Top products from r/Violins

We found 8 product mentions on r/Violins. We ranked the 8 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/Violins:

u/artemis_floyd · 1 pointr/Violins

Speaking from experience as both a violinist and teacher, obviously the best thing to do would be to see a teacher - but I definitely understand that isn't an option for everyone financially or time-wise. That said, here's my advice:

Start from the very beginning. Essential Elements is an awesome book series to teach you the basics, especially if you're rusty on reading music. The interactive CD helps quite a lot, and you should use it.

Put finger tapes on your instrument. Here is a good instructional on how to do it. I don't recommend the violin fretboard as it's too busy; the tapes are much easier to look at while you're playing.

Buy a tuner! If finances are a concern, you can download an app to your phone/tablet, but a digital tuner is your best option. I use this one and swear by it, particularly as it also has a metronome.

Practice using a full-length mirror. Since you don't have a teacher watching you play, you'll have to take on the role yourself. Particularly watch your left wrist (is it folding in against the instrument?) and your bow arm (is your bow moving straight and is your right shoulder hunched?). It sounds crazy, but practice in the bathroom...it usually has great acoustics and a large mirror. It works!

Make playing comfortable. If you need one, use a shoulder rest - they aren't especially expensive and make a great deal of difference in holding the instrument securely and comfortably (you don't want to be pinching your shoulder upwards or angling your head downwards). The Kun is an industry standard and works well for most beginners. Also, use a stand - do NOT put your music down on your bed or on a table and hunch over to read it, as it totally ruins your playing posture and prevents you from bowing properly.

I hope this helps!

u/bazzage · 2 pointsr/Violins

Come to think of it, that earlier Fishman used an in-line 1/8" phone jack that would have banged into the fiddle's top if not secured. The element itself tended to wander around in the slot it was wedged into; she used a speck of picture-hanging putty to stabilize it. Now that cornerless five-string viola has a Mi-Si element similarly wedged under the wing of the bridge, with a fairly floppy lead going to a carpenter jack with a preamp built into the connector shell. The FET doesn't draw much current, and runs for hours powered by a capacitor charged through the output jack. Still needs putty to hold the element steady in the bridge, but it's not a normal bridge, on an unusual fiddle. I haven't heard complaints about it, so it must be working.

I've fitted a few "Bradivarius" pickups with the piezo element potted right into a little slot in one arm of the bridge. They use a mini-coax cable to the jack, stiff enough and running a short enough span that it holds itself in the air over the top plate. Mr. Higgins (the Brad in Bradivarius) supplies them with a carpenter jack, but unsoldered. It would be a pain to fit the feet to the top with the jack clunking around in the way.

Given the choice, I would use a bridge pickup like the Baggs or Bradivarius. The advantage of that Fishman pickup is that it may be installed by the player, without fitting a new bridge, but you takes your chances about how well the little metal vee will stay put, depending on how the existing bridge was trimmed. Some workers leave wider slots between wings and knees than others, and very few of them are thinking about aftermarket gadgets going in that spot.

Sorry about all this typing... I don't get tired of yapping on about it, so ask away if you're so inclined.

*edit: If it's cheap and cheerful you're after, the Cherub might be just the ticket. A spring arm goes into an f-hole and holds the pickup against the outside of the top, with some room to pick a sweet spot, if it matters. One of my wife's former students used one of those at a barn gig a month or so ago. Again, hearing no complaint, I assume it worked well enough.

u/Mojofrodo_26 · 1 pointr/Violins

I have an electric violin and no amp as yet, I played on it until I could afford an acoustic and it was loud enough to hear without an Amp. This is mine. https://www.amazon.com/Stagg-EVN-BK-Silent-Violin/dp/B0055V3VJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493502474&sr=8-1&keywords=stagg+violin . Although it sounds a tad hollow without an amp as it has no soundbox (lack of resonance) it is not "silent". Bare in mind a lot of folk say that cheap electric violin's aren't worth the money though and mine is considered cheap!

If you don't have an acoustic already take my advice and use the money you'd spend on this on a decent acoustic one first as I wish I had. Stentor's are supposed to be a decent student outfit- https://www.amazon.com/Stentor-1500-4-Violin/dp/B002021HIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493502698&sr=8-1&keywords=stentor+2+violin. Additionally my Violin teacher wouldn't like it much if I took my electric along to a lesson. Just something to consider.

Not sure about electric acoustics and their limits I'm afraid, but I hope this helps a little!