What is an electric violin?

An electric violin is a string instrument that is like both an electric guitar and a classical violin. Most have a solid body and produce the sound with built-in pickups.

Believe it or not, the electric violin has been around since the early part of the 20th century. In fact, there were a number of companies doing busines as early as the 1930s and 1940s who manufactured electric violins.

A regular acoustic violin can be made into an electric violin with an add-on pickup. This can attach to the bridge, the body or even the fingerboard.

Most electric violin players prefer the solid-body type. They usually have a non-traditional design and use light-weight materials such glass, carbon and kevlar fibers.

Electric violins work much like electric guitars and can have delay, reverb, chorus, distortion, or other effects usually associated with the guitar.

The electric violin is rarely used in a tradtional classical music setting. More often, you hear it in comtemporay music, new age, pop, jazz, country, etc.

When choosing an electric violin, one should consider price and quality.

One of the least expensive electric violins available today is offered by Austin Bazzar and is sold for less than $100. As you might imagine, the set-up of violins in this price range is minimal. The bridge may or may not fit correctly and you might want to replace the strings with a higher quality brand.

Moving up from an entry-level student electric violin, you might consider the FV3 Deluxe Electric Violin Outfit by Fender. Sold for less than $1,000 online, this instrument is suitable for the serious student or professional who wants a great sounding instrument at an affordable price.

The electric violin is an exciting instrument. Enjoy!