pypa
Tele-Afflicted
Has anyone made an electric cello? Looking for plans. This will be a summer project with my teenage niece.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Electric Cello
- Thread starter pypa
- Start date
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bebopbrain
Tele-Afflicted
There is a book "To Make a Double Bass" by H.S. Wake. Just apply an appropriate scale factor?
pypa
Tele-Afflicted
Isn't a double bass an acoustic instrument? I thought an electric cello is basically a neck with a piezo pickup.
She has an acoustic already, so I can take measurements from that. I just want to know what kind of gotchas there are.
She has an acoustic already, so I can take measurements from that. I just want to know what kind of gotchas there are.
A double bass is acoustic until you put a pickup on it!
Well.... what will you use for strings? You will need steel in them for a pickup based build, if you use a piezo pickup then not. I think strings and pickup are your starting point to make other decisions.... The rest is just a straight line between bridge and nut...
WingedWords
Friend of Leo's
I have a Ned Steinberger cello. Lots of others available.
https://thinkns.com/instrument/ns-design-electric-cello/
Think about how your neice is going to hold it. NS has 2 main options: a tripod stand which I have or a free standing endpin arrangement with "wings" for the knees to grip.
Most electric cellos use piezo pickups I think with usually fairly complex electronics, but you may find magnetic pickups- I remember there used to be at least one pickup winder who would make one, it might have been Kent Armstrong. If you use magnetic pu, you'll need to find steel based strings - they're out there. Strings and electrics won't be cheap.
Make sure you stick to the same radius bridge and fingerboard as an acoustic cello or it'll be unplayable arco. Make sure there's some indication of where the normal neck/body joint comes so she can find her positions. The NS uses a simple brass pip on the back of the neck. Guitar tuners will be fine, cello strings aren't huge. The NS has a truss rod.
Be prepared for her teacher to disapprove! I knew I'd found my teacher when I saw her Yamaha cello, amp and pedal board.
Good luck - keep it simple, stick to acoustic cello geometry (bridge radius and break angle)and it'll be perfectly doable.
https://thinkns.com/instrument/ns-design-electric-cello/
Think about how your neice is going to hold it. NS has 2 main options: a tripod stand which I have or a free standing endpin arrangement with "wings" for the knees to grip.
Most electric cellos use piezo pickups I think with usually fairly complex electronics, but you may find magnetic pickups- I remember there used to be at least one pickup winder who would make one, it might have been Kent Armstrong. If you use magnetic pu, you'll need to find steel based strings - they're out there. Strings and electrics won't be cheap.
Make sure you stick to the same radius bridge and fingerboard as an acoustic cello or it'll be unplayable arco. Make sure there's some indication of where the normal neck/body joint comes so she can find her positions. The NS uses a simple brass pip on the back of the neck. Guitar tuners will be fine, cello strings aren't huge. The NS has a truss rod.
Be prepared for her teacher to disapprove! I knew I'd found my teacher when I saw her Yamaha cello, amp and pedal board.
Good luck - keep it simple, stick to acoustic cello geometry (bridge radius and break angle)and it'll be perfectly doable.
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P Bill
Tele-Meister
I started out making electric fiddles but soon hit the bigger stuff, apologies to Bob Dylan.
The good news is that piezos are lower frequency friendly.
I built the acoustic db after the eub (very unfortunate name but it has stuck.)
The good news is that piezos are lower frequency friendly.
I built the acoustic db after the eub (very unfortunate name but it has stuck.)
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P Bill
Tele-Meister
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This is for 3/4 double bass but I think most of this transfers to cello. Try and copy nut-to- bridge and heel-to-pegbox specs exactly so it feels right to cello players.
Each fb end is a different curve. Commercial fingerboards are available but I like to make my own. After gluing the fb to the neck, I rough it out freehand on the jointer making taper cuts. Then finish by hand. The technique is to shape the fb using the string path of each string as a guide. The relief is the thickness of each string (+-) at half the string length.
More taper cuts (guard removed for pics)
The 45 block is for the through and stopped chamfers. The top is freehand.
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P Bill
Tele-Meister
Pics of the fingerboard before sanding. Cutting tools have done 97% (+-) of the precise heavy lifting. I made the scraper plane to go after after any tear-out. The timber is Solomon Blackwood, very tough, I don't think the fb will ever need to be dressed again.
(neck positioned high for pics only)
(neck positioned high for pics only)
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Jim_in_PA
Friend of Leo's
I think I'm going to like this thread... 
pypa
Tele-Afflicted
amazing responses. Thank you everyone. I have to distill!
