Ed's Violin

The violin that Ed uses in all his recordings and gigs is very distinctive. Ed built it himself, after seeking technical advice from renowned folk violinists Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick and Ric Sanders. It has five strings, normally tuned to C, G, D, A, E - i.e. the standard pitches of viola and violin combined. It's built from American oak, walnut and maple, with an ebony fingerboard and built-in Zeta pickup. Ed says: "It's got a very heavyweight body - if you compare it to a guitar it's like a Gibson Les Paul. You get a lot of sustain and some really good rock distortion sounds out of it."