Box Fiddle

I had high hopes for this one and overall the tone is pretty good. One or two "wolf" tones that I spent a good part of today trying to correct. If I can't figure it out tomorrow the neck's coming off and it'll become a mandolin.
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  • Just a small bit of interest.  John Maw of the UK is a member here, but inactive in recent years.  He hosts a big CBG party at his home.  Good guy, builder, player.  I think he used to be a bow maker.

  • Yeah Dave, a soundpost and bass bar. The nearest I can describe it is on those two notes it seems like the box is vibrating slightly off from the string and causing a weird sound. I won't be too hasty changing it - sometimes stuff mellows out. Other fiddles I've made sound either good or terrible right away. This one's messing with me since it sounds good 'cept for those two notes. Maybe I'll demonstrate that sound on the demo instead of avoiding the notes as I'd planned.

  • Yup Unc, you're right about stringin' 'em up! Have a good day at the cesspool.

  • I,ve heard of projectile vomiting. You mean you can shoot shit into space Uncle? On a serious note. I,ve found the odd sounds often mello out or dissolve as time passes. Does this fiddle have a sound post? That may help. Is something buzzing or rattling? Sometimes it takes a while for the strings to get enough rosin built up so they don,t squeak. I,ll bet you,ll find it Jim.
  • Will look forward to hearing it.   It seems like my first impressions after stringing one up are often seem erroneous later.   Still, exciting to string em up. 

    Out to the shop now to put tuners on one, bring it in and take it for a quick test ride.  Then it's hustle to get ready for work at the Rocket Science and Cesspool Service.

  • Thanks Unc. I was frustrated yesterday since it didn't sound as good as I'd hoped. It's safe as a fiddle for the time being and will be a good experiment to see what I can do to improve the sound. I'll probably post a demo today in spite of my frustration!

  • Oh crap!  Now I read the comments.  I hope you can salvage it as a fiddle or at the least, end up with a great mando and use the neck elsewhere.

  • VERY nice, man.  High 9s.

  • Thanks Dave. I'll spend more time on it today. For some reason the F# note on both the D and the e string have a strange unpleasant sound. Almost like the box is resonating at a slightly different frequency than the string on that particular note. Not sure what can be done. I'll try a different set of strings. We'll see!

  • Looks beautiful Jim. Don,t mando her too quickly. Twood be a shame. Mandolins notwithstanding...
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