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
Hi Eric — that’s a lovely instrument! Did you use the sensicore low F?
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Thanks! Yes, it is a Sensicore Viola low F String. We got it from https://www.electricviolinshop.com. That low F really booms through an amp.
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Great! Thank you for the reply and the info.
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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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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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