Peter Sachon Cellist

Peter Sachon Cellist. Peter was nice enough to sit for me in his sunny, cello* filled home in Washington Heights.

This sitting is a continuation of my project titled City Cello, which I've been working on for over a year. 11x14" A/P silver gelatin, archival darkroom prints are available for sale, signed en verso, on fibre based paper. Larger sizes available upon request.

Inquire for details.

What is a cello made of?

From Johnson String Instrument informative article

Cello Body Construction

"In general, instruments have spruce tops, maple back and sides. New cello makers are starting to play around with those woods a bit. But that's the established construction," affirms Carol Johnson, co-founder of Johnson String Instruments.

However, within that framework, there is a lot of variety. With the more expensive cellos, "you're going to get instruments in which the wood is specifically selected for certain patterns and body shapes," explains Carol.

Achieving the Cello's Body Shape

While the top and back of the body of the cello are traditionally hand-carved, a less expensive cello may be machine generated. But either way, the body's beautiful curves are made by heating the wood, and bending it around pre-made forms.

Internally, the sound and stability of the cello's body are enhanced with the bass bar and sound post.

Inside the Cello Body

The bass bar is an oblong piece of wood that is glued underneath the top of the cello body. The bass bar runs from the foot of the neck to just underneath the bridge. It reinforces the top of the body in order to support the tremendous tension of the strings (roughly equal to 80 pounds), and also helps transmit the internal vibration (sound) to the surface.

Like the bass bar, the sound post also sits on the inside of the cello, and serves two purposes. One is to reinforce the body strength of the cello. (The bass bar runs parallel to the G string and ends under the left foot of the bridge; the sound post sits underneath the right foot of the bridge.)

Additionally, the sound post helps to transmit the vibrations to the front of the cello (and to a lesser extent, the back).