Tonsturm – Spiral Strings v1.6

It’s one of the strangest instruments ever made. Two classical cello strings attached to 3-meter-long springs connected to two different drums… oh well. The space cello doesn’t have a classical body to resonate with. The sound is transmitted by springs to two drums that replace the usual body.

It was clear from the start that we could only do justice to the sound of the Spring Cello by capturing “performances” instead of sterile and separated tones. Matthias, a professional cellist from Cologne, did a great job recording our crazy notes about unusual playing styles.

But we also wanted the instrument to be something you could work with – for each playing style to be tied to its keynote and musical scale.

We recorded in a large studio in the Netherlands with the quietest sound microphones and, on the other hand, the craziest collection of vintage and modern Hi-End gear grails.

True stereo convolution

This was quite tricky to achieve and took some time to develop. However, the result is truly worth it and gives the instrument a new dimension.

We carefully selected only our finest IRs of supercharacterful reverb hardware, rooms, and the instrument itself.

• 8 play styles – ranging from “normal” legato to more crazy ones like Sul Ponticello or using a titanium stick, etc.
• We recorded “workable” textures and phrases – all bound to their key-note and the musical scale in general.
• Three round robins of 10-15 second long files
• Three microphone positions – recorded with low-noise sound design mics and vintage and modern Hi-End gear grails
• Uncommon True Stereo Reverb engine with our own crazy IRs
• Microphones and outboard equipment:
• Close: Mics: Schoeps MK 41 with CMC 6xt preamp
• Through: Pultec EQP-1A – Fairchild 670
• Body: Mics: MS with Sennheiser MKH 8020 and MKH30
• Through: Neve 1081 Channel Strips – API 2500
• Room: Mics: 2 x Sennheiser MKH 8020 and Sennheiser MKH 8050 Mixed
• Through: Manley Massive Passive – Manley Vari-Mu Chandler Curve Bender – Neve 2254E