So it has been nearly a month now with the new cello. I have not come up with a name yet. I’m not sure that I ever will, although it feels a little empty to just call it “the new cello.” Perhaps “MY cello” is more satisfying. We will see where the journey of naming takes me this time.

It has been a very interesting few weeks with the cello. I have had a couple of seams open up on me and my Luthier helped me to promptly get them glued up in both cases. For those who are unaware, musical instruments are glued together using a somewhat weak glue known as hide-glue. It is weak so that when the wood inevitably changes shape seasonally or just due to age, the pressure created can be released at the seams and not on the body of the instrument itself, thus avoiding costly and damaging cracks. When I worked at Johnson String, we would sometimes see customers who had attempted a home repair on their violin with elmers glue or wood glue. In woodworking class at UW, I learned that wood glue creates a stronger joint than the wood it is joining. So if the seams of an instrument are bonded permanently with wood glue, it’s only a matter of time before the pressure of movement, having no seam to release into, cracks the body of the instrument. In other words, never attempt a home repair on your instrument. Standard woodworking knowledge will not translate in most cases

Seam-opening is a normal thing for new instruments. As my local luthier put it, the wood is still getting used to being in the shape of a cello and so that coupled with the dryness of the air will make opening seams inevitable for now. This week Michele told me the red spruce top is from the Val di Fiemme in Northern Italy and the maple back and ribs are from Bosnia (or I guess the former Yugoslavia technically) The wood for this cello is 30 years old and has been drying slowly during that time, but even though this time has allowed it to stabilize, it will still continue to move. Having a seam open is a nice excuse to talk shop with my luthier.

The most recent thing we’ve been discussing is string tension. In anticipation of the new cello, I bought several sets of strings while they were on sale. I didn’t really know what would go well with this cello, I just bought the sets that I have used in the past. They are:

-Larsen Magnacore G/C with Magnacore Arioso A/D (I used these for the last three years with my old cello)

-Spirocore G/C Tungsten with Versum Solo A/D (A recommended and once used combo)

-Larsen Il Cannone Focused, Full Set

Jargar Superior A/D Forte

I ended up making myself a string-tension chart to try and figure out if there was any sort of pattern as I changed my strings around. The first set I felt worked well were the Spirocore and the Versum Solo. I liked the roundedness of the Versum and the warmth of the Spirocore, especially in the orchestra. It felt like they had power, but they also blended well. I soon got curious about the other sets and began mixing and matching things. I first replaced the A string with a Jargar Superior Forte and like that alright. Then I experimented with the Magnacores. The Magnacores were very ringy in my home studio, but almost shrill on the stage at overture. It was uncomfortable to lean on them the way I might have liked even if the sound was huge. I have always tended towards a darker sound and so these strings were too bright, but on top of that the response seemed poor. These are the highest tension strings in the set I had and so this was an interesting thing to note. I started to work my way down string by string and eventually ended up with a set that was on the lower end of the tension possibilities. It is truly the most random hodgepodge of strings I’ve ever seen on a cello

Jargar Superior A, Il Cannone D, Spirocore G, Il Cannone C

Somehow this is a very even, clear and powerful set of strings, but my plan is to take this experiment farther. I’ve ordered some Pirastro Obligato Strings to that end. Obligatos are a synthetic core string and they are fundamentally different from the strings listed above which have cores made from steel. Synthetic cores are made from nylon or something of the like and wound with metal. I used them in college for a while when I was experimenting with gut strings and other non-traditional string sets and I loved the warmth of Obligatos, though they did not carry super well on the cello I was playing at the time. That cello had a willow back and was a model with a less projecting sound than Michele’s Guadagnini model. The downside synthetic strings is that they take time to break in and during that time they do not hold pitch very well, so there’s a lot of tuning that has to go on and they do not sound their best until played for many hours. The Obligatos are a lower tension string and so I’m trying to see if lowering the tension even more will have the desired effect of bringing out even more of the quality in this cello.

My luthier and I discussed the fact that so many of the strings that are marketed to cellists are super high-tension strings which are useful for soloists who need power and projection, but maybe not necessary for orchestral players or chamber musicians whose primary goals may be sound quality, dynamic range and the ability to blend. A high-tension string may actually strangle the sound of a cello that otherwise would be very open.

Over all my break-in of this cello is going beautifully. It needs so little bow pressure to make sound. It’s the first instrument I’ve owned that doesn’t need to be pushed and in fact resists being pushed. It constantly reminds me not to try too hard. When I do, the sound closes up. When I release and open myself, the sound opens. I feel like I can never run out of bow because it doesn’t require much to achieve its maximum sound. When I am not playing it, I’m admiring it for its objective beauty. How lucky that I have rehearsals for the next three weeks and this cello is going to bathe in the sound of not only its own vibrations, but the vibrations of the entire orchestra. More updates to come soon.