This is an electric viola made from the fingerboard and neck of a acoustic upright bass. For ideas, try http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Violog/ and for additional help on easily making contact pick-ups on the cheap, try http://home.earthlink.net/~erinys/contactmic.html. Both helped me with making mine. The sound quality is so-so at best, but it was a fun project, and was a good start to see if you really want to invest in a real electric instrument (with a good quality in-bridge pick-up, of course).