ZEF

Who said the electric violin lacks character?

Do you play a bowed instrument amplified? Let me guess: you’ve had to face the choice between a nice sound, without effects but with feedback – or a poor sound, with or without effects, but no feedback.

Yes, but that was back then! Back when the electric violin really did lack character. But what else could you expect in the way of resonance and personality from a solid block of plywood (or resin, or whatever)? 

So now the Zef has arrived to change all that: an electric violin with a sound box, just like its cousin, the classical violin, a resonant body that VIBRATES, but that does not emit SOUND. And just as importantly, does not hear sound.

Because of its perforations, it’s possible to pick up the vibrations of the body electronically, just like a contact transducer on a classical violin (though not a bridge pick-up), and reproduce the real sound of an acoustic instrument, even though no sound is coming from the Zef’s soundbox. And the flipside of this is that it does not pick up any sound from the monitor the musician uses to hear himself. So there is no feedback – at all. Since the Zef is deaf to the outside world, it won’t capture the other instruments on stage either. 

The result is that something that sounds like a real violin, that you can play as loud as you want – or as loud as the neighbors can bear.

The Zef’s sound is rich, warm, natural, and alive. With the Zef, you have an instrument which has the dimensions, weight and feel of a classical violin, which vibrates and communicates with its musician. With a real bridge, not a plank, a bass-bar, and a soundpost. That way, it can even be set-up and tuned by a violin maker to stick as closely as possible to the musician’s demands.

Your personal style is you, so you deserve your personal sound!

And that’s before you start adding effects! The warmth and complexity of the sound stays present and adds distinction that you can hear through the pedal board. 

Where solid-bodies are somewhat limited in their expressive range even with effects, the Zef allows you to obtain more variety: bluesy sounds, Rock, of course, and also Funk, Electro, Hip Hop, Metal, as well as traditional music, contemporary, and so on… the electric violin is no longer some kind of awkward replacement for an electric guitar that you happen to play on your shoulder. It’s something different: a whole universe of new sounds waiting to be discovered.

The hollow body also allows for a variety of percussive effects impossible to obtain with a solid body.

And when your neighbors, your parents or children start knocking on the walls, you can simply unplug it to use as a mute study instrument, a job it does much better than other “silent” violins out there. 

Until your next concert at the local bar / city venue / Carnegie Hall.