About Silent Cellos

It was in the early 16th century that the cello was born. The instrument was called the'violoncello' in Italy around 1640, and after that, the shortened form, 'cello', has become popular. Cellos used to differ in size, but after Stradivari made a cello of 75–76 cm in length around 1710, that size has become the standard.

It was in Italy in the early 17th century that the cello, which had previously only play the lowest notes in string ensembles, first attracted attention as a solo instrument. The cello, which has a wider range than the violin, impressed many stringed instrument makers and players with its warm, full-bodied tone, and a large number of concertos have been written for the cello.

The present cello possesses four strings tuned, like the violin, in perfect fifths. It is steadied between the knees of the player, and played while seated. Nowadays the cello usually has an endpin on the bottom of the instrument. Until the late 19th century, when there was no endpin, the cello had been placed directly on the floor, or held between the legs of the player, or fixed using a belt and played while standing. The advent of endpins has enhanced sound resonance as well as the stability of the instrument, improving playing techniques such as fingering and bowing.

You can enjoy playing the Silent Cello just like playing an acoustic one because the same material as the acoustic cello is used for the neck, fingerboard, and bridge. In addition, its three-stage reverb function, for a small studio, a medium concert hall, and a large hall, allows you to practise confirming the resonance of sounds. Because some of our models have worm-gear tuning pegs on them, even beginners can tune them easily. The bright, clear tone matches not only classical music but also other genres, including pop music.