Do you make your own instrument ??New project Electric cello

[tomthumbtom8]

Do you make your own instrument if so I would love to hear your views and advice

I am really new to stringed Instruments and music in general
I have started to learn to play the guitar But I am struggling as I have short fat finger BUT........... its on my bucket list to learn a stringed instrument so I have have gone first to make my own electric cello first and then learn to play it.

Tools I have are as follows CNC Machine, chop saw, Band saw, Jig saw, drill press, jointer, Planes electric and hand, thicknesser
i own many chisels and three of four sanders, also a wood turners lathe, hand drills and many more, the list goes on and on

It would be very foolish of me to expect to make a classic acoustic cello this is why I have gone for a electric cello

I have found plans for a acoustic cello and will use only for size and dimensions as this is the kind if instrument I would like to make a similar to this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH9fh-T9qHU&feature=player_embedded

I also adore this song


I am open to guidance and advice and after I've made one I will be making two more and donating/give them to my son's school as I think all children should be give the opportunity to learn an instrument

I have bought some parts from ebay Finger board, bridge, string pegs, tail piece and a Cello Pickup Piezo Upright Bass Cello + Baroque Style Violin Bridge but I will need to buy a cello bridge
I have no idea on the electrics but I assume the piezo fits under the bridge

I own a cheap violin I bought of ebay for a photography shoot that I can look at for reference's and their is a really good classic cello build I have found on the net to help

this is the link for that web site

http://osnesviolins.com/



Tom

 

[adzeman]

You are mixing two loves together

A lot of fine instrument makers are not musicians or even good musicians but have a love for endevouring to improove the sound. They get a great deal of pleasure hearing a maiestro playing an instrument the have created.

On the other hand if you wish to learn an insrument you should buy the best you can afford. A cheap instrument is harder to play and it does not sound right. You dont know if its you getting it wrong or the instrument.

Unless you are a genius, learning an instrument is like being on a hurdle course you have to jump each hurdle as they come up. It dosnt matter at what standard you are at there is allways the next hurdle.

Back to the best instrument, if you fail at the 1st or 2nd hurdle your instrument will have value and you will allways be able to sell it and the shop you bought it from usually will buy it back. In my case when having jumped a series of hurdles and want a better insrument the shop I bought it from has taken the instrument back and deducted what I paid for off the new one. Subject to how well I looked after it.

If you become good at making instruments you still have a gift.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Good luck with your project Tom and hopefully the following site's tutorial might be of use;

http://www.milburnguitars.com/

Kind regards, Col.

 

[tomthumbtom8]

Mike you have raised some good points in your post

and a Lot of good questions however I'm not wanting to play in a professional way or even for friend or family just for me

This project is solely for the journey and self-satisfaction





Col
Thank you for the link

Tom

 

[adzeman]

When I read your post and the enthusiasm you projected between the lines which I read every time someone enthuses about music. Please persivere with the guitar, dont worry abot the thumb, Jango lost fingers in a fire and still became a great musician.
All my grandchildren are learning instruments nd all of them (including myself) thought when they took ownership of the instrument they would be able to play straight away! Then they found there is a road of hard work and practice but this is the key, enjoy it. Gets some pals in and have some fun. One grandson now plays cello in an orchestra.

I have tried making instruments and yearn to be able to do it but I cant. I do practice every day on the guitar and keyboard and have fun have done so for 60 years. I look forward to seeing your results in a post.

 

[rxh]

I hope you are getting on with your cello project OK. I made this one, which avoided the need to bend wood and it comes apart to fit in a narrow case.

 

[tomthumbtom8]

very nice if you go to general woodworking you will find the walnut I have bent it is coming along nicely I cut the top of the main body at the weekend and hope to laminate some more walnut this week at some point I'm busy until Thursday.

Now does your cello play, what does it sound like ?

Tom

 

[rxh]

I had a look at the walnut - it looks like you have got the hang of bending OK. I haven't tried walnut but I broke several pieces of maple for a guitar and violin before I got it right.

My cello (or rather my daughter's cello) has two pickups. The piezo-electric one has sensors under the feet of the bridge, wired to a pre-amplifier unit attached to the strings between tailpiece and bridge - it sounds like an acoustic cello and I think this is the sort to use if you want to play classical music. The other pickup is an electromagnetic type, like in an electric guitar - it produces a harsher, more "nasal" sound. The strings influence the sound - if the player is an experienced cellist he/she will want to choose the strings.

Are you going to make a traditional pegbox and scroll? This is an interesting challenge if you haven't tried it before.