Silent Violins - article by Whimsical Wire Articles

Electric violins are a pretty recent addition. Up until recently, buying violins for sale was always a matter of finding the most resonant, sonorous, and loud instrument there was. So called silent violins where exactly the opposite of what you would look for. Long after the invention of electric guitars, People in the classical music world still rejected the idea of the silent violin. Music was changing so quickly, and they were afraid or downright hostile towards the electric age. The silent violin seemed like one more incursion of technology where tradition had held sway for so long. No one wanted one outside of the realm of experimental music.

Recently, however, people have let go of their prejudices and really taken a look at silent violins. The thing is, the silent violin will never replace the real acoustic violin. There will always be a market for something that makes that kind of sound! Because of this, classical music fans and jazz aficionados are not threatened by electric violin playing anymore. Now they can enjoy it for its convenience, as well as the neat effects that can be achieved.

In reality, the term silent violins is a misnomer. I have been playing a Yamaha violin for some time, and it is not silent. Anything with strings that vibrate is bound to make a sound, and violin strings vibrate more than most. Nonetheless, it is quiet enough to play late into the night, even if your neighbor is a light sleeper and your walls are extremely thin. The sound is roughly comparable to that of an electric guitar with the power turned off. Unless you are really sawing away at it, it won't disturb anyone.

One of the nice things about silent violins is that it is relatively inexpensive to get a nearly top-of-the-line model. Normal violins are handmade at great expense in an intricate process that can take quite a while. They can sell for thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars. With an electric violin, however, you can get a good model for hundreds – quite a considerable improvement. And with that model, you can get a wide range of interesting effects. Violin synthesizers are very good, so you can easily get a realistic tone, but you can also distort it, use it as a midi trigger for something else, or put it through a reverb. The possibilities are endless. If nothing else, silent violins make great toys.

Most Recent Articles