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Originally Posted by Martian
Unless fiddlers do it the right way 'round, which come to think of it is possible; that would put their range more in line with other string instruments that one might be likely to encounter in, say, a bluegrass band.
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The fifths tuning works well with violin and viola as they have a much shorter scale which allows them to access four-note-per-string scale patterns and wide intervals without moving about much. I have seen players tuning their double basses or electric bass guitars in fifths and have tried it myself, but the longer scale makes it less comfortable for me and I'm already too used to my scale shapes now!
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Originally Posted by BenChuy
Well, I am looking to do some jazz, random rock applications and bluegrass with it. A heavy dose of classical training would likely be helpful, but the previous uses are its main foci.
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My counsel would be to take a few lessons. Firstly, it is a tough instrument technically AND physically and you can easily injure yourself if you're not playing right. Secondly, after a while you're likely to get a good feel for what you want in a starter instrument, whether you want an electrified instrument (or acoustic with pickup) for playing with an amp or whether you want a solid, carved-top acoustic-only instrument for playing purely "unplugged", and a good teacher will be able to advise you specifically much better than I will. I personally like my electric upright as I can take it on the London Underground and bus much more easily than an acoustic upright... but it only works if you have amplification.