This link has a lot of cello related measurements. How can we calculated the string scale length of hypothetical 9/8 and 5/4 size cellos?
| CELLO mm. | 1/2 | 3/4 | 7/8 | 4/4 | 9/8 | 5/4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| string length | 602 | 637 | 672 | 695 | ? | ? |
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2Um, why? Just as a thought experiment? Or because you're contemplating an unusually-sized instrument, like these? Maybe the question then should be about ideal string lengths for a given body volume. Note, the names "half size, 3/4 size" have no relationship to the actual ratios; they're just colloquial labels. Note also, there can be a lot of variation; two "3/4" instruments could vary by several mm of body length, and of course sounding string length is determined by bridge placement.– Andy BonnerCommented Jan 26, 2023 at 15:52
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1@AndyBonner Thanks for introducing me to the Octet Baritone Violin! I am contemplating an unusually sized instrument as a tall person looking for better cello posture - though I will try an XL endpin first.– M.VikingCommented Jan 26, 2023 at 17:39
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That does seem like Occam's Razor. Note, there are ideal proportions between pitch, string length, and body volume (e.g., a viola would be more resonant if it were more like a mini-cello). I'm not sure how close the standard cello gets to that ideal, but messing with the proportions might alter the response. Also, obviously, the finger spacing will be wider; every time a kid moves up a size there's a significant adjustment to get used to.– Andy BonnerCommented Jan 26, 2023 at 17:44
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"as a tall person looking for better cello posture": I presume you've tried changing the height of your seat, but if you haven't, you should.– phoogCommented Jan 27, 2023 at 11:48
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1 Answer
There is no definitive answer to that, because neither is a standard. But if we look at the numbers we see that except for 3/4 all of them lie nearly perfectly on a line:
This would allow us to extrapolate linearly for 9/8 at 718mm and 5/4 at 741mm
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Now I would like to correlate the dimensions of the cellos with the height of the players typically using them, and extrapolate the heights of the players of the hypothetical 5/4 & 9/8 cello.– TheodoreCommented Jan 26, 2023 at 21:59
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I think this is a reasonable answer, but I want to point out that three points lining up like that only really requires one of the middle points to line up... You can always draw a line through the first and last. So I don't want to ignore the one 'outlier' here... But then again, I don't know what to do with that point, since you could use it to argue that the extrapolated sizes should be slightly bigger or smaller... (I probably don't have a good point, I just think your wording made it sound more serendipitous than it actually is.)– EdwardCommented Jan 28, 2023 at 1:06