Buying a Cello
January 4, 2023 7:41 AM Subscribe
How do you go about buying a not-professional-$25,000-cello-but-not-a-student-plastic-cello cello? Snowflake details inside.
My wife and I are both not professional musicians, but we play music. I'm a brass player. I don't know anything about strings other than there are bows more expensive than my entire instrument. I really want to help my wife find a more playable cello, but she feels like this is an impossible task with the time she has available. Her current cello is a family heirloom from the mid 1800's, which is nice but it isn't a great instrument and has some playability issues.
I talked with a luthier that is local and makes instrument, but a handmade cello is $25000, which is a bit much to us. When I talk to music stores, they just have student level instruments which are worse than her current instrument. We have no idea how to go from here.
There has to be a middle ground where an instrument is nice but not too nice. Nicer than the Toyota Camry but not the Bugatti Veyron. How do I find the BMW i5 of Cellos?
My wife and I are both not professional musicians, but we play music. I'm a brass player. I don't know anything about strings other than there are bows more expensive than my entire instrument. I really want to help my wife find a more playable cello, but she feels like this is an impossible task with the time she has available. Her current cello is a family heirloom from the mid 1800's, which is nice but it isn't a great instrument and has some playability issues.
I talked with a luthier that is local and makes instrument, but a handmade cello is $25000, which is a bit much to us. When I talk to music stores, they just have student level instruments which are worse than her current instrument. We have no idea how to go from here.
There has to be a middle ground where an instrument is nice but not too nice. Nicer than the Toyota Camry but not the Bugatti Veyron. How do I find the BMW i5 of Cellos?
Best answer: Have you looked at string instrument stores specifically? If the location in your profile is accurate, there is a string instrument store in a nearby city that is selling Krutz cellos with a wide range of price points ($2k, $5k, $8k, $10k, $26k). The cello subreddit has some tips about identifying the right cello for you (I used the search term "buying").
posted by quadrilaterals at 7:47 AM on January 4, 2023
posted by quadrilaterals at 7:47 AM on January 4, 2023
Best answer: You need to find a store that has a selection of older instruments (they don't have to be 200 years old, just not a luthier who works to commission). This may involve some travel but it should he worth it as she will be able to try out a selection of instruments to get a feel for the range of instruments that's out there.
Has she had a good appraisal of her current cello? There may he work that could be done on it to improve playability. A good shop that employs a repairer will be able to advise, as might your local luthier.
posted by altolinguistic at 7:48 AM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Has she had a good appraisal of her current cello? There may he work that could be done on it to improve playability. A good shop that employs a repairer will be able to advise, as might your local luthier.
posted by altolinguistic at 7:48 AM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Go to another luthier. Many of them sell instruments that they didn't personally make, and most should have instruments at a variety of price points. Ask around for luthier recommendations and you'll start hearing the same names over and over. She should ask her string-playing friends, whoever services her current instrument, and you could even ask the luthier you already talked to for a recommendation.
As to the time commitment: I bought my first grown-up violin about a year ago. I think I made 3 trips to the luthier, totaling maybe 3-4 hours. On the first trip, we'd already discussed on the phone what I was looking for (this was very vague) and my budget, so he'd pre-selected a half-dozen instruments and as many bows for me to try. The return trips were for trying to find the right bow, since my teacher disagreed with my initial impulse on which to buy.
The whole thing was less painful and intimidating than I expected. I envy how happy she will be with her new instrument!
posted by juliapangolin at 7:58 AM on January 4, 2023
As to the time commitment: I bought my first grown-up violin about a year ago. I think I made 3 trips to the luthier, totaling maybe 3-4 hours. On the first trip, we'd already discussed on the phone what I was looking for (this was very vague) and my budget, so he'd pre-selected a half-dozen instruments and as many bows for me to try. The return trips were for trying to find the right bow, since my teacher disagreed with my initial impulse on which to buy.
The whole thing was less painful and intimidating than I expected. I envy how happy she will be with her new instrument!
posted by juliapangolin at 7:58 AM on January 4, 2023
Best answer: I am an individual music idiot but I love classical music and go to the symphony often. If I were in your shoes I'd send an email to my local symphony orchestra's community relations office (I'm in Chicago, looks like you're closer to St Louis so that's where I'd start if I were you). I'd ask them if they have any recommendations for an intermediate player looking to buy from a cello/strings seller locally.
posted by phunniemee at 8:00 AM on January 4, 2023
posted by phunniemee at 8:00 AM on January 4, 2023
Best answer: Might be worth a day or weekend trip to Bein & Fushi in Chicago. They might even be willing to ship potential instruments to you.
posted by Dashy at 8:19 AM on January 4, 2023
posted by Dashy at 8:19 AM on January 4, 2023
Best answer: Call all the luthiers in the area with your price range and find the 1-3 who have many instruments in your price range. Then schedule a time (1-3 hours) to go try them all in person. If it’s a well-run shop, they’ll set you up in a space with all the instruments they have and let you try them all back-to-back. If they’re really good and in the sort of price range I think you’re looking at (high end of student range), they will also make sure there is someone who plays cello in the shop for your appointment so they can also play the instrument and you can hear how it sounds. At your price point, you’re either looking for vintage instruments from not-particularly-well-known regions (which is always a bit hit or miss because the supply is inconsistent) or a modern luthier who gets blanks made abroad (usually in China) and hand finishes/carves them and assembles them. If someone says something like “come in, we might have a couple of things in your range, we’ll see…” they’re not the right shop for you (either much higher or lower than what you’re looking for or they specialize in not-cellos), so just thank them and move on to the next place on the list.
Depending on where you live, you may have to travel outside of the area to find the right person. I’m in Brooklyn, but I still spent about 8 hours schlepping around Manhattan to find the right $500-1000 bow (I think this is sort of analogous to shopping for a $5-8k cello), and NYC is basically the capital of the string instrument world in the US. Paradoxically, it was easier when I was a student - I just went to the shops that my teachers told me were good and that was that. If you have anyone in your life who is good at preparing high school students to attend conservatories, ask them - they will know which shops are the best for the price range you’re considering.
If you’re in Texas or the NYC area, MeMail me and I have some specific shop recommendations.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:23 AM on January 4, 2023
Depending on where you live, you may have to travel outside of the area to find the right person. I’m in Brooklyn, but I still spent about 8 hours schlepping around Manhattan to find the right $500-1000 bow (I think this is sort of analogous to shopping for a $5-8k cello), and NYC is basically the capital of the string instrument world in the US. Paradoxically, it was easier when I was a student - I just went to the shops that my teachers told me were good and that was that. If you have anyone in your life who is good at preparing high school students to attend conservatories, ask them - they will know which shops are the best for the price range you’re considering.
If you’re in Texas or the NYC area, MeMail me and I have some specific shop recommendations.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:23 AM on January 4, 2023
Personal recommendation for stringed instruments: Shar Music in Ann Arbor.
They are experts in stringed instruments for all levels. It's a bit of a drive for you if your location is accurate, but they also ship.
posted by FencingGal at 8:38 AM on January 4, 2023
They are experts in stringed instruments for all levels. It's a bit of a drive for you if your location is accurate, but they also ship.
posted by FencingGal at 8:38 AM on January 4, 2023
Response by poster: Sorry to thread sit!
My profile location is correct. I'm very close to St. Louis.
> Has she had a good appraisal of her current cello? There may he work that could be done on it to improve playability. A good shop that employs a repairer will be able to advise, as might your local luthier.
She had some work on her current cello with the luthier who was making another cello at the time. That is where the $25k data point came from. She expressed some frustrations with her instrument and that is when they showed us the in progress cello being made right now and tried to sell us on it. It was cool to see a cello in that stage of being built, but not playable at this time and not walk right out the door expensive and we really liked the people; they were very nice. But the combination of looking at wood and $25k it was difficult to imagine buying it and it being worth it.
I guess I was making too many assumptions about all luthiers based on the one we worked with recently. They had a lot of violins and a couple violas but no cellos or basses. But we picked them from a list of 3 or 4 recommended by a friend of a friend at the local university strings department.
I hadn't thought about contacting the symphony. That makes good sense too!
posted by cmm at 8:41 AM on January 4, 2023
My profile location is correct. I'm very close to St. Louis.
> Has she had a good appraisal of her current cello? There may he work that could be done on it to improve playability. A good shop that employs a repairer will be able to advise, as might your local luthier.
She had some work on her current cello with the luthier who was making another cello at the time. That is where the $25k data point came from. She expressed some frustrations with her instrument and that is when they showed us the in progress cello being made right now and tried to sell us on it. It was cool to see a cello in that stage of being built, but not playable at this time and not walk right out the door expensive and we really liked the people; they were very nice. But the combination of looking at wood and $25k it was difficult to imagine buying it and it being worth it.
I guess I was making too many assumptions about all luthiers based on the one we worked with recently. They had a lot of violins and a couple violas but no cellos or basses. But we picked them from a list of 3 or 4 recommended by a friend of a friend at the local university strings department.
I hadn't thought about contacting the symphony. That makes good sense too!
posted by cmm at 8:41 AM on January 4, 2023
Best answer: You buy a Jay Haide?
Yes, the proper answer is that you go to every luthier you can reasonably drive to, work out what cellos they have in your price bracket and try them all and then buy the one you like best. But as a guide, Jay Haide is the go-to maker in the "not a pro but not a student model" category and will set you back about $5k. Their cellos are very popular in the American market and are very reputable. She should definitely try one.
posted by plonkee at 3:22 AM on January 5, 2023
Yes, the proper answer is that you go to every luthier you can reasonably drive to, work out what cellos they have in your price bracket and try them all and then buy the one you like best. But as a guide, Jay Haide is the go-to maker in the "not a pro but not a student model" category and will set you back about $5k. Their cellos are very popular in the American market and are very reputable. She should definitely try one.
posted by plonkee at 3:22 AM on January 5, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:46 AM on January 4, 2023