tired of intonation problems?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7414024003&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1
So this is what? Essentially a violin with frets? Interesting.
Alas, I will continue to struggle, despite my fingers misbehavior and the unforgiving nature of my ears.
btw. I have never drunk Dr. Bronnerās but did brush my teeth with the almond flavor once. Yuck.
Bet it doesnāt sing like a true fiddle.
Back in my music school days i was forever getting criticized by my violin teacher for my intonation ā i was mostly interested in jazz-rock back then anyway, and i remember seeing a picture of some heavy-metal violinist who had an electric fiddle with fretsā¦ āAha!ā thought i, āthe answer to my woes!āā¦ though iām sure my teacher would have pulled out even more of her hair had i shown up to lessons with one.
Anyway, for ITM the nuanced intonation is part of the style, so the fretted fiddle would be more a liability than anythingā¦ actually one thing i miss from playing fiddle is the ability to shade the intonation a bit ā banjo and mandolin donāt offer the same opportunities for expression.
Dave (harpmaker) made me a new toyā¦
Itās a bowed mountain dulcimer. Itās made to be played āuprightā against my shoulder, kinda like a cello.
Since Iāve never played a fretless string instrument, I had Dave inlay a contrasting strip of wood where the frets would normally be on a dulcimer. But since there are no frets, it gives me the option of slides, etc. of a fretless instrument.
Iām really having no problems with intonation. Now - if I could just say the same thing about using a BOW!!!
If you like cool old instruments you should check the dudeās (dudetteās?) ebay store. Thereās lots of stuff Iāve never heard of.
If I had loads of dough to spare, theyād end up with a lot of my money for sureā¦
But dāoh! the prices!!! 
With a bowed MD held upright against your shoulder what kind of bow are you using; violin? cello? viola da gamba?
It is easy to do nuanced intonation with a fretless instrument, merely by shifting the fingers slightly. However, it is also easy for the nuanced notes to get completely off pitch. I am an expert at doing that. That is why I wanted Barry (incredibows) to come up with the fiddle bow that automatically adjusted for pitch, if there was such a thing, but, of course, there isnāt. There is nothing automatic about playing a fretless string instrument.
You can nuance the intonation of a fretted string instrument by pulling the string sideways. This is easy to do on an instrument with longer single strings, like a guitar or banjo. I think that it would be very difficult with the double, high-tension strings of a mandolin.
With regard to fretted fingerboards on bowed instruments, the viola da gamba family of instruments use attached frets that are adjustable. Although I have never done it, I canāt think of a good reason why you couldnāt use a similar technique on a violin. I think that monofilament nylon would make good frets, and there are instructions for how to tie the frets if you search on line for āviola da gambaā and look around.
I started with a full sized violin bow - but I ordered a 1/2 size. I think part of my problem is the full size is too long for me to control consistantly. It should get here in the next day or two, Iāll let you know how Iām doing.
hard to do on a reel at speed, though.
If that doesnāt work out, you might want to try out a treble gamba bow.
The hold is traditionally different, palm up with some fingers on the hair to adjust the tension as desired.
But keep in mind all through this, many people find that bowing is the hardest part of playing a bowed instrument. Some folk have to spend long hours practicing in front of a mirror while making a mental note how the muscles used feel when doing it correctly.
Wouldnāt you need a curved bow or a curved fretboard to do that?
Robin
Wasnāt the Irish instrument called the fydle fretted?
Intonation can be tough at times. Itās not hard to get in a rut where you then repeat your mistakes each time you play because youāve reinforced them and think youāre actually youāre playing in tune. One thing Iāll do is play a two or 3 octave scale up and back down to sort of fine tune my brain and make sure Iām in tune. Another is to play a recognizable melody like greensleeves to tune up my brain. Iāve also heard that when playing a melody it helps to play slowly and to āsingā in your head the upcoming note. It really helps somehow get that note to be right on after cueing it up intonation-wise right before actually playing it.
Sorry, donāt mean to sound like a teacher/ know it all (Iām neither unfortunetly!) Just rambling on about intonationā¦
Dave put a curved bridge on the instrument, so the middle string does sit higher then the other two.
Also, if your (or your playing partnerās) strings go out of tune, you can always adjust your fingering in such a way as to match the other instrument. Fretted or permanently-tuned instruments donāt afford that luxury. However, if itās your strings, your open-string strokes are still going to sound ugly.
There is a lot of truth in that as well, but most of my problems come either from applying the wrong finger to the right string, or vice versa, rather than from applying the right finger to the right string in the wrong position.
Sounds like good advice. 