What cello-advice please

Hi,

Sorry if this is the wrong forum to post in.
I live in England and am looking at buying my wife a cello for Christmas.
She has never played a cello but has always wanted one. She is a very musical person and we already have a piano, 2 guitars and a violin. The violin she has played since she was very young.

I'm now need some advice on which Cello to buy her.

Can anyone help on types for beginners, but also one that will not need upgrading for many years.
Also, am I right in thinking a 4/4 is a full size cello (sorry if that question is stupid).

I have seen a few Cello's for sell on ebay from a guy in china, and it looks like he makes them himself (they are really fancy looking). Would something like this be ok, or am I going to be ripped off?
Just a bit of info, I live in London, England.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Regards


Bashy

Hi, I'm a senior in high school and have been playing cello for a few years now (I play in my school orchestra and a local youth symphony), and I bought my instrument from the local violin shop. This is my second cello. It's an intermediate instrument which will get me through college (I plan to major in music). I paid about 5,000 USD for it.

First of all, when you're looking to buy, think about how much you want to spend and how long you want it to last. You say your wife is a good musician and that you want this cello to last a long time, so I'm guessing that you don't want a beginner cello. The main types of cellos are those that are machine made in a factory, and those that are hand-made. The machine-made kind run from about 100 USD to about 2000 USD. The quality is usually inferior to hand-made cellos (obviously). Then you have hand-made cellos that can range from about 2000 USD on to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

When you're buying a cello (or any instrument), buying it from ebay or another place online is NOT a good thing to do. First of all, you have no opportunity to try the instrument to make sure it works. Also you don't know anything about the seller. I recommend visiting your local violin shop and talking to an expert there. You definitely want a 4/4 (full-size) cello as opposed to a 1/2 size or 3/4 size that are designed mostly for children and smaller adults (unless your wife is unusually short

Speaking from experience, I would stay away from most of the cellos on ebay.
I bought 3 for my son, the 1st being a disaster. The entire back piece of the cello fell off after just 6 months. The 2nd one is now being used by my youngest son. It is a Cremona SC-175, and we payed $250, including shipping. We lucked out with this one, but admit that it did need some set-up work when we got it to make it really playable. The 3rd one has had issues right from the get-go, we payed $400 for it, and have spent well over that just to get it to my son's liking.

You may want to check out StringWorks.com. They have some nice cellos, some at a reasonable price, and they have an incredible trail period (2 full weeks) and an even better upgrade policy if you want to upgrade your instrument. We tried one of their KB cellos, however my son was not overly satisfied, so we sent it back. I do believe they are worth checking out.

What worked for us was to go to a couple violin shops and have my son try some cellos out. He must have tried out 2 dozen cellos between the 2 shops, and found one that he loves and his teacher was impressed with.

Good luck with your cello search.

I have steel strings on my cello and I use a tuner. I have never tuned the cello in any other way, because my old cello has also been used tuners, such as sea bass, so I really do not know how difficult it would be without the tuners, but I did say go ahead with the trade.

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Guys do you have idea where to buy a cello and a site that can offer me full tutorial?.I would like to play that instrument but dunno if where to start.I am really frustrated artist.haha


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Cello is a expensive instrument, I suggest For beginners just purchase a "toy cello" for about half that price, but they are stamped out of plywood, improperly glued and finished, with slipping tuning pegs. They sound about as good as a cigar box with rubber band strings. It is possible to purchase a plastic bow for about $40, but it would be better to get a genuine brazilwood or pernambuco bow that will give good response and service for years and years.

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