How does an electric violin "play" differently than an acoustic violin?

[vibihe]

Meaning, how does it feel to your fingertips, your neck, your arm, etc. How long does it take to get used to playing on what I imagine is a significantly heavier instrument? And, how loud is the instrument sans amp.?

[Nick N]

If you're talking about the Yamaha Silent Violin, I have picked one up at a music store and it was not really all that different in terms of feel and weight than a normal violin. Of course, your shoulder rest won't work but other than that it feels ok. The amp onboard is really a preamp so it is not bulky and runs on only two AA batteries.

When playing they are very quiet if you don't have them hooked up to an amp (btw you can use headphones as well), much quieter than a muted violin. Definitely not something that will carry from room to room. Also because of this I have the feeling that it will be a difficult instrument to tune.