baroquecello

All I know is it was a british brand run by an Eastern European cellist. The brand name was chosen to sound like Rostropovich, Starker and a third cellist I forgot. The brand advertised that they took special care in designing the tension within the set to be optimally calibrated. For me, the c string was not stable enough, and the a string rather too punchy, but they were well made strings, and were the most durable strings I've ever had.I think they didn't do enough publicity outside of the UK. I'd imagine brexit wasn't very helpful either, but what do I know. Sad to hear they are no longer in business, but I'm not very surprised.

If you are curious and feel like experimenting, what can make a huge difference on certain instruments is the addition or removal of screwed on fine tuners. Also changing the distance between the bridge and tail piece makes profound differences on certain instruments. (Some say to never stray from the rule of the thumb, which is 1/5 or 1/6 of the string length, depending on who you ask. My take is that it is the distance of the weight of the tail piece to the bridge is what is responsible for most of the differences) You can have lots of fun fiddling around trying to determine what you prefer.

Weren't problems like these the reason for inventing the sound post in bowed instruments? How do those fare in guitars, acoustically and structurally? It would be totally reversible to try out, wouldn't it?

If you want to open a workshop and earn your living party through repairs and setup work, do your market research and open your shop somewhere where recent demand has increased, or where there are few other makers. Costumers, especially the better players, are loyal to their lutiers if they do good work, and no matter how good you are, it is not going to work if you open up a shop in a place with lots of competitors already established. I've seen that happen a couple of times, and it is not good for anyone. Internet presence is important nowadays, and a nice video can make a difference. I think much is dependent on your marketing skills and finding the right tone in that for your potential clients. Too much or too flashy and you will be viewed skeptical, too little and then you won't be known. I'm a musician by the way, not a maker, and to us marketing is increasingly important also.

For that amount of money you'll need to have a lot of luck to find something proper. I'd advise you to keep your eyes open, keep saving and be very patient. Another option would be to use the money to get the cello you currently own properly set up. A good sound post and bridge can make a world of a difference. You'd have to show the current cello to a good lutier to know if it can be done.

Troy that is not even what I'd call a playable cello. Where do you live and what is your budget? Maybe we can be of some help. It is better not to buy below a certain quality as you'll be buying a throwaway instrument instead of something you'll be able to sell at almost no loss later on. Better save up a few years longer and get something not terrible.

Try Guust Francois in Amsterdam

A student of mine, who is almost 80 yeears old, bought one. She had problems with her shoulder, and playing with this bow alleviated those. We tried several, but anything below number 6 didn't sound good to us. She went with a T6, it sounded and worked better than the M and S series. These bows are individuals so it could be a good idea to try several T model bows in order to find just that one. Always try before you buy. She owns a nice professional quality cello by Wolfgang Schnabl that has a large an projecting sound. That is all I can say.

One other possibility: relative humidity. Is this a cello with a high arch? Such cellos often react more severely to changes in relative humidity. That would mean you need two bridges changing them depending on the weather. Has this difference in string height changed over the two years period, or has it fairly recently?

Usually, when an instrument settles, the projection goes down a little, necessitating a shortening of the bridge. So this sounds a bit odd. Is the arching holding up? No sinking bass bar or treble f hole wing? No bulging out back plate?

Pavel Serbin plays a supposedly Dutch instrument with a rosette, that unfortunately is hidden from view by a modern fingerboard. It sounds pretty good.

Never tried a Lu-Mi. Did try a jay hyde baroque cello. It was ok. But if you are an amateur and you are having a ceelo restored that you will play once it is finished, why not just use any nice sounding modern cello with a woooden tail piece and baroque gut strings for a while? Practical and easy is also worth something.

Well, I am a baroque cellist, so I should know a harpsichord from a fortepiano. Very nice indeed! One doesn't often see such instruments unless in a concert hall or at a fortepianist. I have a square piano from 1849. It was sort of restored 15 years ago, but unfortunately has its problems. I don't play it really, it is just there for when pianists visit.

And I see you own a historical piano! Nice! What model is that? Do you play it yourself, rent it out, or is it just for decoration?

Hans Salger, a violin maker working in Bremen, has personally measured these instruments, and regularly makes replicas. I buy my gut strings from him, and my impression is that he is practically always working on making replicas of these. He told me he thinks they were used instruments that were no longer considered good enough (because of being old fashioned). and estimates they were made in the middle of the 16th century. I believe they are sort of made using the BOB method. I don't remember if the bass bar is in the middle, and if they have a sound post or not.

The outline is not like that of a regular violin. It is a little larger in all directions, but relatively more so in the bouts. To me, it looks as if the ribs may also be a little deeper than on a violin. For 3/4 violas, Strobel states that the measurements for a 3/4 viola are like a 4/4 violin, but often violas of that size nonetheless incorporate some viola characteristics, like broader/larger plates, f-holes further apart, deeper ribs, sometimes the plates are longer also but the neck relatively shorter to compensate (who wants violas playing higher than 3rd position anyway?), take your pick, in the hope that this will lead to a more viola-like sound. Such instruments are often mistaken for violins with weird measurements. Looking at this, I think it could very well have been intended as a 3/4 viola. Maybe you could measure some of the other aspects (upper f-hole eye distance and rib depth in particular) to see what you have here. In the end, you could just string it with 3/4 viola strings and see if it sounds satisfying that way, or if you prefer playing it as a violin. The string length can work for either.

Smaller celli can sound very nice also. It may take a little longer to find one you like, because they are not as common, and usually not of the same quality of make as 4/4 cellos. Usually, they sound a bit more Tenor like, and the bass on good celli can project very well, but mostly doesn't make the "sound cloud" that a montagnana giant cello might have. I find that the biggest difference lies in how the strings feel under the bow. On a 4/4 cello playing feels a bit like driving a big Mercedes, while a smaller cello feels a bit more nervous and edgy, like driving a fiat 500. Each has its advantages. My 1770 Mittenwald cello that has 65 cm string length and 70 cm length of the back is a powerful instrument and I have to watch out not to be too powerful in string quartets.

If your Hand doesn't given you the necessary stretch naturally, then smaller will be much easier. I'm a professional cellist who played 4/4 cello for about 28 years, until I developed a problem in the left hand. I don't think I would have developed that problem, had I played a 7/8th cello. I now play celli with 65 cm vibrating string length, a big 3/4 or a small 7/8, dependingon if you are buying or selling. I sound much better than I did before.

On violins, the difference that tail pieces make are not as drastical as on cellos. The biggest factor is weight near the bridge. Your fine tuners add a lot of weight. Just take them off and see if you like the improvement. If you do, that means it makes sense to experiment. Which tail piece from what materials will sound best on your violin can only be determined by trial. If you need fine tuners, ConCarbo tail pieces are likely the best way to go.

It seems Mittenwald makers around 1800 made bridges without hearts. Look at the pics here. I don't know what that does to the sound...

I have one of those, but not in use. It was produced by GEWA and was known as a Klengel end pin, I suppose Julius Klengel endorsed it. It does its job but it seems rather breakable to me. How does the instrument sound with this end pin? I've been considering getting mine installed, so I'm curious.

That is a perfectly logical explanation! I have some questions tough. The explanation only works if you assume that the fingerboard is sort of a cutout of a cylinder. Never having made a fingerboard, I've always thought of the surface more like part of a nonadekagon or something, with four seperate "planes", like the one of a Romberg flat, but then evened out, so that it looks almost cylindrical. Thinking of the fingerboard that way would solve the problem also, would it not? A bit like making an octagonal bow stick before turning it into a round stick. Bad idea?

Here is the video I was talking about Brinton Smith is a fantastic cellist and plays a great instrument. The three string combos with their respective tensions tried out in this video are "Dominant ForteA/Forte/Medium/Obligato C 50.8 Oliv Heavy set total- 58.45 Rondo Exp A/Jargar Evoke D/JE G/Rondo C total 59.9" read his "the reveal" comment lower down. Entertaining! so yeah, I think some of the math here has very little relation to real world acoustics.

Apart from what Michael and Davide are talking about, there could be another cause. On many cellos, the fingerboard scoop is not identical for all four strings. For some reason, one often finds fingerboards with a very much exaggerated scoop on d and g strings. When you press a string unto the fingerboard, you are not only shortening its length, but also increasing its tension, so the result is of the too large scoop for d and g is that this increase in tension is higher on those strings than on the a and c strings, and if you press the string all the way to the fingerboard, the placement of the fingers need to be further away from the bridge than on the c and a strings for in tune fifths. Check the distance between the fingerboard and the string at the first finger in fourth position (or maybe a bit higher up the fingerboard it is even easier to see) in order to see if there is too much scoop for the middle two. You can do this by pressing the string onto the fingerboard at the nut and at the bridge end, and see how big the distance is in the middle. The amount of scoop is definately a matter of taste, but it should not be too dissimilar on the four strings on one instrument in order to have proper fifths higher up the fingerboard. If this is the cause of yourproblem, the only remedy is to get the fingerboard adjusted by an experienced lutier. But it will need quite some wood removal and if the board is already thin, you may need to replace it entirely.

I don't think a higher tension means a louder tone per se, however, thicker strings for several reasons encourage players that are not used to thinner strings to play with a heavier bow hand, and that does make an instrument louder. At least that is my observation on cellos. It does matter how big a difference in tension we are talking about. The difference between thomastik Rondo and Dominant is so huge that yes, dominant is much less loud on most instruments. But here again, that doesn't necessarily translate to less projection. Brinton Smith recently made a video comparing several strings and on his cello, in the hall, Dominant was the best projecting string. He was surprised because under the ear, it was not the case.