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Five-string cellos are becoming increasingly popular, and not just for playing Bach’s Suite no.6. David Folland gives some practical tips, based on his recent experience of building one

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The five-string bridge needed to be designed from scratch

Cellists are aware that Bach’s Cello Suite no.6 BWV1012 was written for an instrument other than the four-string cello. It may have been the violoncello da spalla, essentially a small cello played like a viola. Using a five-string cello with a high E string greatly facilitates the playing of this suite. This cello, which originally had gut strings, required a shorter body and string length than a standard full-size cello; using a gut E string works much better at a shorter length because the tension can be lower. Tensioning a full-length gut E string to pitch can strain the limits of the material, so most five-string cellos are sized similarly to a 3/4 size, which can compromise their size of sound. However, with the advent of modern composite strings, several string manufacturers now produce a high cello E string that is very suitable for use on a full-size cello, enabling five-string players to produce a bigger and more powerful sound, particularly on the G and C strings.

THE NON-GUT E STRING IS VERY THIN AND GENERATES RELATIVELY LITTLE EXTRA PRESSURE

When I was commissioned to build a five-string cello, the cellist mainly wanted to use it for playing the Bach Suites, but did not want to give up the depth and power of a modern full-size cello. He also intended to use it to play solo works and chamber pieces composed for a four-string cello, but which he enjoys playing on the five-string. Indeed, the last several decades have seen a gain in popularity for full-size five-string cellos using modern strings, and they are now being used for much more than playing the Bach Suites. This modern five-string can give the player additional range and an increased tonal palette. It can help them open up new dimensions of sound, create compositional effects and push boundaries in many musical genres. And what’s more, it can be fun! Finally, a five-string may be helpful for a player with shoulder injuries because, instead of having to use thumb position, they can play those notes using fourth position on the E string.

A common misconception when designing a five-string is perhaps the idea that it must be made stronger to withstand the pressure of the additional string. But the non-gut E string is very thin and generates relatively little extra pressure on the top plate, so the cello body can be constructed essentially the same as a four-string, with similar rib and plate thicknesses, bass-bar dimensions and f-hole size and placement widths. However, there is a need to think carefully about the top arch and the fingerboard extension height on a five-string. Positioning the strings across the top arc of the bridge increases the bow angle on the treble and bass strings, meaning the bow has more difficulty clearing the C-bouts if the bridge and/or the arching heights are too low. In addition, using a very wide cello pattern would likely contribute to bow clearance issues.

The outline is a slightly widened version of the Stradivari ‘B form’

ALL PHOTOS DAVID FOLLAND

In making the five-string cello I used my usual outline, which is basically a slightly widened Stradivari ‘B form’ outline. The distance between the C-bouts on my outline is 240mm. I arched the top plate to a height of 28.5mm, a little higher than I usually make my top arching, to help keep the bow from hitting the C-bouts.

The neck was set to an extension height of 84mm, with an overstand of 25.75mm on the treble side and 24.25mm on the bass side. This neckset, also a bit higher than on my four-string, helped get the bridge higher and again gave the bow more clearance over the C-bouts without increasing the neck angle over the bridge. The neck length was 280mm, the same as a four-string. These dimensions produced a very responsive instrument with no issues regarding playability.

The main differences between a four- and five-string cello arise in the neck, fingerboard and scroll. The fingerboard length is a normal 579mm, but the widths are much greater since there are five strings: 29mm at the scroll end and 725mm at the bridge end. The arc is just slightly flatter than that of a four-string fingerboard, and is asymmetrical. I ended up needing to use a double bass fingerboard blank, as I could find no suitable cello ebony blanks that were wide enough.

The scroll pegbox needs to be lengthened by about 28mm to accommodate the extra peg, which is on the treble side. The width of the pegbox at the nut is considerably wider at 54mm, and tapers down to about 33.5mm at the throat. The scroll itself is just very slightly larger and wider to balance the larger pegbox size. Of course, the neck will end up being wider to match the fingerboard, but the neck thicknesses are the same as on a fourstring, as is the distance from the top edge to the inside curve of the heel.

Scroll and pegbox pattern for the five-string cello

I designed my own bridge and cut it out of a wedge of bridge wood, as I could not find any non-Baroque five-string bridge blanks. Milo Stamm will cut a bridge blank to your specifications if you send him a pattern. I made the bridge feet 93mm wide and the top of the bridge 73mm wide to accommodate the extra strings. The centre-to-centre distance between the outside strings is 62.5mm. I used a Spirocore tungsten C and G string, and Larsen solo D and A strings with a Larsen E string. Sprirocore and Jargar also make a cello E string, but the Larsen was a better match for the rest of the strings on the cello.

Original design for the five-string cello bridge

Bridge and fingerboard templates

Both the cellist and I were very happy with the cello. I was not at all sure if putting on that extra treble string wouldn’t adversely affect it and constrict the sound. But with the first notes drawn by the bow, those fears were put to rest. The cello sounded very much like what we were going for: a great big full cello sound, except with a high E. Pretty cool.