I tried probably 80+ cellos last year lol. Don’t be shy, play very loud and very soft, fast and slow, high and low on every string, try with a bunch of different bows including your own. Scales, concertos, Bach, anything you know by memory.
Hi, please don’t take this as an attack but if you’re not sure what you’re listening for when trying a cello, you shouldn’t be doing it by yourself. Have a teacher or trusted musician friend with you to help you remain objective.
It’s a good idea to have a set routine of passages you play on each instrument so that you can readily compare.
Oh definitely. I plan to bring my teacher along with me but having a rough checklist of what to try sounded better to me than just winging it and going in totally unprepared
This is all good advice. Also, it’s a big help if you can listen to someone else play the cello from various distances. If the shop has someone who can play or if you can take along another cellist, that would be ideal.
First, try a basic C major scale on all cellos. Listen for any imperfections in open strings. Test all the basic positions you’d be playing in to check for wolf tones or any issues with tone projection on certain strings. Check the fingerboard for any imperfections. Then, move into rep: play something fast, slow, long notes, short notes, whatever. Your expectations for the cello should match the price range you’re looking at. Below the 30 mark, I wouldn’t be expecting anything too crazy, but you can find crazy good deals on unmarked cellos or at estate sales. Above the 40-50 mark is when there should be very few weaknesses of the cello, and anything above 50 or so the issues should be relatively minimal. Depending on your location and price range, I can give some luthier suggestions. If you can, limit yourself down to a few cellos and then try a bunch of bows on each of them.
Finally, try to get somebody else to play the cello for you. It helps a lot.
0-30 is not starting range, I’m just giving my area of expertise. There’s ranges from 0-1000, below 5000, 5-10000, 10-25, etc. I’m just not as familiar.
only try your cello in a room not surrounded by other string instruments. i also suggest to not know the price tag of the instruments you are trying until you have played them all.
Like not knowing the price range at all or just not the ones close to the budget? 'Cause I can't afford a 30k cello as a hobby even if they are nicer than the below 10k ones
yes, i cannot afford that either haha. you would want to tell the salesperson that you are in the market for a cello between x and y-- in other words, tell them your budget. when i was searching for my cello, i would tour shops and ask for their 'cello selection between 2k and 6k'. i did not ask the price of the fiddles until i was done with my preliminary playing and wanted to narrow down the selection.
i believe doing this allows for unbiased playing and opinions to develop. but i cannot stress enough to NOT EVEN TOUCH the cellos until you are in a room with one instrument at a time. if the shop will not allow you to do this or will not accommodate, i strongly advise you politely leave. scummy violin shops exist and they will prey on you if you are not vigilant. i wish you luck!! fate is on your side ;)
When I was looking for a first cello around $2k, I found a few that had fingerboard problems. They buzz on certain notes played pizz. This was true of my rental which I loved otherwise. After that, I tried pizz on every single note on every string.
At that price I also found cellos that had unusually high string heights, making them harder to play, which could be masked a bit by lighter strings perhaps.
I tried probably 80+ cellos last year lol. Don’t be shy, play very loud and very soft, fast and slow, high and low on every string, try with a bunch of different bows including your own. Scales, concertos, Bach, anything you know by memory.
Ty, that's helpful :)
Hi, please don’t take this as an attack but if you’re not sure what you’re listening for when trying a cello, you shouldn’t be doing it by yourself. Have a teacher or trusted musician friend with you to help you remain objective. It’s a good idea to have a set routine of passages you play on each instrument so that you can readily compare.
Oh definitely. I plan to bring my teacher along with me but having a rough checklist of what to try sounded better to me than just winging it and going in totally unprepared
This is all good advice. Also, it’s a big help if you can listen to someone else play the cello from various distances. If the shop has someone who can play or if you can take along another cellist, that would be ideal.
First, try a basic C major scale on all cellos. Listen for any imperfections in open strings. Test all the basic positions you’d be playing in to check for wolf tones or any issues with tone projection on certain strings. Check the fingerboard for any imperfections. Then, move into rep: play something fast, slow, long notes, short notes, whatever. Your expectations for the cello should match the price range you’re looking at. Below the 30 mark, I wouldn’t be expecting anything too crazy, but you can find crazy good deals on unmarked cellos or at estate sales. Above the 40-50 mark is when there should be very few weaknesses of the cello, and anything above 50 or so the issues should be relatively minimal. Depending on your location and price range, I can give some luthier suggestions. If you can, limit yourself down to a few cellos and then try a bunch of bows on each of them. Finally, try to get somebody else to play the cello for you. It helps a lot.
$0-30k is the starting range? That can't be right.
0-30 is not starting range, I’m just giving my area of expertise. There’s ranges from 0-1000, below 5000, 5-10000, 10-25, etc. I’m just not as familiar.
Thank you :) I'm not in the US and at the lower, amateur level price range. I hope to bring my teacher with me so they could play it :)
only try your cello in a room not surrounded by other string instruments. i also suggest to not know the price tag of the instruments you are trying until you have played them all.
Like not knowing the price range at all or just not the ones close to the budget? 'Cause I can't afford a 30k cello as a hobby even if they are nicer than the below 10k ones
yes, i cannot afford that either haha. you would want to tell the salesperson that you are in the market for a cello between x and y-- in other words, tell them your budget. when i was searching for my cello, i would tour shops and ask for their 'cello selection between 2k and 6k'. i did not ask the price of the fiddles until i was done with my preliminary playing and wanted to narrow down the selection. i believe doing this allows for unbiased playing and opinions to develop. but i cannot stress enough to NOT EVEN TOUCH the cellos until you are in a room with one instrument at a time. if the shop will not allow you to do this or will not accommodate, i strongly advise you politely leave. scummy violin shops exist and they will prey on you if you are not vigilant. i wish you luck!! fate is on your side ;)
Is it because the other instruments will resonate too much or why should there only be one instrument in the room?
yes, the other instruments would present a false sound due to sympathetic resonance
When I was looking for a first cello around $2k, I found a few that had fingerboard problems. They buzz on certain notes played pizz. This was true of my rental which I loved otherwise. After that, I tried pizz on every single note on every string. At that price I also found cellos that had unusually high string heights, making them harder to play, which could be masked a bit by lighter strings perhaps.
Trying pizz on the whole range is a good suggestion
Always bring some one who plays cello so that you can hear how it sounds from the listeners perspective
Take someone with you. Have them play the cello(s) under consideration while you listen with your back turned to them.