Summary

This was an 8 bit violin created for a customer that was looking for a unique MIDI compatible violin.

Instructions

This design was inspired by Ranjit's design, although was drawn from scratch by EVL to meet our design standards.

The body top and sides were created from a single piece of basswood with a routed interior. Two options are available for the interior. One is for a more acoustic like tone, where the second roughed interior is designed to help minimize resonance, which is more important for compatibility with Pitch to MIDI converters.
The instrument body was routed inside, followed by the exterior shape being cut out. The f-holes were added to this piece as the last step.

The maple back plate was cut out using a slightly different shape with the lower bout being wider than the rest of the body, allowing a ridge for a shoulder rest to attach.

The neck is our standard 5 string neck, you can use a 4 string neck made using traditional techniques. The neck is attached using traditional techniques. The tailpiece and chin rest are also standard violin components.

To make the instrument MIDI compatible a polyphonic pickup and preamp are necessary. In this instrument, EVL uses a specialized Barbera pickup and RMC preamp.

The finish on this instrument is polyurethane, polished by hand to a high gloss.

8 Bit Violin