In 2007, cellist Kris Yenney approached my partner Suzy and I with the request for a unique cello with sympathetic resonating strings, something kind of combining the Baroque "Viola D'Amour" with the Norwegian "Hardanger Fiddle", but with the size and tonal range of a cello. She wanted five main, bowed strings: the four strings of a traditional cello (CGDA), plus an added high string, making the nominal tuning of the main strings CGDAE. Additionally there were to be five "understrings", the sympathetic resonating strings that run inside the neck and over the top, but beneath the main strings, going through an opening in the bridge.
From the bridge, these understrings would run beneath the tailpiece and anchor/tie to a small block on the butt of the instrument.
Here's a sample of the variety of design ideas we tried and rejected before coming up with the final version that got built:
Notice that all these versions have the sympathetics running off to the bass side of the main strings, and NOT inside the neck. In the end we opted for the more traditional style, inside the neck and through the bridge. This design experience proved to be useful, however, when we made a 2nd sympathetic-stringed cello and did run the sympathetics in this outboard fashion.
Suzy's experience in building violins and violas was put to good use in carving the Spruce top. I got to tackle the problem of engineering the path of the sympathetic strings, and the rather complicated neck and peg-box. I had the fun of carving the dragon's head on top of the peg-box, which was loosely inspired by traditional horse-head carvings found on some historical instruments.
Sympathetic String Cello #1
Hardanger cello d'amour
("Hardy" for short)
2009
In 2007, cellist Kris Yenney approached my partner Suzy and I with the request for a unique cello with sympathetic resonating strings, something kind of combining the Baroque "Viola D'Amour" with the Norwegian "Hardanger Fiddle", but with the size and tonal range of a cello. She wanted five main, bowed strings: the four strings of a traditional cello (CGDA), plus an added high string, making the nominal tuning of the main strings CGDAE. Additionally there were to be five "understrings", the sympathetic resonating strings that run inside the neck and over the top, but beneath the main strings, going through an opening in the bridge.
From the bridge, these understrings would run beneath the tailpiece and anchor/tie to a small block on the butt of the instrument.
Here's a sample of the variety of design ideas we tried and rejected before coming up with the final version that got built:
Notice that all these versions have the sympathetics running off to the bass side of the main strings, and NOT inside the neck. In the end we opted for the more traditional style, inside the neck and through the bridge. This design experience proved to be useful, however, when we made a 2nd sympathetic-stringed cello and did run the sympathetics in this outboard fashion.
Suzy's experience in building violins and violas was put to good use in carving the Spruce top. I got to tackle the problem of engineering the path of the sympathetic strings, and the rather complicated neck and peg-box. I had the fun of carving the dragon's head on top of the peg-box, which was loosely inspired by traditional horse-head carvings found on some historical instruments.