2008 Jonathan Cooper Five-String Violin

Peghead Nation instructor Lauren Rioux demonstrates her favorite instrument and talks about her choice of bow, strings, and other parts of her setup.

August 14, 2024

Peghead Nation’s newest fiddle instructor Lauren Rioux is an experienced teacher and performer. Having toured extensively, she has appeared at festivals including Wintergrass, Delfest, Rockygrass, and Celtic Connections, and has collaborated with artists such as Darol Anger, Brittany Haas, and Peghead Nation co-founder Scott Nygaard. In her new course, Folk and Bluegrass Songs for Fiddle, she shows fiddlers how to play solos on songs, how to become comfortable in jam settings, and more. Given the wide scope of the music she plays and teaches, Lauren requires a versatile violin with a great sound, and her instrument of choice is a 2008 Jonathan Cooper five-string. In this video, shot in the Peghead Nation studio, she demonstrates the violin.

Based in Portland, Maine, Jonathan Cooper is one of the leading North American bowed instrument makers. Offering a range of standard violins, violas, and cellos, Jonathan builds instruments modeled after famous historical instruments as well as original designs. Lauren’s violin, which is Jonathan’s 289th instrument, is a five-string that combines elements from both violin and viola designs. Built with the traditional maple back and sides and spruce top, the instrument has a fairly standard violin-size body, which results in better playing comfort than another Jonathan Cooper five-string that Lauren previously played, which has a larger viola body. But the instrument does have a viola-size peghead to accommodate its five geared tuning pegs.

Lauren uses a Guarneri ebony chin rest that Jonathan modified to be extra tall. She has used the same Mach One shoulder rest for years, preferring the feel of the natural wood to the optional padding that the rest came with. Lauren has found a combination of D’Addario strings that’s an ideal match for the instrument. Her E string is a Kaplan non-whistling; the A, D, and G strings are Zyex Silvers; and she uses a short-scale Zyex C string. Lauren’s bow is a pernambuco viola bow made by Boston-area bow maker Thomas Dignan.

To study with Lauren, enroll in her Folk and Bluegrass Songs for Fiddle course!