Electric Violin

(Audio on step 6)

This electric skeleton violin uses a piezoelectric pickup. The body and neck are solid maple and the darker wood is mahogany. 


I eventually finished it in November of last year after a two year build. It could have probably been done a lot quicker but exams and school got in the way. The body is made from a solid piece of maple. It was cut out using a band saw and a scroll saw, (I went through a fair few scroll saw blades!). The body was then shaped using a variety of hand tools. I  aimed to try to use as few power tools as possible. The neck, fingerboard and pegs are explained further on.
The main book I used to make this was the Fiddlemaker's Worksheets by William K. Robertson. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to make a violin, be it acoustic or electric. It has all the dimensions needed, the techniques for getting the correct finish and much more. The basic plan for this one came from tracing around a friends violin, (a very simple way to get started!). 

Step 1: Initial drawings

As mentioned earlier. A simple way to get started is to trace around another violin. This, in combination with dimensions measured from the violin and from the worksheet book, can produce a simple starting template. Squared paper is extremely useful at this point!
The length of the body of the violin is 35cm and its width is about 21cm.

Comments

[btiu]

That looks so awesome! but i don't think i've got the skills to make something like that.

[the Big Cheese]

Hey the violin looks great but could I use your technique to make a cello?

[Toms Workshop]

Thanks! Yeh, I was actually planning to do a Cello at some point for a friend. It'll look awesome, let me know how it goes :)

[clokdoc]

It is a lovely piece of work. It reminds me of Sam Maloof with it's soft edges.
clokdoc

[Toms Workshop]

Cheers man! His stuff looks pretty funky ;)

[dinhoconrad]

I already have a violin, a old one. I can disassemble and do this?

[Toms Workshop]

Sure! If you want you can just buy the pickup and electrify the violin as it is. Or, you could use parts of the old violin (neck, shoulder rest, fingerboard etc...) and make your own. Here's a link to the pickup:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-4-Electric-Violin-Maple-Pickup-Bridge-Piezo-Pickup-253mm-Lead-w-2-5mm-Jack-/251078556290?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments&hash=item3a7572ba82

[stevegossett]

Is this modeled after a 4/4 full size? I wouldn't mind knowing how you trimmed the bridge either. How much you trimmed off it as well.

[Toms Workshop]

Hi. Yeh, it's based on a full size violin. The bridge was trimmed down using a knife and then tidied up using fine sand paper. When you get a bridge it will be oversized. The amount you take off will very much depend on the style of violin you are building and the angle of the neck. The easiest thing to do is put a ruler along the fingerboard until it touches the edge of the bridge. Draw a line where the ruler touches the bridge so you produce the profile of the fingerboard on the bridge. Then you can draw the profile below above the line you produced with the ruler. the maximum height should be about 7(ish) mm. The best thing to do is compare against another violin before doing the final cut.

[gasp]

I really suck at playing violin but wow....this is just a beautiful instrument.
Something like that would make me want to practice.

[bricabracwizard]

Too true!

[chakra]

everything fine... but WHERE ARE THE ELECTRONICS BUILDING STEP? and where you put it? would have been very useful..

[Toms Workshop]

Hey man. Good point! Taken some more photos and added a little electronics section. Hope it helps :)

[jediwhiz3]

Wow is all I can say. I play the violin and that is an exceptionally good design. I love it and have one question; how much did it cost to make (build)?

[Toms Workshop]

It cost under £100. The mahogany came from an old cupboard that we had in our shed and the maple I got from a couple of local businesses. The best thing to do is go to a joinery company (or something similar) and see if they have any offcuts. If you tell them what your planning to do more often than not you can come away with a fair amount of wood in exchange for them to see the final product (and perhaps a bottle or two of beer!) Also, looking on eBay, auctions or the tip you can often find old furniture that is damaged/unwanted but perfect for other projects. So the only bits that cost me were the electronics, strings, tailgut, metal attachments and a few extra tools. The main thing is time really! :)

[jediwhiz3]

Okey doke!

[urtlesquirt]

Add blue lights and you too can be epic violin guy.

[Toms Workshop]

That's the next one I'm working on :)

[RocKiN Ranen]

Do you think that one could modify the dimensions and materials to make a wooden electric viola?

[Toms Workshop]

Hey, Can't see why not. I was hoping to do this kind of thing to a cello so as long as you have the dimensions a viola should be fine.

[endolith]

The shoulder rest is solid wood permanently attached?

What jack did you use for the pickup? Is there a preamp?

[Toms Workshop]

Hey.
Yes, the shoulder rest is permanently attached. It is glued to the body and conceals the electronics. I used a standard mono 1/4" jack in the wiring. I didn't use a preamp as there was not quite enough room in the body. I was looking to maybe get a pocket preamp for it at some point.

[endolith]

Something like this would probably work well: http://www.till.com/articles/PreampCable/

[Toms Workshop]

Awesome. That looks like it could work perfectly. I'll have to give that one a go when exams are out of the way!

[spiritwalker6153]

A beautiful piece of artwork. And it sounds really nice.

[cyprian916]

i love the violin. also the music is amazing what is the piece called?

[Toms Workshop]

Um, I'm afraid I don't know. I should have written it down when we did it. She did tell me but I'm useless at remembering things. If I find out I'll add it to the video :)

[jbzy3000]

This is very beautiful
just love it!

[mr monoply33]

I'm envious of anyone with decent woodworking skills.

The photos I have up of a wood PC case that I'd like to say I did on my own, I had some major help with. My projects tend to warp uncontrollably, regardless of how dry the wood is at the moment. If I built something like that, with the tight strings, It would probably just roll up, or at least not stay tuned for more than seven minutes.

Kudos, looks & sounds great!

[bobble293]

What an absolutely beautiful piece of work, it's delicate, yet has enough substance to be reasonably robust. I had FE students who couldn't maintain concentration for an hour, or complete work to the remarkably low standards set, yet this project was carried out over a two year period, and completed successfully. It's stunning, and incorporates several disciplines, woodworking, electronics and metalworking, including making a peghole reamer from scissors! I used to make special reamers for aircraft work (with appropriate equipment) but for someone so young to carry this off with basic equipment is totally amazing.

[synnamin]

Awesome! Fantastic work! I would love to hear the sound.

[Pattymouth]

This is absolutely beautiful. I wouldn't even care if it made a sound!

[David Catriel]

Beautiful!

[mintybot]

This is pretty sick, I need to try this with a guitar :)

[Toms Workshop]

Awesome. Send us a photo if you do!

[nlinventor]

Wow!

[billbillt]

WOW!!!....

[hammer9876]

It is beautiful! I would love to hear it, too. Even if it doesn't sound good to a critical musician, it looks so good that it wouldn't matter. Congratulations on being Featured.

[Lindie]

Awesome! And it's beautiful, too!

[scotth61]

You have my vote as well! Very nice looking violin.