Bruno Stefanini Fiddle

Bruce Molsky discusses and demonstrates his primary fiddle.

Multi-instrumentalist Bruce Molsky, Peghead Nation Old-Time Fiddle instructor, knows a fine instrument when he sees one, and so it was love at first sight when he encountered his Bruno Stefanini fiddle more than 20 years ago. A former apprentice to the great Italian builder Otello Bignami, Stefanini is a violin maker based in Bologna, Italy.

In this video, Bruce talks about the fiddle, and about how Bruno’s brother, Rafe Stefanini, a renowned old-time fiddler and banjo player himself, brought three Stefanini fiddles to the US around 1993. This one stood out because it had a similar resonance to his voice, and Bruce was looking for something he could sing and harmonize with. It’s built in the Bolognese style, but with a flatter bridge than a classical player would use. Bruce strings it with D’Addario Helicore strings, which he says “sound really good and are really stable.” He amplifies it with a DPA lavalier mic that he hangs in back of the bridge.

To hear more of this fiddle and to learn fiddle with Bruce, enroll in his Old-Time Fiddle course on Peghead Nation today.

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