you need to shut up sean...seriously

"It would be pretty boring plucking all the time"

Actually, in Britten`s Simple Symphony, there is a piece called Playful Pizzicato. The entire song is just plucking and strumming; the entire orchestra. It is quite an enjoyable piece too!

George,

There is hypo-allergenic rosin `Clarity` by Super-Sensitive Musical Strings Co. But not sure whether it really helps those with serious case of rosin allergies....It is said to be made from a synthetic hydrocarbon resin compound that substantially improves the properties of rosin producing a clear string response.
Haven`t tried one myself....Glad that I don`t need to.

This is very interesting (well, except for sean`s posts), it would be useful to have a lower string....and I did think that fiddles and violins were exactly the same.
I have never seen a non-horse hair bow, but they might be fine. The new ones that I`ve tried did not already have resin, and I had to apply a lot before they would make a sound. Maybe this is because of people with allergies to standard Resin?

Good luck with your electric violin

The only 5 string violin that I have heard of belongs to a fiddler who had it made. It has a low c string like the viola not a higher string. I have used syn. bow hair and it was fine. When I had the bow rehaired with horse hair it was very hard to get used to the difference in action. I do like the sound of the natural hair but I liked the other sound also.

There are quite a few 5-string violins out there...more popular with the fiddling and bluegrass players...

...and there`s a new type of bow being promoted called the Incredibow...looks a little odd but has had some very good feedback...

...might be worth Googling...

My violin teacher uses a 5 stringed instrument which he calls a hybrid between a violin and a viola...

5 string violins are a hybrid between violins and violas (the strings are CGDAE), but they are called 5 string violins... i have no idea why

Coda makes a model called the "electric". its a kind of purple-blue color that changes in the light, very pretty, and is specially designed for electric instruments

oh and in my experience, all bows with new hair (horse or synthetic) come unrosined. the only bows that you would buy already rosined are ones that you had prepared for you at a shop or a used instrument rental from the local music shop.

not all electric instruments sound like crap. i have been at a workshop given by a local full time professional violinist (sorry but I forget her name) and she had an electric violin, the sound was beautiful.

haha sean (on the first page)

electric violins are not worthless. an electric sounds better than an acoustic with a pickup. much better.

electrics can also tap in to fun things like pedals. oh and as for the silent violins... i didnt really like those... they sound to... i cant describe it, but it is very light

Uh...typically five-stringed violins (which do exist) come like this: CGDAE. And there`s nothing wrong with electric violins; quality ones can sound very good.

From my understanding, a violin is just a bit different than a fiddle. I have heard that a fiddle has a slightly less curved bridge than a violin, so that they can play multiple notes at once. But then of course I could be entirely wrong. Charlie Daniels calls his violin a fiddle, and he plays a four string Zeta.

I realize this post hasn`t been replied to in a while, but after happing upon it searching for a luthier to purchase hair for re-hairing my bows, I had to right something for the others that may happen upon this. Here we had a amateur violinist asking a simple question and being guided buy an idiot. Bow hair comes in nylon and natural horse tail hair.
Nylon lasts the longest and is more well suited for young students. Horse hair produces the best sound quality and action on the strings. Fiddle or "Fid-de-le" is the Latin pronunciation for violin. The Irish and Scottish immigrants the settled in the Appliation Mountians coined the term "Fiddle". Now to the five string violin that are really violas and do not exist!...LOLOL The do exist and are readally available from many, many sources. As for the electric violins sounding like crap, most do because they a very cheap Chinise violins with matching pick-ups. The so called "Silent Violin" is nothing more than a cheap violin with cheap on board electronics. A 9V powered internal preamp that allows you to listen to the violin threw your walkman headphones. I`ve found that hands down Zeta Violins and pick-ups are the choice for most professional violinists that require amplification. I own several violins and my choice is my 200 year old violin fitted with a Zeta Stradous pick-up. I been a professtional violinist or "Fiddle" palyer for 33 years and play in a nationally acclaimed country band. So I thought since I had this extra time here on the tour bus I`d take a minute to straighten this out. See YA`LL Later!!!

I also realize this post hasn`t been posted on in a while. But anyone that`s out there...

I know of some high quality electric violins and I am in the process of...obtaining one. I don`t see why so many are against the idea of a 5, 6, or 7 stringed violin. Frankly, you won`t go past the E string, It would be too much pressure and can you really make a viable string thinner than the e? F,C,G,D,A,E isn`t so bad. It offers a lower range. I`ve always wanted to explore the lower ranges but due to the investment of time it would take in each one it`s unpractical. Why not do it with somehthing you know. If you can find a quality electric violin it sounds great, it really does.

Check this site out, I`ve seen these instruments played live and they are the best sounding electric violins I have ever heard. It`s well worth the listen.
http://www.woodviolins.com/html/home.html

y dont u wanna horse hair one ne way?