Chiff and Fipple Forums

hi all,

just bought myself a cheap stagg electric violin with hope that i could use the headphone as not to cause suffering to neighbours. however despite plugging in the headphone i can still hear the sound! is this normal? does anyone know if anything that should be adjusted?

Hi, and welcome!

Do you have the model where the body is 'S' shaped? Even though it is a solid body electric fiddle, it will still produce some acoustic sound. It's just not nearly as loud as a normal violin. If that's what it is doing, then there's nothing wrong. Even the very expensive 'silent violins' by several makers are not truly silent.

I'm not too familliar with these particular violins (stagg); I've played one, I know what you're talking about, but I don't know their ins and outs. But I do know a few things about electronics and silent violins.

To play with headphones, your violin would need to have an on board power supply (a battery, usually) for starters. Headphones draw power from what they plug into, and if the violin has not power source, silince is what you get. The electric I've played for several years has 'passive' electronics (not self powered) instead of 'active' electronics (self powered). But mine was made as a regular violin, just without f holes, and electronics added. It gives a soft volume for quite practice. I've played zeta violins and the like that you can use headphones with, and it it totally cool to have the full concert hall sound in your head.

Check it out, best of luck to you!