On October 25, 2014, I headed down to Rock Hill, SC, to work with the orchestra students at Northwestern High School.  Their teacher is Marsha Gross and she had recently invested in a quintet of electric stringed instruments to use as part of her recruiting and retention efforts for the orchestra program at the school.  This is especially cool because she really didn’t have a background in electric strings and simply wanted to branch out and do something different and cool for her students.  She also picked up a bunch of Digitech effects processors to use with the groups as well.   I took a couple of NXT and CR violins, violas, basses, and cellos to the session, along with a ton of sound equipment so that everyone would have an opportunity to get hands on instruments during the day.

The day ended up to be really an amazing day of playing and learning.  I headed out of Durham, NC around 6:00 AM in order to get started at 9:00 in SC.  I started with a quick performance for the kids, so they could see how I perform on my CR violin, using loops and efx processing.    I wanted them to understand that the key to being an electric violinist is to be a solid violinist and musician.

Next, we talked about optimum set up for hearing yourself and getting comfortable with the sound coming from an amp rather than the instrument.  We also discussed tone controls and listening for the best tone possible.  Once everyone was set up with a great tone quality and a comfortable playing environment, we played for a while as an ensemble and discussed the experience as well as ways to optimize intonation, dynamics, and monitoring.

After lunch, I gave them an extensive tour of effects processing, covering EQ, reverbs, time based effects, filter effects, distortion, and pitch shifters.  Then, we ended the day by getting everyone set up with an in-line effects processor and turning them loose to get creative.  I was also able to give the kids pens, lanyards, stickers, and other cool stuff from NS Design,, the Electric Violin Shop, and D’Addario Orchestral.  (There is nothing like free stuff to get everyone interested real fast!)

In then end, it was a fun day, full of learning and playing.  I think that everyone left with a new set of tools for real creativity with bowed electric strings.   Congratulations to Marsha Gross for her innovation and forward thinking approach.   Congratulations to the students for great attitudes and preparation, as well as a real openness to my ideas.  The students could not have been any nicer and attentive. And, big thanks to all at NS Design for supporting this type of work in so many ways.

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“Mr Laird!! It arrived! It arrived today!”

These are the words I was greeted with on a Tuesday morning during my last week of the summer at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp.  Cello student, Luis Enriquez, from Belgium, has been a student at Interlochen for the past 3 summers and has been part of numerous performances where I would solo on my CR4 or 5 violin with my Intermediate Concert Orchestra on the famous Kresge Hall stage.  I must admit, when he told me he was getting a new NXT 5 string cello, it didn’t come as a big surprise.   It was, however a great thrill.  Luis brought the instrument to the next rehearsal and showed it to me and the rest of the orchestra with great enthusiasm.

Earlier in the summer, we had spoken about the possibility of him getting the NS Design instrument.  We had discussed amps, effect processing, and possible choices of  retailers as well.  In the end, I know the NXT 5 cello will be a great choice for Luis as he begins his electric journey on the cello.  He also picked up a small effects processor which led to  a great discussion about reverb, delay, and “mix.”

This is how NS Design and music education fit together so neatly.  Kids want to be creative.   Kids get inspired.    Kids spend more time with their instrument and build their skill set as musicians.    Everybody wins!!

Congrats, Luis.  I can’t wait to hear what you come up with as you begin to develop your technique on your new instrument,  new ideas as a result of the technology, and your new style of playing with your 5 string electric cello!

Peace.

Scott

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Last week, I had the pleasure of performing with the Intermediate Jazz Ensemble at Interlochen, under the direction of David Kay, on the David Sanborn/Bob James tune, Maputo.  The performance was a ball and the reaction to the NS Design CR4 violin in that setting was magnificent.

There were a ton of young violinists in the audience to see the performance and I was particularly pleased that a member of the National Symphony (Washington DC) was there to hear her son perform with the band on trumpet. Following the performance she and many of the students were interested to hear more about the instrument, specifications, the strings (D’Addario NS Design Electric Strings always!), what bow I use (Coda Joule always!), amps, and other details about improvising and performing.  The pics tell the story in many ways.

Peace.

Scott

The post Maputo and Interlochen appeared first on NS Design.

I had a blast on Tuesday, July 8, performing with the Intermediate Jazz Ensemble up here at Interlochen in Northern Michigan.  We did the old David Sanborn/Bob James tune, Maputo from the mid 1980’s.  I have my CR4 violin up here and have been giving it a work-out, performing with various groups and doing some of my solo stuff as well.  Here are some pics from the Intermediate Jazz performance and an art exhibit opening that I played for last week.  (Drastically different weather!!)  For the solo stuff, I loop my guitar on a Boss RC 300 Loop Station, then play the head and solos on my CR4 or CR 5, depending on how I feel that day!

I will be performing again with the jazz students tonight at 6:30 and will certainly be soloing with an orchestra or two as the summer progresses.

Peace.

Scott

The post Interlochen 2014 appeared first on NS Design.

There were about 50 folks in attendance and the energy in the room was great.  There were lots of questions and ideas throughout the session.  I had a ton of video to show and every suggestion that I made, was something that I have done in the past.  We had vibrant conversations about harmonics and overtones,  performance ideas, the exceptional tone quality of NS Instruments and their blend with acoustic instruments, practical assessment, and a variety of other topics.  In all, the day was a great success and NS Design continued to shine as the worlds leader when it comes to education and electric bowed strings!

Here is the outline from the session: 

10 Practical Strategies for Incorporating Electric Strings intoYour Classroom 

Scott D. Laird

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

laird@ncssm.edu

ASTA Conference

March 2013 

1. New twist on traditional repertoire
   1. Try playing Bach Partitas on your CR 5 String!
2. Enhance other ensembles
   1. Double Bass with band or jazz band
   2. Cello as bassoon
   3. Pit Orchestra – amplify your string section

3. With rock bands
   1. talent shows, extra-curricular, FUN!

4. Violin quartet  – (2 violins w/ traditional strings and tuning, one violin with viola strings, on violin with viola strings and a dropped octave pitch shift to cover cello parts)

5. Direct recording (assessment and creativity)
   1. Audacity
   2. Other Wave Editors
   3. Step Sequencers – I love FLStudio as a sequencer and then add electric violin

6. Technology education  (National Standard)
   1.  frequency, equalization, amplification, efx processing

7. Composition (National Standard)
   1. Writing with  5 string
   2. Triads
   3. Melody and pedal tone

8. Rockestra
   1. ASTA Curriculum Scope and Sequence 2A and @B: Tonal and rhythmic Aural skills and Ear Training
   2. Students listen to pop and rock music and create arrangements exclusively by ear

9. Simple amplification (Use them for National Anthem at sporting events and other school-wide functions)

10. Improv education   (National Standard)
    1. With jazz orchestra
    2. Looping or delay
    3. Band in a box
11. Silent practice (with CR Instruments)
12. Transposed for covering wind parts

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I am in my last day of my summer of conducting orchestras again this year at Interlochen Summer Arts Academy. It has been a great summer with lots of performing on my NS Design CR Series violin.

I played for a fantastic art exhibit opening on July 24, using my looping technology, acoustic guitar and NS Design Violin.  It was a great art show with a fantastic turn-out.

 I also gave a little performance for a group of young string players on August 2.  We discussed all kinds of things from how an electric violin works, to how they are made, what kinds of strings they work with, and all kinds of other topics.  The kids, predictably, were interested in whether it could play with distortion.  It was a fun day.

Finally, on August 3, I soloed with my own orchestra on a Thom Sharp original called, I Can Hear You Knockin’.  My friend, David Kay, from Cleveland also soloed on the tune.  It was a showstopper and I really recommend the arrangment for any of you orchestra directors out there.

It has  been a great summer and I was thrilled to be out there with the best electric violin in the business.

Peace.

Scott

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I am conducting again this summer in Michigan at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan.  It has been a great start to the summer and we are looking forward to lots of good times and music this summer.  I had a chance to play my CR Violin for an art exhibit opening here at the Interlochen Campus last Thursday and am sure there will be plenty of other opportunities to break out the electrics.  This afternoon, my son and I stumbled into Marshall Music Company in Traverse City Michigan (www.marshallmusic.com) and had a cool encounter with Dave Weber and all of the folks at Marshall Music.  It turns out that they have an NS Design Wave violin out on the floor and are super excited about the NS Design line of products.  I took the opportunity to touch base with Dave about a bunch of ideas about amps that work great with the wave, as well as some tone quality and efx processing ideas. I also shared some ideas about the videos on D’Addario Bowed’s Youtube site.   Thanks to Dave and everyone at Marshall Music for making me, my son Matt, and my whole family feel so welcome!

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Hey all –

For you string teachers out there:  How about trying the tune based on West African rhythms called Nanigo, by Thom Sharp (Latham Music)  with percussion section and electric violin?  I did this piece at Interlochen last week and it was a huge success!  This week, I will be doing his “Samba Me This” along with an improvised solo on soprano sax by my friend, David Kaye.  Thom’s charts are really well done and can be performed with or without improvised solos.  They almost all can can effectively incorporate electric violin.  I encourage you all to take a minute and check out Thom’s stuff!

All the best.

Scott

The post Thom Sharp’s Nanigo with Solo Electric Violin appeared first on NS Design.

If I am honest, the rehearsal in the hall didn’t start out the way I had hoped.  I thought that we would run the program, hit some spots, and run the program again.  As it turned out, I think the ensemble was a bit overwhelmed by the room, the anxiety of the first performance, and 5 or 6 of their instructors out in the hall, watching the rehearsal, taking notes for me.  All of those factors, put together with the general fatigue that they are starting to feel led to a sup-par start.  The kids were missing entrances, phasing tempo, missing bowings, and generally freaking out.  I have to admit, I was surprised and a bit upset.  As a result, I scrapped the “run-through” and just rehearsed.  This proved to be much more productive and we were able to “right the ship” and salvage the rehearsal.

For my string educator friends that read this, I want you to know what we are playing and the things that we are focusing on.   This is a middle-school group with musicians whose experience and ability ranges from quite high (my concertmaster is working on the Lalo Concerto and many of the students are quite accomplished soloists) to students with very little experience in a serious ensemble with attention to watching, tempo changes, uniform bowing style, etc.   I tried to program varied repertoire with lots of opportunities for expression and musicianship.  We will start with the Latham Suite for String Orchestra, by Theron Kirk.  In the March movement, we focus on “breathing” into beginning of phrases, short sixteenth notes on the hooked bowing, dynamic sustained notes, and energy in general.  The Elegy 2^nd movement is an opportunity to really emphasize the importance of watching the conductor and huge changes in style within a movement (ranging from very sustained and sad to “incalzando” or “with fire.”) I really stretch and tug the tempo in this one.  It takes a huge amount of maturity and patience from each player.  The final movement, Finale, is a syncopated dance that requires attention to rhythm and articulation from start to finish.  Our second piece is Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Major, arranged by my friend, Tom LaJoie.  The kids will perform this work without a conductor and the focus has been on terraced dynamics, intonation, and moving with the music, leading from any and every chair.  Next, we will do Percy Fletcher’s Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance.  This old string orchestra standard is one of my favorites.  The Folk Tune is an opportunity to teach tempo, key, and meter changes within a movement.  We have worked on phrasing, dynamics, watching, and many other ensemble techniques in this one.  The Fiddle Dance is reminiscent of Copland’s Hoe Down and is simply a blast to perform.  Dynamics and drive are paramount in this movement.  We will finish with Nanigo, by my friend Tom Sharp.  It is cool tune based on West African rhythms.  We will be adding a 7-piece authentic African drum section for this one.  I will also be joining the group on my 5-string NS Design CR violin, soloing over the last section of the piece.  This work starts out “piano” and builds throughout, ending with a huge fortissimo.  This is great for teaching a tricky 2 against 3 rhythmic pattern in the context of a really fun work.

We have a short rehearsal this afternoon and a warm-up on stage right before the performance.  I am rally psyched for the entire day.  I know that it will be great fun.  I am so proud of this ensemble.  I often say that an ensemble has to do the rigor first.  But, when that is accomplished, they then can release any stress and simply play from the heart.  This group has done the rigor.  I hope that they can play today with joy and expression without losing their attention to detail.  I believe that is the key for this group of young musicians today.  I know that I will enjoy the ride today, with the knowledge that we have prepared well.

I’ll let you know tomorrow how it went!

Peace.

Scott

The post Concert Day! appeared first on NS Design.

Just  a quick note to remind everyone how handy it is to travel with a CR Violin for practice in hotel spaces.  I am on the road with my family – heading up to Interlochen, MI to conduct for a few weeks and my 14 year old son will be attending the camp.  We spent a night in a hotel in Ann Arbor last night and he wanted to take a few minutes to run over his audition piece for orchestra and seating placement at the camp.  We didn’t want to disturb the other guests with his acoustic instrument, so I told him to plug his Ipod headphones into my CR violin. He practiced for about 45 minutes without bothering a soul and felt really good about his preparation.

It is easy to overlook this important feature of the CR series instruments.  They sound fantastic in headphones and don’t require any other hardware.  All you need is a set of earbuds or headphones with a mini-plug and you are good to go!

I will be posted updates periodically from Interlochen over the next few weeks.  So, look for more posts in the near future!

Peace.

Scott

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On Tuesday, June 28, I was in Pittsburgh, PA, at Duquesne University, representing NS Design at the Strings Without Boundaries Workshop. This is a great workshop each summer and I was really pleased to be there.  As part of the day, I gave 3 presentations.

First, I had the opportunity to speak with the teacher-track students at the conference.  This was essentially a Q and A session and we touched on the topics of recruitment for school programs using bowed electrics, the importance of good monitoring for dynamic performances, setting up electric ensembles, and the differences between active and passive instruments.  Next, I gave an elective session for students on the nuts and bolts of amplification.  Here, we covered some of the same topics for a totally different set of students.  These included monitoring, speaker size, speaker placement, use of DI boxes and preamps and other amplification-related topics.  Finally, I finished the day with an elective session of effects-processing.  In this session, we really got into the nitty-gritty of reverbs, time-based effects (delays, chorus, and flangers), filter effects (phasers and wah-wahs), harmonizers and pitch shifters, looping, and distortion.  We covered a bunch of vocabulary and parameters of all of these great effects as well as practical uses of all of them.  If you would like to see some of my sessions on effects, check out thelessonroom.com and search “electric violins”.

All in all, Strings Without Boundaries is a great event and if you are interested in expanding your improvising and alt styles skills, I highly recommend this event.  Special thanks to Julie Lyon Lieberman and Stephen Benham for inviting me to be part of the faculty this year!

Peace.

Scott

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Hi all –

For the past two weeks, I have been teaching at the Lamar Stringfield String Camp at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC.  It was another great year at Lamar Stringfield with many fantastic moments.

I am frequently asked how I incorporate electric strings into my teaching.  This week, at the camp, I programmed a little blues piece as part of the repertoire for the “Haydn” Orchestra which consists of students from 4th grade through 8th grade.  As part of the performance, I brought in professionals to play guitar and drums and I played my CR violin.  I had the kids play through the piece 2 times and on the second pass, the guitarist (my friend and colleague, Todd Miller from Apex, NC High School) and I took turns improvising over the chart.  As part of the rehearsals, I also took the opportunity to have a 20 minute Q and A session with the kids on electric violins, how they work, and how to play them. I was thrilled to tell them all about the WAV Violin and the NXT Instruments as well.   It was a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone.  The students really took to the style, especially when we added the drums and the performance was really successful.  The linked video will give you a good idea of how things went.

I encourage string educators to give something like this a try.  Regardless of whether you do classical, jazz, bluegrass, or some other style of music with your orchestra, the NS Family of Instruments are perfect for this type of performance.  And, I guarantee, your students want to not only see you  perform, but perform with you as well.

Best wishes!

Scott

The post Lamar Stringfield String Camp 2011 appeared first on NS Design.

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String teachers in the NC area:
January 21 is a state-wide in-service day for teachers. Please consider attending the Southeastern Strings Conference at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I will be giving a session on electric bowed strings and there will be many fine sessions throughout the day.  During my session, we will have an ensemble of NS Design instruments set up for attendees to try.  We will provide charts for the ensemble and we will simply all experience playing in an electric string ensemble.  I will explain panning and the use of a PA system, monitors, and basic EFX processing.  We will have an NXT Bass and Cello, a CR violin and viola, the new 5 string Wav, and many other NS Instruments for you to try out as an ensemble.  It will be a blast!

It is not too late to register.

Pre-Register by phone: call 1-800-999-2869 and have your Visa or MasterCard ready.
Conference Fee & NC Renewal Credit Verification of Attendance

There is a $40.00 fee for all instructors attending the String Teachers Conference. This fee will cover all instruction, handouts, clinician expenses, and refreshments. You may be able to obtain one unit of North Carolina Certificate Renewal Credit by attending this event. Please Pre-Register by mail or by telephone. To Pre-Register by phone, simply call us toll-free at 1-800-999-2869 and have your Visa or MasterCard ready. (Please Pre-Register!!) The on-site registration fee on Thursday evening, January 20, will be $50.00.

Here is a list of events.
Southeast String Festival Teachers Conference

Master Class, Dimitry Sitkovetski
New Music Reading Session, Lynne Latham, Latham Music, a Lorenz Company
Electric Strings, Scott Laird
Jazz Clinic for String Educators, Steve Haines
Upper String Pedagogy, Marjorie Bagley, Fabian Lopez, Scott Rawls
Old Time Ensemble Music, Revell Carr and Gavin Douglas
Lower String Pedagogy, Craig Brown and Alex Ezerman
Achieving an Artistic Vibrato in the String Class, Rebecca B. MacLeod
Incorporating Students With Disabilities In Your Orchestra Classroom, Jennifer Stewart Walter
String Instrument Repair, Melody Choplin

Thursday
Time Session Location
7:45 Introductions School of Music Recital Hall
8:15-9:30 Reading Session sponsored by School of Music Recital Hall
Latham Music, a Lorenz Company
9:30 Refreshments, student rehearsal ends Recital Hall Atrium

Friday
9:00-9:50 Electric Strings, Scott Laird EUC Auditorium
10:00-10:50 Jazz Strings, Steve Haines EUC Auditorium
11:10-12:10 Violin Pedagogy EUC Auditorium
Marjory Bagley and Fabian Lopez
12:10-1:15 Lunch
1:15-2:15 Viola and Cello Pedagogy EUC Auditorium
Scott Rawls and Alex Ezerman
2:15 Walk to Aycock Auditorium
2:30-3:20 Old Time Music Aycock Auditorium
Gavin Douglas and Revell Carr
3:30-4:20 Artistic Vibrato, Rebecca MacLeod Aycock Lower Level
4:30-5:00 McIver Quartet Performance Aycock Auditorium
5:00-6:00 Dinner
6:00-7:00 Observe Rehearsal Aycock Auditorium
7:30 GSO Chamber Concert School of Music Recital Hall

Saturday
9:00-9:50 Students with Disabilities, Jennifer Walter Aycock Lower Level
10:00-10:50 String Repair Lab, Melody Choplin Aycock Lower Level
11:00-12:00 Dimitry Sitkovetski Aycock Auditorium
12:00 Lunch
1:30 Dress Rehearsal Aycock Auditorium
2:30 Concert Aycock Auditorium

The post Southeastern Strings Conference appeared first on NS Design.

Hi all! Today, just a quick note about the Lamar Stringfield String Camp and NS Design Instruments.

For the past two weeks, Meredith College in Raleigh, NC has been hosting the Lamar Stringfield String Camp, a day camp for students to focus on string playing, technique, and ensemble playing. Students may attend for 1 or 2 weeks and the camp is open to students ranging in age from early elementary students through high school age students.  I have been pleased to be on the faculty of this fine camp for the past 3 years and had a great experience again this summer

As part of the final concert on Friday, Orchestra Conductor, Kirk Moss (President of the American String Teachers Association) programmed a really cool funk tune called Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (By Josef Zawinul, arranged by Bert Ligon, and published by Latham Music) that includes several open sections for improvisation. Kirk invited me to play on the tune and opened it up for student solos as well. As part of that performance, my son, Matt (in the photo on the right), and violinist Jacob Henderson (in the photo on the left) jumped in on the fun and performed improvised solos on their NS Design Wav violins. The performances was really well-received and the Wavs were perfect for the guys.  The instruments sounded great and the kids had a ball getting their solos together and dialing in the instruments.

Thanks to NS Design for making such great instruments and making performances like this possible for so many!

Peace.
Scott

The post NS Design Instruments and the Lamar Stringfield Summer String Camp appeared first on NS Design.

NCSSM Music Instructor Scott Laird explains a collaboration with Ligon Middle School Music Instructor Ruth Johnsen. Interactive Videoconferencing was used to conduct ‘Underground Caverns for Double String Orchestra’ by composer Martha Bishop, a piece specifically written with the built-in latency of videoconferencing in mind. Student musicians from both schools got to experience a unique musical collaboration using IVC technology.

If you are interested in more information on this performance, the following is a link to an interview with Ruth Johnsen from Ligon Middle School that is posted on the WakeCounty Schools website.

http://www.wcpss.net/announcements/archives/2010/04/two_orchestras.html

Take care.

Scott

The post Underground Caverns appeared first on NS Design.

Theresa is now performing on the NS Design Wav violin and absolutely loves it.  We had the pleasure of spending a good deal of time with her at the NS Design Booth at ASTA and look forward to a long and productive relationship.  Congratulations, Theresa, on all of your good work!!

The post Theresa Jenkins-Russ and Carolina Cool Jazz Orchestra appeared first on NS Design.

The string education sessions began this morning with a nice breakfast gathering that was sponsored by the Kjos Publishing Company. It was a really nice event and I had the opportunity to reconnect with many friends from around the country. I was particularly pleased to reconnect with Marvin Rabin, one of the true pioneers in the string ed field. He paved the way for so many of us that are making our careers in public school string education and at age 93, is really getting around well. I had the chance to thank him for the impact he has had on my career. For those of you that are familiar with some of my web-teaching, he planted the seeds for many of the concepts that I teach using finger patterns. (major scales and upper positions) You can see these concepts put to use  soon on the D’Addario site: www.thelessonroom.com. I believe that they will be posted very soon.

I also had the opportunity to see Mark O’Connor present a session on his new O’Connor Violin Method. It is available exclusively through Shar Music. I think that he has hit on something really effective here and applaud his efforts to be innovative in the traditional world of string education. There were several performances by students that have studied with Mark in various capacities over the years and they were all fantastic. I am going to check this method out very closely and try it out with my own sons.

Tomorrow, I will be giving a session with Doris Gazda, Matt Turner, Sean O’Laughlin, and Larry Clark. This session is sponsored by Carl Fischer Music and, as always, D’Addario Strings and NS Design are supporting me in this session. This session is called “Teaching the Nitty Gritty: Who Has Time for Anything More?” and will cover a variety of topics related to technique, literature and enrichment to traditional skills in the string classroom. I think that this will be a lively panel discussion and look forward to sharing this platform with my friends.  I will certainly have the opportunity in the session to discuss the way that I incorporate electric string technology and NS Design Instruments into my classroom teaching and guest conducting appearances.  I am always proud to be a representative of NS Design to the great music education community.

Meanwhile, I have just enjoyed a lunch in my room while jotting down this post. Time to head back over to the conference to get more new ideas! More later…

Peace.
Scott

The post Midwest Clinic Notes – Tuesday appeared first on NS Design.

Scott

The post Inspiring Students with New String Technology appeared first on NS Design.

I performed last weekend with the Carolina Cool Jazz Orchestra in Spartanburg, SC and this was one of my solo tunes.  In this song, I create a loop with my guitar and a Lexicon Jamman and then solo with my NS CR Series violin.  I hope you enjoy this.  I wrote this song for my 8 year old son,  Joseph.

The post NS Design CR Series Violin and Looping w/ Jamman appeared first on NS Design.

First, The Electric Violin Shop (www.electricviolinshop.com) had a booth that was prominently positioned right at the entrance to the exhibit hall for the conference.  Every attendee had to walk right by their booth to enter the exhibits.  They had the Wav, in all three colors, displayed front and center and everyone from students to teachers could try the instruments on fantastic amps and with cool effects processing.  Additionally, all that checked out the instrument in the booth could register for a raffle at the end of the show where one person would receive a free wav.  I know that generated a great deal of interest as well.

One of my sessions was entitled “Effective Effects.”  In this session, I really give a mini science lesson and discuss exactly what various common effects do and how the parameters work.  I broke down the function of EQ, reverb, time based effects (chorus, flanger, and delay), filter effects (phase shifting, wah wah), distortion, and pitch shifters.  The session was really well attended and I received super-positive feedback from many that attended.  Throughout the session, I demonstrated all of the effects with my Wav violin.  The instrument sounded fantastic and many remarked about it afterwards.  Folks were amazed at the fantastic look as well as the economical price.  All feedback was extremely positive. You can see more information on the effects processing seminar at www.electricstringed.com.

All in all, it was a fantastic conference and the Wav received some fantastic publicity.  The instrument certainly speaks for itself.  I couldn’t be happier with the results and the response from the conference.

Peace,

Scott

The post American String Teachers Association National Conference appeared first on NS Design.

The student violinist couldn’t believe how comfortable the Wav was to play. She was initially concerned with the learning curve of getting used to the instrument. Once she played a bit, she was sold. I will update this after the rehearsal today and again after the performance. I can’t wait to showcase the instruments!

Post rehearsal update: Rehearsal today was great. The brass section thought the electrics sounded great. Blend was fantastic and everyone agreed that the NS instruments would be a better choice than the acoustics miked up. My student loved the Wav violina and played great today. She really liked the dots on the fingerboard and used them for some precarious sections when she had to start out of nowhere on a high G. The visual reference was a great help. All in all, the NS instruments were a big hit and will definitely be used tomorrow for the show!

Post performance update: The performance went great!  We heard reallypositive reviews from so many folks.  I think my favorite was from a string player friend of mine that came to the pit during intermission to congratulate us on the violin solo on the tune “Mona Lisa.”  We were chatting and she looked over at the NS violin and asked when we were going to play it.  I told her that I had been playing it the entire first half of the show.  She couldn’t believe that we were playing electrics.  She had no idea.  What a testimony to the tone quality of the violin!  After the show, the arrangeer for most of the music stopped me, to once again, tell me how much he liked the sound of the NS violins.  After the show, my student told me that she “just has to have one of those!”  Bottom line, this was a huge success.

The post Using CR and Wav Violin for Pit Peformance appeared first on NS Design.