Exploring Effects with String Instruments

All right, let's have some fun and talk about effects!

You might have noticed that this is just a plain old violin. In fact, it's an old regular violin, but I have a pickup installed in the bridge. This wonderful pickup, made by a guy named Eric Aceto, allows me to play my nice acoustic violin in electric settings.

Types of Electric String Instruments

There are all kinds of electric string instruments you can try:

• Solid body electric instruments
• Instruments with extra strings (I actually have a six-string acoustic electric violin)
• Five-string violins (which I play a lot)

I guess that's a bit out of the purview of this course, but it's always fun to explore!

My Journey with Effects

Talking about effects, I started messing around with them when I had a mandolin at my house. I used a little Barcus Berry contact pickup that went on the mandolin along with a small effects box that I could attach to my belt.

This effects box included:

• Flanger
• Chorus
• Various reverbs

I could also plug in headphones, and I would walk around my backyard, listening to my super spacey mandolin sounds. That experience is what eventually got me into using effects on the violin.

The Progression of Pickups

The first pickup that I used was a very basic, low-quality one. I won't mention the name of the maker, but you probably know this pickup. It's just a little chunk of metal that you wedge into your bridge, and it sounds somewhat like "an electric ham sandwich." It's tough to deal with!

Since then, I've progressed to better and better equipment. I'm really excited about my current setup, which I'm using on the road with Snarky Puppy. This is what I consider my latest creation.

Compact Setup for Traveling Musicians

The board you're looking at has been specifically chosen because it fits in my suitcase, allowing me to avoid checking an additional bag. We all know that there are usually charges for that second bag these days, and I got sick of it!

General Note on Amplifying String Instruments

Before we dive deeper, I want to make a general note about amplifying string instruments.

Many great string players transition from sounding good with acoustic instruments to producing less desirable sounds when they start using electronics. Just because you're a skilled violinist, cellist, or violist doesn't mean you will automatically sound good with amplification.

It's essential to understand that using effects is like playing a parallel instrument. There are certainly things I wish I had known early on, which would have saved me a lot of money and spared other people from hearing some unpleasant sounds!