I could sure use some help from anyone who knows something about student cellos.
My kid, now twelve, has been taking cello lessons for 3 years, and playing in the public school strings program for 4 years. He is now in 7th grade. His district requires an art elective until the end of high school, so he is committed to playing for another six years at least. He still loves playing, and hates art & drama, so the music elective is a no-brainer. I don’t know his exact level, but he’s sounding very nice on the Bach Suite #1 for Unaccompanied Cello. (=good for his age, but not a prodigy by any means.)
We are now paying ~$33/month for cello rental. It’s a good deal while he is using smaller instruments. He started on a 1/2 size–so cute! looked like a viola with a goiter–and is currently playing a 3/4 size. HOWEVER…the only cello available for him in his new junior high is a 4/4 size. There is one 3/4, but a kid even smaller than he is gets it. So he has adjusted to 4/4, and wants one for home practice, too. He is playing in tune, so his teacher says a 4/4 is ok for him.
Doing the math, that means ~$2400 in cello rental through the end of senior year of high school. Dayum! I could buy a better instrument for less than that, and he’ll have it to keep!
But what does a cello for <$2000 sound like? His teacher played in an orchestra with a $4000 cello, which sounds great to me, but what do I know. Everything I see on the internet seems to suggest that anything <$10,000 is just a piece of shit. There is no way I am paying that kind of money for a kid to play through high school. If he goes to conservatory, maybe, OK. But that’s a long way off, and I’m not really expecting it at this point.
His teacher suggests a cello for maybe $1500, which would be much better than the ones we’re renting. I would like to go shopping with the teacher, but I don’t think I can make our schedules come together for a big enough chunk of time. He gives lessons all the time, the store is 45 minutes away, I work full-time, etc.
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with the info on the net. I don’t wanna spend $15,000 or $50,000! I don’t want an antique from Italy! (Well, it would be nice, but it ain’t gonna happen.) I don’t want one that sounds like a shoebox, either.
Any suggestions?