Whiskey Bottle Box Fiddle by Don Rickert Design

About a year and a half ago, Dr. Rickert, did a design study of just how simple one could make a pocket fiddle, also known as a pochette and still get a decent sound with good playability. The outcome was a prototype of a pochette-sized instrument made from half of a whiskey or wine bottle box. Think of it as a really skinny cigar box fiddle. The body is made of basswood (linden) and the top is good spruce tone wood. It played and sounded amazingly good. We had no idea whether there was an historical basis for whiskey bottle box fiddles...still don't.

Anyway, we made a video of Darci Jones playing a tune called "The Bright Hollow Fog" and it has gotten about 10,000 viewings on YouTube, and more positive commentary than any other instrument we make. We have not made a production version of the Whisky Bottle Box Pochette until now. They are available at the Adventurous Muse Online Store and sell for well under $300.

Darci Jones Playing "The Bright Hollow Fog" on the Whiskey Bottle Box Fiddle by Don Rickert Design

Comments

[Rick Cunningham]

Actually, Darci learned that tune from me when she and I were playing together in a band called "The Craicers" in Birmingham. It was already one of my tunes on B/C box and she and I did it together as a box/fiddle thing. I learned it from John.

My understanding is that this tune was originally a strathspey, and when I heard John play it as an air in North Carolina in 1994 I was blown away. I bought his album as soon as it came out.

[Don Rickert]

Rick,

Thanks for the background information. I would love to hear it as a Strathspey.