I can't afford both a cello and a cello bow but would like to start playing the cello.
My violin bow is kind of a wee bit finer than your standard musicschool bulk model bow I guess so I'm worried it wouldn't be sturdy enough...
I'm guessing cello bows might be thicker and have broader hair?
So should I really reconsider buying/renting a cello without a bow, starting out with my fairly light violin bow? (I probably wouldn't afford buying as fine a cello bow as my violin bow, which I like alot.. so that's another reason... or maybe a reason not to break it using it on a cello maybe? ^^;
Oh I remembered we have a viola bow within the family aswell which I could use and that one is thicker than my violin bow.. are viola bows and cello bows fairly interchangable?
Throughout my time playing cello ive rented three (two classical, one electric) and have finally bought my own.
I have never come accross a hired cello, mine or anyone in my section's where you had to hire the bow seperately, it came as a package. Aswell as that, when I bought my cello, it came in a package with a bow (and a few other goodies).
A violin bow will not produce a good tone on the cello (you will find it very difficult to produce a tone at all, which would be a very discouraging start to your cello studies). As the cello strings are thicker than violin strings, they require more pressure to vibrate them and therefore require a thicker, heavier bow. You could also cause considerable damage to your violin bow. Look around for the cheapest cello bow you can find - this will be far better than a violin bow.
thanks for the replies! the cello I'm considering (new planet electric cello.. those black ones on ebay) does come with a bow but since the bundle of the cello, bow and case is so relatively cheap I don't expect the bow to be pretty crude.. I bought one of their electric pro violins and the bow that was included was far inferior to the one I got with my aucustic violin and I tried for a long while applying rosin, applying rosin, applying rosin but it never achieved as good friction..
the electric pro violin actually has a nice aucustic sound (not even slightly "silent") (allthough the pickup sends through constant noise and pops) so I'm hoping the cello is equally decent.
but maybe I should rent a proper aucustic cello.
well.. so now you know a bit about that anyway ;-)
Oh god, DO NOT buy instruments from ebay! I have never head anything good about them. If you want an electric instrument, I would reccomend buying a well known brand (such as yahmaha) even if they are more expensive. The way I see it is if a good electric cello cost $1,500ish, and you find one on ebay for $700, you'll just end up upgrading to the higher quality anyway, but you'll be down $700.
But hey, maybe you'll find something good.
Anyway, the violin bow thing, it doesn't work. My cello bow died and while I waited to find a new one I tried using my violin bow, and it is so unresponsive. It may get the A and D string moving a bit but g and c barely move at all, and it will just frustrated you. If you are worried about buy a bow, you can always get a cheaper student bow that will last you atleast a few months. Go to folkmusician.com and they have student cello bows for $22.00.
I started playing cello again two years ago after not playing for many years. I was given a cello that was purchased from Giardinelli.com that came with a viola bow by mistake. Since I hadn't played for so many years, I didn't notice until I complained to my teacher about the thin tone. She looked at the bow and informed me of the mistake. I had used it this way for months so it will work but not as full tone as a cello bow. I compared the viola bow with an old violin bow I had and they were identical size for the wood part anyway. I couldn't compare the hair thickness as the violin bow I have has lost the hair years ago.
My violin bow is kind of a wee bit finer than your standard musicschool bulk model bow I guess so I'm worried it wouldn't be sturdy enough...
I'm guessing cello bows might be thicker and have broader hair?<
I actually purchased a violin bow for use with my accoustic cello....and prefer it to my cello bow!
Being frustrated by the limited reach of the much shorter cello bow I bought a carbon violin bow which is approx. 3" longer and I haven't looked back...nor have I noticed any difference in tone or volume...the only noticable difference between the two is the length and the hair is slightly narrower. I guess it would depend on the quality of the cello and the bow...as for breakage is it possible to break a bow just playing (musicaly speaking) with it?
searching...
