I appreciate Keith for a very detailed evaluation of the Frirsz tailpiece. I changed one in early October on a new commissioned cello made in Hong Kong (now about 3 years old). It took 1 week to settle in the tension. Together with the Krentz wolf eliminator, it virtually turn my new cello into a powerhouse.
Thanks for the video. You may try a steel braided adjustable tailgut with that tailpiece. An easier-moving tailgut can add resonance to the instrument and is easier to set up. The one concern I have about the Frirsz is the fact that it's metal. Other than that, I'm totally sold on the asymmetrical idea. I put a rosewood Dov Schmidt tailpiece on my cello in place of the composite Wittner and it really opened the instrument up and gave it a much richer tone color. The C-string has some very obvious overtones now and it's quite a pleasure to play. It actually noticeably shakes the floor where it didn't quite as much with the old tailpiece. On the subject of string length, the Spirocore C is shorter than most and the silk is about half a centimeter from my nut when fully tensioned. Didn't have an issue with any other strings.
Thanks for the review! I've used one of these tailpieces on my Frirsz cello since they came out (in 2010 or so?). It has really opened up the sound! I highly recommend the tail cord that Chris Dungey (hope I have the right name) sells - works fantastically. I also highly recommend letting the thing settle in for at least a month - it will improve drastically.
Hi, Keith - thanks so much for the very thorough discussion. I bought a Kuo carbon fiber tailpiece and the change is remarkable. The tailcord included with the tailpiece is a thin piece of kevlar cord - more like string, so it took no time at all to become aware of the difference. I have a second cello that I am planning to change out the stiff tailcord for a kevlar string. With the new tailpiece I am super aware of the difference now. As far as results with the Kuo tailpiece: the cello is louder, far more resonant, and responds much more quickly an easily. It is really quite beautiful, and of course I have spent a lot of time relearning to play it, since hardly any weight is required to produce a rich, resonant sound. At first it seems like it wants to run away with you at full throttle. I am really wondering what the Frirsz would sound like with just a thin kevlar tailcord.
It did help a lot with projection, once everything settled in (weeks). Do you mean you had a wolf before or after adding one of these? And where is it?
To Keith, I have a terrible wolftone F-F#. Im trying to decide if I should try this tailpiece to help tame my wolftone. Some reviews are saying that this tailpiece helps fight the wolftone, but you didn't mention it , so I wondered if it changed any Wolftone you might have had previously to installing this tailpiece?
Oh, I think I mentioned that my wolfiness shifted to higher tones. So if your wolf is the F/F# on the C string then I would expect it to shift to a higher tone on that string. That might be what you observe too but it's hard to say. I have a pet theory that some wolfiness can actually come from an approximate a match between the afterlength and how far your playing finger is from the nut. That being so, then these harp-style tailpieces might move things around. But I dolt have enough confidence in this theory to guarantee it...you'll just have to see! Anyway, if your wolf is really pronounced, then fear not, it *can* be tamed. The first thing to try is to locate where you can put a bit of pressure around the bass f-hole (usually) to damp it out. Maybe just get a friend to press in various places and figure out where you need to damp the wolf. Then you can do a variety of things, e.g. put a magnetic wolf eliminator in that spot, or put a quarter on with something sticky, or whatever. Once you determine that it is that kind of wolf then there will be solutions. The other thing to note is that some of the very finest cellos have wolf tones; that's just the nature of the acoustics. Learning how to deal with them takes patience and perhaps investment, but it'll pay off in the end. I know very well the frustration of trying to tamp down a wolf with vibrato or such. You can do better!
I appreciate Keith for a very detailed evaluation of the Frirsz tailpiece. I changed one in early October on a new commissioned cello made in Hong Kong (now about 3 years old). It took 1 week to settle in the tension. Together with the Krentz wolf eliminator, it virtually turn my new cello into a powerhouse.
Glad the tailpiece worked out for you!
Thanks for the video. You may try a steel braided adjustable tailgut with that tailpiece. An easier-moving tailgut can add resonance to the instrument and is easier to set up.
The one concern I have about the Frirsz is the fact that it's metal. Other than that, I'm totally sold on the asymmetrical idea. I put a rosewood Dov Schmidt tailpiece on my cello in place of the composite Wittner and it really opened the instrument up and gave it a much richer tone color. The C-string has some very obvious overtones now and it's quite a pleasure to play. It actually noticeably shakes the floor where it didn't quite as much with the old tailpiece.
On the subject of string length, the Spirocore C is shorter than most and the silk is about half a centimeter from my nut when fully tensioned. Didn't have an issue with any other strings.
Which dov tailpiece specifically did u get
Thanks for the review! I've used one of these tailpieces on my Frirsz cello since they came out (in 2010 or so?). It has really opened up the sound! I highly recommend the tail cord that Chris Dungey (hope I have the right name) sells - works fantastically. I also highly recommend letting the thing settle in for at least a month - it will improve drastically.
Thanks. I can definitely attest to the settle-in period; after a few months, the instrument sounded so much more resonant.
Hi, Keith - thanks so much for the very thorough discussion. I bought a Kuo carbon fiber tailpiece and the change is remarkable. The tailcord included with the tailpiece is a thin piece of kevlar cord - more like string, so it took no time at all to become aware of the difference. I have a second cello that I am planning to change out the stiff tailcord for a kevlar string. With the new tailpiece I am super aware of the difference now. As far as results with the Kuo tailpiece: the cello is louder, far more resonant, and responds much more quickly an easily. It is really quite beautiful, and of course I have spent a lot of time relearning to play it, since hardly any weight is required to produce a rich, resonant sound. At first it seems like it wants to run away with you at full throttle.
I am really wondering what the Frirsz would sound like with just a thin kevlar tailcord.
Thanks Rex, I will try Kevlar, when I get a chance.
Did this tailpiece help (or change) wolftones? I have a wolftone that is driving me crazy.
It did help a lot with projection, once everything settled in (weeks). Do you mean you had a wolf before or after adding one of these? And where is it?
To Keith, I have a terrible wolftone F-F#. Im trying to decide if I should try this tailpiece to help tame my wolftone. Some reviews are saying that this tailpiece helps fight the wolftone, but you didn't mention it , so I wondered if it changed any Wolftone you might have had previously to installing this tailpiece?
Oh, I think I mentioned that my wolfiness shifted to higher tones. So if your wolf is the F/F# on the C string then I would expect it to shift to a higher tone on that string. That might be what you observe too but it's hard to say.
I have a pet theory that some wolfiness can actually come from an approximate a match between the afterlength and how far your playing finger is from the nut. That being so, then these harp-style tailpieces might move things around. But I dolt have enough confidence in this theory to guarantee it...you'll just have to see!
Anyway, if your wolf is really pronounced, then fear not, it *can* be tamed. The first thing to try is to locate where you can put a bit of pressure around the bass f-hole (usually) to damp it out. Maybe just get a friend to press in various places and figure out where you need to damp the wolf. Then you can do a variety of things, e.g. put a magnetic wolf eliminator in that spot, or put a quarter on with something sticky, or whatever. Once you determine that it is that kind of wolf then there will be solutions.
The other thing to note is that some of the very finest cellos have wolf tones; that's just the nature of the acoustics. Learning how to deal with them takes patience and perhaps investment, but it'll pay off in the end. I know very well the frustration of trying to tamp down a wolf with vibrato or such. You can do better!
Okay thank you very much, this is helpful!