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Need help with first electric violin
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tbomb

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January 16, 2017 - 9:53 pm
Member Since: January 16, 2017
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Hi I was wondering if anybody could help me. I have been trying to look for a decent electric violin. Still a beginner so don't want to spend too much on the first time have got around £200 or $240 in dollars and just wondering if anyone had any ideas. 

Have seen the Harley Benton it not too sure if that one is good or not. 

 

Many thanks 

 

theo 

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BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
January 17, 2017 - 1:42 am
Member Since: March 22, 2014
Forum Posts: 3744
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tbomb said
Hi I was wondering if anybody could help me. I have been trying to look for a decent electric violin. Still a beginner so don't want to spend too much on the first time have got around £200 or $240 in dollars and just wondering if anyone had any ideas. 

Have seen the Harley Benton it not too sure if that one is good or not. 

 

Many thanks 

 

theo   

Hi @tbomb - another UK member I see !  As it happens, I have a Harley Benton - in fact it was the cheapest in the range at the time I got it about 3 years back - the HBV840 FR ( "Ferrari Red" - LOL ) - at that time it was 110 Euros - somewhat less than £100 sterling.   I have played it a lot since then (although it gets time-shared with other instruments) and it has been fine - no more and no less than I would have expected for the price.  The OEM strings - whatever they were - although "playable" were swapped out within days ( ! ) - but instruments of that price, are hardly going to arrive with quality strings.  After playing for a few weeks, I became aware of a little buzzing-rattling sound when playing aggressively.  Thus was only heard under my ear, it wasn't picked up by the transducer and couldn't be heard when amped up.  I tracked that down to a "spare" (unused) pin om the stereo 1/4 jack socket.  A tiny spot of epoxy resin sorted it !

I'm happy with it.  But - at the low-end of the market - well - I could have been lucky.  Having said that - compared to acoustics - there is a lot less to go-wrong.  Construction is simple, things like its sound / timbre / tonality don't really matter much - with added effects it's largely going to sound how-you-want-it-to-sound  - and for silent playing - well - it doesn't matter what it "sounds like" - you'll get no body resonances to speak of, and very little inter-string resonances.

Final comment:  At the price - I was well aware of what I might get - and had it been terrible (unless there was a structural fault / crack etc) I would have kept it anyway and experimented with it.  It can't be THAT hard to get a bridge to sit on a piezo transducer !   LOL

Good luck with your EV journey !

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

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MACJR

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January 17, 2017 - 1:00 pm
Member Since: December 10, 2016
Forum Posts: 293
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I have experience with only one electric violin, so far. The Cecilio CEVN-1BK. There are other models and colors Cecilio electric/silent violins to choose from as well.

The one I got was better than expected. It was a nice surprise. They did a good job on both the paint and the woodworking workmanship, better than what they did on my more expensive Cecilio CVN-500 acoustic violin.

Some of the pegs are a bit slippy though, especially the D string. I figure that in time that will settle down though. I think it is just that some paint got into some of the peg holes. In time, that should wear away, or I will get rid of it myself. However, this issue already seems to be settling down, and I have only had this electric violin for a couple weeks.

The bridge is a bit of an issue too though. It has a less than ideal arc. I have a similar issue with the bridge on my Cecilio CVN-500, but it is worse on the EV.

The chances are that if you bought a Cecilio electric violin, you might, or might not, have the same, or similar issues. One risk is that they are known to do sloppy paint/varnish work on their violins. My CVN-500 had a less than perfect varnish job, but my CEVN-1BK actually has an excellent paint job.

I do not know what Cecilio instruments are selling for over there where you are, but if they are in your price range, I feel they are worth considering. Even if you get one that is not as pretty as it should/could have been, it should still be a solid built and playable instrument.

MACJR

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
January 17, 2017 - 2:11 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

Thanks MACJR

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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