How it’s made - part 9: Graduating the Top

Thicknesses!

At this point, you’ll probably feel at home considering the Violoncello da Spalla as a big viola with deep ribs. And you’re quite right.

In fact, concerning the thicknesses and graduation map of the top, most of the luthiers making da spallas today use those they would use for a big viola.

Alessandro and I came to a personal pattern, and we are convinced it works, or at least it works for us. It brings out instruments with a voice that we like, which is complex, rich with colours, and projects well.

You often hear spallas with redundant basses, less than interesting trebles, and they do not project at all. The player is usually enthusiastic about his instrument because he’s excited about the new experience of having basses, but he has never heard how it sounds from 5 meters away. This is what we want to avoid. We like a complex texture, a voice that a player can easily shape to deliver his musical ideas and awaken emotions, and we appreciate that whilst each string has its own character, they all blend in the same voice.

Our graduation map and thicknesses are highly inspired by the original instruments we studied in museums.