The Modular Fiddle

Description

Once you build a Modular Fiddle, you can change out any part in about ten minutes. Experiment with structures only possible using 3D printing!

What kinds of sounds can a violin make?
How can a violin sound different?
How can generative design techniques improve the playability or change the sound of a violin?
What can we do with 3D printing that hasn't been tried before?

The printed parts are the Body, Neck, Pegbox, and Bridge. You will need to purchase strings, tuners, tail piece, and chin rest. Head to the Modular Fiddle page, external link, below, for the full design package including STEP, F3D, STL, assembly documentation, and bill of materials.

A 5-string version is also available! The necessary design files can be purchased on my website: https://openfabpdx.com/product/five-string-print-files

Details

At the moment, all Modular Fiddle files, including design files in STEP and F3D, assembly documentation, and bill of materials, can be found on the Modular Fiddle page. I'll be bringing that data here as time allows.

The best comparison of the Modular Fiddle to a traditional violin is this spliced video, below. The wooden instrument is a Chinese made acoustic worth about $2K. The red Modular Fiddle uses the generative bridge, while the green uses a 'regular' PLA printed bridge. The purple/green violin is the Hovalin from Hova Labs.

Here's the full video, where I play the whole song on each instrument and talk about stuff.

Files

Tailpiece-4String-R3.stl

A 4-string tailpiece! Print this with lots of plastic, it needs to be strong.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 483.29 kB - 07/15/2019 at 23:13

Download

PegShort-R1.stl

This may work with the Pegbox-pegs, but may also need a lot of sanding/filing. I still recommend the Grover tuners, but if you want to try pegs, give it a go.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 379.96 kB - 07/15/2019 at 23:13

Download

Pegbox-4String-Grover6-R3.stl

This updated Pegbox has some minor changes.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 655.16 kB - 07/15/2019 at 23:13

Download

Pegbox-4String-Pegs-R4.stl

This updated Pegbox has smaller holes for smaller pegs.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 665.80 kB - 07/15/2019 at 23:12

Download

Bridge-R10.stl

The bridge is updated for the new body. Any bridge R8-R10 should work OK.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 236.31 kB - 07/15/2019 at 23:12

Download

Components

1 × Neck 3D print of Neck part

1 × Body 3D print of Body part

1 × Pegbox 3D print of Pegbox part. Note: match Pegbox print to tuners you're using!

1 × Bridge 3D print of Bridge part, or use a bridge of your choice

1 × Ukelele Friction Tuners Need four tuners total, usually one set. I recommend Grover 88B or 3055 (Sta-Tite 4W)

Discussions

Richard Vertucci wrote 10/19/2018 at 20:45

I'm with everybody. I love the cool shape and colors of this instrument. But is it a Violin ? In a traditional Violin the sound is shaped by its form, the harmonics created by the wood. If I were you I'd figure out a place to put an electronic pick-up use some Digital Signal Processing and amp to make it sound like something new or maybe even a Violin.

Are you sure? yes | no

David Perry wrote 10/23/2018 at 22:04

No, it's not a violin, it's a fiddle! I will say the sound is half decent. While we simply cannot match the timbre of high quality tonewood, there are significant harmonics produced by the instrument. Harmonics are complicated.

I definitely want to make a body that takes a pickup. And playing with signal processing would be awesome and totally something I want to do at some point. That said, I hope other folks beat me to it! Thanks for the suggestion!

With this design I hope to experiment with ways to make different sound using novel structures, shapes, and materials made possible with 3D printing. Any sound can be processed to sound different. How can we manipulate the acoustics of the instrument to make it sound different without electronics? I hope you'll make one and try something!

Are you sure? yes | no

David Perry wrote 10/16/2018 at 22:17

Thanks, Richard! I think it's pretty rad, too. The shape is driven largely by print constraints and to maximize surface area, but definitely also by aesthetics. If it's not beautiful can it really be a violin? Maybe, maybe...

Are you sure? yes | no

Richard Hogben wrote 10/17/2018 at 15:42

Is the generative bridge designed with printed material type as a constraint, would it matter if it's PLA, ABS, or a resin from a Formlabs, etc?

Are you sure? yes | no

David Perry wrote 10/17/2018 at 17:52

Theoretically the generative bridge is designed with the material as a constraint, and the design I pulled from the program was intended to be made of nylon. However, this design should work just fine with most rigid 3D print materials. You should notice some changes in instrument tone. I wonder if an ABS bridge might mellow the sound a bit. I'd like to keep the added volume but lose some of the harshness.

Are you sure? yes | no

Richard Hogben wrote 10/16/2018 at 17:29

The body shape is great

Are you sure? yes | no

The Modular Fiddle

Description

Details