• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

What ZETA's do you have in stock?

Effective January 1, 2010, Zeta ended its dealer network and a 25 year relationship with Electric Violin Shop's proprietor. Since we can no longer offer our customers Zeta instruments we have compiled a list of alternatives for those players who have a specific tone in mind.

During their heyday, Zeta Music was at the forefront of electric violin technology. Although that technology is largely unchanged, it's still equal to some of the newer pickup technologies currently on the market.

For someone seeking a Jazz bridge, the tone of the StringAmp magnetic pickup system is nearly indistinguishable. This pickup system is available on Jordan violins from 4 to as many as 7 strings. These instruments are typically priced in the same range as the Zeta Jazz Fusions.

Zeta's Strados bridge is known for its edgy tone, which is more acoustic and brilliant sounding than the Jazz bridge. Its design features two pickup elements per string with the strings isolated from one another. While no pickup system on the market is identical to this design, perhaps the closest in tone are the Barbera Transducer Systems bridges, which also use multiple pickups for each string. Similarly the placement of the pickup elements is very near to the string itself, so that the chiff of bow changes is heard more so than with the Jazz bridge adding another element of realism. Finally, the Barbera bridge, while shaped differently than the Strados, does a good job of isolating the strings from one another. Barbera bridges are sold individually for installation on the instrument of your choice. They are also available on Jordan violins and from 4 to 7 strings, on Vector Prodigy instruments from 4 to 6 strings, or on MSI violins from 4 to 5 strings.

The most naturally acoustic sounding of the Zeta bridge designs, the E-series bridge was featured on the Zeta Ensemble violins and violas, which came with a headphone output jack for silent practice for $1295. The Yamaha SV-200 is priced at $1151 and has the same neutral acoustic tone with a headphone jack as well for practice instrument.

Lastly, for the customer attracted to the "Modern" body design offered by Zeta, consider instead MSI violins. MSI instruments are the work of Dan Maloney who was at one time the lead luthier for Zeta and in fact created their "Modern" body design. The design he uses on his own instruments is certainly reminiscent of that older design though in many ways it is more elegant given its rounded curves and edges and slight asymetrical shape. Dan's craftsmanship is second to none and his violins have an artistic focus on detail.

Since we no longer carry Zeta instruments we encourage you to explore the above options. The instruments mentioned above have our endorsement and both we and their makers back their qualilty 100%.