Electric 5-String Viola

~ Eric K

I made an electric 5-string viola for my daughter.

The body, bridge, and shoulder rest are made out of maple. The fingerboard and tailpiece are Macassar Ebony.

The tuning pegs are geared with a 1:4 ratio.

The pickup is a piezo and we are still trying out different options.

The fifth string is a low F and is very thick. It is more typical that the fifth string is a high E like on a violin. My daughter wanted the low F instead. It was a challenge finding the string but it works really well on an electric instrument.

The scroll was a fun little detail to honor the traditional but also state that this was a modern electric viola.

I love the grain of the Macassar Ebony tailpiece. I would have purchase a 5-string tailpiece if I could have found one. I ended up making it and it was very fun.

The saddle is made from a Tagua Nut and looks and feels a little like ivory.

This was the first musical instrument I completed and it will not be the last.

–Eric

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Published by Eric K

6 thoughts on “Electric 5-String Viola”

  2. HI Eric,

    Beautiful Job! It’s been a few years now: How has the 5 string Viola held up? Did the wood you choose handle the tension well? Did you settle on a pickup? I’d love it if you had a moment to update us all on what the final version turned out to be, and particularly if you have built any/many more!

    Warmly,

    Paul

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    1. Thanks for the lovely compliment. The instrument has held up well partially due to being overbuilt by a fair amount. The body is a very hard maple and really didn’t need to be so strong. If I build another some day I would use mahogany or even cherry. The pickup in these photos was swapped out for a banjo pickup that works well. I don’t know the brand or model. The viola was used in my kid’s final senior recital. They have a degree in music on viola. It was run through a small acoustic guitar amp and sounded very good. It hasn’t been played now for a while. Life changes and we move on.

      I mostly make guitars now with some furniture pieces in between. I haven’t posted here for a while due to some health challenges and thinking no one was reading here anyway. I think I might start again.

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  3. Hi Eric,

    Thanks so much for answering! Very sorry about the health challenges! I’m no stranger to that… I am working backwards on a project right now- taking a inexpensive electric viola and completely transforming it into a minimalist headless tuning system with bass tuners at the heel. I plan to string it with 1/4 scale Cello strings for an octave viola. Likely more work than starting from scratch, but I thought at least I have the bones already made. I used to have a full woodworking shop and build hand drums (similar in tone to Djembes, but conical in shape with a goblet shaped insert to mimic the Djembe shape on the inside for the acoustics. Now I am reduced to hand tools, so much more challenged to limit the modifications to those possible without a full arsenal of tools. I’ve been scouring the internet for ideas from builders and luthiers and have come across some very interesting instruments. Yours being one! I love the simplicity and the elegant additions (head scroll in particular)! Isn’t wood a wonderful medium to work with? It is very heartening to find other people bringing musical instrument to life! Please keep building! And do post photos of your new projects when you have time!

    All the best,

    Paul

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