Fitting the soundpost in a cello or other bowed instrument is such a delicate matter and musicians often ask how I can set and fit it inside the instruments body. Here is some rare footage of the sound post setting process filmed from the inside as well…
…perfect fit to the inner surface…with the right tension…in the best position
…gives the instrument an even, beautiful & carrying sound🎻❤️
The cello is nearly finished now. I just prepared and glued the fingerboard, saddle and nut. Next will be the tuning pegs, the endpin, tailpiece, the bridge and soundpost…basically the whole Ilja Grawert deluxe set up
I cannot wait to finish setting up the cello and hear it’s beauty 🎻❤️
The beautiful cello is getting closer and closer to be finished. Some protective varnish and some French polishing finishes the varnish process. Now it has to dry for a few weeks and then I can set it up and play…wonderful music with a wonderful cello before it goes to the customer who I made it for…🎻
Varnishing a cello needs sun…I woke up in the morning and saw there was sun, finally after nearly 5 month of rain.
Straight in the workshop I started the varnish layer process. There are many more layers of colouration and glasing. This beautiful cello will be of dark antique colour.
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Finally it stopped raining a bit so I could start the varnishing process of the beautiful cello. The ground varnish coat has the purpose to seal the pores of the timbers, making it more stable and resistant to humidity changes. As well as preventing pigments from the colour varnish coats to soak into the wood.
The golden ‘Fleur De Liz’ painting starts above the ground coat and will be repeated on each subsequent layer of pigment to then at the end adding shading and colour texture. I need very fine brushes and a steady hand to paint such fine detail.
The reflection in the moving light on the flamed maple wood is just fantastic…
After the neck has been fitted and the back glued on it is now time to cut and shape the neck, first with a gouge forward the neck root and then with my carving knife, thumb planes, rasp files and finally sandpaper first rough and then fine grid. Then the outside of the cello needs smoothening and making the surface all beautiful and soft with a scraper. That part of the work is very important and usually takes days to complete.
In this update I am checking the flexibility of the plates, measure the thickness, balance the plates and then finally it is time to apply the special ‘Ilja Grawert sound system’ which is naturally my trade secret. This will give the cello its beautiful, warm but still carrying tone like you usually only find in old instruments. Then I glue the top plate onto the sides
In this update I continue to work on the thickness of the top plate in a finer way with a very sharp scraper, cleaning the inside to get ready for the bass bar. Finding the right place for the bass bar inside the top plate is very important to the sound. At this step I determine the length, width and exact position. In the second part you’ll see the preparation, fitting and glueing of the bass bar. The Preparation is mainly done with a long plane working it to the required thickness. and the fitting then will be done with the finely sharpened and adjusted flat thumb plane and very soft chalk. When everything fits perfectly the chalk is removed with a dry brush and I do a trial clamping of the bass bar, so I know which lamps to put where and how to adjust them for this specific cello.
I just started my new project… another 7/8 studio cello as my other one in my web-shop sold recently. There will be a pre-purchase option with a lower order price and a finished product price again like the last times ( link to the last 7/8 studio cello). If you wish to order in the early stages of the building process you can influence some parts and measurements to make it a bespoke made cello directly for you. If you order in the later stages there will be lesser options for special requests as some parts will be already finished. The time frame to finish this cello is highly dependant of the wishes on the musician if pre-purchased, and/or all the restoration and repairs which are urgent for other players.
Update March 2024: THIS 7/8 CELLO HAS BEEN PRE-SOLD! If you would like to order one there will be now a around 6-9 month waiting time
This 7/8 cello has been prepared in the European Union from well seasoned European flamed maple and fine grained spruce. The top & back have been left very thick (nearly double the thickness from the finished product) to ensure I have the space to achieve the best possible shape and thickness for the arching of the plates. I can adjust the height of the sides if needed for good sound and the neck can be adjusted to your individual hand size. This cello and all other studio instruments will be varnished using only natural products which were available 300 years ago. Fleur De Liz paintings are available on request.
The studio cello, violin, viola & double basses are a special line of bowed stringed instruments prepared to a point an apprentice would have done 300 years ago and the I apply my masterly craftsmanship and 42 years of experience to the instrument, tune the plates with the special Ilja Grawert – violinmaker sound-system to ensure a beautiful warm, still carrying and even tone to each single instrument.
The lining on a bowed stringed instrument is a bent piece of wood, usually willow or spruce, which is glued to the top and bottom of the ribs to reinforce the ribs and create a larger glueing surface for the plates. Here is a short video clip of the process.
