ABOUT

Instruments

FULVIO CELESTE URSULA

Six Strings. One Bow.

and loops and loops and loops

Wytold plays a six-string electric cello with an extra high E string and low F string, easily spanning from bass through violin ranges. His instrument has a very narrow body, allowing him to easily wear it on a shoulder strap and play up and down the fingerboard in positions that aren’t as natural or comfortable with a traditional acoustic body.

When Wytold discovered the six-string electric cello created by NS Design, he was inspired to treat it as a unique artistic voice rather than trying to mimic the acoustic cello. Though similar in some ways, the electric cello’s lower fingerboard, lack of acoustic body curves for arm guidance, and narrower bowing angles due to extra strings create significant differences in how it’s played. Instead of seeing these challenges as obstacles, Wytold embraced them, dedicating himself to mastering the instrument and unlocking its expressive potential.

Of course, Wytold still loves and plays the acoustic cello as well. In 2011, Wytold released his first solo album “When Fulvio Finds Celeste” which refers to the way he blends the modern tone of his electric cello, Fulvio, with the traditional sounds of his acoustic cello, Celeste. For that album, Wytold tracked out each layer individually on different cellos and re-arranged the layers in recording software in the same structure that he would use for a live-looping performance.

To try to blend the tonal range of Fulvio with the acoustic tambor of Celeste, in 2013, Wytold persuaded Luis Leguia to make the first (and only?) six-string acoustic carbon fiber cello, which has its own tone and voice unique from his other instruments. Named Ursula, Wytold’s carbon fiber cello has a somewhat darker and more mysterious voice and is featured throughout his 2022 release “Mist and the Pearl.”