<p>I have been flummoxed about how to purchase a student cello for my ten year old, and the oboe thread got me thinking I could just post my question here!</p>
<p>We rented last year, not knowing how she would take to it, but she appears to have some musical proclivity that runs in the family, and is doing quite well. I am not renting again for nearly $350, and would like to purchase her a half size student cello. From my web search they run anything from like $120 on ebay to $500 on Musician's Friend, to obviously much more than we want to spend.</p>
<p>I know all about pianos, and have learned plenty about drums and mallet instruments, but I don't know a thing about cellos. Any advice about how to go about picking a student cello without getting ripped off? And about how much we'd have to spend on an instrument she will probably have for a couple of years at most?</p>
<p>Strings aren't my thing, although DD constantly reminds me that they're a LOT more expensive than winds and I should thank her every day that her primary instrument is a clarinet which "only" costs a couple of thousand for a standard professional model. I am sooooo blessed....</p>
<p>OK, back to the topic. When we bought her newest clarinet, we told the band director at the Elementary/Middle School that we had a decent, wood, student clarinet for sale. We sold it in a matter of days to a student at the Middle School. They got a good instrument at a good price and we recouped 65% of the purchase price made 5 years earlier.</p>
<p>So, ask her orchestra director(s) and/or her private instructor if they know of any decent ones for sale. You'll be surprised how many parents buy a nice new instrument for a child starting out, only to have them drop the instrument. This could be to your advantage...</p>
<p>Beginning string players need an instrument that has a decent sound, is fairly durable and, above all, is very forgiving in response. An instrument with very high action or one that is extremely sensitive to differences in bowing technique is likely to make a student give up in short order.</p>
<p>Buying a cello sight unseen on Ebay is very likely to get you an instrument that has been so badly neglected that a pro couldn't get a decent sound out of it without serious repairs. Anyone who has properly maintained a decent instrument would probably know to ask more than $125 for it.</p>
<p>Musician's Friend, while OK for the rock music world, does not usually stock quality instruments for band or orchestral music. I presume you are looking at their $500 Strunal 40/4 which does not include a bag or bow. The Strunal is better than most of the classical instruments sold by Musician's Friend, but you can do much better for not a lot more money. By the time you add even a nylon bag and a fiberglass bow, you are probably around $600. I do not know who sets up their instruments, so you may or may not get a decent set of strings on the instrument and you may or may not have it set up by someone who knows cellos in particular.</p>
<p>$350 is actually on the low side for an annual rental. It includes the instrument, a case and a bow, plus probably maintenance as required (at least one visit to the shop per year) and probably insurance against accidental damage and theft, with a free loaner instrument if the repair is gong to take more than a couple of days. The annual maintenance alone on an instrument that you own would be over $100 for a new set of strings and basic set-up.</p>
<p>If you still want to check out decent packages for student cellos, go to a reputable store that specializes in strings. One such place on the internet that I have dealt with is sharmusic.com</p>
<p>Whatever you wind up with, make sure that the instrument meets and preferably exceeds MENC standards for student instruments.</p>
<p>Essentially, when looking at cellos, you want to make sure that you are getting a carved instrument, not a laminated one. The laminated instruments are difficult to play, sound bad and often cause students to quit in frustration. A name to avoid at all costs in Englehart. You are likely going to need to spend $800 - $1000 to get a reasonable instrument. The Chinese are making some very nice student instruments these days. </p>
<p>If you do not have access to a dealer in your area and feel the need to buy online, I would suggest one of two companies: Cellos2go and Stringworks. Both are reputable companies that offer good value for the dollar. Good luck!</p>
<p>Here is how we bought our 1/4 and 1/2 size cellos. We called up Reuning and Sons and told him how much we wanted to spend (after a little discussion about options). He shipped us a couple of cellos and we consulted with my son's teacher and sent the unwanted ones back. Reuning will trade up at full value, so, assuming you end up in a full size cello you realy have nothing to lose. Since he is one of (if not the) leading string instrument dealers in the country I trust him completely. Here is the web site:
<a href="http://www.reuning.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.reuning.com/</a></p>
<p>Of course, if you can get to Boston, all the better.</p>
<p>That said, there are some surprisingly good and inexpensive Chinese cellos on the market at the moment. Maybe you can find a local dealer who carries them.</p>
<p>I personally would not order an instrument through ebay! No!</p>
<p>We live in Boston and have lots of good string companies nearby.</p>
<p>This isn't like a piano for me tho, an instrument I played and DS plays at such a high level; we can hear sound and feel touch nuance among different pianos by the same manufacturer. I can't do that with cellos. Thanks for Shennie for the name to avoid.</p>
<p>Bassdad, good to know that the rental price wasn't outrageous. Would you think renting another year makes sense? By then we are $7-800 into a cruddy little rental cello. Seems crazy for an instrument that isn't of great quality, but as I said, strings are so not my domain. </p>
<p>With our other instruments, we bought straight out without renting, and have upgraded along the way. I assumed we would do the same with the cello...just don't know!</p>
<p>A lot depends on how likely your child is to stick with the instrument, how likely the instrument is to get damaged in the course of the time you have it and how risk-averse you are.</p>
<p>Rental has the advantage that you know your total cost up front. It will be $700-$800 for two years and you know that if anything happens to the first one, you can have a replacement in a couple of days at no additional cost. You also have the advantage that if your child grows a bit faster than expected or decides that they really wanted to play double bass, you can swap instruments with no fuss. If your child loses interest after a couple of months, presumably you can return the instrument and cut your losses.</p>
<p>Some rental places have programs where they let you apply a percentage of your rental payments toward a future instrument purchase. At $30/month or so, I doubt that is part of your plan.</p>
<p>If you buy a package including a decent carved Chinese instrument, a nylon case and a fiberglass bow, your minimum cost will be about $800 (including a new set of strings and some minor adjustments after the first year.) You can probably sell it in a couple of years for about $300 - $400 if it is still in reasonably good shape, without any cracks and no more than a couple of minor scratches. Instead of $800 out of pocket, you might be $400 to $500 and have a somewhat nicer instrument to boot.</p>
<p>However, if the instrument is seriously damaged at any point it could cost more than it is worth to get it repaired, making it a total loss. Would your insurance cover it if, say, a stand partner tripped and put their knee through the front of your kid's instrument? How about if someone didn't stow things properly on the school bus and a runaway vibraphone landed on it?</p>
<p>This is really good information Bassdad. Thank you. I hadn't thought about the cello being damaged, which is, of course, a possibility. DD is very careful, but even last year, her rental got a major scratch from some other kid's carelessness, and was bumped around a bit at school.</p>
<p>Perhaps with my daughter and the other kids in the orchestra being so young, it does make sense to rent another year and see how it goes. I will call Weenie's company too, and do some more thinking.</p>
<p>We rented our daughter's violins for the first four years of her study, until she was ready for a full-size. The rental company was always there for set-up help, loaners if something needed attention, etc. And when the time came, we were able to apply more than $1,000 of the rental payments towards purchase of an instrument. </p>
<p>Of course, wanting to take advantage of that credit, it did limit our shopping around at that time, but it was our first purchased instrument, and D was still only 10 -- who knew how far this would go? It so happened that when we were ready to buy, the dealer had just received a group of consignment instruments (early 20th century) and we found a very nice violin with a lovely sound and a lot more character and voice than a brand-new instrument. </p>
<p>(At the time -- fifth grade -- her then-teacher thought this fiddle would take her right through high school. Now, as she is a 16 year old rising junior becoming a more serious musician every day, and with college auditions less than 18 months away, we have started shopping around....again....And the sticker prices are enough to make you faint. LOL)</p>
<p>Don't get too smug Allmusic. If your daughter really gets into the cello, you will find the cost of really good cellos approaching the cost of a Steinway. :)</p>
<p>If daughter goes pro, she will also find instruments that cost a good deal more than a Steinway. Of course by then, it may well be up to her to figure out how to pay for one.</p>
<p>Allmusic:
In my opinion, 10 years old is definitely not too young to buy a decent instrument for. There are kids that age playing on $10,000 instruments (and more, way more!). </p>
<p>The thing is, even a 10 year old can hear the difference between a good instrument and a poor instrument. If her goal is to sound her very best then it is worth the investment (assuming you can swing it financially). </p>
<p>String instruments are expensive, there's no getting around it. I just had a bridge replaced and some adjustments done to my son's cello and it cost $250. His bow needs to be rehaired, that will be another $150. New strings, $300. Oh well.</p>
<p>Inform her orchestra director that she owns her instrument and that you hope care will be stressed to all the kids in the orchestra. You should see that already - no running, no food/drinks (!), musicians carry instruments out of room first, total respect (hands off!) for other kids' instruments. Most teachers know this, most practice it too.</p>
<p>We carry an inexpensive rider on our homeowners that covers the cello. It's worth it I think. </p>
<p>And here's the thing -- a decent cello will hold its value. A reputable dealer will trade it in for full value towards the next size, and even if she quits they should take the cello on consignment.</p>
<p>Last I heard, the Steinway model D concert grand was just over $100K and their house-sized instruments were running between $45K and $60K if you don't go overboard with the case.</p>
<p>Not many cellos hit six figures, but I believe the record is close to $1 million. Instruments in the $50K to $100K range are not that uncommon these days. It is the violins where things can really get crazy, as this article points out:</p>
<p>It is my impression (perhaps shennie would know better?) that in general, kids auditioning for conservatory own cellos that are at least $15,000 but I'm suspect the average price is higher than that and the top price is in the six figures. </p>
<p>My son's cello (neither he nor the cello is conservatory material ;) ) is appraised at $7,000 (including the bow - bows can run thousands of dollars). I think the first cello I bought him (a small one) was about $1,500. </p>
<p>For many families their kid is hauling around their most expensive possession! How's that for scary?</p>
<p>I don't know about the cello auditions but, when my daughter went through the process, the basses ranged from $2000 plywood instruments to a 150-year old Italian instrument that had to be worth at least $30K. I would guess the average bass at the conservatory auditions a year and a half back was probably in the $8K to $10K range. The kids who won the auditions at the top schools mostly had instruments worth at least that much.</p>
<p>It is very scary with basses because nobody will write an insurance policy that covers a valuable bass in the hands of a teenager when not at home or in the car.</p>