lol @ jill... anyways, the mod should just delete all of my posts in this thread... i don`t know much about cellos anyways lol.

lol sorry man, i was still posting when you posted yours... hah. i ended up condensing my post a whole lot though =)

my god...

anyways, I need a cello and am kind of in a budget right now, keep in mind I`m purchasing to learn the instrument, if I ever decide to play in a good orchestra or anything, I`ll make sure to have a good, quality cello to go with that, but right now my priority is getting a cello that will take me through the learning process, and not break down halfway down the road.

can anyone reccomend me a good cello then?

oh, and by the way, the reason I don`t take up contrabass is that well, I already play the tuba, and I`d like to go for something with a different range, sound and portability, and I don`t have any way to get my hands on a bassoon.

..anyone?

well if you don`t want to get ripped off you should buy a better brand. maybe you could just rent a cello for the time being? and maybe slowly pay off the rented cello so in a year or so it`s yours? you could always see if your parents have extra cash they could use to pay for the cello. that way you could get a better brand. and a cello that won`t fall aparat after a week hehe

i know very little about cello brands but this must be an antique... anyone have any thoughts on this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10178&item=7301688577&rd=1

Jay,

I like that cello, it seems to be in good shape. The cracks the person talks about are stress cracks which are normal among old cellos. The main reason why I like that cello is that aged cellos sound very good. The person said the cello was made in 1949, but it looks much older, hmm. "MARCELLO GIONANNI BATTISTA MARTINENGHI DI STELIO OPUS VENEZIA 1949", could of been the person to renovate the cello. Some 100 or so year old messed up instruments that get fixed sometimes have the luthiers signature on it, the original makers signature could of faded away or came of. Well I`m just speculating, but if I had the money I would buy that cello.

i maded a good find! lol... yea i thoguht it was weird that it was from 1949, yet it looked much older. i want an ntique instrument, it`s like having a piece of history.

question: do woodwinds get better or worse as they age? i`ve never figured it out.

Jay,
Check out this website,
http://www.quartettodivenezia.it/index_ENG.htm
look at the bottom of the page. Theres a guy that playes that type of cello(made in 1931) professionally. So I guess it really was made by that guy, probably in his later years.

I suppose woodwinds sound better with age, think of it this way, over the decades the wood dries out, gets lighter and stays hard, so the vibrations of the wood became smoother due to the loss in density without change in mass or strength in the wood. But I remember hearing that brass instruments sound better with age also, it has to do with some sort of moss growth over the decades, thats also one of the reasons why OLD stringed instruments sound good. The inside of my old cello and old violin stink from the groth of moss inside making the wood get darker. Just look at the old cellos and violins on ebay, they will be A LOT darker in color than new ones.

I was just reading an article in Strings magazine about instruments from China, violins in particular. Although Chinese instruments have had a reputation for cheapness, their quality has greatly improved in the last 5-7 years. Although there are some pieces of junk, you will also find many terrific instruments for beginners and intermediate players, at a cost far less than European instruments.

The reason, of course, is that Chinese labor is very inexpensive. You`ll have to arrive at your own decision about that and any political implications. However, in terms of quality, Chinese instruments are very definitely, as a whole, worth considering. The article is at:

http://www.stringsmagazine.com/issues/Strings113/china.html

moss growth? lol... nasty... so it`s not a bad thing? cool.

Jay,
the moss is dry lol.

Matt,
I don`t care how good chinese instruments are, or anything else they make for that matter, I`m still not buying anything made in china. I rather buy something made in a free country where people aren`t treated like crud.

yeh... rural china is REALLY crappy... lol... i mean REALLY crappy. but have you even been to china? i have, it`s amazing there. so many futuristic lookng buildings. urban china is insane lol. i guess it`s part of china`s plan to spruce up the country since every country makes fun of them lol. they`re improving tibet too. the last place i`d thought thy`d help heh. it`s most likely gonna take 50 years or so for china to get to where the united states are now... they`ve got a long way to go.


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whoah... i went off track lol. hmm. so xavier, did you get a cello yet?

the moss is dry... thank god. i was thinking it`s like green growth inside your cello... LOL...