The primary source of violin (and viola) resonance is when a bow is drawn across its strings. This action creates a sound that can be extremely expressive, from very soft to very loud, slow or fast, with or without vibrato, etc. Because of this dynamic range, a violin pickup must be responsive enough to produce a clean signal at any range of the sound spectrum. It must allow the violinist to play all types of music without dropping notes or diminishing the sound in any way.
Many violin pickup systems utilize high quality contact sensors that mount on or under the bridge or perhaps on the soundboard. These systems are warm and rich and have excellent resonance. There are also systems that embed a high qualizy piezo sensor in a maple replacement bridge to provide more string articulation and clarity, and are often the preferred approach for performing musicians. Carpenter-style jacks that clamp onto the side of the instrument (much like a chin rest) provide an easy way to plug in a standard 1/4" instrument cable.
Whether you play a fiddle in a bluegrass band or are in a school band or orchestra, we have a pickup for your violin or viola. Give us a call to discuss which pickups would work best for your particular situation.
