Fiddle player needs help with effects units!

[DJ Sillito]

Our fiddle player has been using a Nashville 400 for over 20 yrs. with fairly good results. He now is trying various effects units to get more of a fuller, richer, delay-type sound. He now has a multi-effects unit ("Korg tone works")which gives numerous combinations of reverb, delay, chorus,etc., many of which work fine as long as he dosen't need to crank up the power at gigs in big halls or outdoors. However, as soon as the volume goes up it produces increasing hum leading to a terrific "feedback" sound. Although he has never had to use a separate pre-amp with this Nash.400 he has been told by other fiddlers that its best to get this kind of "boost" before the amp. Maybe that would elliminate any feedback. Any ideas????

[Jack Stoner]

If it worked before the effects unit and now he has the (acoustic) feedback problems it pretty well says where the problem is. Many of the fiddle pickers I've worked with lately either use a Boss DD-3 or DD-5 delay unit and nothing else. One I recently worked with had a Nashville 400, a Boss DD-3 and a Goodrich 120 volume pedal. The fiddle did not have a preamp and he didn't have to cover the F holes in the fiddle to keep feedback down. Another I recently worked with only used a Session 400, and stompbox delay unit.

[Joel Glassman]

Here is some background (an article I wrote on amplifying violins) http://shoko.calarts.edu/~chung/gear/vioamp1.html
I'm assuming he is using a piezo pickup.What kind?
Piezo's should always be used with a suitable preamp
but this has only to do with tone-not feedback. Are you saying the sound at very high levels without the Korg is fine?
(I use a Quadraverb GT effects unit, but prefer the tone with a simpler signal path.) --Joel