# What instrument is this?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 22, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165 "2009-12-22T04:50:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165/1 "2009-12-22T04:50:38Z")

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I was watching “The Andy Griiffith Show” tonight. It was the episode called “The Darling Baby.” In the episode, the "Darlings’ perform with one of the men playing a instrument that resembled a violin in appearance, but he was playing as if it were a small guitar. If anyone is familiar with the episode or the instrument description, was it a violin and, if not, what instrument was it?

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**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165/2 "2009-12-22T04:53:53Z")

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Maybe a mandolin? It’s a popular instrument in old-time country and folk music.

> **[Mandolin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin)**
>
> A mandolin (Italian: mandolino pronounced \[mandoˈliːno\]; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight strings. A variety of string types are used, with steel strings being the most common and usually the least expensive. The courses are typically tuned in an interval of perfect fifths, with the same tuning as a violin (G3, D4, A...

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**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165/3 "2009-12-22T04:55:45Z")

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Possibly a mandolin?

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**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165/4 "2009-12-22T04:57:01Z")

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Could it have been a fiddle that was being plucked by finger?

The only other thing I can think of would be a mandolin. I’ve never seen one shaped like a fiddle, but it would be similar in size.

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**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-instrument-is-this/522165/5 "2009-12-22T05:23:57Z")

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Googling around, it looks like the Darlings were, in fact, The Dillards, whose instruments were guitar, double bass, banjo, and mandolin. So I assume you were seeing the latter.