Attention!: This is an older post about a model of violoncello da spalla that we no longer make on a regular basis. If you wish to learn more or buy one of our current models, our direct phone number in the U.S. is 1-706-896-0909. Our email is [email protected]. You can also learn more or buy now at: NEW Violoncello da Spalla Conservatory Model by D. Rickert or learn more about our top-of-the-line Standard Model, see: NEW Violoncello da Spalla by D. Rickert ($8,400 - $9,600) We look forward to hearing from you. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< original post below >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. The Rickert Violoncello da Spalla Model 16.5 is available at the Don Rickert Musician Shop. We have called the Violoncello da Spalla the “Newest New Old Thing!”; to those in the technology business, you will recognize this as a take-off on the common expression, “the newest new new thing”. ‘Cello is short for violoncello; hence the apostrophe we often see at the beginning of the word 'cello. During the Baroque period, small 'cellos, often with 5 strings, were possibly even more common than their larger cousins. It is believed that when J.S. Back wrote his 'cello pieces, many of them virtually impossible to play on a full-size 'cello, he was really writing for the smaller instrument, just a bit larger than a huge viola, now called Violoncello da Spalla, which tend to be, at least in contemporary replicas, in the size range of 1/10 to 1/8... Read more →