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Topic: The Sound of Carbon Fiber for Yo-Yo Ma. |
Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2009 5:35 pm |
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Cold Case: The Sound of Carbon for Yo-Yo Ma?
NY Times
By CHRIS MUSELER
Published: January 18, 2009
When the cellist Yo-Yo Ma takes to the inaugural stage on Tuesday, the instrument he will have may take music enthusiasts by surprise. Black, with a single-piece body, neck and peg box, and with no scroll at the top, the cello is a high-tech carbon-fiber instrument designed to withstand the cold.
Susana Raab for The New York Times
Master Gunnery Sergeant Marcio Botelho, a member of the Joint Service Orchestra, rehearsing on a carbon-fiber cello for the preinaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday.
Created by Luis Leguia and his Massachusetts-based company, Luis and Clark, the cello is unaffected by temperature and humidity, which can crack or split the delicate antique instruments that professionals usually use. Mr. Ma plans to play his Luis and Clark cello if the weather warrants, said his manager, Mary Pat Buerkle. His other cello, a 1733 Montagnana from Venice, is worth more than $2 million. Mr. Ma will be playing a score by John Williams with Itzhak Perlman on violin, Gabriela Montero on piano and Anthony McGill on clarinet. Mr. Perlman could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Ma is not the only inaugural string player using a Luis and Clark instrument. At the “We Are One” concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, the entire Joint Service Orchestra string section — 44 musicians in all — played the company’s carbon-fiber cellos, violins, violas and basses.
“My cello is a couple hundred years old,” said Staff Sgt. Ben Wensel, a cellist in the United States Army Band, before rehearsing on Friday in 14-degree weather. “I wouldn’t dare take it outside in this.”
Sergeant Wensel said that this would be the first time a major orchestra had exclusively used carbon string instruments. The orchestra is a combination of the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy and Marine bands.
Mr. Leguia, who studied under Pablo Casals and played cello for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 44 years, came up with the idea for a composite cello after going sailing on a fiberglass Hobie 16 catamaran. He was struck by how efficiently the boat’s hulls transmitted the sound of the waves. “The greatest instruments can be heard through the din of an orchestra,” he said in a telephone interview. “I saw potential in that.”
The first cello Mr. Leguia built was of fiberglass in 1990. He then moved to carbon, partnering with Steve Clark, a champion sailor and carbon-fiber expert from Rhode Island. Mr. Clark helped refine the design and construction process, and the Luis and Clark cello was born.
About 12 Luis and Clark instruments are manufactured each week at Clear Carbon and Components in Bristol, R.I. The cello costs $7,139. Each instrument takes about a week to build and is handmade of layers of carbon fiber and epoxy. More than 600 have been produced.
As for the sound, Mr. Leguia said that he had tried to maintain the full-bodied sound of top-end instruments, but at a much lower price. A carbon cello, he said has a “flooding, deeper sound,” though “not quite as penetrating” as Mr. Ma’s Montagnana.
René Morel, who deals in fine string instruments in Manhattan, has said the sound is as close as you can get to a traditional top cello like a Stradivarius without being one. The cellist Aldo Parisot, a longtime instructor at the Yale School of Music, has been recommending Mr. Leguia’s cellos to his students for everyday use.
Sergeant Wensel said that his instrument “sounded a little raw at first,” but that “the sound has opened up for me.”
“It’s a good cello,” he added, “not just a good carbon cello.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/arts/music/19carb.html?ref=music
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 20 Jan 2009 6:31 pm
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Yo YO ( i love saying that, I'm from Philly)  ) was playing a very reddish colored cello today when i saw that portion of the show.
I was wondering if that was his cold weather cello or his good one.. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 20 Jan 2009 8:46 pm
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The guy is a class act and can make a cigarbox sound great.
Very nice gentleman too, warm friendly etc.
They sounded awesome especially for outdoors in the cold.
I had no clue it was not a 200 year old cello,
the sound was lovely; at least over the decent TV speakers.
_________________
DLD, Chili farmer. Plus bananas and papaya too.
Real happiness has no strings attached.
But pedal steels have many! |
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LARRY COLE
From:
LANCASTER, OHIO, USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2009 8:47 pm
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| I have a Rainsong carbon fibre acoustic guitar. It is a grand auditorium size cutaway with a thicker body than a dreadnought. It sounds great and plays like an electric. |
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Darrell Criswell
From:
Maryland, USA
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 4:44 am
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I wonder which cello he recorded with?
_________________
DLD, Chili farmer. Plus bananas and papaya too.
Real happiness has no strings attached.
But pedal steels have many! |
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Sam White R.I.P.
From:
Coventry, RI 02816
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 5:00 am
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I never seen a Steel Guitar Cello.I thought this was a Steel Guitar Forum. What does a cello have to do with the Steel Guitar Forum?? I know I will get in trouble with a couple of Guys.I never heard a cello in country music and I do beleave there is no other kind of music but good old Classic Country.
Sam white |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 5:21 am
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There's an enlightened view; you need to make a bumper-sticker of that, Sam!
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 5:58 am
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| Samuel E. White wrote: |
I never seen a Steel Guitar Cello.I thought this was a Steel Guitar Forum. What does a cello have to do with the Steel Guitar Forum?? I know I will get in trouble with a couple of Guys.I never heard a cello in country music and I do beleave there is no other kind of music but good old Classic Country.
Sam white |
Well Sam, I think Chet Atkins over-used them,
behind Ray price during the 'country politain' era.
No synths to speak of then, real strings top to bottom.
Or maybe Ray Price wasn't doing country with Chet producing then?
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DLD, Chili farmer. Plus bananas and papaya too.
Real happiness has no strings attached.
But pedal steels have many! |
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Gary Cosden
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 6:51 am
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This story does have fallout in the pedal steel guitar world in more ways than one. I have owned two lacquer finish PP Emmons PSGs and transporting them in the trunk of my car in cold, freezing weather played hell with the finish on both of them. Granted, mica guitars do better that way and the cold never damaged the wood itself, at least in my case, but anyway you look at it freezing and thawing musical instruments made from wood is something to be avoided.
Secondly, MSA builds a very nice carbon fiber guitar that has a really nice tone. Pedal Steel Guitarists have lived in a "hard maple" universe since time began but the use of alternative materials in their construction is inevitable. Is carbon fiber more resistant to freeze/thaw damage? Apparently it is.
Nothing could ever replace the beauty of wood but at the same time I have come to really appreciate the beauty of a well made carbon fiber piece, having spent a few years in the world of motorcycle road racing where people spend obscene amounts of money on any part that is stronger AND lighter. Building anything from carbon fiber is an art form unto itself. I have seen many things made from this material and the MSA guitars are absolutely the best quality carbon fiber I have ever seen.
I have always thought that someone needs to attempt to duplicate the tone of an existing maple body guitar with a composite but that's a job for a far smarter/richer man that me! |
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Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 9:05 am
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I saw the performance and I was also fascinated by their ability to play at all in that temperature, much less play well, but this mornings television news shows revealed that the music was pre-recorded.
I thought Yo Yo's playing was exceptionally animated for his usual performance, he seemed too flippant, waving his bow, etc.
Well, anyway, I think it was good judgement to prerecord considering the expected weather.
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"FROM THEN TIL' NOW" |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 9:32 am
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I'm sure that the difficulties of sound-engineering in such trying circumstances would also have been a deciding factor. With musicians of this calibre, there's no question of anyone being hoodwinked, after all; I think it was a smart decision.
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 9:45 am
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| Samuel E. White wrote: |
I do beleave there is no other kind of music but good old Classic Country.
Sam white |
Tell that to Mozart, Beethoven, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and the Beatles.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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LARRY COLE
From:
LANCASTER, OHIO, USA
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 11:34 am
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My Carbon Fibre Rainsong acoustic/electric hardly ever goes out of tune. I checked it after two weeks plus on a tuner and the low e string was barely flat and every thing else was right on.
It is the most in tune sounding guitar that I have ever played. http://www.rainsong.com/ |
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Sam White R.I.P.
From:
Coventry, RI 02816
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 12:28 pm
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There is no way you can make a cello sound as pretty as a Steel Guitar.I have my choice of Instruments and others have theirs. I feel I have a good choice of Instruments Steel Guitars,Dobros, and Lap Steels where can you find a better sounding Instrument???Now tell me I'm wrong.
Sam White |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 1:14 pm
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Okay - you're not wrong, because it's all subjective.
I'm very fond of the sound of pedal steel guitar, but there's no comparison with instruments from the legitimate orchestra. French horn, cello, for example, have such wonderful 'voices', and those players are subjected to a discipline in their execution that we can only imagine.
It sounds as though you're more than happy to listen exclusively to country music, and that, of course, is your choice. I do feel you're missing a great deal by not casting a wider net.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 3:03 pm
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| LARRY COLE wrote: |
| My Carbon Fibre Rainsong acoustic/electric .... |
I already have an excellent ac/el guitar
and don't need another. But if I did, I'd get a Rainsong. I wouldn't even look at anything else.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 3:52 pm
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| My carbon fiber MSA Millennium S12U is the most stable pedal steel I've ever had. But with substantial temperature shifts it still will go out of tune, because of the metal in the strings, keyhead, changer, pull rods,etc. The tone is very similar to wood-body steels, probably because they designed it to have the same tone. I don't think most people could tell the difference in a blind-fold test. |
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 23 Jan 2009 7:31 pm
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http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=150539
link to a discussion in the music zone.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the segment on TV was that it could not be Yo Yo's regualr go-to cello. No musician would take a million dollar+ instrument out in that weather. Then I saw that it was a very red colored cello, probably a cheap student model.
It had a wooden peg box and regular square bouts completely unlike the L&C model.
It never occurred to me that it would have been pre recorded, I was too focused on the amazing music.
Oh and JC.. who tol ya dat? |
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Sidney Malone
From:
Buna, TX
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Posted 24 Jan 2009 4:57 am
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As far as carbon fiber & the pedal steel goes, I can't say enough good about my MSA Millenium. I've been playing at a local Cowboy Church for a little over a year so this is my second winter and we are in an open barn. So playing in the 30's has become way too common. The guitar has performed flawlessly! It sounds the same in the 30's as it does the 70's or 100+ for that matter. Other than some slight tweaking on the tuning for temperature changes, the guitar is not affected by cold or heat.
If I could be as consistent as the MSA then all would be well!
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MSA Millennium S-12U
Walker Stereo Steel
Hilton Pedal |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 24 Jan 2009 7:53 am
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| Sidney Malone wrote: |
| As far as carbon fiber & the pedal steel goes, I can't say enough good about my MSA Millenium. |
I feel the same way. If I had the bucks, I'd get another.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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