John Silakowski (1949-2022) was a violinmaker in Scottsdale, Indiana. He was the first violinmaker to make purpose built five-strings for fiddlers. He was quite productive and despite their slightly folksy appearance, his instruments are very much sought after by players for their distincive tone.
For more on the history of the rise of the five string fiddle, see Daryl Anger’s excellent 2010 Strings Magazine Article
After Silakowski’s death, Brandon Godman, fiddler and owner of The Violinshop, Nashville, bought all the violin wood from Silakowski’s, estate. Brandon had the idea of getting the wood into the hands of current luthiers to make their own five-string fiddles. The idea is to promote the growing interest in five string fiddles, while also honoring the Silakowski legacy.
I’ve been making Five strings for Brandon since 2019, (see my post on the Five String Conspiracy.) and when he invited me to be a part of his Silakowski Five String Project, I took the opportunity, in June 2025, to combine it with a two week visit to his Nashville shop.
Tyler Andel, bowmaker and fiddler extraordinaire, came by the shop with two Silakowski fives from his collection. I picked out a couple of details from John’s fiddles to include on my five. The locating pins are set unusually far from the purfling. I also took a rubbing of Johns f-holes
i managed to get the fiddle strung up in the white on my last day at The Violinshop. It was great to hear it played. I’m going to take it home to varnish and wrap up a very enjoyable and educational project.
