Are there Electric Violas? (YES!)
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Despite the name of our shop, we also deal with electric violas (and cellos and basses)!
There aren't nearly as many options for electric violists, unless you get a little bit creative. We'll talk about why that is, what those options are, and how to make your electric violin work as an electric viola.
Adding in a few manufacturers we missed, here's a more complete list of who makes electric violas:
Aurora
Bridge Violins
EVL
Glasser (acoustic electric)
Jordan Violins
NS Design
Wood Violins
Zeta
Shoutout to Susie at EVS for replying to my email about this same info last week - I’ve been agonizing about how to choose my first electric instrument, knowing that I’ll want a viola sound out of whatever I choose. This video is incredibly helpful.
YAY!
YESS!! Finally I found an electric viola video!! I’ve always wanted one, considering I play the viola so
Let's GOOO!
Another superb video with all th options laid out clearly.
Many thanks!
Great video, digging the Flying V in the background !
Yes awesome video super informative!!! Best channel ever! 😄
As a violinist/violist I wanted a 5 string violin/viola & so experimented with the tension of violin E strings to see if it could be happily tuned up to F# on a violin so I could use it on a 15" viola. It did, so I modified a 4 string 15" (standard acoustic) viola to 5 string, plugged the peg holes & started again fitting pegs & radiused the fingerboard a little more plus cut a bridge with a smaller curve so individual strings can be played without too much difficulty. At this point I just used a K&K triple point pick up I had (pickup pad under each foot & one in the gap), but had intended to use an L R Baggs bridge on it. Yes, it all works, but obviously tone control is external, although that third pickup pad changes the tonal output depending which side to have it & which side faces up (changing the sound wave phase angle, + or -). The strings I used were Pirastro Universal chrome wound E with Pirastro Obligato viola strings.
However, I also set up a 16" viola (Gliga II) with octave strings with an LR Baggs bridge. One little issue was when playing the C string was with the vibrations to the head which gave me an ear ache. Lesson learned & now I don't grip the viola with my jaw while playing it.
I've gone back to playing a 16" viola in an orchestra again & no call for playing electric (amplified) instruments at the moment.
Yes, violin family of instruments are what I work on & repair for a living, so it is not the sort of work for a DIY person.
Thank you! I think I have one of the earlier SVV200s (serial # < 1500), and it’s great to get a little more information about the range of electric instruments. Nice trick to know about EQs! It would be great to have a discussion of bows - because of processing, I tend to go with violin bows but am curious what other people do.
I'm a violinist, so I play with a violin bow. I think a real violist would tell you that a viola bow will make a big difference in sound - and articulation.
Your viola great!!!
The bridge Viola is called Cygnus
It's never compromised at all cause it plugs into an amp
Awesome! Thank you so much for the video. So informative! Does this mean I could safely replace my E string with a low C string (and move the other strings up a place) without risking hurting my 4-string electric violin? Similarly, would it be possible to replace the E and A with a low C and low F, while still preserving a quality sound?
Yup.
it makes more sense to make more extended range violins.
I have a YEV-105 and an ME-80. I would like to get a much fuller viola sound. In addition to adjusting EQ, does it make sense to change the brand or type of strings? Or are the G, D, and A strings actually identical for a violin and viola? The character of the C string that came on it seems very different from the other 4 strings.
Yamaha and "full" don't usually go together. Their entire vibe is usually a thinner, brighter sound. But you could experiment with a hair of distortion - seriously. ua-cam.com/video/SBDQZfGchyU/v-deo.html
Do you have different sizes violas?
Where can I find Low F string for viola.
I don't think anyone is making one right now.
@@ElectricViolinShop oh, where do the F strings on 6 string violas come from?
Are there any electric-acoustic 4-string violas?
Yup. Glasser makes a really nice one.
Need a bow bass or piccolo.bass set up
Are there 16 inch 5 string electric violas?
Yes. I think Zeta violas are 16" instruments.
Is that Glasser 5string viola fiberglass?
Carbon fiber
Yo brother dude