In article ,
Wally wrote:
I'd guess that a violin would use a normal microphone, so needs an amp
suitable for this.

Most acoustic guitars use a piezo pickup.

Yes - but still a form of microphone rather than the inductive pickup used
with 'electric' guitars. However, a piezo type might need a special input
on the amp - very high impedance - I'd guess.

The main difference between
the amplifier types is that amps for electric are designed to distort
tonally ('voiced') and to overload, while those for acoustic stay clean,
more like a hifi or PA amp. Dunno what an electric violin will have -
I've seen 'frame' style leccy fiddles which use some sort of pickup.

Of course they may be designed to produce a different sort of sound - like
say an early electric piano, which sounded nothing like an acoustic one.

So a decent all in one PA amplifier, which has a
built in microphone pre-amp, would be the answer. However, general
purpose PA speakers are designed to go rather lower in frequency than
a violin needs, so something specific for the purpose would seem the
way to go.

I thought of a small PA rig, since that should be tonally similar to an
acoustic amp, but an acoustic amp is likely to be less hassle to move
around - it'll be a single-box deal like a 1x12 combo.

There shouldn't be a problem with a one box setup, given that the bass
response doesn't matter so much.

In TV etc, it's common practice to clip a 'personal' mic on the bridge of
a violin, if separation from other instruments etc is important. This
gives the best compromise for a reasonably authentic sound - although it's
not nearly as good as a more distant mic.

Trouble is, good personal mics ain't cheap. About 200 quid or so. Before
you buy the amp.

--
*A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Dave Plowman London SW
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