The Adventurer IIc Travel Violin (also known as a backpacker violin or fiddle) is just over 3" wide, but has a full 4/4 string length. Due to our innovative tuned porting and other trade secrets, this instrument has the volume and power of a full-sized violin or fiddle. The Adventurer IIc Travel Violin is very similar in appearance to an historic (18th Century) pochette or "Dancing Master's" kit fiddle. Indeed, it looks very much like our own extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette.It can be thought of a a modern pochette.

This is the instrument that many of our customers have been waiting for. Over $100,000 of design research, consumer research and technical R&D went into the new Adventurer IIc Travel Violin from Don Rickert Design, Musical Instruments Group. This instrument was designed by Dr. Don Rickert.

This extraordinary travel / backpacker fiddle (or violin if you prefer) is fit with Wittner Fine-Tune™ internal planetary geared tuning pegs and can be ordered with either a Western Red Cedar or reclaimed old Sitka Spruce top (soundboard) and is shipped in an Extreme Pochette Case.

Other soundboard options, such as a Nomex-core “double top” (

basics of double tops... ) can be ordered as a custom instrument.

There are various chinrest and shoulder rest options, which are ordered separately and are not included in the cost of the instrument.

Slide Show:

Adventurer IIb for web Album

Direct link to Adventurer II B and C Travel Violin Photos

Why we replaced the Adventurer I with the Adventurer II

The fact is that the boxy (but popular nevertheless owing to its superior sound and playability) original Adventurer Travel Violin does not correspond with everyone's idea of beauty. The Adventurer II is curvy like the Neil Gow Pochette. Dr. Rickert invented our own carbon fiber reinforced chin rest system and clamp-on adapter to accommodate Kun-style shoulder rests. Dr. Rickert used every known technique and implemented some of his own theories for coaxing power and depth from an instrument that is just over 3 inches wide, including floating plate (a.k.a. free plate) design, a double top (optional at extra cost), "wrap-around" soundboard, tuned porting (see those tell-tale holes where the neck meets the body in some of the photos?) and the latest in bass bar research for starters. The bass bar is a Don Rickert design inspired by published designs of other contemporary luthiers such as Joseph Curtain (i.e. NOT a patent infringement of the Zaret Patent Bassbar).