MacRae Strings
The Baltimore Fiddles
The Story
These 10 string fiddles (5 playing + 5 sympathetic strings) began to take shape when we were in Ireland last year at the Baltimore Fiddle Fair in County Cork. How could that NOT happen!? Enveloped by the gorgeous landscapes, and inspiring music, it was bound to!
I had already become interested in the 10-string Hardanger d'Amore, built by Salve Håkedal, and this trip certainly served to turn that germ into a full-blown obsession.
In the midst of the happenings of this festival, and as we always do, Sophie and I managed to find our own quiet spots to sit, talk, and play music. On the cliffs surrounding the Baltimore Beacon just outside of town, or a lonely little road on Sherkin Island, I was free to let this idea spin round and around.
I wanted to build an unadorned version of the Hardanger fiddle. An instrument that was simple and spoke for itself.
The Instruments
I have so far developed three different models –
* The 9-string Sherkin, with 4 playing strings, and 5 sympathetic understrings.
* The 10-string Baltimore, with 5 playing strings, and 5 sympathetic understrings.
* The 10-string Grande Baltimore, a larger body size, similar to a small viola.
The Sherkin and Baltimore fiddles have a standard violin string length (330mm), while the Grande Baltimore is set slightly longer at (336mm).
Basically a Hardanger style hybrid, the fiddles are very lightly built, and though I have been experimenting with low-tension synthetic strings, I would recommend using only gut strings, which pair perfectly with the delicate nature of these instruments.
Sherkin Island, County Cork, Ireland
