New Five-String Fiddle on the Way

[Chet Bishop]

I recently had a person call me and ask whether I could build a 5-string fiddle of primarily Oregon woods (Sure!)

I was about to start a stay-at-home vacation from my regular job, during the Christmas season, so I decided to get going on the new project. I have begun chronicling the build, here, if anyone is interested:
https://fivestringfiddles.com/2020/01/0 ... beginning/

I will continue to post progress reports, there.

I think it will be a very good fiddle, but the Big-leaf maple is some of the wildest-grained wood I have ever worked with. Looks great, of course, but a bit of a pain to work with.

[Bob Francis]

Chet,
Please do continue your documentary it is impressive.

[Chet Bishop]

Bob, if you look at the top of the page, there is a tab for "Books": there is a photo-story there of a whole five-string fiddle, which you may find enjoyable. It is in a pdf format, so you can download the whole thing if you want, or read it online, I suppose. It's about 135 pages...

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the little bit I have already posted, and I will add to it as things get done. (It will slow to a crawl, now that I am going back to work. Sorry.)

Chet

[Chet Bishop]

Here is another update: the body (corpus) is closed, leaving a fair amount of final carving and scraping before the instrument will be ready for varnishing.

https://fivestringfiddles.com/2020/02/0 ... ng-fiddle/

I think it will be a good fiddle. Feels good...sounds good when I tap it, et cetera.

[Bob Francis]

That is stunning!

[Chet Bishop]

Thanks, Bob! I'm anxious to see how it will look under the varnish.

This evening, I completed most of the varnish-prep, but broke off for suppertime. If I can really have it done tonight, I will rub the mineral ground into the wood, and let it dry overnight. Then the sealer, tomorrow, will let us begin to see what that wood really looks like.

[Chet Bishop]

So, to all who found the earlier report interesting, here is the final chapter:

https://fivestringfiddles.com/2020/02/1 ... ng-fiddle/

The customer gave her enthusiastic blessing to my taking the fiddle to the Wintergrass festival and exhibiting it with my other work, so that is where it is going next. She is coming this week to make sure she is the first one to get to play it.

If anyone else is planning to attend the Wintergrass festival, please drop by my booth and get acquainted.

Chet

[Bob Francis]

Very nice!

[Chet Bishop]

Thanks, Bob!

[Chet Bishop]

She came and took possession of the fiddle this past Saturday morning. She is happy and so are we.

[Ken Nagy]

Hey Chet, Nice 5 string. Your documentation was nice. I haven't heard about you for a long time. It seems you specialize in 5 strings? I made one last winter, while I was making my first guitar, an arch top. They both came out pretty well. I did the 5 string when I drew up a Maggini cello 1/2 size, and the stop was 195 mm. I thought that would be a cool 5 string; and it is. I don't play, which is one reason why I started thinking of doing guitars, I don't PLAY, but I can play a little so I can at least see what I like and don't like; but the C sounds decent to me, and the violin side sounds so much stronger with the extra body size: it's only 385 or so long, but just barely fits in my viola case because it is so wide.

My projects, with the viola:

A paradox walnut/Yellow cedar violin. When wet, the one side is brown and the other is creamy; wicked flame. The ribs are from the back and are brow and cream, and the color change is very obvious at the button.

A small Strad type guitar in G, I think.540 scale.

The viola is cherry.

I'm running out of wall space! But at least I only work on them in the afternoon, I write my blog in the morning. It is a lot of fun.

Good to see yeah.

Ken

[Chet Bishop]

To All:

I have not been on MIMF for a while, as I have been pretty tied up with work, here at home.

In January, I was permanently laid off from my job of 33-1/2 years, so lutherie will now be my only job.

I am somewhat specializing in 5-string instruments, now, which you can see at https://fivestringfiddles.com
It has blog posts on whatever I am currently working on (A five-string double bass is nearly complete) and there is the usual "chronology page" with photos of all my five-string instruments.

I still do repairs, and custom work on all the orchestral instruments: the "specialization is only in regard to my "new builds on speculation."

Blessings upon you all.

Chet

[Carl Dickinson]

I've been following your progress on the bass over on talkbass. That's some impressive work!

[Chet Bishop]

Thanks, Carl!

I wish I could find buyers for my work...

[Craig Cowing]

With a 5 string instrument to you have to do anything different with the structure of the body? Obviously the neck and fingerboard will be a bit wider and the scroll maybe a hair longer to accommodate an extra peg, but anything in the body?

[Ken Nagy]

I don't know when Chet will get back to you. I only made one 5 string, but I think the sound is quite nice.

I used a very wide body, and it's about 375mm long. But it still has a 195 stop, so Helicore strings work. The strings are fairly high tension, and you have an extra one, so you can't make it floppy, but I wouldn't make it stiffer.

I used a 5string bridge that I bought from the Canadian supply company, Lemeul violins. The one connected with a foum. I couldn't find it right now, but it is a beast. Works great. I used standard string spacing, so that bridge is essential. I put a conical fingerboard on it. 37mm radius at the top, like a viola, and 40 or so at the end. The bridge is set like a violin.

The extra size helps the low C. As will keeping it flexible. I think it helps the high end too. Like the fat lady singing.

I'd make another.

[Ken Nagy]

Maybe I got the bridge from fiddler shop? 5 string viola bridge. I did make the string angle steeper (155-6?) like a viola, and the f holes are pretty widely spaced. I don't see how a standard size violin could be a 5 string. It is just not wide enough. I have trouble with 4 strings at the top of a violin, or the string spacing on guitars. They are just too close. How do people type on tiny phones? I don't get it.

Anyway, the bridge is very high quality. Hah! I did buy it there, I even gave a review! Don't remember that, I hardly ever do that.
https://fiddlershop.com/products/superi ... ing-bridge