I found this video both relaxing and anxiety inducing. Such incredible, detailed work with sections of ‘everything you shouldn’t do to your cello’ I love it!!
Haha, thank you! I personally can't wait to do another cello to do a better job, but I'm currently working on my fourth violin since this one instead :-P But I will take the compliment, it's very nice of you ;-)
I am very interested in luthier work and I am just wondering why you remove the varnish at 16:54, is it easier to antique the cello this way, or what is the purpose?
So beautiful to watch this. I am a painter. I recognise the brush movements in executing a thin veneer of glaze. Do you have any recommendations for restoring a early. Twentieth century french cello.
Hello. Thank you for sharing this. Could you tell me what you used to wipe over the fingerboard.? Cd an you used the same thing on the entire cello surfaces.?
Always tempting to leave it as is when you have it all clean and pristine. I don't think I'll ever do it, but I have actually seen a few instruments that were either left in the white or just varnished with clear. There are a few issues though, before you do it: 1) The varnish protects the wood, obviously, but it will ikely lose it's brilliance without varnish and become dull 2) I would be very afraid that the smallest amount of dirt would stick to it. Just handling the pieces while making gets them very dirty, and scraping them clean at the end is like power washing an old pavement 3) The wood will oxidize over time, so it won't stay bright white but will rather go somewhat yellow. If you did just do a clear varnish, that would make no difference to the sound, but we honestly do consider the appearence, and you would probably experience the sound differently. And just as a last note... Actually the best thing I know is "blonde" cellos from the 1700's Italy in the sense that they were once varnished, but now it has all been worn down, leaving just the golden colour of the ground under clear touch up varnish. It's not often that you see them, and you probably wouldn't consider them blonde, but... Yeah, that's a thing I like a lot. If you stick around, I'll have another varnishing video up in maybe a month or two where I will try to get at least some golden blonde areas on a violin. Maybe you'll find that interesting :-)
Thanks so much for the time and effort you are right so little available on refinishing. Is this a new cello or stripped? Why leave worn areas exposed? Aesthetics? Again Thanks so much.!
Hi! Yes, I completely agree. More is available today, but still not as much as I'd like. This is a new cello, I think I also attempted to film a few bits during the making. The thought behind leaving areas was to 1) save myself the work of wearing it down and 2) save varnish. I don't believe in that anymore, I like the details of varnish in the dents and nicks inside the worn areas. Personally I have come a long way since this one of course, and I have planned many times to make an updated video. I am even working on a cello right now, and I hope I can get myself to film some of the varnishing. It will not be as detailed of a video as this one, as I think managing the camera takes a little bit away from the actual varnishing, but I think it would be nice to show more realistic antiquing of a cello as well. It's quite a task with all that surface area 😂
Hi, thank you 🙂 I don't use this method anymore, but if you do a thin glaze of pigment, that is really easy to sand through. You can probably get a more even colour without signs of dust etc. if you VERY lightly sand the previous coat before adding the glaze. I imagine that would be preferable if you intend to sand the finish in the end, as those dust spots would be very obvious. Personally I enjoy a textured varnish, so even though I now use pigment evenly throughout the varnish and could sand it to get a more even finish, I don't. It's all about taste in the end.
Thanks 🙂 It's still my own main cello to this day, and yeah, it does have its own personality. It can be a bit tricky to work with at times, but I really like its tonal character
Glad you like it! This cello was coloured with Winsor&Newton pigments, the specific ones are in the description. I added them straight from the tube, and I am quite surprised at how well they are holding up to this day. However, I have later on started mixing pigments with some of the varnish I am using and thinning it with oil varnish thinner so I can add a very thin coat, almost just wetting the surface. It makes the layer more transparent. I now prefer madder lakes for pigmenting and mostly use il pigments for antiquing, but if you are going to use them, make sure you only use the very transparent ones they offer like the brown oxide (my favourite) so you don't lose the refraction of the wood underneath :-)
This is extremely interesting to me. I’m making my first violin and watching lots of videos about how. On the one hand I want a “perfect” finish but this makes me anxious and on the other the process you show looks amazing and makes me feel free about the process. The layering you show seems like a good approximation of the physical things an instrument might go experience in hundreds of years remembering it began life pristine. Question: what is transparent oxide?
Well first of all, let me say that I have changed the process quite a bit. I have said a million times that I'll finish some videos, but you know... Time... My main point, however, is that I think leaving the patches is a shame. If you varnish the whole thing and remove varnish, you get colour in the pores, it's way more interesting. Also, very few things wear instruments like sandpaper, I think pumice, chipping and maybe some ethanol are the way to go. I think by transparent oxide I meant transparent brown oxide by W&N. It's one of my favourite tube colours.
@@tobiasradmer4276 thanks for replying. I figured it must be a brown. I’m a painter and love colouring in layers with glazes, so look forward to using what I know in varnishing. I also want a very old antiqued look. Anyway do you know if I can use watercolour pigments to colour spirit varnish? I’m going to make my own with shellac benzoin etc.. These pigments can be very transparent. I have a lot of WN watercolour pigments.
@@richard_4675 Whoops, I seem to have replied from the wrong account. But yeah I thought the chances of you being close were pretty small. I'm not quite deep enough in luthiery yet to feel comfortable selling my own instruments, but even if I did I don't think I could ship it all the way there with a healthy heartrate ;-) I'm glad you like it though! If you're ever in the area, you're welcome to come and try it out :-)
@@tobiasradmer4276 I love the style you antique the instruments, it’s very unique. If I were to come to Denmark, how much would you be willing to sell the cello for?
@@richard_4675 Well, like I said, I didn't actually intend to sell this one. But if you are really interested, you can contact me on instagram instead, @tobiasradmer, just because I'm not too keen on sharing prices and information in comments. I have another one of the same model, which also plays very nicely. I am willing to sell that one, and can even revarnish and antique it if that's what you like. I have considered doing so myself, so I'm definitely open to it. And in case it's this one in particular you would like... Well, maybe something can be worked out, even if I wasn't planning on it. I'm glad you like the antiquing btw. It was an experiment to try out some ideas I had. I thought of it as a painting of an antique instrument rather than a real one if that makes sense?. For the next build I have developed it further to make a more realistic look, but with the same colours. Needless to say I'm very excited to try it out on a real instrument :-D
This is Joha/Hammerl 1a oil varnish. Nice to work with, especially if you're new to varnishing, it levels itself and is very transparent, but it sets too quickly for me, especially with the colour extracts. I have recorded two more of these where I try to do more of a realistic antiquing on a violin, one with Hammerl and one with Old Wood. Stick around if you're interested in those, I will try to edit them. I really just need to find some music for the first one. I love this piece, but I can't use it twice in a row... :-P
So relaxing to watch! One question, for the "dirt" did you use oil paint like the one that's used for paintings or do you use a special type? Thanks in advance!
The dirt on this one is just regular oil paints for painting, yes. The exact paints I used are in the description, but it's really not that important, as long as you don't make it the same colour all over, and not black either. The dirt on this one was too black really. I may film my next varnishing as well, as I have a few ideas to make it all much more realistic. One thing I would say is rather than glazing with dirt, mulling the dirt into varnish and giving it a dirt varnish layer looks way better in my opinion. So if you're gonna try it, I recommend that. Cheers :-)
@@sunflowerdewhoney9513 You're welcome :-) Do stick around or check back in a few months for what I believe will be a decent realistic antique finish rather than this cello, which I consider more a painting of an old instrument than a replica. I'm very excited to try my hand at realism :-D If you try something yourself, good luck, and I'd love to see your result!
The varnish is definitely thicker than what I would do today, but the tone is quite good. I wouldn't recommend thick varnish though, and I also find the Hammerl one a little too soft for my taste
"Full varnished" (new, clean looking) varnished instruments also have many layers to build up colour and protect from wear tho. Antiqued doesn't necessarily have to be thicker. The one in the video sure appears to be on the thicker side, but also cause it's very transparent and shiny, doesn't help with the effect. Also store bought varnish, lots of siccative, can be tricky to apply in thin coats
And then you buy it and say, oh, it looks a little worn, not as shiny and new anymore, but I'll buy it anyway because I like the sound, never thinking about what effort someone made to make it look just like that! 🙃
No, It's all about art. Yes It's technically unperfect at the physical condition, but an Antique looking is the most desirable model of an instrument for a soloists. It's better than just a flat, one coloured CSO (Cello shaped Object)
This is true in some ways. And thank you btw :-) But who is to say if it's "worth" antiquing? It really depends on who you ask. Some would be just as happy, maybe more, with a pristine instrument, and in that case it really isn't worth it, no. It takes ages and therefore increases the price significantly. When you say it's not worth doing in this way, however, I assume you think antiquing is good, but you have a faster way? To that I have to say... I think the method I used in this video is already way too fast. I have since made the process much slower by adding many small steps. It's a case of diminishing returns, you have to put in way more effort to see a small difference. But I have to say, I can't think of a fast way to antique that I like the look of. For instance, I see many factory instruments where the varnish is simply graduated, probably by spraying a burst, to give the colour difference of wear. That is not attractive to me, even a little bit. I think if you are going to antique your handmade instrument, put in all the effort you can and go for realism. That is the main thing I learned by doing this one where I didn't actually try to be realistic. The point is not to fool anyone like some people believe (which was the reason I didn't do it here), even the most skilled makers can't really make antiquing that looks genuine to a trained eye, at least not straight off the bench. The point is simply to achieve that feeling of playing an instrument that has lived a life, it makes some people feel differently about their instruments and play differently too. And in my case, I think the finish becomes a work of art in itself, and I think really geeking out in the varnish shows that you care and in turn makes people care about the artificial story you printet on to the instrument. I have since done a few more in a style that I like much better, but I haven't finished the videos yet. I also haven't finished tweaking my antiquing, there is a long way to go! But now that I've talked a lot... What is the faster way? I'm curious :-)
I would like a cello which sounded superb, with the lively yellow ground the perfection of that varnish, without having yourself to need validation from some old rich fool. Your cello must speak for herself. Fake looks fake. Happy faking. I have been making and restoring violin family instruments for 30 years, that varnish is better with percetion left un faked. Too much effort. I know also that you waste your time and mine making faked instruments. It's like snubbing the nose at a ejole maestros work. Why? It's counter productive
Well... To each their own, right? I agree, a pristine instrument aged naturally or sometimes not all is the most beautiful. But there is the matter of taste, and I won't waste my time trying to explain it to you. How I waste yours making my instruments how I like them I don't understand, but I hope it helped to get that off your chest 🍀 Cheers!
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
A masterpiece! Incredible skill!
Thanks for sharing!
Greetings from Finland ✨
I found this video both relaxing and anxiety inducing.
Such incredible, detailed work with sections of ‘everything you shouldn’t do to your cello’
I love it!!
Relaxing and anxiety inducing is pretty much how I feel about antiquing, well put 😂
You, good sir, are a master of your craft!!
Haha, thank you! I personally can't wait to do another cello to do a better job, but I'm currently working on my fourth violin since this one instead :-P
But I will take the compliment, it's very nice of you ;-)
Good to think more about how the cello is worn naturally in use.
I am very interested in luthier work and I am just wondering why you remove the varnish at 16:54, is it easier to antique the cello this way, or what is the purpose?
So beautiful to watch this. I am a painter. I recognise the brush movements in executing a thin veneer of glaze. Do you have any recommendations for restoring a early. Twentieth century french cello.
Thank you so much! 🙏
Hello. Thank you for sharing this. Could you tell me what you used to wipe over the fingerboard.? Cd an you used the same thing on the entire cello surfaces.?
I wonder if you could make a natural finish (blonde) cello and I also wonder what the difference in sound would be?
Always tempting to leave it as is when you have it all clean and pristine. I don't think I'll ever do it, but I have actually seen a few instruments that were either left in the white or just varnished with clear. There are a few issues though, before you do it:
1) The varnish protects the wood, obviously, but it will ikely lose it's brilliance without varnish and become dull
2) I would be very afraid that the smallest amount of dirt would stick to it. Just handling the pieces while making gets them very dirty, and scraping them clean at the end is like power washing an old pavement
3) The wood will oxidize over time, so it won't stay bright white but will rather go somewhat yellow.
If you did just do a clear varnish, that would make no difference to the sound, but we honestly do consider the appearence, and you would probably experience the sound differently.
And just as a last note... Actually the best thing I know is "blonde" cellos from the 1700's Italy in the sense that they were once varnished, but now it has all been worn down, leaving just the golden colour of the ground under clear touch up varnish. It's not often that you see them, and you probably wouldn't consider them blonde, but... Yeah, that's a thing I like a lot.
If you stick around, I'll have another varnishing video up in maybe a month or two where I will try to get at least some golden blonde areas on a violin. Maybe you'll find that interesting :-)
Thanks so much for the time and effort you are right so little available on refinishing. Is this a new cello or stripped? Why leave worn areas exposed? Aesthetics? Again Thanks so much.!
Hi! Yes, I completely agree. More is available today, but still not as much as I'd like. This is a new cello, I think I also attempted to film a few bits during the making. The thought behind leaving areas was to 1) save myself the work of wearing it down and 2) save varnish. I don't believe in that anymore, I like the details of varnish in the dents and nicks inside the worn areas.
Personally I have come a long way since this one of course, and I have planned many times to make an updated video. I am even working on a cello right now, and I hope I can get myself to film some of the varnishing.
It will not be as detailed of a video as this one, as I think managing the camera takes a little bit away from the actual varnishing, but I think it would be nice to show more realistic antiquing of a cello as well. It's quite a task with all that surface area 😂
Warum muss man ein neues Cello auf alt getrimmt werden? Das habe ich noch nicht verstanden. Das klingt doch dann auch nicht besser.
Hello. Well Done!! No need to sand between every varnish layers?
Hi, thank you 🙂
I don't use this method anymore, but if you do a thin glaze of pigment, that is really easy to sand through. You can probably get a more even colour without signs of dust etc. if you VERY lightly sand the previous coat before adding the glaze. I imagine that would be preferable if you intend to sand the finish in the end, as those dust spots would be very obvious.
Personally I enjoy a textured varnish, so even though I now use pigment evenly throughout the varnish and could sand it to get a more even finish, I don't. It's all about taste in the end.
Hmm, but sometimes an actual old cellos has a lizard skin - alike Varnish surface
Nice video like the way you did it. Wow
Thank you, I'm glad you like it :-)
Looks like the instrument has a soul.
Thanks 🙂
It's still my own main cello to this day, and yeah, it does have its own personality. It can be a bit tricky to work with at times, but I really like its tonal character
Amazing job, congrats. Your oil colours , what medium did you add? Thanks
Glad you like it! This cello was coloured with Winsor&Newton pigments, the specific ones are in the description. I added them straight from the tube, and I am quite surprised at how well they are holding up to this day. However, I have later on started mixing pigments with some of the varnish I am using and thinning it with oil varnish thinner so I can add a very thin coat, almost just wetting the surface. It makes the layer more transparent.
I now prefer madder lakes for pigmenting and mostly use il pigments for antiquing, but if you are going to use them, make sure you only use the very transparent ones they offer like the brown oxide (my favourite) so you don't lose the refraction of the wood underneath :-)
@@tobiasradmer4276 Thanks Tobias
This is extremely interesting to me. I’m making my first violin and watching lots of videos about how. On the one hand I want a “perfect” finish but this makes me anxious and on the other the process you show looks amazing and makes me feel free about the process. The layering you show seems like a good approximation of the physical things an instrument might go experience in hundreds of years remembering it began life pristine. Question: what is transparent oxide?
Well first of all, let me say that I have changed the process quite a bit. I have said a million times that I'll finish some videos, but you know... Time... My main point, however, is that I think leaving the patches is a shame. If you varnish the whole thing and remove varnish, you get colour in the pores, it's way more interesting. Also, very few things wear instruments like sandpaper, I think pumice, chipping and maybe some ethanol are the way to go.
I think by transparent oxide I meant transparent brown oxide by W&N. It's one of my favourite tube colours.
@@tobiasradmer4276 thanks for replying. I figured it must be a brown. I’m a painter and love colouring in layers with glazes, so look forward to using what I know in varnishing. I also want a very old antiqued look. Anyway do you know if I can use watercolour pigments to colour spirit varnish? I’m going to make my own with shellac benzoin etc.. These pigments can be very transparent. I have a lot of WN watercolour pigments.
Where can I buy this cello?
I'm sorry, but this one is not for sale, as I'm currently playing it myself.
I do have other cellos, however, if you are by chance located in Denmark?
@@Tostra1997 such a beautiful cello... unfortunately I’m in California haha
@@richard_4675 Whoops, I seem to have replied from the wrong account.
But yeah I thought the chances of you being close were pretty small. I'm not quite deep enough in luthiery yet to feel comfortable selling my own instruments, but even if I did I don't think I could ship it all the way there with a healthy heartrate ;-)
I'm glad you like it though! If you're ever in the area, you're welcome to come and try it out :-)
@@tobiasradmer4276 I love the style you antique the instruments, it’s very unique. If I were to come to Denmark, how much would you be willing to sell the cello for?
@@richard_4675 Well, like I said, I didn't actually intend to sell this one. But if you are really interested, you can contact me on instagram instead, @tobiasradmer, just because I'm not too keen on sharing prices and information in comments.
I have another one of the same model, which also plays very nicely. I am willing to sell that one, and can even revarnish and antique it if that's what you like. I have considered doing so myself, so I'm definitely open to it. And in case it's this one in particular you would like... Well, maybe something can be worked out, even if I wasn't planning on it.
I'm glad you like the antiquing btw. It was an experiment to try out some ideas I had. I thought of it as a painting of an antique instrument rather than a real one if that makes sense?.
For the next build I have developed it further to make a more realistic look, but with the same colours. Needless to say I'm very excited to try it out on a real instrument :-D
Fantastic!!!
Thank you! I'll make a demo of it as soon as I have an opportunity :-)
😃👍🏼
Haha, hi Edgar! Glad your reaction is positive, but I promise the next one will be much much better, as always ;-)
indah sekali warna nya
In case translate is correct: Thank you, glad you like the colour :-)
@@tobiasradmer4276 yes it is beautiful
Unbelievable!!!!!
what type of varnish?
This is Joha/Hammerl 1a oil varnish. Nice to work with, especially if you're new to varnishing, it levels itself and is very transparent, but it sets too quickly for me, especially with the colour extracts.
I have recorded two more of these where I try to do more of a realistic antiquing on a violin, one with Hammerl and one with Old Wood. Stick around if you're interested in those, I will try to edit them.
I really just need to find some music for the first one. I love this piece, but I can't use it twice in a row... :-P
So relaxing to watch! One question, for the "dirt" did you use oil paint like the one that's used for paintings or do you use a special type? Thanks in advance!
The dirt on this one is just regular oil paints for painting, yes. The exact paints I used are in the description, but it's really not that important, as long as you don't make it the same colour all over, and not black either. The dirt on this one was too black really.
I may film my next varnishing as well, as I have a few ideas to make it all much more realistic.
One thing I would say is rather than glazing with dirt, mulling the dirt into varnish and giving it a dirt varnish layer looks way better in my opinion. So if you're gonna try it, I recommend that.
Cheers :-)
@@tobiasradmer4276 Thank you so much!
@@sunflowerdewhoney9513 You're welcome :-)
Do stick around or check back in a few months for what I believe will be a decent realistic antique finish rather than this cello, which I consider more a painting of an old instrument than a replica. I'm very excited to try my hand at realism :-D
If you try something yourself, good luck, and I'd love to see your result!
@@tobiasradmer4276 I will! In my case I'll try with a violin because I'm not ready for a cello but I will! Thank you for everything really!
Cool! Let me know when it's ready :-)
My current build is also a violin, actually. Or... two, but I won't antique both
Now that really is distressing!
Many layers must surely dull the tone.
The varnish is definitely thicker than what I would do today, but the tone is quite good. I wouldn't recommend thick varnish though, and I also find the Hammerl one a little too soft for my taste
"Full varnished" (new, clean looking) varnished instruments also have many layers to build up colour and protect from wear tho. Antiqued doesn't necessarily have to be thicker.
The one in the video sure appears to be on the thicker side, but also cause it's very transparent and shiny, doesn't help with the effect. Also store bought varnish, lots of siccative, can be tricky to apply in thin coats
٪100 🌷👌👍✌🌄kurdstaan
And then you buy it and say, oh, it looks a little worn, not as shiny and new anymore, but I'll buy it anyway because I like the sound, never thinking about what effort someone made to make it look just like that! 🙃
No, It's all about art. Yes It's technically unperfect at the physical condition, but an Antique looking is the most desirable model of an instrument for a soloists. It's better than just a flat, one coloured CSO (Cello shaped Object)
pleas stop that scratching its interrupting the Mendelssohn
Haha, I know right? :-P
#68_comment_339thSubscriber_Nov03_2024_🇺🇸
It is not worth to antique it in this way. It takes so much time and jobs. There is a much simpler way to do it. But the video is great!
This is true in some ways. And thank you btw :-)
But who is to say if it's "worth" antiquing? It really depends on who you ask. Some would be just as happy, maybe more, with a pristine instrument, and in that case it really isn't worth it, no. It takes ages and therefore increases the price significantly.
When you say it's not worth doing in this way, however, I assume you think antiquing is good, but you have a faster way?
To that I have to say... I think the method I used in this video is already way too fast. I have since made the process much slower by adding many small steps. It's a case of diminishing returns, you have to put in way more effort to see a small difference.
But I have to say, I can't think of a fast way to antique that I like the look of. For instance, I see many factory instruments where the varnish is simply graduated, probably by spraying a burst, to give the colour difference of wear. That is not attractive to me, even a little bit. I think if you are going to antique your handmade instrument, put in all the effort you can and go for realism. That is the main thing I learned by doing this one where I didn't actually try to be realistic. The point is not to fool anyone like some people believe (which was the reason I didn't do it here), even the most skilled makers can't really make antiquing that looks genuine to a trained eye, at least not straight off the bench. The point is simply to achieve that feeling of playing an instrument that has lived a life, it makes some people feel differently about their instruments and play differently too. And in my case, I think the finish becomes a work of art in itself, and I think really geeking out in the varnish shows that you care and in turn makes people care about the artificial story you printet on to the instrument.
I have since done a few more in a style that I like much better, but I haven't finished the videos yet. I also haven't finished tweaking my antiquing, there is a long way to go!
But now that I've talked a lot... What is the faster way? I'm curious :-)
Please describe your 'simpler' way to antique a cello - a video would be helpful.
@@richardwebb2348 you can buy an old violin and re-varnished it. That will be a true antique violin.
I would like a cello which sounded superb, with the lively yellow ground the perfection of that varnish, without having yourself to need validation from some old rich fool. Your cello must speak for herself. Fake looks fake. Happy faking. I have been making and restoring violin family instruments for 30 years, that varnish is better with percetion left un faked. Too much effort. I know also that you waste your time and mine making faked instruments. It's like snubbing the nose at a ejole maestros work. Why? It's counter productive
Well... To each their own, right?
I agree, a pristine instrument aged naturally or sometimes not all is the most beautiful. But there is the matter of taste, and I won't waste my time trying to explain it to you. How I waste yours making my instruments how I like them I don't understand, but I hope it helped to get that off your chest 🍀
Cheers!