CONRAD GÖTZ Cello #440AQ, CG-C440AQ

Technical data

Features

• ANTIQUE line, quality grade 440 AQ
• HERITAGE build variant
• Ebony with Parisian eye on tailpiece and pegs
• Aubert Luxe bridge
• Black master fine tuner with gold screw
• Thin coats, satin gloss, antiqued surface treatment
• Traditional design
• Sturdy construction

In practice

• The model number stands for wood selection and the amount of work put into the white, still unvarnished instrument: graduation of the top, finishing inside and out, choice of tonewood. The higher the number, the more time has gone into the wood and the rounder and more differentiated the sound. Our regular cello range begins at quality grade 424.
• The letters denote the series: varnish and set-up, that is pegs, end button, sound post, strings, chin rest and adjustment. In a photo you cannot see the difference between a 424 and a 428, but you can see whether it is an Agape or an Antique.
• We varnish exclusively with spirit varnish. The spirit evaporates, resins and pigments remain. Priming, staining, colour coats, intermediate sanding and sealing add up to around fifteen steps; because these are natural varnishes, one coat more or less may be needed until the colour is right.
• The Antique is visually aged: darker varnish, sanded back more where the hands touch, plus small marks in the varnish of the kind old instruments carry. It does not look like an old instrument but like a new one in this style.
• SIGNATURE and HERITAGE are two build variants of the same line. HERITAGE is the traditional and sturdier version, SIGNATURE the lighter, modernised one.
• Guide values for string height at the end of the fingerboard: violin around 3.5 mm under the E and 5.0 mm under the G, viola 4.5 to 5.5 and 5.0 to 6.0 mm, cello 5.0 to 6.5 and 5.5 to 7.5 mm.
• In the first weeks the strings stretch and the bridge creeps towards the fingerboard as you tune. Both need checking; a readjustment after a few weeks is normal.
• Humidity 40 to 50 per cent at around 20 °C, up to 60 per cent unproblematic. Below 40 percent you risk slipping pegs, opening glue joints and cracks.
• After playing, take off rosin dust with a microfibre cloth and no pressure. No polish, no tincture, no alcohol on the varnish.
• After cold or heat, open the case only after fifteen to thirty minutes. Never leave it in a car, never check it as baggage.
• The company is based in Wernitzgrün near Markneukirchen. It has existed since 1884 and is run as a family business in the fourth generation.
• Six months warranty on defective components and workmanship.

Sound and physics

The air inside the cello body vibrates through the f-holes as a Helmholtz resonator (A0) at around 100 Hz, roughly a fifth above the open C string at around 65 Hz.

The twisting modes of the cello bridge lie at around 1 and 2 kHz; its height strengthens the coupling to the top and with it the bass. The sound post practically doubles the number of modes that shape the sound.

On a measured cello the body radiates particularly well in three regions, around 165 Hz, between 280 and 400 Hz and between 620 and 880 Hz; partials in these bands colour the tone much as the formants of a singing voice do.

On the cello a wolf note (a note that stutters or jumps at a strongly coupled body resonance) typically sits on the G string between around 200 and 250 Hz. It is a sign of strong coupling and occurs precisely in fine instruments; a resonator on the string between bridge and tailpiece draws its energy away.

The top is spruce; back, ribs and neck are sycamore maple. At 12 % moisture content spruce has a density of 380 to 470 kg/m³ and a modulus of elasticity along the grain of 9,700 to 11,000 MPa, sycamore maple 560 to 650 kg/m³ and 9,900 to 13,000 MPa. This gives a speed of sound along the grain of around 4,800 m/s for spruce and around 4,100 m/s for maple. Acoustics therefore sees spruce as the transducer with high radiation efficiency, and the denser maple as reflector and structural support.

Both woods are strongly anisotropic: spruce is around 13 times stiffer in bending along the grain than across it, maple around 5 times, which is why the vibration patterns of a top appear stretched along the grain. Across the grain spruce shrinks tangentially by 7.8 to 8.2 %, around twice as much as radially at 3.6 to 3.9 %.

We varnish with classic spirit varnish, which we colour ourselves with pigments; we do not use oil varnish. The build-up follows fixed steps: two coats of ground varnish that keep the colour varnish out of the wood, then colour varnish in as many layers as the shade requires, and four to six coats of top varnish.

Each layer dries for one to fourteen days depending on the varnish and temperature, and the work is done at an even 20 °C or so. Once fully dry, the varnish is rubbed down and polished with polishing oil and tripoli (a fine polishing powder). The instrument is varnished under the bridge feet as well; there the varnish is reworked so that the bridge sits snugly.

The Antique cello gains its appearance from several layers of varnish in different colours; the varnish used is essentially a blend made by Hammerl. Marks of the kind an old instrument carries are deliberately shaped on the Antique model and belong to its character.

The shape of the cello follows our own Götz model after Stradivari, slightly altered over time. All our cellos are built of solid wood, with back, ribs and neck of maple and a top of spruce.

Our experience

When another model suits you better

Players who prefer rosewood fittings and our German standard varnish will find them on the Agape cello.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the air resonance of a cello?

At around 100 Hz, roughly a fifth above the open C string.

Is a wolf note a defect?

A wolf note is a sign of strong coupling between string and body and occurs precisely in fine instruments. A wolf eliminator between bridge and tailpiece draws its energy away.

How long is the top of a Götz cello seasoned?

15 years and more before the cello is delivered.

Why is the top spruce and the back maple?

Spruce combines low density with high stiffness along the grain and radiates sound efficiently. The denser maple acts as reflector and carries the structure.

How long is the wood seasoned?

15 years and more before we work it.

Which varnish is used?

Classic spirit varnish, pigmented by us.

These texts hold decades of experience and a great deal of heart. They are protected by copyright, C.A. Götz jr. GmbH. Please ask us before any use. Thank you for your appreciation.