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Showing results for tags 'eccentric instruments or players'.
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I just had a customer come in with a beat up old cello of uncertain origin that has a stop of 415 mm a neck length adjusted to 273 by a T-nut, numerous badly repaired cracks, a fingerboard with virtually no lenghwise scoop at all and string heights of 6 and 4 mm. He is a competent professional player who has played the instrument for 30+ years and tells me that the instrument sounded fantastic until he had a new bridge made and a Wittner tailpiece installed. The new bridge is a semi professional job and the soundpost is now set over 5mm outside the bridge foot so I assume that the yahoo who did the work had it fall and simply stood it back up with no regard for the fact that it was now way too short after 30 years without being moved. The owner now wants me to make a bridge and post to "get his sound back". Having spent a life time using standard measurements from whatever shop I worked for and building instruments designed around them I am at a bit of a loss to understand how to adjust this instrument for him. I was a violinist not a cellist but have been told by many players that the 280 mm neck length is preferred even on instuments with varying stop lenghts and while I have made bridges with low string heights for older or infirm players at their request I find it difficult to believe that a strong, aggressive player will be happy with this set up over time. I am interested in how other people handle this sort of situation. Do you try to talk the guy into more standard measurements? Redo the setup as he thinks it originally was but tell him you don't guarantee his satsisfaction? Tell him you are booked until after Christmas? Seriously, comments from people about set up of oddly proportioned instruments and or unusual requests from players requested.
