Going Wireless with Your Electric Violin
The benefits!
If you have been watching my videos, you would notice that in most of them I am playing my electric violin wirelessly, cable free! After purchasing my first wireless system years ago, I have to say that I prefer playing wirelessly over plugged in with a instrument cable. There is no decrease in the quality of sound, and there is much more “freedom” and joy when you are playing unattached to a cable!
A major reason why I decided to go wireless was when my wife had our first baby. As our boy grew he started crawling and then learning to walk! When I was playing my electric violin at home with Johnny listening and stumbling around, I didn’t want him to trip over my instrument cable. Going wireless allowed me to play in closer proximity to Johnny without having to worry about him becoming entangled in my cord.
Then, when I brought my wireless with me to worship band practices, I realize that I can sound check my electric violin in the main house speakers by simultaneously playing and walking to the back of the room! I can be over 100 feet away from the stage, play my violin, hear how I sound out there, and walk over to different seats and know exactly how the audience is going to hear my violin.
It is nice that I can walk around and play anywhere in a room without needing to drag around a 50 foot cable! Plus I don’t have to be concerned about my bandmates tripping over my cable either. So going wireless is definitely a gamechanger, especially for the electric violin.
Why does the electric violin benefit more than other instruments in going wireless? Because you are holding the violin higher on your body, by your neck and under your chin. The positioning of the electric violin on the player means that the instrument cable is plugged in closer to your arms where it might interfere with your bowing motion. And it is also easier for you to accidentally step on the cable when you are playing electric violin, in comparison to playing a guitar, as the cord may be lying directly in front of your feet!
Going wireless can let you focus more on your playing, and not on where you are stepping! When I play, I tend to sway and move around as I flow with the music.
In the photo above, I am using a Line 6 G10S on my pedalboard. It is what I consider the best wireless gear I’ve used for my electric violin. It also works for guitar and bass as well. There is a second generation of this model out now. I will go over this particular piece of equipment in a future post. Stay tuned!