Seven string fretted violin

For those about to rock!
 

these guys have a very strange definition of "cool"
 

aaaaaaaagggghhhhhhh! my eyes!

careful where you post that thing.
 

Captain Christpants. My 9-year-old kid looks *just* like the one in the pic, and he plays viola. I'd better not let him see this.
 

It all reminds me of when us keyboard players attemted to put straps on our keyboards so we could get as many chicks as the guitarists....I am ashamed...(or am I??)
 

Dudes! Don't cross the streams!!
 

everybody is so mean! lay off!
 

fyi - I dont think they give a shit about how you think a 7 string fretted violin looks. I am a violinist, but have not tried one of these, but I do know that there are some revolutionary advantages that would be fun to try. The V shape makes it able to be secured by a strap, freeing the neck (from stress - which you can get) and the frets makes the instrument more accessable to those few wonderful open minded muscians that have only learned instruments with frets.
 

I am sure the first people who made electric guitars were dorks! Their marketing is just doing the same cxxp that guitar mfgr's have done, appealing to those with discretionary income who buy cxxp like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Limp Bizkit. Just imagine, if a few of you "cool" people got some of thier wierd violins and did some progressive metal (shadows fall, evanescense etc.) on it, then they would advertise to you.
 

um yeah. it's ergonomic so a player can play for hours longer than they could on a regular violin. AND frets mean pitch is correct, every time. I think it does a service to the player and the listener. Anyone who thinks it's dorky--who says a vioin player doesn't like to rock out??? sheesh. grow up. i bet you really like tv too.
 

I have worked with Mark Wood, the man in the picture and main evangelist/manufacturer behind these fretted violins, at a music camp in Nashville.

An extremely nice guy, definitely a rocker to the core, he was the most unique asset in a fiddle camp otherwise dedicated to bluegrass. However, I didn't like the fretted violins, of which I played several. There is nowhere near the control that you have with a normal violin.

That being said, he could do some pretty wicked shit with them, if you happen to still be into 80s hair metal.
 

Although I would be the first to say that the picture above is definately dorky, the instrument itself is not. Have you done any research on Mark Wood and the Viper? Probably not. The Viper uses a very high tech pickup system that gives not only a true violin tone (or as close as possible with a piezo pickup) but it can also be used with an FX processor and can do anything guitar players can do, and then some. As said earlier the V-shape gives the instrument the advantage of being supportable by a specialized system rather than the chin and shoulder, relieving stress which is a big problem with the violin.
Frets are nothing new to the violin, so I don't know what you are talking about there. They go way back. I'm sure if you did a bit of searching you would find this to be the truth.
As a violinist I find this annoying. I was made fun of in school for playing the violin, but didn't really give. The violin always does justice to expressive music, whether it be classical, bluegrass, jazz or rock. There is nothing wrong with the violin. It's also obvious that you've never heard Mark Wood, Mark "madfiddler" Knight, Boyd Tinsley, Papa John Creach, Vassar Clements, Karen Briggs, Mark O'Connor, Charlie Daniels, Itzhac Perlman, Stephane Grapelli, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Jean Luc Ponty, Regina Carter, Ian Cooper, Leroy Jenkins, Drew Tretick, Ritsu, Nash the Slash, Didier Lockwood, Stuart Wyatt, The Guarneri Underground, L. Shankar, Graham Clark or Vanessa Mae. All play music beyond classical, and all are known worldwide for their fiddling skills and abilities to create beautiful and often rocking music with the electric violin in hand.
 

Violinists don't diss guitarists... :(
 

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http://www.karinca.net/
 

To show how cool are the violins, you can check the guys that are in tour with the Legendary Steve Vai:

Alex DePue & Anne Marie Calhoun

Have you played with a violinist?

Only Vai has the guts to (and level) to be on par with 2 violinists on stage.
 

Your original post shows your inferiority complex. Looks like someone is afraid that we will all see him as what he truly is - a sad no talent hack!

Awww! Are you sad because you can't really play an instrument? HAW HAW!

Maybe you should stop eating from your bag of dicks, put down the gay porn, and learn some music theory!
 

Agreed. You know, violinists don't need frets if they've learned how to play in tune the classical way and THAT takes a lot of talent. Anyone who's played the violin would know that. So, instead of calling violinists dorks when they just want to rock out and have a wider pitch range, not to mention a little bit of an easier job with the frets, why don't you just go along and let it be? I mean, violinists really DON'T diss guitarists (as varian said) so just leave us violinists alone! And also, HOW are we inferior? I think YOU are, Tom!
 

I'm planning on buying an acoustic violin, and after that I'm saving up for a fretted 5-string viper with a natural wood finish. Why do I want a fretted viper? No, not to "look cool and get chicks," but becuase the design of the viper is practical, it allows you to move around stage freely and sing, without hurting your neck.

I want frets so I don't need to worry about playing off key during live performances when I can't quite hear myself. People who are musically elitist tend to get cranky about putting frets on violins, but when you have an open mind, it really is a no brainer idea.

Truth is, I'm not a fan of the way fretted vipers look. I wish they looked more traditional. However, aesthetics are not as important as actual musical ability.

I think you need to look at the viper from a less cynical and elitist point of view. It really is a wonderful invention.
 

I play a ZETA 5 STRING JAZZ, MIDI VIOLIN and would love to try out a V-WOOD VIOLIN. Yes they are cool,yes I would look cooler also!
I have listened to Mark Wood play some of his violins and they kick ass! He plays incredibly well and is a great inventor, so spread some love here, dont be so negative. Some of you guys out there sound like the old folks who thought that rock and roll or songs played in minor keys was the Devils music. Expand your minds and grow.