Jordan Electric Cellos

I've been dreaming about a new cello for years, haven't you?

Being an amateur performing electric cellist myself, I've spent literally years of thoughts and dreams on the question of what the ultimate electric cello design would be for me. This drive towards perfection causes me to continually consider what could and should be done, that hasn't been done yet. It took quite a few years to get from the rough initial sketches to the fully evolved designs I'm offering now. The Jordan Ariel Model Electric Cello, my 2003 design, represents my personal vision, truly the cello of my dreams. This striking design while visually asymmetrical maintains symmetry in its contact points. This design is far more complicated to construct than my Virage Model requiring large complex joints and precision routed channels. I think of the electric cello not just as a functional instrument, but as a work of art to be interpreted by an artist with a vision. The vision has materialized and the dream has become reality!

In 2017 I was commissioned to build a cello based on a customer’s vision of a mythical “mermaid” like being that had a human head and peacock feathers for a tail. I let this concept percolate in my head for a while and while researching the idea ran across the Kinnara in Hindu and Buddhist mythology which is a celestial musician that is part human and part bird and that became the name for this model of cello. The body has the intentional look of feathers which involves lots of carving, and yet it still feels like a cello.

In 2020 I was commissioned to build a cello with built in percussion triggers like I have in my personal Electric Upright bass and this led to a new design for cellist Joe Hebert He also wanted a whole step extension on the lowest pitched string which required me to make a custom capo for the lowest string that can be quickly rotated into position or out when not in use. Since all my cellos are built by hand without using automated machinery, new designs are no problem at all.

In 2021 I was commissioned to make a 7/8 size electric cello for Julie Julie Munkholm, a gifted cellist who finds the slightly smaller size and shorter string length suits her better. The resulting cello was based on the measurements of her acoustic cello and so there is no real adjustment required for switch from acoustic to electric playing. No larger manufacturer of electric cellos offers a 7/8 size electric cello. Since all my cellos are built by hand, this was no problem for me.

In 2022 I was commissioned to build “as light an electric cello as possible” for Abbie who wanted a cello no heavier than her acoustic cello. This is not an easy task. The wood bodies of electric cellos are not as thin as most acoustic cellos. I had acquired some Royal Paulownia slabs (2nd lightest wood in the world) from the Plains, Georgia farm of President Jimmy Carter who decades earlier had planted 25 acres of it on his farm as part of a sustainably forestry project. I was concerned about the structural integrity of thin pieces of very low density wood, so the frame is internally reinforced by a carbon fiber rope epoxied into position. The epoxied in rope was then concealed under a front veneer of spalted maple burl that Abbie had chosen. The instrument is remarkably stable, lightweight, and quite resonant. Royal Paulownia is the soundboard wood of choice for most traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese stringed instruments. This was also the first electric cello I had made with a traditional pegbox and scroll (by request). The completed cello weighs 5 Lbs, 14 Oz. For reference, my personal acoustic cello is a French 1860s F. Lecavelle cello that weighs one ounce more than this electric cello!!!

The sleek, sculpted Jordan Virage Model Electric Cello was designed in the 1990s by luthiers John Jordan and Mark Miller in a shop with more than 50 years combined experience in instrument making and more than 20 years combined experience with electric violin family instruments.

All normal contact points as well as standard cello geometry and proportion are maintained in all models allowing any cello transducer system to be used and the solidbody design ensures no feedback even at stage volume. All models are available with machine heads on both sides of the pegheads, or left side only which allows the neck to be held closer to cellists head. Headless versions with machine heads behind the bridge or versions with traditional scrolls are also available by request.

Transducers

• RMC Bridge with Polydrive Preamp - add $460

• StringAmp transducer system - quoted individually

• Alternative Transducers, Internal and external preamplifiers - quoted individually

Upgrades

• Five string cello - add $1,510

• Six string cello - add $2,530

• Fingerboard Extension (on five and six string cellos only) - add $250

• Fretted fingerboard - add $1,000

BOWS

Any conventional bow can be used with our electric instruments. For those players who are thinking of a modern bow to match with their new electric cello, we offer the full CodaBow line of graphite-fiber bows. .

STRINGS

We recommend D’Addario and Jargar strings for our cellos. D’Addario and Jargar make the special low and high pitched strings for our extended range instruments and their standard pitch strings are also unsurpassed in quality. These will be the strings that come stock on your Jordan Cello and you can always order replacements sets from us.

AMPLIFICATION

There are many excellent choices of amplifiers that work well with electric violin. Most of the best choices are designed as acoustic instrument amplifiers as these have ultra-high impedance inputs that match ideally with the types of transducers used to sense the string vibrations, and they are designed for accurate sound reproduction. There are far too many brands and models to list all the possibilities, but here are some popular choices:

• AER (many models to choose from including Alpha and AcoustCube IIa)

• Fishman Loudbox Artist

CASES

Many brands as optional upgrades available including BAM - quoted individually