Full disclosure: I LOVE violas, especially those that are tuned like a cello (chin cello or octave viola) or like an octave violin (tenor viola).
It will be of interest to anyone who currently has, or is considering acquiring, a lower-pitched viola.
The Chin Cello fad
Do you remember the “chin cello” fad just a few years ago. As far as I have been able to surmise, this pretty much revolved around the apparently successful marketing effort by Bellefina, a Chinese company with an Italian-sounding name, that made inexpensive large violas that were set up with octave viola strings. I recall that they even made a 5-string version. Apparently, you can still get them, at least the 4-string version, if one is to believe product listings on the usual musical instrument megastores (e.g., Musician’s Friend, Guitar Center, etc.). I, for the life of me, don’t know where they might get their strings, as the company that made the ONLY standard retail octave viola strings, went belly-up during the COVID epidemic. Those strings were marketed under the Sensicore brand by SuperSensitive. I can tell you with near absolute certainty that there are NONE of these strings left in the supply chain. The same goes for other useful strings like viola F-strings, which were generally used for 6-string and some 5-string violas. We also used them as G-strings for violoncellos da spalla.
The near disappearance of Chin Cellos
With the unavailability of strings, the wide-spread interest in octave violas, and even tenor violas came to a screeching halt. This is yet another case of the risk associated with selling a product that absolutely depends on another company to make replacement parts, especially those that need frequent replacing.
I have met many former octave viola players who just could not find strings. And those fat C-strings and even less fat G-strings were prone to breakage. I meet folks in the predicament I describe because we have a source for very nice custom-made octave viola and tenor viola string sets. I use these string sets, made by Atelier Boussoir in France, for my octave and tenor violas.
“So, if I get some new octave viola strings, can I just put them on any viola and it will sound like a cello?”
The answer to that would be a firm “NO”. There are several reasons why.
- In order to install octave or tenor strings on a viola, the nut and bridge grooves must be professionally widened to accommodate the significantly thicker strings.
- The string holes for the C-string peg, and probably the G-string as well, must be drilled to a larger size. This should also be done only by a luthier skilled craftsperson.
- Octave strings really do require either high-quality fine-tuners for all strings.
- Most find that geared pegs (e.g. Wittner FineTune™) are a much better option. Installing these pegs so that they do not slip definitely requires lutherie skills; furthermore, the string holes for the C and G strings need to be drilled out to a larger size. One mistake and you have destroyed a $40 peg!
- Only good violas sound great with octave for tenor strings. Cheap violas, including the Bellefina chin cellos are pretty lackluster, especially with octave strings.
- Many find that high-quality and fairly large wide-body (e.g. Tertis pattern) violas are a necessity. You might want to contact us at D. Rickert Musical Instruments to explore purpose-built octave or tenor viola options.
About Octave Violas and Tenor Violas by D. Rickert Musical Instruments
Except for the period during which we could not find suitable strings, I have been making a ‘Tertis’ type (wide lower bout) tenor-tuned viola for about a decade. I also used to make octave-tuned violas, but paused for a period of several years because I was not satisfied with the C-string response, even on our purpose-built (for lower tunings) very sonorous violas. In turns out that the aforementioned Atelier Boussoir strings solve the C-string response problem. So, I am once-again offering a purpose-built octave viola. In fact, the first of this new model is going through final play-in and setup tweaking prior to being shipped to its new owner. Here are some images of that instrument.
You will be amazed by the sound! To give you an idea of how good that sound is, take a look at the videos below.
The following video is a YouTube "Short", which apparently cannot be embedded into a web page, so you have to click on the link.
Avery Bright demonstrating new octave viola (chin cello) strings on his rather large viola
Dave and Marianne Thames demonstrating an earlier Octave Viola by Donald Rickert
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Contact Information
The web address for the “Cool Instruments for Hep Cats” video podcast is: @Cool_Instruments_for_Hep_Cats - https://www.youtube.com/@Cool_Instruments_for_Hep_Cats/podcasts
Don Rickert’s main website, ‘D. Rickert Musical Instruments’, is https://www.RickertMusicalInstruments.com.
Online store, ‘Don Rickert Musician Shop’, is https://www.DonRickertMusicianshop.com.
Don Rickert on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/donrickert. This link gets you to ALL of my detailed contact information, my websites and social media.
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Phone (in US): 706-896-0909 or 706-400-1481 (mobile)
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