A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing Cello Instruments & Bows

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A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Cello Instrument & Bow

Included in this guide are

1. 13 Tips on Selecting a Cello Priced Under $5,000

2. 11 Tips on Selecting a Good Cello Bow

3. How to Buy an Around-Town Cello Case

Time to buy a new or used cello? We’ve done the research for you so you won’t be overwhelmed at your first shop visit.

You can find a decent cello for between $895 and $5,000. First you’ll need a primer in craftsmanship and some tips on how to shop and what to look for. Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to walk into any instrument shop in the world and identify the best cello in your price range. A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Cello Instrument & Bow will prepare you for shopping for your instrument.

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When you read this free downloadable PDF, you'll learn what to look for when buying your cello. The experts at Strings magazine will guide you through the process of selecting and buying the right cello for you. Plus you’ll get advice on buying a bow and case.

Inside you’ll find tips on

• Judging wood
• Cello setup
• Evaluating the price tag
• Testing how your instrument plays
• Finding a cello with the right tone
• Determining the cello’s playability

Become a better instrument shopper! Start with this FREE downloadable guide to buying a cello.

And then each week you’ll receive a FREE e-newsletter with

• Instrument, bow, gear, and other product reviews
• Tips on technique
• Career and playing advice from your peers and artists

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Fight feeling overwhelmed when you embark on buying a new cello and bow at the instrument shop with the helpful hints inside A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Cello Instrument & Bow.

Here's a preview of what's inside this FREE downloadable PDF. cello instruments

How to judge a cello's craftsmanship by its appearance.

1. Varnish
Beautiful varnish is not merely aesthetically pleasing. The quality of a cello’s varnish will, in fact affect how an instrument sounds and how that sound will change and mature over the years.

2. Quality of wood
Look for instruments made with spruce tops and maple ribs and bottoms. Lesser-quailty laminated wood, although durable, is not conducive to good sound. “There are several indicators to help you judge the relative quality of stringed instruments. Perhaps the easiest to see is the ‘flame’ This is the horizontal bar of contrasting light and dark under the varnish in the wood itself. Generally, the more densely flamed the back, sides, and neck are, the more expensive the wood.” —Greg Schoeneck, national sales manager for stringed instruments at Conn-Selmer, Inc. (adjuster and finisher of William Lewis & Son, Glaesel, and Scherl & Roth stringed instruments)

3. Grain
A cello’s spruce top should have tight grain at its center, under the fingerboard and bridge, growing gradually wider and wider as it reaches out toward the bouts. “Note the quality of the ebony,” Schoeneck says, “Better grades of ebony have tighter grain; the very best being so close-grained that it may appear to be perfectly smooth.”

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Inside this downloadable PDF are clues for determining if your instrument is set up properly, including the following.

1. Does the bridge fit correctly?
2. Do the fingerboard and neck feel and look smooth?
3. Is the neck straight?
4. Are the strings well suited to the instrument, or are they a one-size-fits-all solution?
5. Do the fittings match the instrument?
6. Do the pegs turn easily and stay in tune?
7. Is the endpin firmly set and does it retract properly? Does the length suit your needs?
8. Is the tailpiece the correct size for the instrument?
9. Does the soundpost have cracks or splinters?

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Excerpted from A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Cello Instrument & Bow:

1. Test a cello’s tone by choosing one passage from a piece you’re comfortable with and know well—particularly an excerpt that utilizes all strings and multiple playing positions.
2. Evaluate the tone across all four strings.
3. Check for wolf tones.
4. Make sure the instrument doesn’t feel muffled. It shouldn’t take too much effort to elicit decent tone and volume from the cello you’re testing.

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Excerpted from A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Cello Instrument & Bow:

When looking for a new cello, you want to look for obvious mistakes in the workmanship. Minor flaws on an otherwise good-sounding and comfortable-feeling cello can add character and enhance an instrument. “Yes, even Stradivari made mistakes,” says Peter Van Arsdale (cello maker). “The difference, however, is that he made them artfully.”

For more guidance on looking for a new cello, claim your FREE copy of A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Cello Instrument & Bow.