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How well does an average acoustic electric violin perform being played as an acoustic only?
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I too would like to know how an acousticc electric not plugged in sounds compared to an acoustic. Maybe FM could compare both.
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Kevin M. said
I too would like to know how an acousticc electric not plugged in sounds compared to an acoustic. Maybe FM could compare both.
@Kevin M. I concur
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Some of them sound just as good. You have to get lucky and the added equipment can dampen the sound slightly. It's really hard to compare. I find that the best acoustic electric violins are the real good acoustic violins that you convert to be electric. For example, a customer just bought a Fiddlerman soloist violin and had our luthier install a bradivarius bridge pickup and the violin still sounded fantastic without amplification. We did not solder the mic to the hardware so I did not get a chance to test it but I imagine that it could only be as good or better amplified. Hopefully the customer will kick in and comment on this post.
Also, the realist violin that I tested is better than most violins that I have tested. That could have been a fluke and it was a 5 string violin but I was very impressed. I've also played on AE violins that I do not like that much.
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I just got a chance to plug it in yesterday, from what I could tell, the sound through the bradivarius pickup was fine, but it was honestly hard to hear what the sound from the speakers was like compared to the violin itself (the violin has such great volume and acoustic amplification by itself)... I will have to find someone else to play while I listen to the speaker for and accurate assessment of sound quality.
The soloist violin by itself (with the pickup hardware installed) was AWSOME. I highly recommend the soloist violin for any experienced violin (not for a beginner, though, I'm not sure it would be given the right respect and care). It is seriously well made and beautiful, the varnish is thin enough that it lets the sound project beautifully without dampening it at all. Your safest bet would be the LR Baggs (which many professionals use), but it's quite pricey... The bradivarius is very similar and goes for as little as $80 + shipping on ebay auctions for the pickup and carpenter jack. The website sells it for $150. Unfortunately it will probably cost you another $50 for installation. http://www.bradivarius.com/hig.....ckups.html
If you get other pickups that clamp on (barcus berry) or wedges into the bridge, it can dampen the vibrations of the bridge, but at least those ones are easily installed and removable. I am also hesitant to put sticky tack on the wonderful varnish. For a violin with a thicker/harder varnish (most beginner/intermediate violins) a stuck on pickup like the super-sensitive is fine (I had been using a similar one to that before).
Donovan, thank you for your assesment. My wife had given me an electric setup, actually 5 of them, I have an old handmade violin I was thinking of putting the electronics into. Don't worry this is not a good violin.
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I actually thought of doing a DIY on a worthless violin myself. It's a good way to learn and get experience without the risk, and then you come out with an acoustic-electric violin. The sound is probably only as good as the pickup anyways when your plugged in. The acoustics let you hear yourself without a monitor, which is very handy on stage.
I've gotten to try the bradivarius a little more now, and my first impressions are all good. I think it is the best sounding violin pickup I have heard yet, and no feedback either.
Thanks for the info Donovan.
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