Steve Force Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Being the curious geek that I am, I really enjoy trying out new instruments and sounds. Not that I am expert at any but I don't aspire to that level (yet.) This is my avocation (hobby) that keeps me from killing people in my vocation (IT global Project Management.) So my next victim at musical instrument butchery (wow--I sound like Showtime's "Dexter"! ) is the electric violin. I picked up a used but not abused Fender FV3 like this one: http://www.promusicalaska.com/store_images/3751-300.jpg and proceeded to learn how to play it. Well, at first it sounded like shit (my technique or lack thereof (think: torturing a cat..), my amplification path, etc) so I reached out to our resident professional violinist, Dave (Cygnus64) who set me straight on many, many aspect of this fine instrument. For my signal, per his suggestion I picked up a used Johnson J-Station which works wonderfully and has some great, usable effects. The violin is a very challenging instrument that really keeps you focused on your playing, similar to the upright bass that I used to play (Arco style as well.) One of these days I will feel confident enough to post some sound clips of my playing. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Cool! "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Link Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I was going to jokingly suggest the first step as "learn to play the violin" as I assumed you already knew how. Fooled me! It looks like a really fun instrument. Have fun with your new toy. aka âmisterdregsâ Nord Electro 5D 73 Yamaha P105 Kurzweil PC3LE7 Motion Sound KP200S Schimmel 6-10LE QSC CP-12 Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs Rolls PM55P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 you go girl! er, I mean, Steve. Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 you go girl! er, I mean, Steve. Awww... I'll bet you say that to all the violin players, Greg! BTW: my Tommy gun DOES fit in the case! Planning a road trip to Indy right about now.... Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 What are the advantages/disadvantages of learning on an electric as opposed to acoustic? Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 What are the advantages/disadvantages of learning on an electric as opposed to acoustic? The electric violin can easily be run through my various effects and also easy to amplify it. For an acoustic setting the acoustic violin would be superior. Other than that--Let's wait for the experts to chime in. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Well, at first it sounded like shit At first? I've been playing for 38 years and it still sounds like shit. You'll have to tell me the secret! If you want to check out some amazing electric, at the 3 minute mark: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrTClVeCVUY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 What are the advantages/disadvantages of learning on an electric as opposed to acoustic? Apples and oranges really. I suppose one advantage is that a good electric can be had for $500-1000, while a good acoustic is going to be $20K and up to the crazy level. Electrics usually get their sound quality through effects and amps, not the instrument. Electrics usually don't have a hollow body. Mine is somewhat like the Chapman Stick, it a stick with strings. A guy I know gained some fame by playing "electric" violin using a baseball bat. He's using a pocket Pod clipped to his belt. The cat's a seriously good fiddle player: [video:youtube] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 Mine is a hollow bodied instrument, and sounds pretty good unamplified (say, for practicing.) No sound holes tho. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 What are the advantages/disadvantages of learning on an electric as opposed to acoustic? Apples and oranges really. I suppose one advantage is that a good electric can be had for $500-1000, while a good acoustic is going to be $20K and up When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 That bat looks like it's corked. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 That bat looks like it's corked. It does indeed! it gives him an unfair advantage. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Åslund Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Well, at first it sounded like shit At first? I've been playing for 38 years and it still sounds like shit. You'll have to tell me the secret! If you want to check out some amazing electric, at the 3 minute mark: Ah,wonderful record! Lakshminarayanan Shankar on 10-stringed violin (of his own design), produced by Frank Zappa and among other great session players Simon Phillips on drums. Playing the violin is hard as hell! I played for many years when I was a kid - it was my first instrument. I got a violin 1about 15 years ago to start playing again, but I just never could get it right even though I took lessons for almost a year - I was never satisfied with either my tone or the pitch. Anyway - I love the violin and in the hands of a good player it's an amazingly expressive instrument. Here's a typical Swedish tune: [video:youtube] Too much stuff, too little time, too few gigs, should spend more time practicing...! 🙄 main instruments: Nord Stage 3 compact, Yamaha CP88, Kurzweil PC4, Viscount KeyB Legend Live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 What are the advantages/disadvantages of learning on an electric as opposed to acoustic? The electric violin can easily be run through my various effects and also easy to amplify it. For an acoustic setting the acoustic violin would be superior. Other than that--Let's wait for the experts to chime in. Learning electric violin is a lot easier on your housemates, if you leave it unamplified... This is the one I've used for years, in Black: http://www.cranesmusicstore.com/images/straus%20main.jpg Have fun! Botch In Wine there is Wisdom In Beer there is Freedom In Water there is bacteria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Seriously cool. I've loved electric violin ever since I discovered Jean Luc Ponty, Michael Urbaniak, and McKendree Spring, all in the early 70's. One of the hardest instruments to play. Estonia 190, Korg TrinityPlus, Yamaha P90, Roland PK-5a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly Gibson Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 After attempting electric violin ten years ago, I decided to sell it and focus more on piano. Violin is similar to clarinet and trumpet in that is either sounds good, or very bad. Why torture listeners with my scratchy attempt at a very difficult but beautiful instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Seriously cool. I've loved electric violin ever since I discovered Jean Luc Ponty, Michael Urbaniak, and McKendree Spring, all in the early 70's. One of the hardest instruments to play. I like hearing it, hate playing it. I think it's similar to pianists dealing with synth-action keys. It's clumsy and feels awkward to me. I don't have the temperament for it, though I admire those that do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Didn't there use to be a MIDI violin? What was the solo in "she blinded me with science"? (thomas dolby) Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Didn't there use to be a MIDI violin? There was a company named Zeta that made electrics and had one with midi, they are out of business. There are probably others. The problem is latency. The limited times I have tried one, the latency was so extreme that it was not usable, maybe it got better. I had a pitch-to-midi box in the 80s that was fun at parties but an absolute disaster in reality. Play a note and maybe it might sound an hour later. Also, violin is a noisy bugger, and the midi violin outfit tries to interpret bow noise and other noises as notes. What was the solo in "she blinded me with science"? I think it was a violin doubled with a synth, I'm not sure. The world's most famous synth violin solo: [video:youtube] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 [video:youtube] [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZR3MBQcrw4 Starting at 3:20. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Enjoy the ride, forceman! I played viola for several years before getting my electric violin. I've been practicing mostly on electric violin to get ready for our band's shows, but will revisit my acoustic viola after those gigs are done. Some bowing exercises such as the ones on Simon Fischer's Tone Production DVD don't seem to work well on electric - nearly impossible to tell the difference in tone for the 5 bowing zones that he describes on the DVD, while they're more distinguishable on acoustic. I have an EVL 5-string with a hollow body (no holes though - keeps the feedback away), Barbera pickup, and RMC Polydrive preamp. I mainly got it because the band's volume level is too high for acoustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Enjoy the ride, forceman! I played viola for several years before getting my electric violin. I've been practicing mostly on electric violin to get ready for our band's shows, but will revisit my acoustic viola after those gigs are done. Some bowing exercises such as the ones on Simon Fischer's Tone Production DVD don't seem to work well on electric - nearly impossible to tell the difference in tone for the 5 bowing zones that he describes on the DVD, while they're more distinguishable on acoustic. I have an EVL 5-string with a hollow body (no holes though - keeps the feedback away), Barbera pickup, and RMC Polydrive preamp. I mainly got it because the band's volume level is too high for acoustic. Thank you.. It is truly fun indeed. Life is good. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzzz Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Eddie Jobson has always been one of the best electric violinists in the (prog)/rock setting. The "Out of the Blue" solo above was a verbatim quote of his original recorded version, and definitely check out the original UK album. [video:youtube] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 You mean Roxy (from Country Life) Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted December 11, 2010 Author Share Posted December 11, 2010 Update: Someone please help me--I am SICK. I am running my electric violin through my guitar pedals and it really sounds SICK. Signal chain: Fender Violin --> Johnson J-Station (as preamp and octave)--> Fulltone CLYDE Deluxe wahwah--> Fulltone OCD --> Fulltone Choral-Flange (chorus) --> MXR Phase 100 Phaser --> Ernie Ball Volume Pedal --> Malekko Heavy Industry ECHO 600 Echo --> Ashly mixer--> ADAM-A7/Yorkville subwoofer. Seasoned to taste. SICK. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Let's hear it! "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 I will as soon as I get my Steinberg/Yamaha MR816 X interface back. By then I should be a better player (or one can only hope..) Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PianoMan51 Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 More pedals! More pedals! No, seriously, with a few more pedals you can get your S/N ratio into negative values and create the world's most expensive 'wind' patch... "Honey, is that a violin I hear inside that rainstorm?" Yea, let's hear it. After all, some people really prefer that vinyl sound. No, I mean it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 More pedals! More pedals! No, seriously, with a few more pedals you can get your S/N ratio into negative values and create the world's most expensive 'wind' patch... "Honey, is that a violin I hear inside that rainstorm?" Yea, let's hear it. After all, some people really prefer that vinyl sound. No, I mean it. I'll take that for what it is worth. Hey, I like assholes just as I like anybody. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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