One last thing. Visited the violinmaker from whom I rent my cello. On Saturday. He wasn't at his shop, having forgotten our appointment, but he came when we called him. He had sold the one cello he wanted to show me, but had a second one. I would really have liked to hear the other one, which he said had a "dominant" sound. I wouldn't have bought it, probably, not only because I don't have the money, but also because it had been repaired and was now an old cello with a new neck, which for some reason reduces the value, here at least. But the other cello he showed me had a much nicer sound than my old cello (it is a cheapish German cello, instead of a cheap Chinese-made cello...). And when he put a different set of strings on it, it sounded even better, so now I'm renting that. It makes a big difference.
Pick out a new bow, he said. He gave me four to compare. I sawed away. "What, exactly, are the criteria by which I should be picking out a bow," I asked him.
He said Springiness. And some bows had a dead spot in the middle someplace when you played a long note. So I played this song I'm supposed to play later this month at the class recital, which has a few long notes, and listened. One bow finally seemed somehow better than the others, although what do I know? He chuckled when I told him which one I'd picked out; it was the most expensive one.
Did he mention that bow was made from hairs of a unicorn? Bow selection sounds very Harry Potterish. How many Galleons does a good bow cost?
Posted by: paul at June 7, 2004 09:18 PMIt's a similar process. In my case it was very subjective, as I didn't know what, exactly, I should be looking for. The fact that I picked out the most expensive one tells me that I did something right. My teacher mentioned once that whenever he tried out bows, the one he picked turned out to be the most expensive one as well. Maybe that's just a bow salesman trick, come to think of it - "Well, what do you know, we have a real bow connoisseur!" Still, the one I chose had a price tag of €340, or about 400 bucks, which is in the lower price range. My teacher spent about three times that much on his, and they go much higher if you want unicorn hair.
I have also heard that the rosin you buy for your bow is a similarly subjective thing; it not only comes in different strengths for violin (not so sticky) cello (stickier) and bass (really sticky) but also varies for each instrument; likewise, there is special rosin within each of those subsets with a tiny amount of certain metals added to it, such as silver or gold, which musicians claim makes a real difference in the tone produced. I'm not using any of those for obvious reasons, although I may someday look for some containing cadmium or chromium, perhaps thallium, if I ever decide to play heavy metal.
Posted by: mig at June 8, 2004 08:39 AMMy Cello, lay with its neck broken in a shed for a few years. And it's the best sounding cello that I've ever heard. It doesn't have a new neck, it has a reparied neck and it is so sweet and round and anyway this feels like it's turning into instrument porn.
What I mean to say is, isn't it great when you get a new instrument.
Posted by: Emma at June 8, 2004 11:52 AMMmm. Instrument porn. Let me put my ear to your f-hole and listen to the white noise, baby.
Posted by: mig at June 8, 2004 03:05 PMFunny, isn't it, how you inevitably pick the most expensive one they show you. I had the exact same thing happen to me when I first rented my viola. Have since bought it, and couldn't be happier. But still. There must be some sort of trick. Somethings that makes the bow or instrument sing: pick me! I'm cheap, honest! Yeah, right. :)
Posted by: Meike at June 8, 2004 09:25 PMWell, if I didn't think it would be impossible for anyone to be so cynical, I'd say that, musical gear being so subjective etc, sellers have a habit of telling potential buyers that whatever they pick out was "the most expensive" and proof of their innate musical taste, which we love to believe about ourselves.
Update on the new cello, BTW: had a lesson tonight and proudly showed it to my teacher, who played it and said something along the lines of, "And this is different from your old cello exactly how?" And I told him, "More resonant, grainier sound," and he said, "could be louder." And I said, "and the upper strings sound better," and he said, "the better to hear when your intonation is off," and, "could be the strings, did you try other strings on your old cello?"
But, believe me, this cello sounds better than the last one. Not as good as the cello I may someday buy, but better than the last one.
Posted by: mig at June 8, 2004 09:44 PMWoah, it is frightening how dirty that sounds. Heh.
Posted by: Emma at June 9, 2004 12:02 AM