innovations in the design of the bass violin that ultimately resulted in the modern violoncello were made in northern italy in the late 17th century. they involved a shift to a slightly smaller type and the higher tuning in c–g–d–a (although michael praetorius already had reported this tuning for the bass violin in his "syntagma musicum" (c. 1619)). it has been surmised that an early centre of these innovations lay in musical circles of bologna, and that it was made possible by the invention of the new technique of composite strings of gut wound with metal. the new type found its ultimate consolidation and standardisation in works of the famous violin builder antonio stradivari around 1700. luthiers cut many existing bass violins down in size to convert them into cellos. the new, smaller type was also linked to the new name of "violoncello", a hypocoristic form of the older term "violone", meaning literally "small violone" (i.e., ultimately, "small large viola"). the bass violin remained the "most used" instrument of the two in england as late as 1740, where the violoncello was still uncommon.