• Cello

    Cello With Attitude

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    Hannah has two voices to choose from (but only one neck each, thank you very much!). She plays two Christopher Dungey cellos, based on a 1739 Montagnana model. Her first, named “Gypsy Girl”, was built in 1998 and has a full, rich, sweet voice. Gypsy Girl has graced most of the Acoustic Eidolon recordings through “River of Fire.” Hannah’s other cello was originally built in 1996 but was destroyed in an airline incident in 2000 and then was rebult in 2005. That one has earned her poetic name of “Phoenix.” Phoenix has a deep, rich, huge voice and is fast becoming the main touring cello, and will make her voice known on the upcoming Acoustic Eidolon CDs.

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    Hannah plays a 2009 David Russell Young gold bow, which she commissioned last year, after having admired David’s bows over the years. She uses Hidersine rosin.

    Hannah would love to be endorsed by cello string makers, as a set of strings runs her about $300 and have to be changed every 4 months!! At this time, she is using a combination of Jargar forte A and Pirastro “Evan Pirazzi” solist A strings, Pirastro “Evan Pirazzi” solist D, Pirastro Permanente Solist G strings, and Spirocore Thomastik tungsten heavy C strings. She is still trying to think of a way to incorporate her used cello strings into some kind of cool jewelry, but is still working on that.

    To amplify her cello at concerts, Hannah usually uses a DPA instrument mic that suspends from the strings of the cello, between the bridge and the tailpiece. At larger shows or outdoor venues, she uses a combination of a AKG 418 instrument mic and a Barcus Barry pickup, which goes into an LR Baggs Para DI box, then into the mixer. To record her cello in the studio, she uses a pair of Neumann KM184 mics, and also stereo mics the cello about arms length away from the instrument.