Accomplished violinist Rebecca Faber dropped in the Reverb studios to show us how she electrifies her violin and demonstrate how she uses pedals like the Line 6 DL4, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG and the Line 6 M5 to emulate different instruments, build bigger sound and spark creativity in her playing.
Before you get to have fun with pedals, you first have to electrify your violin. Faber uses the Schertler Stat-B pickup on her 1850s German-made violin; she likes this magnetic pickup for its rich presence and lack of compression, giving her greater dynamic variation. Feeding through a Roland AC60, which is typically used for acoustic guitars, allows her to add back in some of the reverb lost through the amplification process.
Line 6 DL4
Micro POG
Line 6 M5
Faber is a fan of the Line 6 DL4’s ping pong delay function, which gives her playing a sort of rhythmic and harmonic element that adds a layer of interest to the melody line. Saving presets on the DL4, as many know, is pretty simple, and Faber saved her customized ping pong preset for easy recall at gigs.
The Micro POG has three knobs: wet/dry, sub octave, and octave up. Faber uses the sub octave feature by diming it out to create a deeper, cello-like tone. By using the looping function on the DL4 along with the POG, Faber can create harmonies, looping a cello line and playing the violin over it as though it were a duet. She does this, too, by recording lower progressions to solo over.
Faber has a lot of fun with the Line 6 M5, a stompbox modeler with a ton of unique settings. Using the “seeker” preset, which provides a rhythmic modulation, Faber loops a brief line and then uses both the rhythm and sound of the loop to inspire her when improvising.
Click on the video above to see exactly how Faber uses the DL4, Micro POG and M5 in her rig to build new and interesting melodies, harmonies and covers.