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Kelzane
Registered User
Posts: 1
(7/6/01 8:38:01 am)
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Help in
comparing Cellos < $3,000
I know topics like these come up somewhat frequently, but I would
love some help with this. I took a look at one of the comment
strings -- (to speak) on considerations for trying a new cello. They
seem quite helpful. I'm an adult amateur who just began playing a
little more than a year ago. I love it. I am just beginning my
search for a new cello. I have been playing on a laminate "Klaus
Mueller" cello from Southwest Strings which has served me fine but I
want to move up. The folks and instruments at Stringworks come
highly recommended from what I've read, but I want to know how a
Doetsch, Eastman, Dunov, Cao, Gliga, and Klier cellos compare to the
Artist or Virtuoso or Maestro from Stringworks. I have heard that
Doetsch's are reliable but not built to last, I have played on an
Eastman and Dunov both of all were significant steps up from my
current set up. At the moment I am thinking about getting a Maestro
in December but am not sure how all of these compare. Anyone's have
thoughts on all of this would be appreciated.
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Bobbie
Registered User
Posts: 520
(7/6/01 9:17:21 am)
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Re: Help in
comparing Cellos < $3,000
There isn't any easy way to compare.
I think that you would
do best in this price range if you look for a cello that has been
around 10-30 years and right now is in good condition and sounds the
way you want it to. That can be a little harder to find, but you
might be happier in the long run.
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Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
Posts: 349
(7/6/01 11:27:20
am)
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Re: Help in
comparing Cellos < $3,000
I KNOW that you can find a satisfactory cello for your
price!
A recent discussion here on qualities to look for
might be helpful:
pub1.ezboard.com/fcellofu...=982.topic
I
really like the $3,200 list price new Jay-Haide Strad-model cello
(made in China) I bought 18 months ago from Ifshin Violins in
Berkeley. I'm not particulaly easy to please (I already owned two
other cellos, both German made (1876 and 1964) and I definitely
prefer the Jay-Haide for many purposes - even though I have since
done many things that improved the older cellos.
I think it
is important to try many instruments, and to do this you really have
to go to a dealer and try them out - or if you buy them by "mail" or
internet, you have to really trust the supplier's
selection.
When I tried my Jay-Haide in the store, I brought
along one of my own cellos and a couple of bows. I made the
selection more by rejecting those instruments that had features that
either displeased me or did not please me enough (I did not need to
get another cello - I was only going to get one if it had features
that really pleased me [I had played a really fine instrument one
summer many years before that kind of put me off my own cellos for
35 years]). Now I play cello every day!
I also tried other
bows on the cello I chose. I even tried a couple of older cellos
priced up to 12 times higher. Still I was pleased with my selection.
I also tried all the other new cellos in the shop - more and less
expensive than mine, and frankly, the one I chose was the only one I
found to be satisfactory for me. (Perhaps some minor setup changes
would have brought the other cellos to the same level - I don't
know.) The bow can make a tremendous difference in how a cello plays
and sounds - so try some other bows.
I ended up getting a 10%
discount on my cello because I also bought a new bow and a case, so
the cello (alone) actually cost $2,900. It is good in ensembles,
since it is not too loud for the group (nor too soft), and I can
clearly hear myself - even better than I can on one of my German
cellos which is actually much louder - and has more overtones
(probably good for solos, but they tend to mix too much with the
higher instruments in the ensemble, for my own ears to deal with
it).
SO--I really urge you to go to a dealer to test
instruments. If you can't - other people here have recommended the
instruments provided by Stringworks and Cellos2go.
But you
should know that under a given brand and model and price you can
expect to find a wide range in individual instruments. So if you buy
from a remote source, communicate with the seller to get his or her
assessement of the tonal, response, and other playing qualities of
your instrument (it is probably true that very few cellos are
"perfect" - even in the context of their own characteristics,
whereas, quite a number of the smaller violins are "perfect" - in
that sense).
You might do as well for the same price in an
old instrument, as Bobbie has suggested, BUT my feeling is that if
you buy an old instrument for $3,000 you will likely get a $3,000
cello (basically $1,500 wholesale value - probably originally
"factory-made") and if you buy a new (Asian-made) instrument for the
same price, carefully selected and set up, you may obtain a
life-time instrument (no doubt also "factory-made") but quite
comparable in playing quality to instruments (probably made and
signed by a single maker) priced many times higher. Of course, even
a fine new Chinese cello is worth only what you paid for it (at
retail, and about half that wholesale, but it can be relatively
easier to sell a cello with good qualities).
Enjoy your
search!
Andy
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Ellen
G 
Registered
User
Posts: 802
(7/7/01 6:59:46
am)
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Re: Help in
comparing Cellos < $3,000
Three of the cellos are in a hierarchy which makes them easy to
compare. Klier is better than Doetsch which is better than Dunov. I
find Dunov to have a thicker neck which I personally don't like.
Eastman and Cao are harder to compare because they make about 5
models. The setup to these cellos varies because some people put a
Wittner knockoff on which just doesn't work as well. Some people use
ebony tailpieces with fine tuners added on. Some use heavy endpins;
other carbon fiber. Bridge and post quality will vary both in
resonance of the wood and fit of the bridge to the instrument. And
then there's playing in. The Caos take longer to play in, so the
cello you hear when three months later is much prettier than the
first week. But you can't project what it's going to sound like.
Gligas also come in a range of models. The tonewoods are nice, but
they require a good setup. Cellos ordered set up directly from Cao
or Gliga are not at all an indication of what the cello is capable
of. Again, the shop and luthier, attention to detail can make all
the difference in the world. One of my kids plays on a Gliga, one on
a Klier, and neither would choose the other's instrument. E
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MCopeland
Registered User
Posts: 17
(7/7/01 2:07:02 pm)
Reply
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Re: Help in
comparing Cellos < $3,000
I went to Ifshins as well and tried three Jay-Haide cellos. I
really wasn't going to buy a cello but they were fun to try. The
three I tried were priced between $3500 and $5000. I thought the one
that I tried which was in the middle of this price range was
incredible. It talked on all the strings and had a wonderful sound.
The salesperson wrote down the number on the cello in case I had a
change of heart and would buy it. I then went back to my home in
Oregon.
A week later I was at my cello teacher's house when one
of her students brought in her new cello. Would you believe that it
was exactly the same cello ? The student had gone to Ifshins with
her parents, tried some cellos, and bought the one I thought was so
good. You do have to try a few of them because they vary a lot.
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