Violoncello da Spalla Podcast

_____ Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncello da Spalla? In the archive of this newsletter I documented the whole process, sharing measures and templates. You can check the index and some of the posts at this link, and if you subscribe to a payed plan you have instant access to all the posts and to a private chat where you can ask me any question. https://violoncellodaspalla.substack....

Just after our US trip, on which we’ll report later, we received the visit of Wenhan Jiang, violist (principal viola at Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and da spalla cellist. He plays on a Violoncello da Spalla made by Daniela Gaidano in 2023, and he visited us for a sound adjustment before his coming Chinese tour. He will play in solo recital in many important venues, if you want to follow him, her...

In the June issue of “The Strad” magazine you’ll find a six pages article by Daniela Gaidano about the history of the Violoncello da Spalla and the challenges of making them today. Grab your copy here! https://www.thestrad.com/magazine/2026/june …but this is not the only exciting news we’ve got to share this month!! Stay tuned for news about our coming trip, next week! Clue number 4: This is a pub...

_____ Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncello da Spalla? In the archive of this newsletter I documented the whole process, sharing measures and templates. You can check the index and some of the posts at this link, and if you subscribe to a payed plan you have instant access to all the posts and to a private chat where you can ask me any question. https://violoncellodaspalla.substack....

_____ Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncello da Spalla? In the archive of this newsletter I documented the whole process, sharing measures and templates. You can check the index and some of the posts at this link, and if you subscribe to a payed plan you have instant access to all the posts and to a private chat where you can ask me any question. https://violoncellodaspalla.substack....

_____ Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncello da Spalla? In the archive of this newsletter I documented the whole process, sharing measures and templates. You can check the index and some of the posts at this link, and if you subscribe to a payed plan you have instant access to all the posts and to a private chat where you can ask me any question. https://violoncellodaspalla.substack....

_____ Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncello da Spalla? In the archive of this newsletter I documented the whole process, sharing measures and templates. You can check the index and some of the posts at this link, and if you subscribe to a payed plan you have instant access to all the posts and to a private chat where you can ask me any question. https://violoncellodaspalla.substack....

Dear readers, sorry I’m late! Our fantastic customer Martin came this week, and we were a bit absorbed by our work, so I didn’t have the time to edit my videos! While Martin and his wife Valerie were enjoying a short holiday hiking around Meltina, the small mountain village where we are based in South Tyrol, Italy, we were in the workshop trying new bridges, different sets of strings, running to t...

_____ Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncello da Spalla? In the archive of this newsletter I documented the whole process, sharing measures and templates. You can check the index and some of the posts at this link, and if you subscribe to a payed plan you have instant access to all the posts and to a private chat where you can ask me any question. https://violoncellodaspalla.substack....

A video of the day we closed the soundbox of our latest Violoncello da Spalla, from morning to sunset. We are following a checklist, free to download at this link: https://violoncellodaspalla.substack.com/p/how-its-made-part-12-checklist The background music for this video is from a live exhibition of us from almost two years ago. It’s the sonata “L’Inconnue” by Michel de La Barre. _______ Our cus...

We’ll be exhibiting in London again! On February 8th, in Kings Place, London, we’ll be exhibiting at the British Violin Makers Association Makers Day . Book your flight now and take the opportunity to try a Violoncello da Spalla, the special treat of a holiday in one of the most interesting towns in the world, rich in history and fabulous museums. Are you a luthier interested in making a Violoncel...

This video above is part of a long chat I recently had with Els, violist, viola d’amore and now da spalla player. Last June she acquired one of my Violoncello da Spalla, and this call was part a trouble-shooting talk (I already published a small clip about straightening the bridge) and a catching-up on how things were going after 6 months, and at the eve of her first concert with the Violoncello d...

Last October in Brescia we attended a concert by Sergey Malov. We arrived early, but a cue was already formed at the entrance. We were lucky to have reserved sits for us, because many people had to renounce, it was already full. the concert was in a library from the baroque period, the Biblioteca Queriniana , a very special venue. We were sitting in the first row, and I recorded the video above wi...

Violoncello da Spalla historical strings are big, tensed and overspun with a round wire. This means that when you tune, they tend to bring the bridge with them, even if you put graphite in the bridge's grooves. It is good practice to check that the bridge is straight daily, because if it’s not, the sound will be more resistant and poor. In this video chat with my customer Els, I show my technique...

Clemens Kutschera is a young luthier who recently made a Violoncello da Spalla as his degree instrument. He got in touch with us last year about an apprenticeship, but unfortunately, it was a bad time for us. In Italy, there is a lot of paperwork and regulations to comply with when you accept someone into your workshop. Anyway, we kept in touch, and he was one of the first to subscribe to our “ Ho...

It’s difficult to resume 3 such intense days in a few interesting phrases! We met amazing musicians, we enjoyed time with friends and colleagues, we met old friends, and much more. It was an exciting time. Some young musicians could play well violin, cello and Violoncello da Spalla and they fall in love with this instrument that summarize all others! We had meetings with people from Bogaro & Cleme...

We recorded this video ten days ago and left for our holiday by the sea. The editing took a long time because 1. My head instantly went into holiday mode, and 2. The videos were blurry because the camera was set on manual focus! 🫣😫 So I had to add some images with the instruments’ details, because we’re not at home, so we couldn’t just remake the whole thing! Ultimately, it took 3 hours and 41 m...

Finally! We have a top quality Italian case for the Violoncello da Spalla, made by Bogaro & Clemente ! And it’s also very affordable, I don’t know the exact price of this one, that has a beautiful graphic and finish, but it will be around half the price of an a-case. The huge advantages of this case are very stable lockers and how handlers, a gasket to make it waterproof, and the lid that closes p...

Sorry, I played a bit with silly app sound effects. 😅 I didn’t do that fancy thing, hammering a red-hot nail into the neck, and I will tell you why. My nails are hand-forged by Adelheid Snell, a Dutch lady blacksmith. I am grateful for including a piece of art by someone else in my instrument. It’s a bit difficult to write in a foreign language about someone you never met in person and still conv...

At this point, closing the soundbox is in sight. This is when I need a checklist the most because the excitement grows, and I tend to forget some passages. For example, my most common mistake is forgetting to erase pencil marks and going over them with sealer or glue so that I can fix them as permanent. I used to write a to-do list on the bench every time, but this year, I decided to create a real...

Nicolas Chédeville, 1737, sonata IV da “Il Pastor Fido, sonate del sig. Antonio Vivaldi op. 13” 😉 Yesterday, we played it in Bolzano, and the above recording, taken with a bare iPad, is live and unedited. We plan to record the whole sonata better this summer because we really like it—the continuo part is sparkly! Two weeks ago, we had the enormous pleasure of receiving the visit of Ton Fabres fro...

When we recorded this video, it was intended as a promo video for the BVMA makers day to show and explain the three different setups we brought there: one modern, with Thomastick/Warchal strings and pegheds, one baroque, with three plain gut strings and only two would basses (Aquila VN and Boussoir), and this “one fits all” instrument. It has the modern silk set by Eliakim Boussoir, which is total...

A very short snippet of what you can try on Sunday if you are in London! See you there!! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit violoncellodaspalla.substack.com/subscribe

We told you to expect a different schedule in February! Here is a short video to show you our last updates before London’s Makers Day . Tomorrow we will start our trip on the road, headed north! The exciting news are: new original Pegheds custom made for our Violoncello da Spalla, and an incredibly gorgeous edition of Bach’s suites, watch the video to see! It’s a sort of a proof-copy that I receiv...

Link to the new gut strings from Aquila Corde Armoniche : their code is VN, and those I used in this video are gauges 116, 165, 220. Basses are, as usual, Eliakim Boussoir ’s gut core basses. Link to the London Makers Day We will bring there the instrument I play in the video with its gorgeous baroque set up, and another one with a full modern setup, Thomastick+Warchal, hopefully equipped with ori...