so i have been very interested in strings instriments lately (cello as a matter of fact) and am planning to buy a cello. can you guys tell me the price range of a good starting cello, what qualities to look for and what brands are good? Just as some back up info I play tuba in band and tenor sax in Jazz band (highschool of course).i am 16.

I can thoroughly recommend Gliga: the cheapest price for you will be at http://www.violinslover.com

There are many cheaper brands though.

Liz

hey I looked at that gligas and it ia a bit out of my price range. do you know nything about the ebony cellos on ebay? do you recommend buying it off ebay? the one I`m aiming for is the 4/4 student ebony cello. It is around 300$. got any recommendations??

Not really, i only know about the brands we sell. A piece of general advice though: don`t buy from any ebay musical instrument seller with less than 99.9% feedback unless the negs and neutrals are clearly undeserved.

Liz

if you give the ebay number I might be able to make some sensible suggestions.

Liz

I second Liz`s suggestion to be careful whom you buy from...

...I had some problems purchasing a violin bow early this year from one vendor (and he had a 100% rating at the time)...since then he has received a few negative and neutral responses...and has in turn replied with vehement, ugly comments...

...kinda scary...(however, the bow is great...thank goodness)...

Thanks, I`ll git you the # later today (i`m in class).

I got a 4/4 cello from Onlineguitar. It has solid woods and ebony fittings. I think it`s a great beginners instrument for the price. Obviously the woods aren`t high grade; the top has a dark staining in the center, which is covered mostly by the fingerboard overhang and tailpiece, and the flamed back had two extra joins about 1 inch in from the edges, like the piece wasn`t wide enough. It was also in desperate need of nut work, but that was no problem, and I stripped the finish off the back of the neck and oiled it along with the fingerboard, which has a beautiful streaking, much like Macassar Ebony. The bridge was good though, didn`t touch that. I think for the price, the ebay cellos are a great bargain. I plan on getting a double bass from Online guitar soon.

If you can`t afford a gliga gems 2, Primavera are a lot cheaper, and have a nice sound, appearance and build quality for the price. I`m pretty sure that the Gliga gems and above are a considerable cut above primaveras in quality, but Primaveras are nice enough to keep wanting to play on them (my daughter has one). I bought a 1/2 size Stentor student cello from Ebay for £100. I have had to spend about £150 extra replacing the bow, strings and bag and it still sounds like a Stentor Student. The bloke who I bought it from`s daughter took about 3 lessons and gave up, and I wonder if she had had a Primavera or better whether she might have kept up with it.

hey, ric. you might want to look for one on ebay. thats where i got my flute from and my sister got her cello there too. there are somethings you need to watch out for though. like make sure theres nothing weird looking in the pics. sometimes but not all the time the seller will state if anything is wrong with the instrument. and do not bid on a seller with a feedback percent of less than 98%.

thanks, although i have deci¾j7·to put off my cello learning until..... whenever i have the time.