Martie Maguire

“I love the tone of old, non-amplified, real acoustic fiddles, and Wood Violins are the closest thing I have found to that sound. They play beautifully!”

In July 2016, Mark Wood caught up with Martie Maguire backstage at one of her shows with the Dixie Chicks. Here is their conversation. We are proud and honored that Martie Maguire chose our 5-string Nashville and 4-string Concert Series models as her exclusive electric violins for the Dixie Chicks DCX MMXVI and their MMXVII World Tour, and in their live concert DVD.

Martie Maguire with her Nashville, and Mark Wood with his Viper

The Nashville electric violin is our newest model and was created to appeal to the country music market. Its design is perfect for players who want a great looking and sounding electric violin that still maintains a “traditional” vibe.

The Concert Series is an acoustic/electric instrument that can be incorporated into any 21st century musical experience.

All 7 of the violins we provided to Martie were painted white to match the Dixie Chicks’ tour colors, and they all feature our Wood Tru-Tone pickup and D’Addario Prelude strings.

“The Wood Violins instruments for the tour are simply beautiful, and I was particularly impressed with the setup,” said Billy Henry, tech for Martie Maguire, The Dixie Chicks. “I’m thrilled that a musician of Martie’s caliber chose us as her instrument of choice for her new tour,” said Mark Wood, president, Wood Violins. “Her reputation and stature as a fiddler in the music world is unparalleled. As dedicated partners in her success, our master craftsmen delivered her what we believe are the very best electric violins on the market today.”

NOTE: Martie’s solo starts at 2:07!

The multiple Grammy Award®–winning and multi-platinum selling band kicked off their highly anticipated North American tour, produced by Live Nation, on June 1, 2016 at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The DCX MMXVI Tour visited more than 40 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada with dates in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver, Washington DC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston and more. Martie also used our instruments for the DCX MMXVII Tour and they’re all over their new concert DVD.

Mia Asano

“My Viper changed my life in so many ways. My musical world has opened up in ways I never expected now that I have the extended range, and I have so much musical and creative freedom on the instrument. I’ve wanted a Viper for so long, and I’m so grateful I get to play such a beautiful piece of art every day! I’ve always felt so welcomed and supported by the Wood Violins community and that’s something I’ll always be grateful for.”

Mia Asano is an electric violinist from Denver, Colorado. Classically trained from the age of five, she developed a love for alternative styles of music early on and plays a variety of music styles including rock, pop, jazz, classical, bluegrass and celtic music. After graduating from the Denver School of the Arts she went on to attend the Berklee College of Music as a dual major in Performance and Professional Music. During her junior year, she began posting short videos on TikTok and Instagram to practice her recording/mixing and video editing skills. One of the early videos went viral, gaining 10 million collective views in less than a week on multiple social media platforms and resulting in over half a million followers on TikTok. Since then, she has had success with other videos as well, including an arrangement of Nathan Evans’ Wellerman Sea Shanty which gained Global recognition on networks such as the BBC, NBC, Washington post, and more.

Mia has played with notable performers Lindsey Stirling, Devan Blake Jones, and in the Berklee College of Music Rock All Star Ensemble and Berklee Chamber Orchestra, participating in a viral video with them that collected over 800,000 views on Facebook and Youtube. In the summer of 2020 she won the category for best Violin performance in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s play-along contest. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Colorado Public Radio, as well as at Boston venues including the House of Blues and Royale, and the First Bank Center and Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver. She has also performed internationally in Vienna, Austria and in Valencia, Spain.

Mia endorses Wood Violins and Orange Amplifiers, and primarily performs on a 7 string fretted Viper. Though she has a love for classical music, Mia’s true joy comes from playing her electric violin. Her biggest inspirations over the years have been violinists in all genres of music and she believes wholeheartedly in breaking boundaries and sharing every aspect of what the violin is capable of, as well as helping people and spreading positivity through music. Currently she pursues several personal musical projects while attending college in Boston, including a Celtic band and her solo project the ‘Mia Asano’ band, while also putting out daily content on her social media platforms and releasing original music on Youtube and Spotify.

Connect with Mia:

Website | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

[…]

Robert Mendoza

Passion, devotion and feeling is what moves Robert Mendoza’s musical inner world, who has become one of the most innovative and spectacular talents of the music scene, and one of the most popular violinists in the world thanks to his YouTube’s viral videos and his love for his fans.

With over 717,000 subscribers on his official YouTube channel, and 747,000 fans in crescendo on Facebook, it’s no wonder that Robert Mendoza has positioned himself among the most sought-after violinists on the internet, with more than 108 million views on his most popular videos.

He and his violin have travelled around the world performing in the best venues, such as Privilege or Pacha in Ibiza, Cavalli Club in Dubai, playing in international festivals, and sharing stage with Chino y Nacho, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and visiting countries such as Mexico, Chile , Nicaragua, Bolivia, Malaysia and the United States.

Big artists such as Shakira, Maluma, Luis Fonsi and CNCO have supported and shared Robert Mendoza’s work.

He is currently working on recording of his first album, which will be released in 2018.

Website | Facebook | YouTube Twitter: @RobertMendoza_ Instagram: @robertmendoza

There are too many incredible videos and it’s hard to pick one but this is LIVE!!

Judy Kang (Lady Gaga)

We are proud and excited to welcome Judy Kang, Lady Gaga’s violinist, to the Wood Violins family!

“I perform solely on [a Viper] by Mark Wood. I have sound effect pedals, as well. I wasn’t too knowledgable about electrics, to be honest. I was so fortunate to have had a couple of weeks of rehearsals before going on the road, to research instruments.

I made a cold call to Mark Wood after suggestions from colleagues, and he was amazing enough to hand-deliver an instrument to me a couple of days later at the rehearsal studio!

I had a five-stringed instrument brought to me. Of course, this was the first time I had ever played a five-string [Viper], let alone an electric. It was a blast! I had SO much fun discovering new feels, new techniques and new sounds… I even shredded on it to the point where my band guitarists and I were having solo contests for fun because of the similarity of sounds!

Cassandra Sotos

“Meeting Mark Wood and getting my hands on a Viper changed my career and my life. I can do things I never dreamed of as a young player and the possibilities still remain unlimited. I still love my acoustic violin , but my Viper has allowed me to find my true voice…It challenges and inspires me as an artist every time I pick it up and I couldn’t be any more grateful. Mark Wood is a mentor and inspiration to me and everyone at Wood Violins has become family. You truly get so much more than just an instrument from Wood Violins!!”

Cassandra “Cat” Sotos is an artist, songwriter and international-touring violinist, known primarily for her live and studio work in country, rock, pop, and Bollywood.

Her journey as a musician started at the age of four when she first picked up her violin – by 13, she was performing in honkytonks and dive bars. After a brief detour as an industrial engineer in New York City, she realized she needed to re-devote her life to music. She moved to Nashville immediately.

Cassandra has toured across the world, most notably a two-year tour with Indian pop star Arijit Singh. His MTV India Tour was the largest tour in the country’s history, and the rest of the world tour included sold-out shows across North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, including the iconic Wembley Arena in London. She has recorded and performed with The Wildflowers (Tony Harnell of TNT and Bumblefoot of Guns ‘N’ Roses), ABA (Italy), Vitera and Tequila Rock Revolution. She also toured as a part of the Wrangler National Patriot Tour to perform for service people stationed in the Middle East. You may have seen her profiled in Strings Magazine.

She is an active member and Nashville Chapter Co-Chair of Women in Music (assisting in the launch of WIM Nashville and WIM India), and she works to empower young musicians and songwriters, especially females, through her professional and non-profit work in the industry.

Website | Facebook

Amy Serrano

Hearing Amy play is always such a great experience, and to see our Vipers in the hands of this type of musician is truly a wonderful moment for us. We’re thrilled and honored that Amy is part of the Wood Violins family. “Owning, practicing and performing on my Vipers has opened the world of CREATIVITY for me!! I am a classically trained violinist and started at the age of 3. When I left the corporate world and decided to live the musical dream, I bought my first Viper and never looked back. The versatility is endless. I love that I can play on a fretted instrument for even better accuracy with up to 7 strings giving me the full range from a violin to a stand up bass. With my Violin & Dance show and my Dueling Violins Show, I have complete freedom and flexibly to move at a higher level. The fact that the Viper holds onto the body has completely taken away all neck and shoulder pain I used to suffer. Playing on my Vipers has given me the ability to play completely pain-free, confident, and given me a competitive edge in the music industry. I will be forever grateful.”

Born in Northern California, Amy Serrano grew up in a musically talented household. She started learning at 3 years of age and has been playing the violin since 1991. Her studies consisted primarily of classical training with the Suzuki method and every summer, she didn’t miss an opportunity to attend fiddle and bluegrass camps. Amy plays a wide range of music with genres spanning classical, pop, fiddle tunes, contemporary, and improvisation. Amy believes one should never stop learning, and continues to study with other professionals and attends workshops. For fun, Amy loves salsa dancing, being active outdoors, spending free time by the ocean, hiking on a trail, and working out at the gym. She is married to the love of her life, Dylan Burcombe, who is also a talented musician – www.dylanburcombe.com.

 

Connect with Amy: Website | YouTube Instagram: @electric_violinist Facebook: @amyserrano1989

Haydn Vitera

“My Viper has traveled with me across the US and internationally. No matter what kind of gig I’m on, whether it’s country, rock, Latin or anything in between, the Viper’s versatility consistenly delivers great tone and performance and most importantly, the right sound for each style. With my own Latin Rock Fusion group VITERA, it’s basically another member of the band and a big part of what brings new people out to see us. Thank you Mark Wood and everyone at Wood Violins for making the world’s most incredible instrument!!!”

Website: viterarocks.com Facebook: facebook.com/viterarocks

Alex DePue

“It’s just beautiful. BEAUTIFUL I say! The general electrified sound, especially with some distortion… it just sounds better than any other pickup system OR electric violin I’ve ever used, that’s for sure. I’m just thrilled and very grateful… I’m gonna destroy the world with this thing!”

Watch Steve Vai and Alex DePue trade scorching riffs at about 2 minutes in!

Alex DePue began taking classical violin lessons at age five. He won his first major competition at age 10, and later (age 14) won a competition that entitled him to perform at Carnegie Hall as Concertmaster for the National Guild Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Joseph Silverstein. He has continued to win competitions and appear as a guest soloist with orchestras and at festivals worldwide.

Despite his classical training, Alex became interested in fiddling at age seven, and began competing in old-time fiddle contests at the age of 12. He reigned as the Michigan State Fiddling Champion from 1994-1998; won the first-place trophy at the Walnut Valley National Fiddling Championship in Winfield, Kansas in 1999 and 2005; won first place in the Halletsville, TX “Gone to Texas National Fiddling Championship” in 2000; won first place in the Alabama state fiddle contest in 2006 and 2007; and won first place in the California state fiddle contest in 2007. He has been ranked among the top 10 fiddlers in the nation at the Grand Masters Fiddling Championship (Nashville, TN). In 2005, Alex placed fourth at the GMFC. Alex served as a judge at the National Oldtime Fiddling Championship (Weiser, ID) in 2008. Alex toured with Capitol Recording artist Chris Cagle from 2000-2006, with whom he still regularly appears (re-runs) on the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Television, Great American Country, and VH1 Country.

Alex joined legendary rock guitarist Steve Vai for a 2007 world tour that took him across North America, South America, and Europe. Alex’s YouTube videos are from all parts of the globe, and his #1 YouTube hit, ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ (originally recorded by the 80’s rock band, Yes) has been viewed worldwide over a million times. 2010 continued celebration for Vai’s 2009 DVD release, “Steve Vai: Where the WILD THINGS Are” (a live concert music-movie co-featuring DePue), its Grammy nomination (Best Rock Instrumental) for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards and Gold Record (award issued to each band/cast member) from the Recording Industry Association of America in recognition of “Gold” sales status in both the US and Canada.

Alex recently teamed up with Mexican guitarist Miguel De Hoyos. Their unique international sound has been praised by elected Mexico officials in Baja California South and Baja California North, MX and their spectacular musical performances are being extolled by popular English-written Mexican publications such as the Gringo Gazette and the Baja Times. Alex and Miguel released their first recording ‘Underground Whispers” in 2009 and their new album “Twisted Strings” (2010) are both available at www.depuedehoyos.com <http://www.depuedehoyos.com> or www.alexdepue.com <http://www.alexdepue.com> .

In addition to performing, Alex is a […]