Stewmac Violin Kit

[alterbridgefan]

Does it make a decent instrument? Anyone have any experience with this? How does it look to you fiddlers?

Would I be better off buying a stewmac neck and fret board and making a solid bodied electric violin?

 

[Cagey]

Only you can answer that. Have you ever played either? My guess is the sound quality of a violin depends much more heavily on its acoustic properties than anything else, but I'm not a player so I can't say. I know very few violin players use electrics so that says something... like, maybe they're a gimmick. Then again, modern electronics can be magical. For instance, I have a pedal that can make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic. It's not perfect, but it's surprisingly close if you were doing live work and needed an acoustic guitar and didn't want to pack one along.

Go try some examples out somewhere, and see what you think. If you like what you hear one way or the other, then you'll know which direction to go.

 

[line6man]

First off, as Cagey said, it depends on your craftsmanship. Whether or not you will end up with a great instrument is entirely dependent on your building skills and effort.

Second, is there such a thing as a solid-bodied violin? Or are you talking about electrics. I'm with Cagey on that one, too; no one uses electric violins, because they don't sound good at all. Seems like every time I hear one, it's a rather lo-fi, lifeless sound that stands somewhere between a violin and bad guitar tone.  :dontknow:

 

[hannaugh]

I've met a few people who have built them.  They have all said that the quality of the kit is excellent, so it is pretty much up to your building skills to make it a great violin.  That's one of those things I've had on my project list for a loooong time. 

 

[line6man]

I've met a few people who have built them.  They have all said that the quality of the kit is excellent, so it is pretty much up to your building skills to make it a great violin.  That's one of those things I've had on my project list for a loooong time.

Finish your Ukes yet??

 

[JaySwear]

I've met a few people who have built them.  They have all said that the quality of the kit is excellent, so it is pretty much up to your building skills to make it a great violin.  That's one of those things I've had on my project list for a loooong time.

Finish your Ukes yet??

Was wondering that myself the other day. Well?? :icon_biggrin:

 

[alterbridgefan]

:headbang1: Similar to this, but not really.
The neck would me a typical fiddle neck, but I might lop of the scroll and give it tuning machines? Scratch make a body, weird for fun. Don't know about pickup, help? :help:
Made for  electronic sounds, no need to try and make it sound acoustic.

Or...

Standard violin, electrified, with no f-holes??? You could plug it in with no feedback.

Or...

Violin.

Or...

Save my money and buy a Gretsch Catalina Club. :icon_biggrin: Decisions, decisions.

 

[hannaugh]

I'm at the neck and kind of in over my head.  :sad:  I really suck and fretting and I don't think I'm going to be able to build the neck myself.  So alas, it sits in my garage until I figure something out.  The bodies look rad though. 

 

[pabloman]

Buy the drums.............I knew it all along.........YOU'RE A DRUMMER!!!!!  Everything makes sense now. :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Cagey]

Buy the drums.............I knew it all along.........YOU'RE A DRUMMER!!!!!  Everything makes sense now. :icon_jokercolor:

Hehe! Yeah.

 

[stubhead]

It's magnitudes of times harder for a beginner to get a decent, listenable sound out of a violin than it is to get sounds out of a guitar - it's not just the frets but how you handle the bow. There's an Indian guy named L. Shankar who's played in the original Shakti, with Zappa, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel etc. He designed a ten-string double violin which Ken Parker makes, all carbon fiber. There's another guy named Mark Wood who makes a number of the solidbody ones used by rock violinists. It's definitely a growing market - but you're starting with an instrument that makes horrible screeching noises in it's natural form for beginners, so make it a solidbody and plug it into a Mesa/Boogie triple rectifier...

Here's a picture of Shankar's neice playing one of the doubles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingger_Shankar

 

[reluctant-builder]

Buy the drums.............I knew it all along.........YOU'RE A DRUMMER!!!!!  Everything makes sense now. :icon_jokercolor:

Hey, now ...

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Violins rock. Look ... or rather ... listen to Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue with Steve Vai.  :headbang1:

 

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Standard violin, electrified, with no f-holes??? You could plug it in with no feedback.

I know someone with a solidbody violin.  He plays a mandolin through the same rig also, that includes a pedal board.  It sounds like someone playing a violin but not exactly like a violin.  In the context of his band, it sounds fine.  To play violin music on it by itself, not so much.

But, as we know, and as you've said, solid bodies with pickups don't feed back. :sad1:

 

[line6man]

Violins rock. Look ... or rather ... listen to Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue with Steve Vai.  :headbang1:

I'm a huge Vai fan (Even though you all tease me for it.  :help, but Where The Wild Things Are and Where The Other Wild Things Are are just terrible with the electric violins. Though to be fair, Ann Marie Calhoun has an acoustic violin here, and it's still terrible. So I guess part of that is her rig and effects rather than the instrument.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ7vyFnLvjw

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I wouldn't rule out an electric violin because Steve Vai made it sound bad. He's a polarizing player to many, both style and tone.

 

[drewfx]

Electric violin isn't all that rare in fusion and prog rock settings.

A few famous players, just off the top of my head:

Eddie Jobson
Jean-Luc Ponty
Dave Cross (King Crimson)
Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra)

 

[line6man]

I wouldn't rule out an electric violin because Steve Vai made it sound bad. He's a polarizing player to many, both style and tone.

I've heard it in other settings, too, and it's always the same.

 

[Dan025]

Violins rock. Look ... or rather ... listen to Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue with Steve Vai.  :headbang1:

I'm a huge Vai fan (Even though you all tease me for it.  :help

satriani is cool(sometimes) but vai? really? he doesn't do anything for me. plus I think I've outgrown my obsession with guitar soloists. they are mostly tools with inflated egos getting on stage going "hey look what I can do"

back to electric violins... like electric guitars I doubt the acoustics are that important. but I'm not sure I like violins with effects. just seems unnatural. maybe a light reverb and a slight modulator effect but not a cold chorus mod. its got to sound warm. I don't think electric violin has to sound terrible by default.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Did Leo set out to make an acoustic that plugs in? :dontknow:

Just a thought. If I were to make an electric violin I would go for an entirely different sound than an acoustic.

EDIT:
The purpose of a violin without f-holes would be to electrify an acoustic sound, and would probably be quieter when practicing.