Unusual Violin / Fiddle Repair

This has got to be the strangest thing I've ever seen. I ended up replacing the entire neck and now the instrument plays great. This is a video with some before and after pictures, and also Ron playing the repaired instrument. John & Terry are playing guitar. (Chris Talley Armstrong; The Bluegrass Shack - New Athens, IL)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• fiddle
• violin
• repair
• mandolin
• peghead
• unusual
• replace
• neck
• ron
• terry
• john
• chris
• talley
• armstrong
• the
• bluegrass
• shack
• new
• athens
• illinois

[manof1234]

looks like somebody has tried to make a hardanger fiddle from a violin! The Hardanger fiddle is the national instrument of Norway. It has 4 "playing strings" and 4-5 sympathetic strings lying underneath the fingerboard, resting on the bridge. Try searching for hardanger fiddle or hardingfele. They look quite different from that, but i know of a guy in here that build "hardanger fiddles" that way, with a mandolin pegbox.

[blueiis2]

@manof1234 I know about Hardanger fiddles. My neighbor actually has one and I have played it. I think it's something that all fiddle players should get to try at least once!

[Hikikomori013]

I would be tempted to string it and see what it sounds like with double courses.

The repair was beautiful. It really sounds good now.

[blueiis2]

@Hikikomori013 I don't think the neck would have withstood the tension. But yes, that would probably have sounded pretty interesting.

[jkvideo42]

Great repair. Nice mellow tone to the instrument - I would think right-on for bluegrass. Also an interesting shop in the background - where is that ? Thanks for posting.

[blueiis2]

It is The Bluegrass Shack in New Athens, IL. Thanks!

[Hrimpurstala]

You modified a rare 8-string (mandolin tuning) conversion back into a normal fiddle! Neat to see the original though. It is too bad that it wasn't in a playable condition.

[HSTrueMan]

I betya any money that the guy in the middle is the one that bolted that mando head on the fiddle! ....in his garage.....with a hammer....while drinking beer!

[manof1234]

yeah, everyone should try playing a hardanger fiddle. It's just something about the sound, and the way it fills the room.

[babai2345]

amaizing