hello there. gonna take up the cello. i`ve seen these stentor 2 student cellos with ebony fittings for £375. i`ve found a shop that`ll do one for £310. is this price reasonable? are these cellos any good? would this make a suitable starter instrument? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance, paulo.

you should get a teacher and ask them to help you find a good instrument. trying to find one without even knowing how to play one is rediculously stupid. Makers really mean jack, its the actual sound the cello produces that counts and if you dont play you dont whats good. dont even try to do it yourself, people will rip you off when they see you are ignorant.

thanks brooke, sounds like good advice, but i don`t want to pay £20 - £30.per hour for a tutor to come shopping with me. Also the shop i`m looking at is an hour drive away; plus the same back; plus the time it takes to choose the instrument. This is a potential outlay of £60. - £90.just on tutor fees, which is a lot, especially if the tutor advises against the instruments on show and we have to do it all again on another day.
Is there no one out there who`s used one of these cellos and could advise me? i don`t want to outlay £60 - £90. before i`ve even learned a note!

If you get a decent teacher at a shop that rents cellos then that solves your problem, there must be one in your area, and a 200$ cello is crap, trust me.

Most decent shops will let you take the instrument on approval particularly if they know the teacher. Sometimes you have to pay an insurance fee (?£5). Find a shop that will do this.
tilly

Forgot to say - I`ve just bought 2 of the smallest sizes 1/10th and 1/8th off the peg (no extra set up) and apart from changing the strings particularly A and C they are amazingly good value. Could do with new bridges really but certainly robustly made.

They`re certainly adequate for a beginner.

Liz

thanks to all.