hi !!
i am going to buy a new cello (or a second hand one !!!) as the one I have at the moment is on loan from the Music Service, and isn't very good. ........full size by the way !!!
I need a cello that is in good quality condition and makes a lovely sound, and will last.
Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a cello for around £1000, second hand, or whether they are more expensive. £1200 is the limit at the mo.
doesn anyone have any info on going prices for cellos????
Ellie

my name's ellie too
andand i play the cello, and the piano!
going prices for cellos....mine was a little more than a thousand. well, it was two and a half thousand without the bow. but it was new, so you should be able to get a second hand one for your limit. ask in your local music shop about string instrument shops, they should know. sorry im not more helpful.
good luck, anyway

From what I know of cellos you should get a very reasonable one for £1000

I don't play the cello but just want to say that i love the sound of the cello!

I play the cello and i got mine second hand for $550 dollars so i duno wat that is in pounds but i think as long as u check the wood especially round the sound holes and where the fingerboard meets the body plus either have a bit of a play or pluck the strings and listen for the hum i think u wont get along too bad.
Also you could look inside for the make and ask your teacher if it a resonable make for you to buy

hey thanks all u people who repied !!
i am still looking for a cello........
my teacher gave me one to try...but i couln't buy it as it cost..........wait for it.........
£4000 it was handmade for someone but they can't play anymore coz of an accident....
so, i'm still looking !!
thanks for your help !!!
Ellie xx

Hi Ellie,

I started to write a reply to your question a few days ago, but decided not to post it as I play violin and I thought you may have more success finding a cello listening to people who know all about cello. Having seen your recent post, I don't think there's anything to lose purely by mentioning what I was going to mention before.

Do the following Google searches:

1: Time Gliga (and follow the link to the time magazine article)
2: violinslover ebay (and look at the detailed photos of his cellos on offer in his ebay store, which for some reason are loads cheaper than the ones in his violinslover website)

and visit elidatrading.co.uk

Gliga is a Romanian master Luthier whose uses trees from the same Carpathian mountains as Stradivarius used. Because his elite craftsmen are paid at Romanian rates (twice the national average of US$100 per month), he is able to produce high quality instruments at a price several times lower than his western European competitors.

I have raved elsewhere about gliga violins and violas of which I have first hand knowledge. My knowledge of his cellos is second hand only from looking at cello forums on the internet. However there appears to be a consensus that his Gama cellos (known as "professional" in America) are fantastic instruments which are more than a match for cellos otherwise available at several times the price. Indeed I have seen one or two American stores taking the "if you can't beat them, join them approach", and offering for sale Gliga Gama Cellos, which they have basically tinkered with and then trebled the price.

The uk outlet for Gliga cellos is elidatrading, run by Liz Ward of whom I am a big fan, but she sells mainly violins and violas, and may have to get your gliga cello in from Romania. If you are interested give her a ring on the number on her website. She is offering the Gama Cellos as £1400 instrument only, which is a shade above your top price, and you still need a bow and case. The Gems II Cello is also I believe a fine instrument, and comes in at £1000 complete outfit, which is bang on your ideal price. My only reservation is if you're going to spend as much as £1000, the write up on the Gamas (and the appearance of them on the violinslover site) is so fantastic, that you may some years down the line wish you had found the extra £400 to set yourself up with a Gama. If you were seriously considering a Gliga it might be worth saving a bit more for the Gama, and asking Liz what is the best composite price she can do you on a Gama outfit.

A second reason for holding my earlier post was that cellos are so big and bulky that there is a natural disinclination to have them sent to you through the post because although the above prices include P&P, if you wanted to send one back, I imagine it would be a nuisance. If you happen to find via your teacher/ other local players/ local newspaper or shops a good quality instrument in your price range that you're happy with, that would have to be very tempting. However if I was in your shoes, before I spent £4000 on a cello which could be less rewarding to play than a Gliga Gama, I would be prepared to run the risk of my not liking the Gliga and having to send it back, in order to have the possibility of a much higher grade instrument at a much more reasonable price. There is at least the safeguard that Liz is familiar with Gliga instruments, herself being a violist, and she would check the cello first and could be relied on not to send it to you if there was anything wrong with it.

I was familiar with the high prices of decent cellos by talking to cellists at my university orchestra in the early 1990's, and your teacher's quoted figure of £4000 against what those cellists paid for their instruments frankly doesn't surprise me. My little girl is playing on a 1/8 primavera cello (she's 5), and the thought when she's 12 of forking out the likes of £4000 or more for a nice instrument (The European Union having expanded, Romanian wages having come in line with ours, and Gligas having risen in price accordingly) has seriously tempted me to get in a full size Gama now. I haven't done because
1. I couldn't bear the thought of such a nice instrument lying largely unplayed for several years
2. I don't know if my daughter's still going to be playing the cello then
3. I need the cash now!
4. I don't think Liz's prices are about to rise in the immediate future, since the weak $US means her prices are comparatively somewhat higher than violinslover (though accounting for P&P, VAT, and Liz's reliability, not drastically so).

however your interesting question, and my writing this response to it, has set me thinking all over again....

good luck with whatever you decide to do,

David

hey thanks !!! that's great advice !!! i have the number of a shop in Blackpool i am going to ring, and see what they can do.
meanwhile i am searching the net !!!!

thank you again !
Ellie xx

Very interesting reading - and Zoda what a fab reply (I'll reply to your other thread soon) - for a non-cellist that's great advice.

I've taken up the 'cello recently, and I had a rental which I thought was good and would be 350 to buy - used of course. My teacher who knows 'cellos better than anyone else (in my opinion) didn't recommend this - because it wouldn't take me beyond grade 4. Obviously I could have ignored his advice, but I felt if I did spend an 'acceptable' 350, I'd then have an instrument which would never be good enough, and may hold me back.

So I visited String shops and asked lots of questions. Was amazed that they are more than happy to 'loan' you free of charge any instrument - for a few weeks - irrespective of price! They know that one can't just buy an expensive instrument by hearing it in a shop and playing a few bars! So I had different ones on loan - at one point I had 2 in my car which was freaky as they were worth FAR more than the car - each!!! Each one was played by me and everyone else including my teacher, and it's surprising what you find out by this... I ended up paying a lot more than I budgeted for, but am extremely happy with it (for the record - its a William Piper hand-made one), and don't regret it for a moment.

My advice would be this: don't buy a 'cello unless you have played it in the shop or wherever, then borrowed it for a few weeks, shown it to your teacher and everyone else that's 'cello-minded, and only if you are very happy with it - buy it. Anything else might mean you end up with a 'cello you're not happy with, can't easily sell (for the same money) and you then have to look again for another!

However, Zoda's view of buying Elida Tradings Gliga is very good - if you can send it back in 2 weeks if you're not happy - and Elizabeth (who I've bought off and is highly knowledgable and very nice and fair to deal with) will help you on this one. Go and ring her as Zoda suggested! She reads these posts so she might even spot this and put a word or two down!

Best of luck with your exciting purchase. There are lots of 'cellos for sale both new and 2nd hand. I'm sure there's one out there that will be perfect for you - go get it!

ps: don't forget a good case - which can cost more than the above rental instrument!!

Yep. If you're within reach of Blackpool you're within reach of us, and we can accommodate you down at our storage unit if nothing else (the lounge here is permanently full of boxes and we cannot receive cellists at the house, there really isn't room!). We've got a Gems 2 cello at the repairers at the moment (long story) and a nice Chinese one (in the Westbury / Stentor Messina bracket) in stock, and either of those are going to be about half your budget or less and will outplay anything you'll get anywhere near the price. Gamas we are happy to get in: we have sold three so far, one is with a grade 4 player (lucky girl!) but the others are with a student at the City of Edinburgh specialist music school and with a graduate of the Royal Northern College of music (admittedly a second study cellist but you should have heard her play the Elgar on the Gama cello!!). We get Gems in on a fairly regular basis (and they are nice).

Or if you live in Blackpool perhaps we could even pay you a visit and leave you some cellos to play while I take David onto the roller coaster at the pleasure beach??! (I hope he isn't reading this!!!)

Liz

QUOTE (zoda @ Oct 4 2004, 09:32 PM)

My little girl is playing on a 1/8 primavera cello (she's 5), and the thought when she's 12 of forking out the likes of £4000 or more for a nice instrument (The European Union having expanded, Romanian wages having come in line with ours, and Gligas having risen in price accordingly) has seriously tempted me to get in a full size Gama now. I haven't done because 1. I couldn't bear the thought of such a nice instrument lying largely unplayed for several years 2. I don't know if my daughter's still going to be playing the cello then 3. I need the cash now! 4. I don't think Liz's prices are about to rise in the immediate future, since the weak $US means her prices are comparatively somewhat higher than violinslover (though accounting for P&P, VAT, and Liz's reliability, not drastically so).

No, no, David, don't do it! It's sacrilege to leave one of those unplayed!!!

By the way for any who might be confused, it isn't THIS David i was talking of taking on a roller coaster: i am married to a David as well. There are a lot of them around!

Liz

thanks all those who posted about cellos !!!
i should be getting a cello in the next few weeks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ellie x

Talking of new cellos, could someone tell me where I could find info on the internet about Violas and Viola makes, as I'm buying one soon. Thanks

Come up with a price range, then do a google search, then be prepared to wade through vast numbers of sites!!!

There are plenty of people on forums such as this who will be delighted to sing the praises of their own particular favourite brand (or to steer you clear of some, perhaps!) so you could try some posts asking the question, but do specify a price limit and also say where you are (most forums are totally swapmed by members from the US, this one makes a nice change!)

Liz

Hi Freedom,

go to the violin forum on this website and read the thread on gligas.

Happy hunting,

David

what do ppl know about Stentor cellos?
ellie x

I bought a 1/2 size stentor cello on Ebay for £100, to busk along with my daughter. I wouldn't say I was robbed because the guy I bought it from was a nice bloke. However I had to pay £69 for a new set of strings, can't remember how much for a new bow and a less tatty bag. His daughter had started cello and given up after a couple of lessons, and I can't help thinking it may have had to do with the instrument, which is harsh and un-resonant. However I know these brands keep re-inventing themselves and improving so I suppose the best way to find out is to try one - I have a feeling I saw one in my local Dawsons.

Which Stentor are you looking at Ellie?

The Stentor 1 is very basic, ebonised fittings and so on. The Stentor 2 has ebony fittings and is better but you're still not looking much beyond about Grade 4, being realistic (what standard are you?)

Up from that, in the Stentor line, there is the Stentor Conservatoire: much better than the Stentor 2 but you are still looking at sprayed-on varnish. Perhaps grade 6 or so.

Then it goes up to the Messina, Elysia and Arcadia. Now for violins I can tell you that those three are exactly the same instrument, graded by Stentor on import for quality. Stentor themselves admit this openly. I imagine it is the same for cellos. Those would take you up to grade 8 i should think.

Stentor also make the Zeller which is very well respected and comes in two qualities: the standard version has a laminated back but there is a better version that is all solid wood. The Zeller is a low level Romanian instrument with sprayed on varnish. I guess that would take you to grade 8.

Frankly though there are FAR better options within the £1200 that you oriignally mentioned.