GEAR
As a performing violinist with electric bands it has been a real journey to find a pickup system to do justice to the instrument and sound great in every venue. Below is a list of my gear that helps me make it happen! I also loop and effect the violin in various ways and include my pedal choices below as well. Thank you to String Amp.com for their amazing pickup on my violin!
My Pickup:
String amp violin pickup:
This pickup is amazing! It is built into the violin and offers unparalleled tone and presence. There is never any feedback issues and it creates a big, beautiful tone to rival any lead guitar player. The signal also runs great into various effect pedals and has been my go to for 9 years now. I’ve tried other pick up systems as well as solid body electric violins and nothing comes near the String Amp system. I don’t know what I would do without it!
Bartlett Fiddle Mic:
https://www.bartlettaudio.com/products/fiddle-mic
I wanted a little of the scratchy, acoustic, violin sounds that only a mic can pick up so I installed a Bartlett Fiddle Mic onto my violin as well. I mix it into a Schertler Yellow Blender Preamp with the String Amp signal. The two of them together sound amazing. And if I have feedback issues at a venue I turn down the mic gain and all is gravy! I have found that cutting out the low’s of the Mic channel reduces any feedback issues from a kick drum when playing with drums.
Schertler Yellow Blender Preamp:
https://www.schertler.com/en_US/shop/preamps-and-di/yellowblender
This has been a fantastic preamp pedal to blend my DI String Amp signal and Fiddle Mic signal.
Mad professor GOlden Cello Pedal:
https://www.mpamp.com/non_eu/golden-cello
I absolutely love this pedal! It’s hard to find guitar effects pedals that work well with violin and this one does the trick. It’s an analog overdrive and delay pedal that sounds epic with the StringAmp signal running through it. I like the blend with the fiddle mic because the mic maintains a baseline violin sound, while the string amp signal is effected.
Electroharmonix Nano Pog PEdal:
https://www.ehx.com/products/nano-pog
This is great pedal to mix in an octave down into my signal. I like using an octave below to get into viola/ cello range.
Pigtronix Infinity Looper
https://pigtronix.com/infinity/
Finding a good looping pedal has been a journey. I’ve tried a lot of them and I’m liking this one a lot. It has dual inputs so I can play violin and guitar into it and it sounds great. Still working out some kinks but I recommend it.
Fishman Loudbox Mini AMp:
https://www.fishman.com/products/series/loudbox/loudbox-mini-amplifier/
I love this amp. I originally bought it for guitar, but I love how my violin sounds out of it. At most shows now I go XLR out from my amp to the sound guy. It sounds great in the house and I get a dedicating monitor for violin which is really nice when playing with a louder band.