Cellos — Jordan Violins

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.

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.