Over the years I have made myself three electric violins. I also own a Fender solid body electric violin which has been customised. All my fiddles are regularly played at gigs.
When gigging I usually play through a Boss GT6 multi-effects pedal board into a Marshall 200W amp. In the studio I also use a a Yamaha FX500 rack mounted effects unit and various foot pedals.
I made this fiddle in 1986. It has gone through many manifestations and sported several different pickups. It currently has a pickup which I made myself.
The instrument has a bright tone which sounds good when DI'd straight through a PA. I usually play it "clean" but run it through a Barcus-Berry 3500 Interface which gives a bit more body to the sound.
I made this fiddle in 1995 using parts from a couple of broken instruments bought in junk shops. It has been altered many times over the years, and I have experimented with several different pickups. Until recently is was fitted with a modified Schaller pickup. Last year I switched to an Ashworth pickup which has been excellent. The Ashworth pickup gives a warm natural sound and has never given feedback.
I made this instrument, my third electric fiddle, in summer 2002. The fiddle was made from scratch using a solid piece of maple. The design has an organic feel - rather like bleached bones, hence the name. The organic quality probably flows from the fact that I made the design up as I went along. It was made using just two parts - the body and the neck. I am very grateful to Marcus and Harpo at Marcus Music for their kind advice in making the fiddle and the use of their workshop facilities.
This fiddle uses a Zeta midi pickup system. The pickup allows separate volume control of each string. As the fiddle is totally non-acoustic I can play it live using all the effects I like to use in the studio with fear of feedback.
This is an early Fender instrument which predates the more recent instruments made popular by the likes of the Corrs. I bought this fiddle in 1992. I have made several modifications to the fiddle since I bought it.