Innovative mute, available also for Violoncello da Spalla!
Get a richer palette for your instrument!
Last month in Cremona, the big annual violin-making fair took place. We live at 3 hours drive from Cremona, so that is something we wouldn’t miss, an occasion to meet friends and see what is going on in the business.
This year we have two hot news for da spalla players. We waited to share the news because the official website took some more time to be ready, but here it is!
News from da Spalla world
Eenhar means unicorn, a noble and magical animal, and these are mutes for all the bowed strings instruments made of horn.
They are made by Jean-Emmanuel Grebet, a professional violinist and member of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
1. This mute is as beautiful as a jewel. Your instrument deserves it!
It is inspired by models from the 19th century but newly designed to be easy and fast to install and to keep on the instrument while not in use. It is totally made in Luxembourg and comes in a luxury box.
2. It is safe and eco-friendly. It only uses horns from domestic breeds, which are not rare or endangered species. There is, therefore, no problem travelling within most countries.
Even more critical, no animals are killed for their horn. The horn is a by-product of slaughter (otherwise used in cutlery, eyewear or ground into fertiliser) or recovered after the natural death of the animal. The use of horn does not in itself require any slaughtering: on the contrary, the older an animal is, the bigger and thicker its horns will be, which is the first quality sought by those who work with it. No waste is produced during the manufacture, and also the tools are totally recyclable.
3. The sound: it is not about playing softer but about having a different spectrum of overtones, so that the voice is different, but the projection is the same. Of course, it gives the IMPRESSION that the instrument is played from afar, although its tone remains quite as perceptible... In other words, it gives your instrument a different voice, one more colour you can use in your performance. Exactly how it was intended by composers writing “sordino” in their music.
It is noticeable that in the Eenhar products list, you will find mutes for violin, viola, cello, Violoncello da Spalla and double bass! It’s made on request, so feel free to write and order yours!
Updates from our workshop
In Cremona we took a decision: no more ebony on our instruments. Ebony is on the CITES list of endangered species, which means it requires documentation to travel. There will come a time (pretty soon, if not here yet) when travelling safely with an ebony fingerboard will not be a thing anymore. Ebony for us is not necessary at all! Violoncello da Spalla is a baroque instrument, and the ebony veneer we apply on the fingerboard is meant to offer a harder surface to our strings and fingers. It’s a matter both of sound and maintenance, to have a fingerboard with a longer life and avoid the need of going to the luthier every month to have your fingerboard pkaned! (If you are not sure why you should do this, there's an excellent short article on The Strad at this link)
https://www.thestrad.com/lutherie/looking-after-your-instrument-fingerboards-demystified/15654.article?utm_source=adestra&utm_term=NEWSLETTER STORY ONE HEADLINE&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=26685
The same we can tell for the function of ebony on the upper and lower nuts, while the use of ebony-veneers for the tailpiece or blackwood for the pegs is mainly aesthetic to match the fingerboard.
Today, thanks to the research of men who, worried about endangered species, decided to invest and look forward to finding solutions desirable to luthiers, there is a wider choice of material that we can use instead of ebony. We choose Sonowood, because it’s beautiful and because it comes from mountains very close to us.
Sonowood is, in a few easy words, a compressed wood, compressed as much as to become as dense as ebony. It can be maple, spruce or other timbers. These two are our favourite, and we will probably use spruce in our next instruments.
What are the advantages of Sonowood?
From their website:
Outstanding acoustic performance thanks to extraordinarily low damping and high sound velocity
Durability and scratch-resistance thanks to complete pore closure. Signs of wear and dirt are greatly reduced.
Optimal playability thanks to a hard and smooth surface that nevertheless remains open to absorb hand perspiration.
Support of sustainable, domestic forestry by use of an ecologically friendly material.
No travel restrictions thanks to the avoidance of endangered wood species.
Authentic wood without any no synthetic colours, resins or polymers added.
Reliable availability with constant quality.
The only downside is the price, but we are happy to pay a bit more if this helps the planet and our customers!
Featured video of the week
In this spontaneous video (sightreading session) by Mark Wickersham and other members of the External Combustion Orchestra we can appreciate how the Violoncello da Spalla voice can perfectly melt with violin and oboe in creating a poetic atmosphere. How many styles can this instrument beautifully fit in?
