Yes, you read that right. It's time for me to get a new cello... again! After my last lesson of the summer, my teacher suggested to me that my beloved Krutz 250 was a great cello, but one that wouldn't get me through for more than a couple years, and that it wouldn't be acceptable for the long haul when I planned to audition for our local symphony orchestra. He has always spoken well of my student cello, but we both agreed that it's definitely just that... a STUDENT cello. A good student cello, but still not capable of the type of response and tone color that would be required of a professional or even semi-professional amateur cellist.
For a couple of weeks, I rolled that around in my head, thinking about what I would do when the time came to upgrade...and I knew it would be soon.
Fast forward to my birthday.
It was East Tennessee Cello Day... a full day of cello, cello, and more cello! We'd gotten the music a few days ahead of time, and I packed up my faithful Krutz 250 and music, and headed down to Milligan College. First up was a brief class on cello history, discussing the Romberg cutaway on the C-string, how the cello started life as a pub instrument (yes, you read that right), and how it came to it's most current form. Then we moved on to orchestra rehearsal, and proceeded to work on things like The Cello Song by Steven Sharp Nelson, the Romberg Cello Sonatina, and other cello-specific literature. It was SO much fun, but I was having a lot of difficulty with pitch and speed.
BREAK TIME! I walked out of rehearsal, made a beeline for the restroom, and a nice, deep stretch. My back was all in knots from the tension of trying to force music that just wasn't coming. This was my birthday... and it was supposed to be fun. And it was... sort of. I was enjoying the cello camaraderie, the joy of being buried in an orchestra of forty cellos, and getting to meet new friends and catch up with old ones. I was having a good time, mostly... but not really. Ever felt that way? Like something just didn't... fit? That's how I felt. All these thoughts went through my head while I was in the bathroom.
I walked out of the bathroom after washing my hands, and there they were.... five stunning cellos, sitting there from a local string house. I walked over and touched one, and a shiver ran up my spine. The salesman asked me how I was and if I was in the market for a new cello. "No..." I sighed. "I'd love to, but I don't know if it's in the budget and my husband would kill me." He encouraged me to pick one up and try it. I told him that my teacher wanted me to try out a Y Chen model when I upgraded. Conveniently, he had two. *sigh* I resigned myself to my appointed fate, and picked up the Y Chen. He handed me a stunning Henry-copy bow as I sat down and settled the cello between my knees, then pulled the bow across the strings. Fwaaaaaa..... ew. Regroup! I started to play a scale... Fwaaa, fwaaa, fwaaa, fwaaa, fwaaa, fwaaa, fwaaa, FWAAAAAAAAAA.... Nope.
I immediately stood up and handed him back the cello, and told him it was a little too nasal for my taste. It literally sounded like it had a head cold. Next, I tried a Calin Wultur. Warm, resonant, and easy to play, but hard to tell for sure because we were in a big, marble hall. I asked him if I could try it during rehearsal and he agreed. I ended up keeping it until the evening concert... Oops. No more pitch problems, no hesitation on response... I was in heaven. So, after the concert, my husband came up to the stage and I nonchalantly discussed the cello with him. He said, "Go for it." Wait, what? "If you like it, get it." I had to be dreaming... but I went out, talked to the gentleman from whom I had borrowed said cello, and he agreed to let me take it home for a trial. We coordinated about when my teacher would be back in town, I signed the paperwork and took it home.
I knew better than to just buy a cello based on first impressions, so I called up KC Strings, and asked them to send me a Krutz 700, and called Stringworks to send me a Michael Todd III. They both happily obliged, and within a week, I had two more gorgeous celli in my hands. My house was beginning to look like a string shop, and that was totally okay with me!
All beautiful competitors, all priced perfectly in my range. For two weeks, I went back and forth with them... constantly playing and searching, trying to determine which was my favorite. Sadly, my teacher ruled out the Calin Wultur early on because it wasn't quite as resonant (and was actually quite stuffy) compared to the other two. Now I had two remaining... the Krutz, and the Michael Todd. Neither truly stood out in my impressions. Both had great sound, tone, and resonance, but neither truly outshone its competition. In an effort to rule out on or the other, and to account for possible failures in the future, my teacher suggested I take them to my luthier. While I waited (somewhat less than patiently), the luthier got all of his tools and gadgets, and began looking over each cello. "I can't find any significant differences between them. They're both fairly good cellos." High praise from my luthier. Back to the drawing board.
Then a funny thing happened. Being not-quite happy with either one, I called KC Strings and asked them to send me the next model up, in an effort to not settle for less than the perfect cello. He asked me what I liked about each cello. I discussed them in depth with him, and he said, "Sometimes it comes down to something as simple as the type of endpin to determine resonance." That quote got me thinking.... I took off the rubber endpin cap from the Krutz, and realized that it was nearly as heavy as my mute! So, I sat back down, and pulled the bow across the strings. (Cue the choir of angels) It was like James Earl Jones had inhabited my cello. In that instant, I knew that I'd found my cello. I called KC Strings and told them not to continue the search, and to call me back for us to arrange payment.
The Michael Todd had a beautiful, resonant voice. It sang. But it just wasn't... me. The guys at Stringworks were amazing and I truly enjoyed the search, but it came down to a matter of preference of tone. I loved the deep, mournful sound that the Krutz Artisan 700 had, and there was just no getting around it. The cello found its way into my heart... and my home. The good news is that my teacher had another student who fell in love with the Michael Todd, so she got a new home, too!!
Happy Cello'ing! (I'll be off practicing my new cello!)
