In our Accessories 2024 supplement, the Dutch Gypsy Jazz violinist shares his go-to tech accessories
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I was given a Zeta Strados electric violin (zetaviolins.com), the fingerboard of which was inlaid with a cool drawing of a running violinist that my daughter Lucy made. To give it the sound I wanted live, I have added the following pedals, which I put on a rack: MXR six band EQ (jimdunlop.com) for tweaking the basic sound. It takes out some frequencies I don’t like, but this also depends on the venue. Next is the Whammy foot pedal (digitech.com). It adds harmonies in pre-composed melody parts and sometimes on improvised bits too. It sounds like two or three fiddles at the same time.
Then the Lil’ RAT distortion unit (ratdistortion.com), which makes it sound really cool. Otherwise you may as well play a miked-up regular violin! Finally, the Hall of Fame 2 mini (tcelectronic.com) for reverb, which is needed for a non-acoustic instrument wherever you play – a no-brainer.
All of these pedals are powered by the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus (voodoolab.com). My choices were inspired by tips from experienced electric players (mostly non-violinists) and also my own ears, by trying stuff out in a shop the old-fashioned way.
Subscribers to The Strad receive the 2024 Accessories supplement free with their copy of the June 2024 issue
Read: ‘Dream big and give yourself time to try things out’ - violinist Tim Kliphuis’s life lessons
Read: Masterclass: Tim Kliphuis on Stéphane Grappelli’s Tournesol
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