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Exploring Electric Violinists
May 11 2021 No commentrevoking earlier editions of Digital Violin publications as now being out of date… Announcing the Book of Electric Violin. by Benedict Heaney The first thing right and proper to do is to get the thoughts and opinions of those people who identify themselves most directly with Electric Violin – the players and the makers of […]
Continue ReadingBenioff’s Musical Instruments
April 16 2020 No commentSeismologist invents electrical violins. Two violins which reproduce the music by electrical means have been invented by Professor Hugo Benioff, associate professor of seismology at the California Institute of Technology. Instead of wood resonance chambers, a small crystal container is inserted beneath the strings. Vibrations caused by the bow make the crystal generate an electric […]
Continue ReadingThe Music Health Service
January 09 2019 No comment“live music” Ben Heaney, 2019 Thinking out loud, throwing it out there… The following was offered at the “Coping with the Ageing Population” meeting, conducted a few weeks ago at the House of Lords examining the full value of music to UK society (http://musicinsociety.uk/) A Music Health Service funded in a different way e.g. take […]
Continue ReadingAnother Fender First, but came just about Last!
April 06 2018 No comment Leo Fender’s first production model Electric Violin clearly never caught on. This particular “Fender First“ vanished with little trace in 1958 Original Fender Sales Catalogue 1958-1959 (pg.12), shows the production model with "ebony" fingerboard Bob Wills didn’t take to it, nor did just about any of the other violinists said to have tried it at [...] Continue ReadingWhen You First Begin To Play…
April 23 2017 No commentIn the 1970s the new breed of violin as a fully electrified instrument was really beginning to spread but there was nothing like any good advice to be found for those interested. Some of the few violinists who were turning to an electric violin at this time even thought they were the first to do so, […]
Continue ReadingElectric Violin Shop
April 13 2016 No comment The interest in amplified strings only gets keener… Electric Violin Shop is an independent retailer of amplified stringed instruments. They are clearly at the forefront of an industry described as unique, exciting and growing. The following information is gleaned partly from the shop’s website but also from observation dating back over ten years and direct [...] Continue ReadingDigital Violin & The Tipbook Company
April 12 2016 No commentDelighted! Continued reference to Digital Violin in the Tipbook Company’s Complete Guide Violin and Viola edition and “eTipbook Violin” by Hugo Pinksterboer . Neat, compact and to the point work. ‘Violin & Viola’ is part of “a series of accessible, handy books, eTipbooks, and apps about music and musical instruments, written in cooperation with numerous musicians and other experts” […]
Continue ReadingA Future For Fender’s Violin
January 27 2016 No commentJanuary 2016 Stradivarius is arguably the most famous name associated with violins. The name has long been synonymous with the best and most valuable violins in existence. There are just over 500 Stradivarius violins known to have survived since their maker died over 200 years ago. They are all seemingly accounted for. Fender is […]
Continue ReadingLuna Geckos Debut New Work “Spirit In The Pit”
July 27 2015 No commentFollowing the hugely positive reception on Will Gompertz’s BBC Oxford Radio show, the Luna Geckos were invited by Will Banks to perform two short sets at his Halfway to 75 Festival this year at ISIS Farmhouse, Iffley. On Saturday 25 July, the Luna Geckos performed to a sell-out family audience and presented full performances of […]
Continue ReadingFender vs Telemann…
June 26 2015 No commentWith the unique 1958 production prototype Fender Electric Violin in mint condition and perfect working order, Ben Heaney ‘takes it for a spin’ putting it to test and using it to make a recording of Telemann’s Fantasia #7. In the 1950s, Fender had aimed to build ‘an improved electric violin’ which could be ‘mass produced economically and […]
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