Since early January I have been working on a slightly small full-sized cello, based on an instrument by Andrea Guarneri. This is my favourite cello model, and the use of poplar for the back, ribs and scroll gives it a different appearance from the more common maple. The poplar is softer to work and is less dense, so the back and ribs are left thicker than would be the case with maple.
The sound of poplar tends to be a little less bright, and darker than maple, …..
One of the first classical Italian instruments I ever worked on was a cello made by Andrea Guarneri in 1690. Perhaps because it was the first, but also because I was already interested in his instruments from looking at photographs, this instrument had an immediate appeal. That first sighting was in 1982, when I was twenty-one. You can see a picture of me looking at the spike on my ‘About’ page. This was one of the many instruments I measured whilst working in Germany, and it has become one of my favourite cello models. […]
When I make an instrument I work on one at a time. For me this is the way to focus on the particular pieces of wood, the model and style of the instrument, which translates into an instrument which hangs together visually and tonally. […]
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