Hmmmm... Pros and Cons of owning an Outlaw Fiddle?
Yes, it is obviously not possible for every electric violin to be the best option for every player and their needs, both physically and musically, so I will attempt to lay it all out for your uses and purchase decision making here.
I ultimately only want the right instrument to go to the right player who will get the greatest benefit out of owning and using an Outlaw Fiddle. Since my instruments are really a first-of-it's-kind on the market, I thought it might be wise to offer some info on the differences between our offerings and others on the market to date so the potential buyer can have every opportunity to be confident of their purchase.
Sincerely,
Fitz
Yes, it is obviously not possible for every electric violin to be the best option for every player and their needs, both physically and musically, so I will attempt to lay it all out for your uses and purchase decision making here.
I ultimately only want the right instrument to go to the right player who will get the greatest benefit out of owning and using an Outlaw Fiddle. Since my instruments are really a first-of-it's-kind on the market, I thought it might be wise to offer some info on the differences between our offerings and others on the market to date so the potential buyer can have every opportunity to be confident of their purchase.
Sincerely,
Fitz
The Pros and Cons for your considerations before owning an Outlaw Fiddle:
Tone, dynamics, weight, look, ability to compete with other modern instruments, ergonomics, neck health, singing, and design.
Tone, dynamics, weight, look, ability to compete with other modern instruments, ergonomics, neck health, singing, and design.
What do you want your electric violin to do for you?
Are you looking for an instrument that just sounds as acoustic as possible, but has the capability of being louder?… Then an Outlaw Fiddle and it’s patented technology might NOT be the best choice for you.
That said, what traits are there that you need from an acoustic sound? Dynamic sensitivity and control? A particular woody tone? Let’s delve into each of these a bit:
Dynamics: the facts are, the traditional piezo-based electrics are actually LESS dynamic than an actual acoustic violin and also LESS dynamic than an Outlaw Fiddle too. Piezo technology has to be pressurized to work, as they are simply vibration sensors. Being pressurized has some compression inherent in it’s physics, which can actually limit it’s dynamic range.
Tone? It is true that piezo pickups “pick-up” and sense the shaking of the wood, which gives them a woody, more acoustic representation, but there are also drawbacks to this tech in that they can also tend to sound, like they inherently are: “squeezed” or canned, rather lifeless and have a nasal, stuffy-nosed peak, often in the irritating 1k hertz range that can only be tuned out with extra electronics. Outlaw Fiddles have none of that, and though not acoustic-y sounding, are clear, dynamic and beautifully sweet when played cleanly and clear, and also retain a sweetness even when distorted.
An Outlaw Fiddle instrument’s source is magnets, coils of wire, some steel, and actual air between the parts, much like an electric guitar’s pickups do not actually touch the strings, resulting in a greater amount of “air” in the tone, dynamics and playability. This quality is nothing unfamiliar to an acoustic player who might chose one instrument over another for this rather intangible “air” quality as well.
Imagine an electric guitar such as the ubiquitous Fender Stratocaster. It plays the same exact notes and range that an acoustic guitar has, but the source and physics are completely different. The “Strat” as it is nicknamed, and any other electric guitar for that matter, can sound very clean, clear, bright and dynamic (interestingly all attributes of a good acoustic), but also have the capability of roaring with distortion, singing sweetly or harshly depending on the player’s preference, touch and gear. The Strat is definitely not an acoustic, but rather just an alternative in the guitar world with this difference being widely known and accepted.
The Outlaw Fiddle can straddle this wide tonal palette like no other on the market today. It is just a different alternative for the violin world.
Body Shape:
Our flagship EV3's asymmetrical shape, is actually not as asymmetrical as it looks. All the familiar touch points and dimensions are there from a traditional and typical acoustic violin. The neck area is the same length, as well as the body length from end button to nut, and the string scale length is the same too. The right upper bout is slightly reduced, but still there, unlike “stick” style electric violins. We feel that this is a logical compromise as the upper right bout of a traditional acoustic is actually “in the way” of comfortably playing in the upper positions anyway. In this area, the EV3 gives a nod to tradition, but still looks way-cool and modern.
The other aspect of body shape is that of marketing and image… not just for Outlaw Fiddle as a brand, but you as a player. What image are you trying to project to your listeners? That of being the same old tradition? …or do you want the opposite extreme with a shock value of having an instrument that looks more like a large insect strapped to you? :~) …or do you want something that is somewhere in-between, still looking like a violin-like instrument but altered enough to entice and encourage the listener to listen more deeply for something new from you? We feel that the iconic EV3 shape is just that.
We find, in our performing experience, that the shape, and even color of an instrument often influences what the audience attentively listens for. Like, “Oooh, look at that! That’s interesting. Let’s stick around to hear what they can do with that.” This can be just good and simple marketing for you as a performer.
And, if our EV3 is just too “Jetsons” for your needs, but you still want the patented Outlaw Fiddle tone and tech, we also offer a much more traditional shaped instrument in the EVT (Electric Violin Traditional) model.
Weight:
The actual weight and balance of an instrument is important to many player’s comfort and neck health. We know this from decades of playing ourselves and being around other players who often end up with neck and shoulder imbalances.
The physical weight of a pair of Outlaw Fiddle pickups is about 3.5 ounces. This, along with a few other design considerations does add a bit of weight to our instruments by nature. A traditional acoustic violin is typically about 1 pound in weight. We strive to keep our instruments under 2 pounds.
This said, making an instrument lighter than an acoustic to compensate for the added design weight of our patented pickup system, can be problematic in the way most users are musically using Outlaw Fiddles: amped up and loud, often with a touch of distortion added. This is great fun and very expressive in our opinion and what Outlaw Fiddle is really all about, as a tool for modern times and supplying the possibility to actually compete toe-to-toe with an electric guitar… but to make the body too thin, makes it more easily effected by common external sounds in modern settings like drum sets and the competing electric guitars. A "too thin" body can become a resonator for those outside influences, creating either a muddy tone, (as your gear tries to also amplify them through your pickup and amp too!), or just degrades into feedback at these higher volumes. Both can be a problem. A bit of heft to the body and structure can also serve as a feedback resistor.
In the words of Matt Bell, marketing director of Electric Violin Shop: “Two pounds?… come on man, go to the gym and do a few pushups!”
Having gone through some physical therapies to correct my own imbalances from my Classical violin training, I do understand and respect the need to keep players healthy as well, and also offer an Outlaw Fiddle strap system that assists with any weight differences if you desire. These are available upon request and simply require the addition of two guitar-style strap buttons to the instrument at the perfect balance points.
These type of apparatuses, though rarer in the violin marketplace, have been in play for more than a century with dozens of patents in the US patent database, but are also showing up more and more lately, even for straight acoustic players. Especially for those in the “alternative string” non-Classical worlds.
Recently I saw the famous fiddle-man Darol Anger using a similar corded assist in a concert.
Besides health concerns, a "vio-strap" as we are coming to call them, can also be a boon to more freedom of movement on stage, since you would no longer need to hold the instrument with your chin clamped down on a chin rest, the head is free to move around, which again, is not only better for your neck and shoulder muscles, but in my opinion, looks a lot cooler too!
Violinists that also sing are finding this a great aid to better performance as well.
Ergonomic placement of controls:
Some folks have initially questioned the placement of our special 4-way pickup selector switch in the side of the upper right bout, wondering if one might bump it while playing or be distracted by it. Again, we consider the electric guitarist. Watching any great "Strat" player, with the pickup selector seemingly right in the “way” of their strumming hand, one might wonder why iconic guitar designer Leo Fender placed it there and not more out of the way?
Adept "Strat" players who are really expressing themselves, switch pickups often, even during musical phrases, and love that it is right there in a spot that is natural and accessible without having to reach and think about it. Instruments need to be part of us and ergonomic like this to become part of our very expressiveness of our musical souls ultimately. (Check out any concert footage of the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn for an example of this, and you should see what I mean).
This idea is especially compounded in the electric violin, as different than an electric guitar with it’s loose and wire-y steel strings touching steel frets and a steel bridge, naturally produces ringing sustained notes, so that a player can strum a chord, and while the notes are still ringing (especially being even further enhanced by the sustaining qualities of distortion from their gear), the guitarist has much more time to adjust knobs and settings, even those on the amp and not directly on the instrument, all while still playing.
In comparison, violins by their nature do not have that same capability: if we stop bowing, our instruments generally stop making “noise” within a second or two... tops. So, with this in mind I designed any performance based controls to be in positions where the user could quickly adjust even while playing, with a bit of practice.
This is generally unheard of in electric violin design to this point.
The actual pickup selector that we chose for the Outlaw Fiddle instruments is also of high quality and rather sturdy and stiff enough in its response that it can be easily glided over when reaching for higher positions.
Besides the 4-way pickup selector placement, part of our US patent covers the unique placement of the master volume knob control horizontally next to the bass side of the neck heel. This design allows for quick “gain” changes by simply rolling the side of the left thumb along a specifically high quality knob chosen for this purpose.
Violinists might not be used to the concept of "gain structure" like our guitarist friends are, and again we look to them for musical experience: It is true that a violin by nature, has quite a bit of dynamic control just by regulating bow pressure, and violinists spend years perfecting their techniques in this regard, but a modern violinist using distortion in their musical palette, need to become aware that, while using distortion, which has a natural compression factor to it, that rolling off the volume a bit while using distortion does not really make the volume quieter, but simply less distorted for a large amount of the volume knob’s travel, so violinists can again dip into the same musical territory as electric guitarists, by using the volume control as a "tonal variation" option.
Our favorite amp settings are “on the edge of breakup (distortion)” where just with bow pressure we can go between clean and more distorted tones. The master volume, gain structure idea just takes this concept further.
Guitarists are experts in this regard and Outlaw Fiddles are designed to have this feature available for the modern violinist.
Electronics:
For as "modern" of an approach the Outlaw Fiddle concept is, its electronics are actually quite "old school" and are completely "passive" with no batteries to change or support its features. A simple two-pickup design with a single master volume and master tone is all we've found we need for performance. Though we experimented with much more, and thought some of it was pretty cool, we found most of it to be more of a performance distraction than an actual aid. The current electronic design is really no different than a "hot-rodded" Fender Telecaster from the 1950's.
Maintenance and adjustments:
An Outlaw Fiddle is built to last, but is also a high performance machine with close tolerances in its pickup design. The distance from the end of the steel soundbar tang, bent down through two small slots in the top of each instrument, to the top of the magnet poles in the specially designed pickup coils, is critical for good tone and output. These are set to optimum specs before leaving our shop, but things can change in your environment, just like on an acoustic violin, as to humidity and temperatures, and the owner may need to slightly tweak the pickup clearances from time to time. This is done easily with a common Phillips head screw driver with no more than a half turn (we supply a video on how to easily do this and what to listen for).
The magic in our patented design is when the tangs do NOT touch the pickup poles directly, but just hover near them, vibrating in the air above the magnets, much like a guitar string vibrates above its pickup. If the tang touches the pickup directly, it produces almost no sound, or unpleasantly rattles against it, but as soon as there is even a couple millimeters of distance between them, adjusted easily with the pickup adjustment screws, the sound opens up and sweetly sings!
After thousands of experiments, this is the absolute best way to use magnetics on a bowed instrument!
Why we did not "just put a pickup under the violin strings like an electric guitar," is too large of a subject to go into here, but trust us, that approach never worked well (hint: it sounds really bad when bowed) and is the reason the patent office granted us exclusive rights to manufacture it.
Price:
At this point, all Outlaw Fiddle instruments are being designed and made by pro-level players. We know what we want in an instrument, not just by our dreaming and wishing, but by past failures of earlier instruments on the market while in the "trenches" on actual gigs.
We, at Outlaw Fiddle, know what we do NOT want, as well as what we DO want an instrument to do. This is the tech that I WISH I had 30 years ago, standing on the Newport Jazz Fest stage! Now, we (the whole violin community) can be armed and ready for any gig!
Outlaw Fiddle instruments are hand-crafted and meticulously setup and gone over before shipping to you, and we feel, stand easily above competing brands for quality, tone and results, and are priced accordingly.
These type of apparatuses, though rarer in the violin marketplace, have been in play for more than a century with dozens of patents in the US patent database, but are also showing up more and more lately, even for straight acoustic players. Especially for those in the “alternative string” non-Classical worlds.
Recently I saw the famous fiddle-man Darol Anger using a similar corded assist in a concert.
Besides health concerns, a "vio-strap" as we are coming to call them, can also be a boon to more freedom of movement on stage, since you would no longer need to hold the instrument with your chin clamped down on a chin rest, the head is free to move around, which again, is not only better for your neck and shoulder muscles, but in my opinion, looks a lot cooler too!
Violinists that also sing are finding this a great aid to better performance as well.
Ergonomic placement of controls:
Some folks have initially questioned the placement of our special 4-way pickup selector switch in the side of the upper right bout, wondering if one might bump it while playing or be distracted by it. Again, we consider the electric guitarist. Watching any great "Strat" player, with the pickup selector seemingly right in the “way” of their strumming hand, one might wonder why iconic guitar designer Leo Fender placed it there and not more out of the way?
Adept "Strat" players who are really expressing themselves, switch pickups often, even during musical phrases, and love that it is right there in a spot that is natural and accessible without having to reach and think about it. Instruments need to be part of us and ergonomic like this to become part of our very expressiveness of our musical souls ultimately. (Check out any concert footage of the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn for an example of this, and you should see what I mean).
This idea is especially compounded in the electric violin, as different than an electric guitar with it’s loose and wire-y steel strings touching steel frets and a steel bridge, naturally produces ringing sustained notes, so that a player can strum a chord, and while the notes are still ringing (especially being even further enhanced by the sustaining qualities of distortion from their gear), the guitarist has much more time to adjust knobs and settings, even those on the amp and not directly on the instrument, all while still playing.
In comparison, violins by their nature do not have that same capability: if we stop bowing, our instruments generally stop making “noise” within a second or two... tops. So, with this in mind I designed any performance based controls to be in positions where the user could quickly adjust even while playing, with a bit of practice.
This is generally unheard of in electric violin design to this point.
The actual pickup selector that we chose for the Outlaw Fiddle instruments is also of high quality and rather sturdy and stiff enough in its response that it can be easily glided over when reaching for higher positions.
Besides the 4-way pickup selector placement, part of our US patent covers the unique placement of the master volume knob control horizontally next to the bass side of the neck heel. This design allows for quick “gain” changes by simply rolling the side of the left thumb along a specifically high quality knob chosen for this purpose.
Violinists might not be used to the concept of "gain structure" like our guitarist friends are, and again we look to them for musical experience: It is true that a violin by nature, has quite a bit of dynamic control just by regulating bow pressure, and violinists spend years perfecting their techniques in this regard, but a modern violinist using distortion in their musical palette, need to become aware that, while using distortion, which has a natural compression factor to it, that rolling off the volume a bit while using distortion does not really make the volume quieter, but simply less distorted for a large amount of the volume knob’s travel, so violinists can again dip into the same musical territory as electric guitarists, by using the volume control as a "tonal variation" option.
Our favorite amp settings are “on the edge of breakup (distortion)” where just with bow pressure we can go between clean and more distorted tones. The master volume, gain structure idea just takes this concept further.
Guitarists are experts in this regard and Outlaw Fiddles are designed to have this feature available for the modern violinist.
Electronics:
For as "modern" of an approach the Outlaw Fiddle concept is, its electronics are actually quite "old school" and are completely "passive" with no batteries to change or support its features. A simple two-pickup design with a single master volume and master tone is all we've found we need for performance. Though we experimented with much more, and thought some of it was pretty cool, we found most of it to be more of a performance distraction than an actual aid. The current electronic design is really no different than a "hot-rodded" Fender Telecaster from the 1950's.
Maintenance and adjustments:
An Outlaw Fiddle is built to last, but is also a high performance machine with close tolerances in its pickup design. The distance from the end of the steel soundbar tang, bent down through two small slots in the top of each instrument, to the top of the magnet poles in the specially designed pickup coils, is critical for good tone and output. These are set to optimum specs before leaving our shop, but things can change in your environment, just like on an acoustic violin, as to humidity and temperatures, and the owner may need to slightly tweak the pickup clearances from time to time. This is done easily with a common Phillips head screw driver with no more than a half turn (we supply a video on how to easily do this and what to listen for).
The magic in our patented design is when the tangs do NOT touch the pickup poles directly, but just hover near them, vibrating in the air above the magnets, much like a guitar string vibrates above its pickup. If the tang touches the pickup directly, it produces almost no sound, or unpleasantly rattles against it, but as soon as there is even a couple millimeters of distance between them, adjusted easily with the pickup adjustment screws, the sound opens up and sweetly sings!
After thousands of experiments, this is the absolute best way to use magnetics on a bowed instrument!
Why we did not "just put a pickup under the violin strings like an electric guitar," is too large of a subject to go into here, but trust us, that approach never worked well (hint: it sounds really bad when bowed) and is the reason the patent office granted us exclusive rights to manufacture it.
Price:
At this point, all Outlaw Fiddle instruments are being designed and made by pro-level players. We know what we want in an instrument, not just by our dreaming and wishing, but by past failures of earlier instruments on the market while in the "trenches" on actual gigs.
We, at Outlaw Fiddle, know what we do NOT want, as well as what we DO want an instrument to do. This is the tech that I WISH I had 30 years ago, standing on the Newport Jazz Fest stage! Now, we (the whole violin community) can be armed and ready for any gig!
Outlaw Fiddle instruments are hand-crafted and meticulously setup and gone over before shipping to you, and we feel, stand easily above competing brands for quality, tone and results, and are priced accordingly.
