Introduction
Most musicians know that there are differences between a fiddle and a violin, a 5-string banjo and a tenor banjo, and a steel string vs. a classical guitar. Few know that the story is MUCH more complicated. And it matters!
Let’s start with the Violin vs. the Fiddle
Despite all of the jokes that players make about the difference between a fiddle and a violin, the question of what is a fiddle and what is a violin is just the tip of the iceberg.
When one refers to a violin, they could be referring to at least two different instruments with many sub-categories. A violin, even an old one, can be a Modern violin or a Baroque violin.
The Modern Violin
Today, people generally encounter modern violins. Modern violins are either new instruments or early violins that have been converted. Many violinists don’t realize that virtually every “golden age” violin from the 17th or 18th Century, nice reproductions of which we sell (e.g. Stradivarius, Guarnerius , Maggini, etc.), have had their original Baroque necks replaced by modern necks. Modern necks are a bit longer and tilted back several degrees (I will describe the Baroque neck shortly).
Most of the early instruments have also had their bass bars replaced by modern bass bars. They have different bridges and tailpieces as well. The driving force behind all of these modifications was to improve the tone and to increase the projection volume of violins for orchestral playing.
And then there are the 20th Century appointments such as the chin rest, shoulder rest and the use of one or more fine tuners. Even hard-core classical violinists often use a fine tuner at least on the e-string.
As a side note, most contemporary fiddles are based on modern violins.
The Baroque Violin
All of the so-called “Golden Age” Violins were originally Baroque violins. A Baroque violin has a 
shorter neck, on a flat plane with the instrument. In the image on the right, a Baroque violin side profile is on top and a modern violin profile is below it. There is a wedge between the neck and the fingerboard to put several degrees of “angle back” on the fingerboard; otherwise, the bridge would be ridiculously low. Baroque violins had far less substantial bass bars. They were tuned slightly lower than modern instruments and, of course, always strung with gut.
Over the centuries, all but a handful of Golden Age instruments have had their necks and bass bars replaced with modern ones.
A Problem: The playing of early music has become quite popular today. You can’t use a modern violin to properly play early music. So, as odd as it might sound, many modern violins are retrofitted to their original Baroque configuration: neck, bass bar, bridge, tail piece and even the bow used. An interesting note is that the modern Tourte (i.e. reverse camber) bow , invented in the 1700s, was often used to play Baroque violins as well as modern violins and fiddles.
Fiddles
It is often said that a fiddle is a violin set-up for playing fiddle tunes. This is a major over-simplification. A Fiddle can be set-up for Old Time or Bluegrass (as well as other styles such as Klezmer, jazz, Gypsy, etc.) . A typical modern fiddle will have metal strings (steel, stainless, aluminum, titanium, etc.), fine tuners on all four strings and a lower bridge so that the strings are closer to the fingerboard. Often a fiddle bridge is cut with a flatter arch for easier string crossing.
Many, if not most, fiddlers use a chin rest and a shoulder rest, especially Bluegrass players.
A Problem (similar to the use of violins for early music): Many fiddlers play earlier styles of music, such as Civil War or Minstrel era music, and even earlier music, such as music of the American Colonial period. A modern fiddle setup is completely wrong for any of these.
Civil War / Minstrel Era Fiddles
A Civil War or Minstrel period fiddler who cares about authenticity needs a "modern" instrument with gut strings and without any of the 20th Century accessories such as chin rest, shoulder rest or fine tuners. Several product listings at our online store, the Adventurous Muse Store, have photos of fiddles set up in the 19th Century manner:
A Tourte bow is the appropriate bow for Civil War / Minstrel period play.
Colonial Period Fiddles
A Colonial music reenactor interested in period authenticity will want a Baroque Violin, most likely with a slightly lowered bridge so that the strings are closer to the fingerboard. A Baroque bow is appropriate for Colonial period music. The Tourte bow did not make it to America until a bit later. Thomas Jefferson was one of the first Americans with a Tourte bow, having received one as a gift from Francois Tourte himself (note: the “Jefferson Tourte Bow” is one of the most valuable, in monetary terms, bows in existence).
Conclusion
That’s it for this segment. The intended take-away is that there are several types of violins and several types of fiddles and that it really matters to the musicians who play them what kind of violin or fiddle they have.The next installment will be about banjos. If you thought that the violin-fiddle situation was complicated, get ready to have your mind blown!
Revision: The next installment will be guitars instead of banjos.
