Electrify your acoustic with a violin pickup

Use your present violin, viola, cello or upright bass in an amplified setting by putting a violin pickup or microphone on the instrument.  Violin pickups not only allow you to be heard evenly and well by your audience, but will grant you freedom to move about in performance rather than standing still behind a microphone stand!  There are two categories of violin pickups to choose from depending on your tone and budget requirements:

• Permanent pickups (bridge replacements)--Make your acoustic instrument into a dedicated acoustic-electric. Your amplified tone will soar and in most cases your acoustic tone will not suffer.
  
  
  
• Removable pickups, such as:
  • Simple use pickups--easy-to-use-and-remove, but relatively low-fidelity pickups
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • Bridge mounted pickups that wedge in your bridge's wing slot. These are still quick to install and remove and provide better tone than the above category.
    
    
    
    
    
  • Under the bridge pickups (e.g. The Realist)--these pickups offer great amplified tone because they collect vibrations from both the bridge and top of your instrument. However, installation and removal is a little tricky, so while they are not "permanent" pickups, you could almost consider them so as you will likely leave them on most of the time.
    
    
    
  • Clip-on microphones--attachable microphones can offer excellent tonal fidelity and are relatively easy to install and remove. Their two drawbacks are 1) mic direction and placement must be precise for optimal tone and 2) they can be prone to feedback too close to amplification sources or in a particularly loud playing environment.
    
    
    
  • Contact microphones such as the Schertler DYN-series pickups are the best of both worlds between mics and pickups. They are safely installed and easily removed even on fine acoustic instruments, provide excellent tone reproduction and are quite resistant to feedback! As with clip-on mics, placement is key for optimal tone. Also, to get all the benefits of contact mics you should expect to pay more.

We carry a large selection of piezo transducers from Barbera, Fishman, Headway, K & K, Kremona, LR Baggs, Realist, Schatten, Starfish and Yamaha.  Schertler makes both electrostatic transducers, which they call their STAT series, and dynamic contact mics, called the DYN series, that adhere to the body of the instrument.  We also carry excellent clip-on instrument microphones from Audio-Technica and DPA.

Shop here for violin pickups and instrument mics by filtering by instrument, pickup type, price and brand in the left-hand column.  If you are not sure which type of pickup suits your needs and your budget, please call us toll-free at 866-900-8400 to get our expert assistance over the phone or read our article on how to choose the right pickup for you.