I just found my gran's Manby violin co fiddle with frets and wanted to point out to the scientific minds here that the frets looked odd to me since they were not uniform in placement and they are tapered so at slight angles unlike any fretted instrument. also the frets are not frets but indentations cut in to the wood. my gran learned on this fiddle and at 86 she has enjoyed a long life of playing with many scottish fiddle bands and orchestras.

interesting reading anyway.

having actually played the fiddle in question i felt that the frets were not necesary because my fingers naturally find true tones to my ear so cant be unbiassed. they seem to be close enough for a good starting point and i tested this right across 3-4 octaves.

so i guess the frets are there to give the idea to the learner of the rough area the fingers should go.

on a further note i went and researched pythagorian tuning, mean temperment etc etc.......... CAN OF WORMS!!

so glad i can just play without getting bogged down by theory.