Reply #102: While I'm well past the cat-scratch stage

[HillWilliam]

and comfortable in the bi-weekly jams the local string club has at the cultural center downtown, I dunno if I'm ready to do a wedding solo with my fiddle. Speaking or singing, yup, I can do that. I'm a woodwinds and keyboards guy, only took up the fiddle about 6 years ago and I'm still a little shy about it. Don't mind playing in a group (I'd love to find an amateur chamber group).

Jevver hear of a contraption called a chin-cello? I've got one. Built on a modified 16" viola body with a deeper box, it uses specially-made octave strings to play in the cello range. Now that is a form-factor for gigging. Nice, warm, cello sound, not quite as loud (without the big box, you lose a little projection), but it's amazing for what it is. The only drawback I see is that they ship with a standard cello bow which is damned heavy to play in the air, but I'm fixing that by ordering a featherweight IncrediBow cello bow. I've got two IncrediBow fiddle bows I absolutely love and swear by. Just wish Thomastik made Vision Titanium Orchestra strings for the chin cello. Red Labels SSSSSSSSSSSSSSUCK.