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sbwaters
Registered User
Posts: 5
(7/18/01 9:16:06 am)
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Changes to
Bridge, Soundpost & Strings
Hi,
I enjoy and am very comfortable with the physical
aspects of my newly rented-with-option-to-buy (about $2,000) Gliga
cello (Larson A & D, Spirocore Tungsten G & C strings). I
love the look of it.
As my experience develops, I'm thinking
that the sound seems muted, particularly in the overtones of the
lower strings. (It also seems to have a wolf when I play an E on the
G string.)
Checking out other cellos, I took my rental to a
luthier who said the soundpost was too short and the center opening
in the bridge was not well-placed.
Please help me understand
the consequences of changing the bridge, the soundpost, and, perhaps
the strings.
Thanks for your insight and
experience.
regards/sbw
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Bob
Registered User
Posts: 274
(7/19/01 7:20:19 am)
Reply
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Re: Changes to
Bridge, Soundpost & Strings
Two VERY important things to always keep in mind when you take a
potential instrument to another dealer for evaluation: (1)
Instrument set-up is a subjective matter. There is no gold standard
that every luthier agrees with. If you compare the same instrument
as set up by Moennig, Archieri, Francais, and Weaver, they'll all
have differently-shaped bridges, heights, soundpost settings, etc.
It's a matter of one's experience & preference, no one agrees on
these matters. (2) A luthier views every person who walks in the
door of the shop with someone else's instrument as a potential
customer. His evaluation of the instrument can go a long way towards
making that customer reconsider his choice and go with what the
luthier has to offer instead.
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Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
Posts: 358
(7/19/01 8:21:53
am)
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Look at
tailpiece and endpin too! and the bow too!
I'm sure Bob is correct in his view of shops and dealers.
I
count on a dealer/luthier treating me as if he views me as a
potential customer for bigger things - and indeed even if I have not
bought anything strospherically priced, I've accompanied some other
customers who have.
However, the condition of your cello can
depend on who set it up, how experienced they are, and how much
attention they gave to the process (and whether anything has slipped
since then). I long prided my ability to adjust a soundpost (to find
the sweet spot) until I watched a top professional do it. He could
(and did) cover as many positions (in optimizing placement) in a
minute or so as I could in an hour.
I've had one shop
(Ifshin, in Berkeley, CA) set up all 10 of my instruments (violins,
violas and cellos) in the last 18 months or so, and in every case
they came out better than they went in - sometimes much, much
better. I feel I was treated fairly, some instruments got new
bridges and soundposts, others just got adjustments - I left it up
to them.
I have found the Larsen/Spirocore combination you
are using quite good on a number of cellos. Some cellos are too
powerful in the lower register to handle the tungsten strings - and
the silver ones do better, but such a cello should not seem muted
with tungsten. I've tried other strings - Obligatos and Belcanto
Golds and found that while they have some advantages, it is quite
cello dependent, and I would likely stay with what you have. The
Obligato A and D, might brighten up the top end, but I have found
the G and C difficult to work with. The Belcanto Golds are nice and
responsive, probably more so than anything else, and have a nice
brightness, but I think the sound is a little softer than your
combination. It just might be easier to use the bow in more ways on
Belcanto Golds - but that could depend on your bow too.
In
fact, you might just try a few more expensive bows. I tried a $50
brazilwood bow and a $1,500 pernambuco bow on a (less than) $1,000
cello at Scott Cao's shop in San Jose. The cello seemed pretty
unacceptable with the cheap bow, but showed a lot of good qualities
(especially for its price) with the good bow.
A lot of us are
now finding that in addition to optimized conventional setup of
strings, bridge, and soundpost, the new tailpieces with built-in
tuners and substituting one of David Bice's (New Harmony Music)
graphite/epoxy endpins can really open up a cello's sound. The added
weight of four-steel fine tuners on the tailpiece can really dampen
the tone of some cellos.
Although I have found the most
expensive (Bois e'Harmonie) tailpieces to be the best, I've gotten
significant improvements with the much less expensive Wittner
aluminum tailpiece or the composite Ferwerda (from Australia). A lot
of people find the composite Akusticus to be acceptable. These days,
you will see these new-fangled tailpieces even on professional's
cellos (even some world-class soloists).
There are other
new-concept tailpieces than Bice's available as well, but his has
the advantage that it can slip right into a conventional (8 mm)
endpin fitting, although he also makes a stiffer 10-mm one. (And, I
think his sound better.) If your endpin slips right out, you could
substitute one of these, if not, the fitting would have to be
removed from the cello so the endpin can be removed, and then one of
Bice's could be substituted. The only real danger in removing the
endpin fitting yourself is that in loosening all the strings the
soundpost might fall down. You might also not get the bridge back on
in the right place (or the "right way").And you have to protect the
top of the cello from being scratched with the old fine tuners touch
it (a protective newspaper or cloth will do).
Andy
Edited by: Andrew
Victor at: 7/20/01 8:46:51 am
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sbwaters
Registered User
Posts: 6
(7/19/01 10:00:49 am)
Reply
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Re: I learn
every time I visit these forums
Thank you all for your time and effort responding. I learn more
every time I visit these forums.
regards/sbw
BTW, I'm
using a Knoll octagonal bow I purchased when I needed to get beyond
the student bow that came with my first Engelhardt rental. (It cost
about $250). On that cello I tried six different wood and graphite
bows in the $250-$500 range. I like both the look and the feel of
this one. (I'm using Bernadel Rosin). I'd hate to have it be the
bow, but I'll try others.
Edited by: sbwaters
at: 7/19/01 10:13:58
am
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