Make no move

A device built to prevent bridge movement and damage

Florence-based luthiers Paolo Sorgentone and Michele Mecatti have released their ‘Blocketto’ device for cello. With the help of restorer Roberto Salvadori, they originally designed the product in 2021 for violin, although work on a cello version followed soon after because the instrument often has ‘more problems with bridge stability’, according to Mecatti. The device is designed to secure the bridge while tuning and changing strings, and to prevent it from falling. To use it, the player slots the bridge into a resin block, and screws an adjustable slider to the end of the fingerboard. The product is to be used whenever the instrument is being tuned, or when it is not being played.

Mecatti says that once the Blocketto is in place there are several benefits. First, it creates stability when tuning and changing strings. The change and loss of tension involved in unwinding strings can often move the bridge or risk it falling entirely, he explains. This will especially help beginners afraid of changing strings, as it will enable them to build confidence in doing so. He says that the instrument can still be tuned with the Blocketto in place, albeit with a slightly muted sound, but the device should be removed when playing normally. Once the Blocketto is removed, slight tuning adjustments may still need to be made.

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Mecatti says that the Blocketto also protects the bridge from deformation over time, which can lead to the bridge falling or having to be replaced. It is also designed to avoid long-term damage to the body by distributing some of the string’s tension to the Blocketto. ‘We are proud of having realised the very first solution to solve musicians’ problems with bridge stability,’ Mecatti says. ‘It will simplify the musician’s life.’

Sorgentone and Mecatti Blocketto for cello €60

email info@sorgentonemecatti.com

web www.sorgentonemecatti.com