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The first time I heard Sergey Malov play Bach’s Sixth Suite on the cello da spalla, I fell in love. I read everything I could find about this instrument, from Dmitry Badiarov’s articles to Daniela Gaidano’s booklet, from Marc Vanscheeuwijck’s research to Mimmo Peruffo’s experience in string making. And now, it was time to build it.

For my model, I started with an instrument that I now hold dear, having been fortunate enough to study it many times, and which is located less than a mile from where I live: Stradivari’s tenor viola, part of the Medici quintet, which is housed in the Museum of Musical Instruments inside the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence. A few modifications to adjust the ergonomics, and the model was ready.

I chose slightly curled maple for the ribs and back plate, a single piece, and red spruce for the top plate.

The Apennine Giant is not just a 14-meter-tall stone statue designed by Jean Boulogne in 1580, which can be visited in the park of Villa Demidoff in Pratolino, Florence.
This colossus truly embodies the Tuscan soul of our Apennines.

I asked my artist friend Ariel Robinson to decorate my cello with this majestic figure, and the result is unique and breathtaking.

The alcohol varnish is perfectly transparent, making the wood grain shine even brighter. The cherry back is beautiful, the color is intense and warm.

The preparation for the varnish consists of three steps: the first is the sealing of the pores with water and hide glue, the second is the application of aloe and ammonia, and the third one is the application of a reflective layer with Venetian turpentine, sandarac and bixa orellana. See the red hue of the aloe that becomes amber brown on when applied on the wood.

This instrument has many unusual features, starting with the low ribs design, the cherry wood for the ribs and the back plate, the concave longitudinal arching between the f-holes, a very pronounced neck angle to increase the acoustic load on the bridge, and a resulting high saddle to limit pressure on the soundboard.
In short, many features that make this instrument unique.
In the sound test, the cello has a lot of attack, responds easily to the bow, roaring in the low range and intense on the treble strings.

It has a lot of sustain and ringing when plucked, without dampening;

An excellent starting point! I can proceed with the varnishing.

The handmade flamed pear wood tailpiece gives a modern look to the cello.

The cello will have a neck highly angled to increase the active force of the strings on the top. At the same time, in order to keep low the total pressure, the saddle will stand high on the edge. This special saddle configuration requires an installation similar to the neck one, being not sufficient to simply lay and glue the saddle to prevent it from overturning. The saddle is in maple with a pear wood insert on the upper contact region with the tailgut.

The neck for my cherry cello was carved from an 8 cm thick maple board, planed to size, and cut according to the template. I carved the scroll with various sized gouges, including my own decoration at the base of the scroll. I finished the surface without overdoing it, leaving some gouge marks visible.

The vibrating string will be 68.5 cm.

I’m making a cello with back and ribs made of cherry wood from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, and a top made of red spruce from the Val di Fiemme. The time has come to fit the purfling, obviously with the sound box closed as in classical Italian violin making.

I’ve finally reached the point of closing the sound box. After attaching my label, stamping it, and signing it, I realigned the top on the ribs using the alignment holes on the upper and lower blocks.

As you can see, the purfling hasn’t been done yet. According to classical Italian violin making, the purfling will be done with the sound box closed.

The total weight is less than 1600 g.

I prepared the bass bar, sizing it according to a well-known law from mechanical engineering science that allows for constant bending stress along its entire length.
The goal is to uniformly stress the chain and, therefore, the top to which it is glued, allowing the entire surface to bear the load. This way, I don’t suffocate the top at the center between the f-holes where the load is locally applied, but rather allow the upper and lower bouts to be elastically involved in the acoustic breathing.

Then I closed the through hole of a small knot on the cherry back with a willow pin.