Tone
The Elvari pickup system is not built into the bridge. The vibrations of the bridge are instead sent down to and interact with, a tone plate made from fine alpine spruce wood. The tone plate acts as the top plate of an acoustic violin. The tone plate is carefully tuned and attenuated in relation to the body in order to minimize the handling noises which otherwise occur easily when handling an electric violin. Our unique pickup system thus has an acoustic part that picks up and processes the vibrations before they move on to the amplifier.
Acoustic Violin Tone
Plug into any instrument-level input. Elvari gives you a strong signal without any need for active electronics or batteries inside the instrument. Explore effect pedals, amplifiers, PA systems, and other music gear with a powerful acoustic violin tone. Experience the convenience of having an easily accessible, “invisible” volume knob. Forget trying to avoid feedback and unwanted handling noises from the violin body. You don’t have to worry about attaching a pickup or mic and cable to your fragile acoustic instrument either.
Playability
At only ~ 500 grams, it feels just like an acoustic violin or even lighter, because the balance point is so much closer to the shoulder. Despite the lightweight design it is more robust and not as sensitive to changes in climate and humidity as an acoustic violin. You can use your own shoulder- and chin rest.
Professional Playability
Our electric violins are handcrafted in Sweden. We can therefore ensure that each instrument has professional playability. The custom violin setup and the familiar shape, based on Stradivarius 1713, make the transition from your acoustic violin seamless.
Wireless Violin
The unique placement of the output jack hides the wireless transmitter and puts the weight where it should be – on your shoulder. The placement also means that the weight of an instrument cable ends up in the right place. Wireless systems also have the added benefit of making your Elvari active – if you need this. We recommend the Line 6 Relay G10, G10S, Boss WL-20L or WL-50.
Profanity Safe
Our pickup system does only pick up vibrations – no airborne sounds. This despite the fact that the Elvari has an acoustic component built into the tone plate.
Our Story
Elvari started out as a master project at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2012. Jens Elfving was disappointed with the electric violins on the market and decided to make an electric violin with professional playability. The project got a perfect score and the prototype was later sold to Aalborg University.
In 2013 Jens contacted violin maker Sten Styrélius in Stockholm who, in cooperation with a jazz violinist 1997, had developed an electric violin with a focus on acoustic violin tone. The violin had a unique pickup system with a tone plate made from fine alpine spruce wood.
The two concepts complemented each other perfectly. Both the playability and the tone were improved further, and after several prototypes and countless revisions, their new design was finally ready to meet Stradivari and the rest of the world…
