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The Black Violin

The black violinBack in the NS Design shop this month, after 12 years’ absence, was a very rare instrument. Known simply as “the black violin”, it’s a prototype that Ned built by hand shortly after leaving Steinberger Sound Company. He says that in many ways, it’s the culmination of the design ideas he began working on with bass guitars at the beginning of his career.

Ned built the black violin intending to put it into production; he approached Zeta Instruments with that idea. At the time, Zeta was still part of Gibson, which had purchased Steinberger Sound Company. However, Zeta decided not to manufacture the instrument, concerned that it would not gain a wide enough following.

“I understood then—and I understand even better now—that it’s not what people generally want in a violin,” Ned said. “It’s too radical.”

Technically and stylistically, the instrument is striking. Just as the Steinberger bass eliminated the headstock from the traditional bass guitar design, the black violin does away with the traditional violin’s pegbox and scroll.  The body, molded from carbon fiber, is barely wider than the fingerboard.  The forward end curves upwards at 90-degrees to form the bridge. All of the electronic components fit inside it, eliminating the belt pack that accompanied previous versions of the design.

Detail of the body, bridge, and tailpiece.

The bridge, made by Zeta, uses a separate crystal for each string, generating five separate outputs. An eight-pin midi interface supplements the standard 1/4″ output jack. Each of the five strings attaches to a combined tuning and clamping screw, the heads of which extend horizontally from the bottom of the tailpiece, perpendicular to the bridge. The system allows precise adjustment and low weight. It derives from the patented Steinberger tuner used on the guitars and basses—a visual clue that the black violin belongs to that earlier era of Steinberger instruments.

“All the radical thinking in the bass and the guitar was carried that much farther in the violin,” Ned said. “It represents the culmination of that development process.”

img1992Early on, Ned showed the black violin to violinist Laurie Anderson, who has kept it in steady use until this year, when she sent it back to him for maintenance. Anderson requested that he install a balanced shoulder rest and remove the chin rest—a configuration she also uses on her five-string CR-series violin, which is her primary instrument.

Even though the black violin was never put into production, Ned is still proud of what he achieved with it.

“It’s lean and mean—something I really like.” he said Tuesday, shortly after sending the instrument back to Anderson in New York. “I put my heart and soul in to make it perfect from a design point of view. Wherever opportunities presented themselves, I pursued them. I took this sucker all the way.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jonathan Glück says

    July 23, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    Very pity the instrument never went into production.
    Seems very comfortable, handy and light.
    Think that many violinist today will love it.
    I wish I had one of these… Fortunate Laurie Anderson…

  2. J T Trawick says

    July 23, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    Very interesting design. Curious about the sound. Is there an mp3 file through which we could listen to the instrument. Also curious why the instrument never went into production. Too expensive perhaps?

  3. kristi says

    August 11, 2009 at 4:28 am

    very nice the violin black

  4. sanjeev says

    August 22, 2009 at 9:37 am

    I think what is striking about this instrument is its minimalism! and I love it.

    Ned should seriously consider building more of these – if not for business reasons, simply for his creative satisfaction. Looking at the pictures, it’s very clear that’s a zeta jazz bridge in there. I’ve had a zeta for a long time and still do – would trade it in any day for this.

    I also see a volume control – not sure how Ned managed to squeeze in a preamp there!

    All in all a great looking instrument.

  5. Darryl D says

    November 4, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    I had a Steinberger Violin, back about 1992 0r 93 it had a metal ” tripod ” for chin support and shoulder. The preamp was seperate box, Zeta i think, and attached to the violin with a 5 pin cable. I remember the list price was like $4800 or something. It sounded amazing. I wish i had held on to it but i sold it after a few years. Never seen anything like it since. Very good idea, would like to see it made again.

  6. Krystina says

    July 3, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    I think that NS should begin producing these. I’m sure many people would buy them!

    It’s a beautiful violin.

  7. tanais fox says

    February 13, 2011 at 11:03 am

    I have always loved this design, and every few years check in on NS Design’s literature to see if they will ever produce a limited run. I’m also hopi ng they will make a Viola for use fat fingered fiddlers. Radical is good, “too radical” is even better for performers wishing to push the envelope.

    With CNC machining I’ve considered it…

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