Hey folks, we're an oldtime stringband from northern California called The Oldgrass Bluetime Band. Here's some Ruben's Train by the RR tracks out in the middle of nowhere.

So, I’ve been playing about 8 months now, really enjoying it, and recently got myself a fairly nice instrument. I have a few longer trips coming up where I’m going to have some down time and want to be playing. I got myself a good travel case for airline travel, and have already flown with my new instrument once, but I’m starting to think I might not want to do that all the time. I’m starting to look at other options for a secondary instrument, wanted to see if anyone had thoughts or recommendations.

1) Magic Fluke - I like that it’s still acoustic, with electric pickup optional, I believe? And it seems like it might pack a little smaller than a traditional fiddle.

2) I’ve seen some electric violins that are pretty small, plus some claim to be basically silent, and you can just play into your headphones, which sounds like a nice option for playing in a hotel or on a cruise, versus a hotel mute. Seems like you can get these in roughly the same $500ish piece range as a Magic Fluke, too.

3) That said, there are also some decent normal fiddles in that price range, too, so that’s another option, just buy a cheaper regular fiddle to travel with.

What do you all think? Thoughts on these options? Are electrics a decent travel option for playing quietly somewhere (but also plugging in if you want to join a session somewhere)?

Quite new to fiddle here, wiring is anyone has any tips on practicing drones? I find it quite difficult to keep both strings going consistently without overly weighting one or the other. Obviously practice is the main thing, but any specific tips or drills you find helpful?

I’m currently learning to fiddle using a very cheap Amazon violin. But sometimes the A and E strings are very scratchy. My thought process is that if I can make a cheap one sound good then a nicer one will sound great. But which makes a bigger difference, the violin itself, the strings, or the bow?

So I (38yo) got into playing fiddle over the last two years. I've joined my local jam, been to a few camps, and found a tutor. I've done all of this on a cheap second hand beginner student model (Stentor II).

I have decided I'll sell a bunch of electrical equipment recently to find a fiddle upgrade and I have £500gbp to spend on one.

I went to my local fiddle shop and tried everything in that range but I didn't really like the sound of any of them compared to my violin. They were louder but I thought all sounded a bit rough. This is a folk focused music shop so most of these fiddles were early 20th century German or Eastern European workshop fiddles that probably haven't been played in a while and likely have old cheap strings on so it might not be representative of their true sound. I also thought that maybe I'm just used to my fiddle sound and these other fiddles just felt and sounded unfamiliar.

So now I'm not sure what to do because I don't think my £80 fiddle sounds that dissimilar to these £500 ones. So do I just keep saving until I'm in a price range that I can tell the difference? Do I just keep my cheap ass fiddle until something good comes along? I also considered upgrading my bow first and then looking for a new fiddle with my nice bow.

Hi all,

​I've been playing violin for 7 months on a Fiddlerman Concert. I practice Carnatic violin, tuned in 1sts and 5ths (1st/5th/1st/5th).

​Currently, I use a short viola C string and shifted my other strings over to get a lower range. Since this setup mimics the bottom four strings of a 5-string violin, I’m thinking about making the jump to a proper 5-string setup.

​I play purely for personal enjoyment (and maybe busking down the road), focusing on Carnatic and other non-classical/fiddle genres.

​Is it better to transition to a 5-string early in your learning journey, or is it wiser to stick with standard setups until you reach an intermediate level? Appreciate any insights!

Hi, all! My partner would love to learn to play the fiddle, with roughly zero musical skills apart from having a decent ear/singing voice (and nimble fingers!). We love bluegrass and Irish/folk music and seek it out often.

I would love to buy him a used starter fiddle but I am so worried he will get disheartened and not play it at all. It looks so daunting and don't want to wind up with a "display" fiddle on the wall.

Is this at all an attainable goal from anyone who has learned to play/self-taught? Or is it just too difficult? Thanks for any and all advice!

For electric guitar, I'm of the opinion that if the neck is straight, and it stays in tune, most any guitar is a good guitar or can be fixed up to play great with just a little work. For acoustic guitar it's a little different because you care about volume, and I've found the lightest acoustic guitar is usually the loudest. I've been playing guitar for 20 years and I want to pick up a violin. What do I look for in a good one? Is under $200 likely to be fine? $80 used on facebook marketplace? What kind of work can I do to make it play better? 0 experience here.

These are great workshops. I’m not part of this organization but I’ve attended many of these workshops and loved them.

I’m an independent musician and creator of the Acoustic Crossroads project, dedicated to living traditional repertoires (Celtic, Irish, Bluegrass, and French-Canadian) on acoustic mandolin.

My artistic focus is 100% handmade, organic sound—no synthetic shortcuts, just the raw resonance of wood and driving acoustic picking.

Musical Preview:

« Sainte Anne's Reel »: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS7oOF7qcaE

Hi there! I bought this fiddle at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention this year because the unusual design caught my eye. I was hoping that someone could offer me any information about this style or the builder. I included a picture of a name signed on the inside, but I can’t read cursive very well. I’ve been searching the internet, but I’ve only found one Pinterest photo of the same design with no extra information. Thanks!

Just pretend you're sitting in a booth of a pub with someone immediately next to you on your right side

I've picked up fiddle, but I'm 49, is this too old? With lessons to get half okay at it?

I played in my school orchestra from 5th to 12th grade on violin. I got pretty decent at it but it wasn't ever really my thing. During that time i was not allowed to pursue fiddling by any private teachers i had and I got my fix by playing banjo. After I graduated high-school I pretty much put it in the case besides a handful of times per year. Now 12 years later i want to fiddle. During that time i kept active with music with other stringed instruments. Im rusty but honestly play a lot better than i thought i would after so long. I can read music and play by ear. Totally lost with fiddling though. I can figure out basic melodies but theres so much more to it than just that. Things like bowing patterns really add to what makes a fiddler sound like a fiddler and I dont know how to tackle that. I wish there was an active fiddling community near me but theres not. Styles I'm interested in are old time, bluegrass, and western swing. I understand those all have their differences from each other. Im just saying Im not picky and open to learning any of those. Im down for books or video series.

Sorry for such a beginner question here but I recently bought some boutique rosin and I'm having issues with the rosin building up on the strings and causing ghost notes or unintended tones. I have to get a microfiber and wipe the buildup off the strings every song or so.

I've always used the cheap $7 amazon rosin that falls all over the fiddle, but I recently thought I would buy some boutique rosin on Etsy/eBay after seeing some recommended. I tried it and it has great bite and really sounds great, but it doesn't fall on the fiddle like the cheap stuff and really builds up so quickly on the strings.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? Should I just go back to the cheap stuff? Maybe I'm using too much? I've also wiped the whole bow strings down with a clean microfiber and that hasn't helped much either.