Basically,Fretted violins....just call them fretted violins
I ve tried them....it was quite good for practice
mine was basically markings...so i could do glissandi quite efficiently...

P.S. i gave it to my cousin cos i wanted a frettless one

Well, aidee, thanks for that correction. I suppose I could've discovered that for myself if I'd spent 5 minutes googling!

In any case, I still think that there is a significant difference in finger placement for a fretted instrument vs. an unfretted instrument. For a fretted instrument, you place your finger somewhere before the actual contact point of the string. While the margin of error on lower frets is, as you say 'only' 0.3" or so, that's huge compared to the margin of error on a violin, where a shift on the order of 1/20th of an inch (simply a subtle rocking of the finger) or so will produce a noticeable change in intonation.

Of course, this is all merely my humble opinion!

Just put colored tapes on your violin then move to clear tape and then take it off. It's easier, cheaper, and you will be able to play a violin without frets in no time.

Forget the %#@% tapes! They are a crutch and are *totally* unnecessary.

Tapes will always lead to bad intonation, as they cannot possibly be precise nor correct for every instance.

You must use singing to develop intonation.

I know there has been a lot of discussion re this subject already, not all of it very open minded I have to say, but just to say that fretted acoustic violins & violas do play extremely well (and yes they do exist), can be fitted with pick up systems very easily, and they needn't cost a fortune as some of the big guns would wish you to believe. My photo should say it all I hope? As a guitarist & mandolin player I have found my fretted violins & violas invaluable having failed miserably at previous attempts to play bareback violin, and they have helped a number of students to approach the instrument in a completely different light. Rather than just say "they shouldn't have frets", try one and see how wrong you were.... and open up your minds a little to other ways. Steam engines were beautiful but.....

I bought a fret-maker. Easy to install, great tool.

We all have different learning styles. Some learn better when they are able to see where to put their fingers, while others learn better by listening. I am going to start up violin this summer and so maybe my mom's cousin, who has taught other people for a while, will have somethings to say about this.

Couldn't you just paint lines where your fingers should be on the neck or on the side? I don't get why the violin shouldn't just have those? Oh yeh the violin is some kind of art piece. Bullshit...

people have made it an art piece. They are handmade by famous musicians. There are violins worth millions of dollars. And if you have a student violin that was like $100. Its no big deal to tape it. I only suggest tape because sometimes you have to readjust them to get it perfect but eventually you should learn the sound of the note to match it better. I would suggest using a piano to match pitch or a well playing instructer. Don't try to do it on your own. everyone needs help to start out with. You can only go so far on your own with internet guides. And its not something you learn in a week. You might know where the notes are, but that doesn't mean someone is going to want to listen to what you play, so don't brag about learning in a week. I've been playing for 3 years and i still need help with some stuff. its impossible to play like a pro in a week.

As usual, the majority screaming "dogma" drown out the few that want an inteligent conversation about the pro's and con's of this subject. As a professional multi-instrumentalist who plays several stringed instruments including violin (both fretless, and fretted), guitar (including a fretless one), bass (same thing)as well as piano, and a few others, I feel I must make a few clarifying comments.

First: (and yes I am shouting) EVERYBODY GET OFF YOUR PEDESTAL!!! Violinist are not "Gods chosen people"

Yes, violin is difficult instrument to learn, but so is guitar, and mandolin, and other fretted instruments. Yes, a violin's lack of frets do make intonation more difficult, but then again, violinist only have to deal with 1 or 2 notes at a time. (guitar would be so easy if thats all we had to do)

Just as with guitar and bass, fretted violins utilize a slightly different technique than fretless ones, particularly when it comes to vibrato. Fretless violins employ linear vibrato technique (moving the finger parallel with string to alternately shorten and lengthen the string). Fretted violins respond better to perpendicular vibrato, in which the finger is moved perpendicular to the string alternately increasing and decreasing the tension. Glissendo is also possible, but requires a much lighter touch.

I enjoy playing both, and do not consider one to be a "lower form" than the other. Each lends itself to a song in different ways. If I can create a beautiful expressive melody with it, who cares if it has frets?!?, or is electric, or has 6 strings, or if I play it with my toes (I don't, but so what if i did?)

I would also highly recommend a fretted violin to any student just starting out, because it makes it easier to learn, and less likely that they will give it up.

And for those purists, that consider this heresy, I think you've forgotten why you play an instrument in the first place. Was it so that you could be an elitist in an "exclusive" club of people? Or was it because you loved the idea creating music? Please respect that others may choose slightly different ways of doing that. Expressive creation is not about conformity. You'd have thought most of you would have figured that out by now.

What say we all try to respect each other as musicians, regardless of what instrument we play, how we play it, or what we do different with it.

Oh, and by the way (not to defend his later comments, but) If you read back to the beginning of this post, Mr. Sanz was not the first to start hurling insults. Hey "Scotch", do you like being called a "clown" when you have a different opinion?!?

I just keep adding on.

And about this "even tempered" goblygook

"Tempered tuning" of an instrument only applies to instruments in which all of the notes are at a fixed frequency relative to each other. A piano for example can be either "Tempered tuned", or "Pythagorean tuned" to a specific key.

A violin is neither "tempered" nor "pythagorean" tuned because it DOES NOT APPLY! Except when tuning your open strings (which whether you used a tuner, tuning fork, piano, or pitch pipe, were most likely tuned "tempered" (and yes, there is a difference)).

For that matter, guitars are not "tempered" tuned. Individual strings are somewhat "tempered", but its mathamatically impossible to make the entire guitar "tempered". Add to this, that since every fretted note has a certain amount of ductility due to vibrato and pressure. The term "tempered" tuning does not truly apply to it either. I can play pythagorean thirds on my suedo-tempered guitar quite easily.

The thought that this is a valid rationalle for not using frets makes no sense. If you are accompanied by a piano, aren't you playing in tempered tuning? Otherwise you would be out of tune with the piano! Most modern instruments in an orchestra are tempered tuned. As are most other modern instruments. Are you saying that a suedo-tempered tuned fretted violin would somehow be incompatible with that? I suppose a fretted violin in a string quartet might be problematic (unless they were all fretted as well)

Let's get our facts straight before we start shooting off dismissals.