Electric Fiddle

[DanRoseberry]

I am looking to begin playing in a contemporary church band and would be the only fiddler. In the past in such arrangements I have placed a mic just above my instrument. Unless I am completely unexpressive and hold real still, the sound fades in and out as I move. I have two choices, electrifying my fiddle or buying an electric instrument.

So I have two threads here I guess:

1. What is the best way of electrifying my fiddle, and what kind of amplifier should I get?
2. What are some good and affordable fiddles, and again, what kind of amplifier should I get?

Any advise?

[Roland White]

Hi Dan, Those are good questions about sound equipment. I’m sure Casey will also chime in here as he has some good experience with professional sound systems. For me I have found a clip on Audio-Tecnica Condenser Mic. I like this mic because the amplified sound is clearly acoustic sounding and it doesn’t make my fiddle sound like an electric fiddle or a electric horn sound. I want my fiddle to sound like a fiddle with the acoustic properties intact over creating sheer volume.

I also like that it is on my fiddle set up so if I move the sound doesn’t change like a stand up mic when you move around. The stand up mic does have some advantages if you need to fade in or fade out by just changing your position. Some folks will use a combination of stand up mic and a mic on the fiddle but it can cause some feedback problems. I encourage folks to check on their budget and then work to find the best mic for the money.

As for Amplifier’s if you’r going for a complete sound system that is whole new set of options. Most folks will take their mic and plug into the larger system with the rest of the band so if your band has a sound system you might want to check to see what types of inputs for mic it can accommodate before you get one that needs an adapter or modification to be compatible. I hope this helps you some.

Perhaps if any of you FiddleVideo members have some experience here you can chime in and give Dan some additional idea and input. Thanks for your questions and have fun with your new band mates. Fiddle on! Roland

[Casey Willis]

Hi, Dan. Good questions. See below…

1. What is the best way of electrifying my fiddle, and what kind of amplifier should I get?

As far as electrifying your fiddle goes, I would say that it definitely depends on what settings you plan on playing in. If you are going to be mainly playing in loud settings with a bunch of stage noise like electric bass and drums, I would recommend going with a Piezo bridge pickup from L.R. Baggs. Use the Carpenter Jack option to mount the 1/4″ jack. I would pair this with a L.R. Baggs Venue preamp. Use this combo for a solid, decent fiddle tone that doesn’t sound too electric, but also is clearly not an acoustically miked fiddle. You will have little to no feedback issues with this setup in situations where there is a bunch of stage noise, especially once you dial in the sweepable notch filter on the Venue preamp.

However, if you plan to mainly play in quieter settings and want to get the most authentic sound possible, you might consider either a clip-on or Carpenter Jack-mounted condensor microphone suspended over your f-hole. This will give you the most accurate reproduction of the tone you are creating when you play. I use a custom made condensor mic made by Joe Mills in Nashville. There are a number of other good condensor mics designed for acoustic guitars and fiddles…you get what you pay for. I would pair this with a good preamp or just go directly into a good accoustic amp. This setup is also much more likely to create feedback loops if you are playing in venues with a bunch of stage noise – which is why I say that my recommendation kind of depends on what your stage noise level will be.

So my pickup/mic setup is:
L.R. Baggs piezo bridge
Custom made condensor microphone suspended over the F-hole. It requires 48 volt phantom power.
Carpenter Jack mount TRS 1/4″ (The piezo bridge signal is sent down one side of the stereo cable and the microphone signal is sent down the other side).

Preamps:
If I’m running with the bridge signal only, I use the L.R. Baggs Venue preamp. If I’d like to just use my condensor mic or a blend of the mic signal and the peizo bridge signal, I use a Rane AP-13 preamp.

Amplifiers:
For small gigs I run through a Marshall AS80R Acoustic soloist. This is a nice option as it has Celestion speakers and built-in reverb. For larger gigs, it’s hard to beat the Bose L1 Model II with the bigger sub woofer.

Disclaimer – I am a L.R. Baggs sponsered artist. I can also tell you that I use both the L.R. Baggs bridge and the venue preamp when I play gigs.

2. What are some good and affordable fiddles, and again, what kind of amplifier should I get?

Man, I don’t know that I’m the guy to ask on that. It’s always a trade-off between cost and soul. I can’t recommend any specific brand. My axe is a German student model made around 1910.

Hope this helps. Pax.

C

[Casey Willis]

I should have added – If you go the L.R. Baggs Piezo bridge route, Fred Carpenter (who designed the Carpenter Jack) and the team at The Violin Shop in Nashville are fantastic. On the west coast, Kerr Violin shop in Portland, OR is great. Fred did my work.

Also, Trace Elliot acoustic amps have a good rep.

I’ll need to do a lesson on this topic. I have some ideas. But they will have to wait till our new studio is completed later this year…more space and all that.

C

[DanRoseberry]

Thanks guys. You have given me somewhere to start here. Casey, all the groups I have played with do have significant stage noise with both drums and electric basses, so your advice is key for me. Also, I’m glad to hear the Violin Shop in Nashville is a good resource, as they have worked on repairs and setups on both my fiddles in the past. Great shop! Wish me luck!

Dan

[Casey Willis]

Best of luck!!

C

[RegisM]

Let me help. I know what your looking for because I was looking for it myself. I have yet to come across an electric fiddle that had the sound I was looking for. If I was in a rock band or wanted special effects or something out of a starwars movie, an electric fiddle would be awesome…but…

If i’m correct, your looking for this (Myers pickup with carpenter clamp)

http://myerspickups.com/myerspickups.html

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VMT3FDC/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1IBW1AOQCWCM6

Its the best pickup I’ve used to date. Place the microphone close to your bridge or take off the cushion and put it directly in your F-hole for a natural effect (and less feedback when big amps are around). This is probably the only pickup I’d recommend right now (and the Countryman XLR or something similar). Works great on a mandolin as well.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by RegisM.

[DanRoseberry]

Thanks for the tip REGISM. I’ll check this one out too.

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