My Yamaha Electric Violins
5-String YEV, Natural and Black
Previously I introduced my primary electric violin, my 6-string Jordan. This time I want to reveal my “next best” electric violins, which are my Yamaha 5-strings (Yes, I have 2 of these, one in natural color and the other one in black). These Yamaha Electric Violins (YEVs) are so good that I bought 2 of these. The two colors does not sound the same—there is a slight difference in tone. These YEVs comes also in 4-strings. I always prefer 5-strings because I love the lower C string that allows me to go into viola range.
The reason I got these YEVs (I bought the black one first) was because the wood on my Vector Prodigy became warped (after a mission trip to the Philippines). It was still playable, but I figured it was time to get a new electric violin. I had played the Prodigy for 10+ years already. I had the opportunity to go to the Electric Violin Shop that year, and the violin that the employee there recommended me was the YEV. Why did he recommend the YEV? Because I had asked for the most light-weight electric violin that they had in the shop.
The YEV is amazingly light-weighted, and easy to play. It is the electric violin that plays almost exactly like an acoustic violin. There is no learning curve to playing this electric violin, especially if you get the 4-string. The YEV is the lightest electric violin I’ve ever played, plus it sounds good too. Though it doesn’t sound as good as the Jordan, or as sensitive and responsive as the Jordan, you can’t really compare the two as the Jordan is several times more expensive than the YEV! This makes the YEV a tremendous value and suitable for students or masters alike. I love the light weight of the YEV because I typically play long worship sets and it can get tiring after a couple hours! With the YEV I can play longer with more focus, without feeling fatigued.
Now, the black color one is darker sounding, and the natural color one is brighter sounding. Personally, I prefer the black one when I am using a lot of effects, and the natural one when I want a more traditional violin sound. Check out the demo video with the natural color YEV below.
My main reason for getting 2 YEVs is I want to have a backup YEV in case I break a string during a live set with my primary YEV. (black is my primary, and natural is my backup) I don’t want to stop the entire set to put in a new string and tune it up, I just want to be able to switch to the backup YEV on the fly, plug it in, and not miss a beat! And because the YEV is very affordable for an electric violin, it is wise to have 2 of these.
Over the years I have been very pleased with my YEVs, and I’ve taken my black one on mission trips overseas with no issue at all. The YEVs are durable, and they work well with my pedalboards. If you don’t have the money to shell out for a Jordan (which is a luxurious, pro level instrument), the YEV is more than capable enough to do whatever you want an electric violin to do.
Below is an great video review of the YEV. To learn more about the YEV, you can visit the official Yamaha page. Blessings, Sam