Octave/cello violin

Finally, I figured out what I want to do with my kit violin.

It's going to be an octave violin or a chin cello. In an octave violin, the strings are a wider gauge to sound a full octave below normal, GDAE. You can read all there is to know about them on the internet in a couple of hours; they're not super common. Octave violins are also called baritone violins, although baritone violin can refer to other violin family instruments too.

Chin cellos are also a thing but it's probably asking too much of a 14" violin to string it low CGDA. It won't keep me from trying, however. I got some 1/8 size cello strings on eBay for cheap. Southwest Strings carries purpose-built octave/chin cello strings, but they're pretty expensive for what is essentially a prototype instrument.

Our church worship team could use some more bass -- I feel the violin is often competing with space taken up by the lead singer's voice, whereas the cello range contrasts nicely with that of a human singer. My original idea was to make an electric cello, but I don't always like electric string sounds. The other obvious advantage of an octave violin is that I don't have to make a cello or learn the cello. As far as I can see, the main possible drawback is that it won't be very loud, but I play amplified so that's not a dealbreaker.

An ideal octave violin should be different in many ways from a standard Strad model. (There probably isn't a such thing as an ideal chin cello, but the same principles would apply.) I decided to limit the modifications to this kit for practical reasons -- I'm learning an awful lot of new skills as it is, and I would like it to be complete in a timely fashion. However, a non-exhaustive list includes modifications to the following:

Bassbar
Bridge
Tailpiece
Fingerboard
Nut
Pegs
Neck

It will be more like a weird 3/4 viola than a violin.