God, will this steampunk madness never end?

An a nickname like "Porkshanks" is not exactly a flattering on for a girl to be wielding... someone might get the wrong idea.

Porkshanks: "What kind of violin was it? I found it in a cab. It had a name like Stratocaster on it."

The Steampunk team show a lot of creativity... something most companies lack.

People are fascinated by strange and unusual looking stuff, most of us are not an exception.

If I was a filthy rich millionaire I'd buy every single piece they've ever created... but... I'm not... so I browse teh Gizmodo.... LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Not to say that filthy rich millionaires dont browse Gizmodo, or that's if I, one day, I were to be a filthy rich millionaire I would not browse Gizmodo... because I would, but, I'd browse Gizmodo from my Steampunk Spacecraft...

Uhm. Pardon me, but that isn't an original modding, as in - you talk about it as if it was the makers who added the extra string and cut the violin out. Nope. It's a Yamaha EV-205K with a steampunk look, is all. And an ugly-ass battery pack taped on the bottom.
Been salivating for one of those Yamaha's for years now - this just makes it look plain ugly, honestly..

Looks more son-of-ENIAC than Steampunk to me, but I don't set myself out to be near the connoisseur of things Steam-ish, things Punk-ish, that you guys are.

Here's a link to the original Yamaha violin - [www.acemate.com]

@Git Em SteveDave: Did you mean "Stradivarias"? Stratocaster is a brand of electric guitar made by Fender.

Okay_ Now it's getting lame_

If you didn't notice the part of the article, it was made for one of the members of Abney Park. They're a steampunk/gothish band from Seattle.

The picture on their home page says it all: [www.abneypark.com]

@makanai: This violin shares more DNA with Stratocaster than Stradivarius!

This is not nearly as cool as the guitar from "Young Einstein."

All that crap strapped to it, I bet it DOES sound like a dozen burning cats.

But more importantly, what extra string did they add?? The violin already has E-A-D-G...what'd they add, a viola C? I sure hope not. That'd be a hot mess, especially since there really isn't (logical) room on a staff for an extra string.

Worthy to be carried by Gurney Halleck.

No doubt there is a piezo pickup at the bridge that feeds into an amp. There's no way that would produce any useful sound otherwise.

@makanai: I was trying(obviously badly) to allude to the idea that someone destroyed a million dollar violin to make this one, and didn't realize that it was such.

It's kind of like the one where some kid loses a baseball w/some girl's name on it. Her name? Be-Be Ruth (Babe Ruth). See also "The Sandlot".

@shorty63136: It's a C.. and it sounds great. Yamaha have the best (in my opinion) electric violins on the market.

@andy: Yes there is - a brilliant one - tried one of the Yamaha's out, brilliant sound

@shorty63136: Yes, the 5th string is the viola C. I wouldn't expect all that much of a hot mess on the staff as a result since - if you were composing for this beast - you would either switch from treble to viola clef when dipping down to the lower register, or use a double staff, like piano notation, to accommodate the extended range.

[www.yamaha.com]

Its that extra string that really adds the depth of sound I am looking for in my modded violins.

Wait, what?

@jigsawfallingintoplace: The problem creeps in if they are poorly amplified. Even a great sounding electric violin will turn into a screeching cat through a bad sound system.

And of course, nothing is more important than using an excellent audio cable from the fine purveyors at Monster or Pear! (/retches with sarcasm)

@frigg: That I agree with completely. I have the SV-120k myself, and well, while it's awesome for an electric violin, it still needs a hell of a lot of depth before it can be compared to the texture of a real violin. I usually hook up a good Equaliser to fiddle around with its output, which helps to no end..
Cables - haha! :) If I bought Monster cables or brand cables every time I tore my violin cables, I'd be completely broke by now.
...not that I'm not. lol.

...yet still does not excuse that guy's outfit.

@jigsawfallingintoplace: Now...if they would only would make a electric violin that was bigger than 4/4....something like 16 inches. Even though it has a C, it does not beat a C string on a 16.5 inch Viola.

I'd like to see pirate Joshua Bell or ninja Vanessa Mae have their way with this!

@DeadWriter: Ha, that reference was BRILLIANT! Mmmm baliset.

Abney Park is Frickin' cool
www.abneypark.com