A very fine dance fiddler let me try his newish carbon fiber violin the other night. I don’t know if it was one of these:
http://www.luisandclark.com/violin.php
but it looks right.
Anyway, very impressive. A full tone, complex, lots (and lots) of power. Beyond my purchasing power, for sure, but I can see the appeal for someone who has to play in a wide range of temps and humidity levels and the general happy chaos of folk festivals and contradances.
Now, what’ja hafta go and show us that for ?
Yep, that’s what I thought after he asked me if I wanted to give it a try.
Hey Paul,
Got wood? Got Delrin? Got Carbon Fiber?
How about crafting a whistle out of the aforementioned?
I’d be willing to try it if anyone knows where I can get a carbon fiber tube .5"ID and .656"OD…
Not sure how well it machines though…
I’ve heard a few comments about the Luis and Clark. The general consensus is that it is a nice instrument, but that from across the room it lacks the depth and character of a standard fiddle. Perhaps a bit harsh under the ear, too. It is unknown, however, if this is due to the cf, or if it is the design. There are no other cf fiddles to compare. The maker is cello oriented, IIRC, and might not know the intricacies of voicing a fiddle. Again, it has the rep of being a good instrument, but in that price range there are lots of good wood instruments available. Depends on what you like/need, of course.
Mandolin Cafe has had a lot of threads about the carbon fiber mandolins out there now. Interesting technology.
That’s well out of my price range, but probably wouldn’t be for a pro. Looks really cool, though.
Fretless guitars often have necks made from carbon fibre. It helps give metal strings a bit of the twang you get with frets and, most importantly, it doesn’t wear really quickly as wood would.
BTW, I have a very fine CD of traditional Donegal fiddlers playing metal instruments.
Howdy!
There’s been a couple of reviews of these over on http://www.fiddleforum.com. I’ve really wanted one of their violas, but they are WAY out of my price range, and totally unnecessary since I have a decent one already. They are purty though…