My first banjo was bought online in 2008. About a year later, I wanted something different. My mistake was buying an instrument sight unseen, or rather sound unheard. There have been times during my search for a fiddle that I've come close to buying some cheapo from some so-called "reputable" website, but my experience buying that Recording King taught me better. Not that the banjo was bad. It just didn't have the sound I was searching for, mainly because I didn't really know what that sound was. Now, having played old-time music for a few years and hearing other fiddlers, I'm already leagues ahead of that first instrument purchase because I have an idea of what I want my first fiddle to sound like. While I have no clue how to play anything on the fiddle, I've been lucky to have someone on hand to play the instruments I've been considering in a way I hope to one day be able to play. My first stop was Studio Strings in Wadsworth, Ohio, where th
How to learn to stop worrying and love the twang. A journey into old-time music.