Looking For A Luthier For A Potential Electric Violin Project

[fcadamo]

Hello everyone,

I want to give some background to contextualize my need for a luthier to consult with on a custom electric violin

My name is Cooper; I'm 24 years old and have been playing fiddle for about 19 years. I am classically trained and also grew up playing country music, particularly Western Swing. I'm from Bakersfield, CA and I am very proud of "The Bakersfield Sound," Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, etc. Currently I play in a Bakersfield Sound band with my brother and our friends. So much fun! Mosrite was a Bakersfield based guitar company that left its stamp on country music and music in general. With artists like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, Fender, a California brand, rose to prominence because of the Bakersfield Sound.

 

Why do I bring up electric guitars when I'm looking for a violin? Well, I am looking for a custom luthier to make a guitar shaped electric violin (filled body, non-acoustic), one either in the style of Fender Telecaster or a Mosrite Ventures model.

The idea is not completely unfounded (check out Mark Wood's "Katana" and "Legend" electric violins). I do wonder how realistic it is to make one. I have some details in mind (shorter body, issue of bow clearance, putting a "saddle" on the neck where it would sit traditionally on an acoustic violin, geared pegs, guitar-esque tail piece or regular one, fingerboard height, etc.) Of course, these issues should be fleshed out in more detail with whomever is interested. It would be ideal to discuss price range first too.

 

I am new to this forum. If you have public contact information (website, business email, etc.), please do share! Or, let me know what way is better to get in touch! Thank you so much for your time and consideration!

 

Cooper

[JacksonMaberry]

Could be interesting! Good luck and keep us posted. I have designed and built electric instruments, and it represents an enjoyable challenge. The electronics are a unique issue if you're wanting to go for magnetic pickups. I worked with Pete Biltoft of Vintage Vibe Guitars in FL, and he is a class act as well as a very skilled engineer. 

Entertain the possibility of building the instrument for yourself. It would take a while to learn the skills, design it, and execute, but I'm sure you'd enjoy it. You already have a lot of strong ideas about what you want, and it may be tricky to get it exactly as you want it if working through a proxy, so to speak. As an instrument maker, I prefer to maintain strict control over the design phase of anything that goes into the world with my name on it, so I don't take requests that are as specific as your own. 

[JoeDeF]

13 hours ago, fcadamo said:

issue of bow clearance

Bow clearance is a big issue.  They're why C bouts evolved on violin and viol family instruments.  You could get around it by making the body tiny;  the forearm and belly carve on an electric guitar could serve as a C bout alternative as long as the body is really small.  You could also get around the clearance problem by using a taller bridge (generally not a problem with electric instruments), but it's questionable how the ergonomics would be.

I would suggest making a mockup (a mockup is non-functional), no matter how crude, just to see what the bow clearance and general ergonomics would be like before committing to the project.  You could use pine, or even cardboard for some of it, and you could save time by buying a cheap pre-made fingerboard (or maybe a local luthier would give you a junk one).  Make the mockup the envisioned shape, add strings (even under barely enough tension to keep them in place) over a bridge proxy with the typical violin bridge top curvature, and pick it up and see how it feels to hold it with your LH, how it meets your shoulder/chin, and how the bow clears the body.

Then build a testbed (an easily modifiable, possibly ugly, but basically functional version).  Once you've mastered that, you could go ahead and build the actual instrument, which would be a good learning opportunity.

Or, at that point, you could give the "tuned-up" testbed to a builder.  Then they'd at least know a little bit more what you are wanting and what they're getting into.  If you're paying for their time instead of by the job (many luthiers wouldn't touch such an open-ended job for a set price), you'll end up saving yourself a lot of money.  It may be hard to find someone who will commit to making such a specific and untested design.  I'd expect it to be costly, because even if you make the mockup and testbed,  it won't be clear yet that all of your ideas will be feasible.  A lot of experimentation, back-and-forth, and time (=$$$) will have to be spent just to finalize a design that will work.

Building it yourself might turn out to be fun, and you could experiment to your heart's content without paying someone else by the hour.

[jandepora]

Maybe this is the one you are looking for. He make all kind of electric violin designs at  request of the client.

https://www.sacrilegiousdesigns.com/en

[fcadamo]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:06 PM, JacksonMaberry said:

Could be interesting! Good luck and keep us posted.

Thank you very much! It definitely is an undertaking. I wish I had the time and equipment for such a job. I've found two luthiers that may work well for the project. I'm going to try my best to be very involved with the luthier without, of course, stepping on his/her toes.

[fcadamo]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:31 AM, JoeDeF said:

Bow clearance is a big issue.  They're why C bouts evolved on violin and viol family instruments.

I would suggest making a mockup (a mockup is non-functional), no matter how crude, just to see what the bow clearance and general ergonomics would be like before committing to the project.

Regarding the C bouts, I found that for the Mosrite Ventures guitar, if I scale it down 60%, the length between the C bouts is 5.28 in., comparable to that of violas; the length of the body would be about 10.8 in., which is the perfect length for the body, as the body's horns would pass the fingerboard by an inch or be even with it. If I scale it down 50%, the length between the C bouts is 4.4 in., which is within the realm of what I could expect of a traditional violin. Though the length of the body would be 9 in. instead.

 

Regarding a mockup: I have a generous friend who is going to machine a full size, 60%, and 50% body. This will help me visualize the violin. I'll take photos and send it to whomever builds it. I will also send him/her the wood bodies themselves too! Thank you for this suggestion of a mockup.

 

Thanks for reaching out.