That Time of Repair

There comes the inevitable time of every cello's life when repairs and adjustments must be made. The health of the instrument depend on these repairs. Just yesterday did I pick up my cello from the repair shop after a four day stint of getting some substantial work done. Thankfully, none of the work was body work that required any open heart surgery and revealing the innards of the cello. Rather, it was a routine bridge and sound post change.

The luthier took a photo of the inside of the instrument while he had some of the removable parts out. Here is a really cool shot of what my cello looks like from the inside.

The Cello's Innards

From this picture you can see the sound post--the wooden dowel--just right of center in the picture, which holds up the top as well as acting a sound quality control. The other cool thing of this photo is how it reveals the other-worldliness of the inside of the cello. There is the bass bar running along the top of the photo--just left of center, then you can plainly see about half of each f hole, and other hardware supports that give the instrument shape and robustness.