Don Rickert Musical Instruments

Going Electric: Part II of A Different Way of Achieving the Range of an Octave Violin and Octave Viola

Attention!: This is an older post. Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. This article is by D. Rickert Musical Instruments, a highly regarded designer and maker of acoustic purpose-built octave violins and violas, as well as 4-string and 5-string electric violins. All of these instruments are sold via Don Rickert Musician Shop. Introduction This is the second (see Part I) in a three part series on the topic of using a 4-string or 5-string electric violin (and acoustic instruments with the right kind of pickup installed) together with the necessary effect signal processors to achieve a sound either one or two octaves lower than the violin’s or viola’s actual tuning. Part I of this series introduced the possibility of “going electric.” It also acknowledged the reasons why someone would want to stay with an acoustic solution. Further, Part I also suggested a compromise approach, an acoustic instrument with the right kind of pickup installed. This installment is all about the advantages of the electronic approach to octave synthesis and the challenges associated with a purely acoustic approach, especially with 5-string octave violas. Advantages of a Real Electric Violin (as Opposed to an Acoustic with a Pickup) The best electric violins come in a wide variety of shapes. Most are some variation of a solid body, chambered body or “skeletal”. They all have several things in common: A substantial mass of material (usually wood) directly under the bridge A bridge pickup with greater mass than a regular bridge (almost always... Read more →

A Different Way of Achieving the Range of an Octave Violin and Octave Viola: Part I

Attention!: This is an older post. Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. This article is by D. Rickert Musical Instruments, a highly regarded designer and maker of acoustic purpose-built octave violins and violas, as well as 4-string and 5-string electric violins. All of these instruments are sold via Don Rickert Musician Shop. We have no reason for bias on the topic of acoustic vs. electric instruments, as we make both! Hopefully this lack of bias is reflected in the following article. Introduction This is the first in a three part series on the topic of using a 4-string or 5-string electric violin (and acoustic instruments with the right kind of pickup installed) together with the necessary effect signal processors to achieve a sound either one or two octaves lower than the violin’s or viola’s actual tuning. Our focus here is on achieving lower octaves; however the principles apply to other amazing sonic feats as well, such as playing harmony to your own playing in real time, or generating the sound of sympathetic strings, such as would be found on a contemporary Hardanger fiddle or a Baroque Viola d’Amore. In this first article, I address the matter of whether an electronic option to violin octave synthesis is a desirable alternative for you. Our Acoustic Bowed Octave Instruments When we started our company almost a decade ago, it was the musical instruments division of Wiederholt & Rickert Partners, LLC (DBA Don Rickert Research & Design), a design research and new product... Read more →

T-Rex Octave Viola by D. Rickert Musical Instruments with Demo Video

Attention!: This is an older post. Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. How good can an acoustic octave viola sound? The T-Rex Octave Viola sets the standard. Note The T-Rex Octave Viola by D. Rickert Musical Instruments and other amazing low-pitched acoustic bowed instruments are available at the Don Rickert Musician Shop. Go Right to YouTube for Demo T-Rex Octave Viola Demo on YouTube Introduction Since the inception of our ongoing adventure as an independent boutique custom lutherie (began in 2007 officially), we have always allocated much attention to designing and making the best possible acoustic octave (aka baritone) violins and fiddles. More recently (about 4 years ago), we added acoustic octave violas (aka “chin cellos”) to our product offerings. Our Initial Goal for Octave Violas When we stepped into the octave viola arena, our goal was simple: To develop an instrument that sounded a lot better than the original “ChinCellos”, cleverly marketed by a large Asian manufacturer with an Italian-sounding name. These original “ChinCellos”, still sold today through the large online musical instrument mega-stores, are basically student-level instruments set up with special octave viola strings (made by SuperSensitive) and tuned to the same notes (i.e. frequencies) as a full-size cello. The maker claims internal modifications to increase sonority. We assume that this would be some kind of modification to the bass bar. These instruments sound about as good as an $800 converted student instrument could sound. To summarize, their sound is somewhat muffled with a particularly weak-sounding C-string.... Read more →