WHICH PICKUP SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR MY ELECTRIC VIOLIN?

Many customers ask me “Which pickup should I choose?”  The answer differs depending on what you need and what sound you are looking for.

SCHATTEN

The Schatten pickup is a single piezo pickup that can capture the natural tone of the instrument below it and provide a great sound palette for you to paint on.  If you are looking for a more acoustic-like tone on an electric body, this may be a good choice.  I highly recommend using a pre-amp or solid state effects processor, or both, when using this pickup.  This pickup comes standard on our Quartet line of violins.

BARBERA

We use the Twin Hybrid Barbera pickups, which have 2 piezos PER STRING!  This creates a much different sound than single piezo pickups, and many professional violinists prefer its thick warm tone.  The output is incredibly strong, and many describe the tone as “punchy” is a good way.  This pickup comes standard on our Dragonfly line of violins.

Both pickups are really phenomenal compared to their competition, which is why we offer them on our violins.  Compared to each other, they are entirely different animals, apples and oranges.  The Schatten will give a great natural tone on a chambered body with 4 or 5 strings.  The Barbera gives great warmth to solid body and high string count instruments.

STARFISH

NEW!  We now offer the Starfish pickup as an option on all of our electric violins.  This pickup uses a concept similar to the Barbera and applies it to the whole bridge, so the end result is a tone between the other two pickup options.  It's a bit warmer than the Schatten, and a bit more full than the Barbera, having some of the punch of the Barbera, and some of the Schatten naturalness. This was initially offered as a way to offer a lower cost version of our Dragonfly model, however the Starfish is a great choice for anyone on all of our electric violin models. 

To find out what’s best for you, please send me an email or give me a call to discuss how you are going to use your electric violin, and I can help get you to the best setup for you!