Message: 9
 Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2015 16:36:01 -0700 (PDT)
 From: Len Ovens <len(a)ovenwerks.net>
 To: linux-audio-user <linux-audio-user(a)lists.linuxaudio.org>
 Subject: Re: [LAU] Electrical violin?
 Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.10.1506031556430.2517(a)scott.cbbs.org>
 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
 On Wed, 3 Jun 2015, Gabriel Nordeborn wrote:
  Does anyone have experience with electrical
violins? I might be looking 
 to buy
  one, although I don't know how to play the
violin, but I'd really really 
 like to
  have one and try to learn. But, for my girlfriend
and neighbour's sake, 
 I'm
  looking primarily at electrical ones. 
 I am not a player either, but do know that for some notes a lot of the
 sound comes from the bridge and not the body. That is that an electric may
 be quieter than an acoustic, but still much louder than an electric guitar
 in the same way an electric guitar is louder (acoustically) than an
 electric bass. Are there no big name music stores you can rent one from
 for a week or so? or at least try one out in the store? Do you have any
 friends that play?
 I saw this one:
http://www.kkmusicstore.com/cecilio-cevn1bk-black-metallic-size-44-34-or-12…
 Which (as the reviewer said) is cheap enough to be a throw away... that is
 renting will eat up that much ($130) pretty quick. (and much cheaper than
 a reasonable acoustic model)
 I would compare a violin to a mandolin (which I do have), but I realize
 that the violin is generally one note at a time so the trouble I have with
 stumbling over my big fingers on the mandolin may be reduced. :)
 --
 Len Ovens
 
www.ovenwerks.net
 ------------------------------
 Message: 10
 Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2015 21:21:29 -0700
 From: David Christensen <dpchrist(a)holgerdanske.com>
 To: linux-audio-user(a)lists.linuxaudio.org
 Subject: Re: [LAU] Shielded electrical wiring for studio (or not)
 Message-ID: <556FD249.5060802(a)holgerdanske.com>
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
 On 06/02/2015 06:32 AM, Glen MacArthur wrote:
  ... I've received a few mic
 shocks to the lips over the years when I used to run a vintage amp 
 without
  a ground (it only had a ground lift toggle
switch)... It didn't take me
 long to upgrade the wiring to a fully grounded cord.. :).. 
 I'm curious -- if an electric guitar amplifier has a two-conductor power
 supply cord (with hot and neutral conductors only) and a "ground lift"
 switch, what does the switch do?
 Can you provide an example make and model that has a schematic available
 on the web?  For example:
      
http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/
 David
 ------------------------------
 Message: 11
 Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2015 22:19:48 -0700
 From: Sean Bolton <sean(a)smbolton.com>
 Cc: linux-audio-user(a)lists.linuxaudio.org
 Subject: Re: [LAU] Electrical violin?
 Message-ID: <20150603221948.10d6b5fb(a)shams.smbolton.com>
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
 On Wed Jun  3 2015, Len Ovens wrote:
  I saw this one:
 
http://www.kkmusicstore.com/cecilio-cevn1bk-black-metallic-size-44-34-or-12…
 I have one of these, for the very reason that I can practice on it when
 the wife and kid are in bed. It's not silent, but quite a bit quieter
 than an acoustic violin with a practice mute.
 What you should know if you're considering something like this: when I
 received this, the strings were too high for it to be easily playable
 (even the Chinese can't make a violin for this price and pay someone to
 set it up properly.) I spent about three hours lowering the bridge and
 reshaping the nut so it would play well. A professional luthier might
 do the same for you for $60-100. I also spent $20 on a new Wittner
 tailpiece so I'd have fine tuners that would turn easily. I then put
 an old set of synthetic-core strings on it, as I prefer those to the
 steel ones it came with. I'm now really happy with it as a
 quiet-practice violin.
 But I never plug it in. One reviewer on Amazon said it sounded like a
 sewing machine, and as soon as I tried it (through the headphones or an
 amp), I knew what they were talking about. Every time you change bow
 direction, there's a thump, and the sound from the strings is kind of
 thin, so as you're playing it's wheee-thump-thump-thump-thump.
 So you get what you pay for. I'd expect to spend $600 or more for an
 electric that arrives well set up and sounds halfway decent. Check out
 the Yamaha Silent Violins--I though even the low-end model was fairly
 decent.
 HTH,
 -Sean
 Another lifelong violinist chiming in here :)  I personally prefer my 
acoustic
violin amplified by microphone and good soundman. However I have
used a Barcus-Berry pickup for convenience and for those smaller gigs when
playing in a combo and everyone brings their own amp.
I would try this one out, though:
I have used Shar for years for violin gear; they specialize in bowed
strings and even their low end instruments are playable.
-Best wishes
Peter
--
Peter Finnegan