NS Design WAV 4-string Electric Violin - Black

Name: NS Design WAV 4-string Electric Violin - Black
Brand: NS Design
Rating: 3 (4 reviews)

4-string Electric Violin with Maple Body and Neck, Ebony Fingerboard, Polar Pickup System Electronics, and Hard Foam Case - Black

Write your review

Item ID: WAV4VNBK

NS Design WAV 4-string Electric Violin - Black

Backordered - More On The Way!

We expect more from NS Design in just a few weeks. Order today to reserve yours now, risk-free. Estimated by May 12.

Notify me when in stock

Add to Cart

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700

What is a Sales Engineer?

NS Design WAV 4-string Electric Violin - Black

Backordered - More On The Way! – Notify me

Add to Cart

Add to list

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Affordable Electric Violin from NS Designs

The NS Design WAV4 is an affordable introduction to the world of electric violins. As a seasoned violinist, the WAV4 offers you entry into a realm of tonal versatility and creative potential that surpasses anything a traditional acoustic violin is capable of putting out. If you've ever tried running your acoustic violin through an effects pedal only to be disappointed, the onboard Polar pickup system gives you the sonic satisfaction you're seeking. As a beginner, you want an instrument that isn't merely great-sounding, you need a playing experience that entices. And with features such as the removable bout and adjustable bridge, the NS Design WAV4 electric violin is an easy choice for pros and students alike.

NS Design WAV4 Electric Violin at a Glance:

Polar Pickup System delivers full sound no matter how you play
Designed to give you a fully customizable playing experience
Innovative Steinberger hardware provides precision tuning and adjustment

Polar Pickup System delivers full sound no matter how you play

The NS Design WAV4 Violin sports a self-powered, custom Polar Pickup System that delivers extraordinary sound no matter how you play. Technically a passive pickup system, the Polar Pickup System rivals the output of many active systems. This gives you a pure and noise-free sound - just what you need when you're recording.

Designed to give you a fully customizable playing experience

NS Design knows how important it is to get a comfortable and secure hold on your electric violin, which is why they outfitted their WAV4 Violin with their amazing custom chin and shoulder rest and removable bout. The rest system makes it easy to support your instrument securely without using your left hand, and it even features easy-to-reach set screws that make it convenient to adjust your WAV4 Violin even in the playing position. The removable bout is there to give you the familiar playability of your traditional acoustic violin with the option of removing it for easier-than-ever access to every not on the fingerboard.

Innovative Steinberger hardware provides precision tuning and adjustment

Over the years, Steinberger instruments and the innovation they exhibit has continued to impress and amaze us here at Sweetwater, and there's no denying that the NS Design's WAV4 Violin is a unique instrument. From its slim and lightweight body to its fully adjustable shoulder rest, everything about it has been designed to benefit you as much as possible. One major example of this are its 40:1 endpin tuners, which provide extreme stability and fine-tuning control.

NS Design WAV4 Electric Violin Features:

A great-sounding and highly portable violin designed for the discerning performer
Maple body and neck with hand-graduated ebony fingerboard looks great and plays beautifully
Removable body reference bout lets you restrict or open up fingerboard access to taste
Polar Pickup System provides natural sounding acoustic tones with electric versatility
Fully adjustable shoulder/neck rest provides ideal support you can adjust comfortably from the playing position
Compatible with both NS Electric and standard violin strings

Tonal innovation and customizable playability from the NS Design WAV4 Violin!

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Save money with FREE parts and labor
Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

Type: Electric Violin
Number of Strings: 4
Color: Black
Body Material: Maple
Neck Material: Maple
Fingerboard Material: Ebony
Scale Length: 13"
Fine Tuners: 4
Bridge Material: Maple
Chin Rest: Ebony
Electronics: NS Polar Pickup System
Outputs: 1/4" (main out)
Strings: NS Electric Strings
Case/Bag: Hardshell Case
Manufacturer Part Number: WAV4-VN-BK

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700

Contact Your Sales Engineer

Back to navigation

Reviews

2.9

Customer Photos & Videos

This product doesn't have any review media yet!

I wrote the previous two star review about the tuning machines.

So it turns out that despite the WAV4 manual saying that the WAV4 can accommodate any violin string, that is not actually true. It can only handle Steel or Hybrid core strings. This excludes all synthetic core strings, which if you play classical violin is just about every good string on the market. So that was a bummer to find out, but not all is lost.

First, I have to say that the NS strings that come on the violin are engineered to give a good piezo output signal. However, I just absolutely hated how they felt and played. After trying a few sets, I feel that the WAV4 when strung up with D'Addario Helicore Heavy Tension strings is actually a total winner. The heavier tension strings mirror the tension of a standard violin, especially if you raise the bridge on the WAV4. So with all of that figured out, this instrument sounds and plays great, and for $... I think it is an incredibly good value.

I've played traditional violin all my life, and have played with a pickup on my acoustic instruments for several years. I decided to try a midrange solid body because with my acoustic/electric I couldn't control feedback when I really got on the gain in a band, or with certain pedals. I read a lot of reviews and decided to try the NS Design Wav4 based on favorable reviews for the price. Overall I like this violin a lot and intend to use it for fun and gigging. But, it has a few quirks that needed a little work to get things comfortable and sounding good. BTW I use an upper mid-grade carbon fiber/horse hair bow with it, great pairing.

The good: I love the approach to mounting the strings, and the tuners themselves. It's super easy to tune and the violin holds tune regardless of temperature, humidity, or intense playing. Big plus for the tuning approach. I really like the sound and I get a lot of compliments on it. It has good richness and depth, and blends a decent acoustic sound with a touch of electronica. The violin feels and plays great, but see "quirks" because it took some work to get there. Overall I like practicing and performing on it, and it does everything well enough and comfortably enough to be my main electric. It also looks really good with nice wood grain under the finish.

The quirky: Lots of little quirks, but don't be afraid of buying this and working them out to suit you! It's a nice electric violin and this is just what I did to take it from ok to really good.

First, I replaced the strings. Supposedly the strings are good, but I found them slippery and thin sounding. I tried re-tensioning and obviously gave them time to break in. I never felt like the bow could "bite," they're too slippy for me, and they had a thin and slightly nasal, unpleasant sound to me. The e in particular was quite harsh. I replaced them with D'addario Helicore Mediums w/aluminum e and love it. They have a nice warm, full, clear tone, and have all the bow bite I like to feel. Big difference and highly recommended.

Second, this thing is really sensitive to pairing with the right amp. I played my acoustic w/pickup through a Supro Comet and it sounded awesome. But the NS Wav4 sounded absolutely terrible through it. I tried all of the amps I had and they all sounded bad. I tried a preamp in case it just needed more power, nope, still sounded bad on my four amps. I took it to a friend's house who has a bunch of acoustic, ss, and tube amps, and bizarrely discovered that his old Roland Cube 60 sounded AMAZING with the Wav4. So I grabbed a Cube 60 cheap off eBay and it ROCKS. Amazing sound and effects with this violin, highly recommended combination.

Third, the chinrest/shoulder rest setup. I actually like the setup, but I have a long neck and I couldn't get a good fit. I finally had to put a block of wood between the chinrest and the chinrest strut. That made sense because the chinrest seems a little lower than on a traditional violin. With that block added, fit feels great. The shoulder rest takes a little normal experimenting but feels good after getting it dialed.

Fourth, I found the stock bridge to be poorly cut for me. It was too thick and too flat. I think it's set up as more of a fiddle type thing, but I found it difficult to avoid brushing the A string as I crossed strings. I took it out and did a little minimal reshaping - thinned it a little and gave it a more traditional arch. It's somewhere between a classical bridge and a fiddle bridge now, and I really like it - I can cross strings easily and also play double stops comfortably. I think the tone improved a little, too, from thinning it out.

Finally, I don't love where the cord plugs in. It's not bad and there's no risk of getting tangled or pulling it out, but I find it slightly in the way of my left elbow. In fairness, this is a tough thing to get right on every electric I've played, but I'm trying to put it all out there.

Overall, great value for the money and a really nice instrument with a little careful setup and amp matching. Definitely don't be discouraged if it sounds meh with your amp - it lit up like a Christmas tree with that Roland Cube 60, and also sounded decent through a Marshall AS50D. Have fun!

Unfortunately, the D and A string tuning machines cannot get the string to pitch. Maybe they save the good tuning machines for the more expensive models? There's no way you can trust the instrument in performance this way.

In performance, when you dig in to play over the top of a loud rock band, this instrument will compress the signal to thwart whatever violin technique you might have. This violin will make you sound better than you are if you are a poor violinist; the compression makes up for bad right hand tone production. But this same compression will drastically limit the technique of a seasoned player who is used to coaxing a wide range of dynamics from their instrument. I cannot say enough how frustrated I was with this in performance; my front of house engineer couldn't stop laughing at how I was "fighting it" compared to my regular violin with piezo. He thought he had accidentally compressed my channel and was frantically trying to fix it on his end before he realized it was just how this violin sounds. This is a strictly "outdoor instrument" I only use with the imminent threat of rain.

See also: Fiddles, NS Design, NS Design Violins