Good point on the purfling, Marion. Not only should the purfling be an actual wooden sandwich inlaid around the edge of the top, one can also look to see how fine a point is made where the pieces meet. A crisp delicate point where two purfling strips meet is a detail often reserved for the best instruments.

In general, WD will want a carved solid spruce top with a significant arch to it. The sides and back are traditionally made from flamed maple so the sides should have noticable stripes running across them, front to back. The back wll have the stripes (flames) running across it. If one taps lightly on the belly (top) with a knuckle, one shouldn't hear any rattles that might indicate loose glue joints. The neck should be straight. Sight down the line made where the fingerboard is glued to the neck. That glue line should be straight.

If you can find a fiddle that was last owned by an actual fiddler---as opposed to a violinist---you'll be ahead of the game because it should already be set up for your use. If the instrument has been used primarily by classically trained players the arc of the bridge will be too severe for fiddling and you'll need to find someone who can "make" a proper one. On his Folkways instruction record, Tracy Schwarz claimed that a fiddle should have a one-piece back. He said the two-piece back was the mark of a toneless instrument. I'm not smart enough to second guess Tracy Schwarz but I've talked with violin makers who wouldn't dream of making a fiddle with a one piece back. They seem to regard the book matching of grain on the back to be an important mark of quality.

As for bows, again the best test is your ear. Have a good fiddle with you that you know the sound of---this may be a friend and his or her fiddle---and play or listen to that fiddle being played with each bow. On top of that, a bow should be made of wood and finely shaped. It should be both light and stiff, a difficult combination to find. The frog should be in good shape and properly fit to the stick. It should have a full complement of genuine horse hair with the proper amount of rosin. The stick should have no warpage, side to side and should be long enough to allow the bowing arm to be fully extend while playing. A good bow will have a grip fashioned from a leather wrap and silver wire windings. Also, take a very careful look at the tip of the bow to make sure it hasn't been broken off along the line of the grain and glued back together. Such a bow is worthless but some dealers will throw them in with a fiddle so it looks to the buyer as though a bow is being included.

In most cases, any bow being included "free" with the sale of a fiddle is going to be of questionable value. If the bow had any value, the dealer would be offering it as a separate item with its own price tag.

      - Mark