About the Modular Fiddle
The Modular Fiddle is a platform for violin-family instruments from a maker who builds professional electric violins on it. This is the free 4-string acoustic version, and its fourth version is the easiest yet. All the dovetail joints are gone, so there's no more filing to fit or joints cracking under stress. The parts slide together on truss rods and are held with M3 screws in heat-set inserts.
It includes new ultra-light bridges, developed from a luthier's bridge design and refined with generative design in Fusion 360. The designer says they improved the tone remarkably. A STEP file of everything is included. You choose between options for the pegbox: printed parts with Grover ukulele tuners, friction pegs or geared pegs. A chin rest can be printed or bought. Variations such as acoustic-electric, solid-body, 5-string, fretted and hardanger versions are only available to the designer's Patreon supporters.
The designer's website has a full step-by-step build guide with a parts list, and there's an active Discord community. Hardware kits are sold to support development.
Who it's for. Violinists and makers who want a durable printed fiddle with good tone and a well-documented build. In the videos, another player builds and plays an earlier version, and the designer plays his outdoors.
What you'll need
Printed parts
- One-piece body, neck and pegbox
- Bridge (new lightweight designs included)
- Optional: printed chin rest
Bought parts
- 6 × M3 heat-set inserts and 4 × M3 × 10 socket screws
- 2 × M3 × 45 flat-head screws (for the printed chin rest), or a Guarneri chin rest
- A set of 4/4 violin strings
- Pegbox hardware: dowel pins, inserts and screws plus ukulele tuners, or geared pegs
- A carbon truss rod, about 8 × 6 × 330 mm ? (see the parts list)
Tools
- Soldering iron for heat-set inserts
- Hex keys
Build overview
Follow the designer's step-by-step instructions. In outline:
- Choose your options. Pick the pegbox, chin rest and bridge files.
- Print and fit the inserts. Print the parts and press in the heat-set inserts.
- Assemble on the rods. Slide the parts onto the truss rods and bolt them together.
- Fit the pegbox hardware. Fit the tuners or pegs and the chin rest.
- Set up. Fit the bridge and strings, then tune.
Videos
Play video: 3D printed violin: how does it sound? (loads YouTube)
Play video: Modular Fiddle in the sun (loads YouTube)
Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Video thumbnails are © their creators.
Photos
All photos: OpenFabPDX, from the design page on Printables, licensed CC BY-SA. We resized them and converted them to WebP. These adapted versions are shared under the same licence.
4 more photos on Printables ↗