yamaha is pretty good, although they have a of couple series out. I've been out of the loop a bit, but I think they have a silent violin series and the EV series. I hear the EV is supposedly better, but that as far as Yamahas in general go, they are a pretty good bang for the buck. I think the SVs run around $200 (at least on ebay) and the EV series hovers between $700-$1000, depending on if you can find one on ebay, or on sale somewhere. I'd not pay $1000 for one, FWIW. One of their big things is that they have a built-in preamp that allows you to just plug in headphones to practice. But while that's cool, you can buy (pretty cheaply) an external device that allows you to do the same thing. So don't base your decision on that alone.
I don't know much about Barcus Berry, although I have heard a few negative comments about them.
As for the top of the line, you're probably looking at a Zeta (which is what I have). If you decide you want a Zeta, there are really a lot of options open to you. They have several different pickup systems. There's the educator series, the strados, the jazz fusion, and I think they've added a new one called the ensemble series or something like that. They all have different tonal characteristics, so you really want to check them all out to decide which is right for you. The jazz fusion sounds much more electric, the educator series sounds pretty close to acoustic (although NO ELECTRIC WILL SOUND EXACTLY LIKE AN ACOUSTIC), and the strados is somewhere in between. I don't know anything about their new series. If you get a Zeta used off ebay, you're probably looking at a price range of around $1000-$2000, but that would get you a very nice electric. If you want to check Zeta out a little more, their website is www.zetamusic.com .
Anyway, that was very long winded! So sorry! I hope it helped at least a little. I spend a loooong time researching this stuff before I decided what to get, so if you want more info, feel free to send me a PM. Also, check out The Fiddle Forum. Martin Milner referred me over there, and it's really a great place! TONS of info and a whole forum dedicated to amplified strings!
Okay, as for the benefits of electric: I play regularly with amplification and an electric is A LOT more convenient than pickups, which generate feedback a little too easily for my taste. You can add effects if you desire, and though I've never done it, you can plug them in to your standard guitar pedal and tweak them a bit, add a little distortion, whatever strikes your fancy. If you need a quiet practice instrument, they are perfect--you can hear them well enough to hear what you are doing, but the sound isn't usually loud enough to travel through walls. And as you mentioned, it is a little cheaper to buy a top of the line electric than a really great acoustic. That's not to say that you can't get a great deal on an acoustic, though!!!!
To sum that up, I think you'd be better off with an acoustic, but it's worth weighing the pros and the cons and deciding what you think would be best for your purposes.
To answer your question regarding makers...
AVOID FENDER. I haven't played one, but I've spoken with enough people that have. And I haven't heard one positive comment. Not one.
Yamaha is pretty good, although they have a of couple series out. I've been out of the loop a bit, but I think they have a silent violin series and the EV series. I hear the EV is supposedly better, but that as far as Yamahas in general go, they are a pretty good bang for the buck. I think the SVs run around $200 (at least on ebay) and the EV series hovers between $700-$1000, depending on if you can find one on ebay, or on sale somewhere. I'd not pay $1000 for one, FWIW. One of their big things is that they have a built-in preamp that allows you to just plug in headphones to practice. But while that's cool, you can buy (pretty cheaply) an external device that allows you to do the same thing. So don't base your decision on that alone.
I don't know much about Barcus Berry, although I have heard a few negative comments about them.
As for the top of the line, you're probably looking at a Zeta (which is what I have). If you decide you want a Zeta, there are really a lot of options open to you. They have several different pickup systems. There's the educator series, the strados, the jazz fusion, and I think they've added a new one called the ensemble series or something like that. They all have different tonal characteristics, so you really want to check them all out to decide which is right for you. The jazz fusion sounds much more electric, the educator series sounds pretty close to acoustic (although NO ELECTRIC WILL SOUND EXACTLY LIKE AN ACOUSTIC), and the strados is somewhere in between. I don't know anything about their new series. If you get a Zeta used off ebay, you're probably looking at a price range of around $1000-$2000, but that would get you a very nice electric. If you want to check Zeta out a little more, their website is www.zetamusic.com .
Anyway, that was very long winded! So sorry! I hope it helped at least a little. I spend a loooong time researching this stuff before I decided what to get, so if you want more info, feel free to send me a PM. Also, check out The Fiddle Forum. Martin Milner referred me over there, and it's really a great place! TONS of info and a whole forum dedicated to amplified strings!
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djm
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Sage, you say you play guitar. Hopefully, as a guitarist, you know the difference between playing an acoustic guitar versus an electric guitar. The electric is almost a different instrument to play, due to its totally different sound and behaviour. But as a guitarist, you should also know that to truly understand the guitar you will want to spend most of your time on the acoustic first.
If you have that understanding with the guitar, then I suggest you apply it to your question about the fiddle. Learn the acoustic first, then expand into the electric. As with the guitar, electric fiddles look similar, the gross movements and techniques are similar, but the subtleties bring out a world of differences.
djm
If you have that understanding with the guitar, then I suggest you apply it to your question about the fiddle. Learn the acoustic first, then expand into the electric. As with the guitar, electric fiddles look similar, the gross movements and techniques are similar, but the subtleties bring out a world of differences.
djm
I'd rather be atop the foothills than beneath them.