Buying a cello can turn out to be an expensive investment, one should calls for a carefully planned buying guide. If you are a beginner or student looking to advance his or her playing skills, you’ll need a cello that has outstanding quality craftsmanship, not just in appearance but also in the quality and dynamism of sound.
We have chosen to review this wonderful set of beginner/student cellos, taking into consideration the quality and affordability of the cellos in questions. This review is intended to assist you in choosing the best and most reliable cello brand that fits your description and budget.
What are the Best Beginner/Student Cellos to Buy?
2) Cecilio CCO-100 Student Cello
- Beautiful
- Crack-Proof
- Natural Appearance
- Full Size
- Best Seller
1) D Z Strad Cello Model 101 Student Cello
- Genuine Fittings
- Hand Oil-Varnished
- Elegant ‘fleur-de-lis’ Style
- Smaller Size
3) Cecilio CCO-500 Intermediate Cello
- Highly Rated
- Popular Choice
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Comfortable playing
How to buy your first cello
The tendency to make a mistake (which can be very costly) in buying a cello is very high for all first-timers. As a beginner/student, you can purchase a cello that has been examined and tested by your teacher or music director. You can also buy a cello based on the recommendation of a reliable ‘expert’ in the field. This will save you from throwing away your money on a possible mistake.
If there is a local instrument store with lots of cello sat varying prices within your locality, take your teacher along to the store and try them out. Let your teacher suggest the one that will best suit your playing needs.
Renting as an option
Another way you can avoid the pitfalls of buying a cello as a beginner/student is to rent a cello. You can rent a cello for up to six months or even a year before deciding to make an outright purchase of your own. Who knows if you would lose interest in a few months time or you may find out that you don’t fancy that particular cello all the same, and want to get a different one.
Deal with a merchant that has a ‘rent to own’ agreement. You should also be able to ‘trade in’ your cello at future date for a better one if need be. Be a smart cello shopper! Don’t ever make the mistake of purchasing the first cello that you see in a local store or online.
Exploit modern online shopping
The internet and modern technology have made the world a global village. With a laptop or smartphone, you can bring the entire world right into your room and get whatever product you desire, provided you are connected online.
Online shopping sites like Amazon offer you a great way to buy your cello as a beginner/student level player. You can search for and read the specifications of a particular cello, comparing it with other cellos in the same category.
Then ascertain the quality of the cello, reviewing its strength and weaknesses by going through the reviews and comments left by previous buyers. The chances that you will be buying the right cello are very high once you follow these steps.
12 Best Beginner Cello Reviews and the Best Student Cellos
1) D Z Strad Cello Model 101 Student Cello ½
If you are looking for an excellent beginner/student cello that has great deep tone, the D Z Strad 101 is your best bet. This cello has receives lots of recommendations from music teachers. The craftsmanship is top quality and the sound is great.
As an acoustic cello, the DZ Strad 101 is an excellent choice for beginner and student cellist. It features a superb handcraft external design bearing a dark, red gold lacquer finish, which gives it an antique style appearance.
The cello is available in different sizes—1/2, 1 /4, 1/8, and 3 /4 sizes—both small and full sizes. The cello features a toned wood construction that offers it a pleasing and organic feature. The instrument features a Brazilwood bow that has a Parisian Eye frog design bearing good authentic white horsehair.
Featuring a durable mahogany construction on the sides and back, the DZ Strad Cello gives a remarkable acoustic sound. It comes with a spruce top and chinrest hard-carved pegs, together with the fingerboard and tailpiece that make up a solid and high-quality design.
The only area where you may need an upgrade is in the strings for such an excellent and pricey cello.
2) Cecilio CCO-100 Student Cello
Cecilio returns with yet another good design, a continuation of the CCO series of beginner/student cellos. This model is one of the best and high selling cellos in this category. It is a full size (4/4/) cello with lustre varnish finish.
We were very impressed by the quality this cello offers, especially considering the price range. The beginner/student no longer need to rent expensive models since this Cecilio CCO-100 Student Cello offers solid quality make for the budding beginner/student.
The price of this cello is excellent, and the quality it offers in respect of the sound is a lot better than most of its competitors in the same class. Although you may want to replace the strings and bow to acquire improved tone, this cello is a nice starter instrument for the beginner. The spruce top of this cello is crack-proof, meaning you don’t have to worry soon about getting damages.
Like with most other models of cellos in this category, this Cecilio CCO-100 Student Cello features a maple neck, posterior and sides, which enable the cello to achieve a good tone. It comes with a case that is lightweight and well padded on the inside the case also has backpack straps that can be adjusted with pockets on it. A bow, horsehair, rosin cake, and an extra set of strings defines this cello as a complete beginner/student package.
3) Cecilio CCO-500 Ebony Fitted Flamed Solid Wood Construction
If what you have been looking for is a cello that will be an ideal choice for an intermediate/advanced student player, the Cello CCO 500 is your best choice. Every piece of this cello is inspected and certified by technicians working at the Cecilio’s distribution center in Florida, United States of America, to make sure they meet top quality.
This Cecilio cello model comes in a case that’s hard on the outside but soft on the inside, which safely stores and protects the instrument from harm’sway. The case material construction makes it convenient to carry about to school, orchestra or practice classes. This cello is finished excellently with a high-quality lustre golden brown varnish finish.
Overall, the Cecilio CC0O-500 Cello is the perfect choice for the student and beginner cellist. The fingerboard and its ebony design are durable, including the tailpiece, pegs and the four nickel plated fine-tuners which aid perfect tone selection.
The hard shell case comes with adjustable backpack straps. The cello also comes with good accessories like a Brazilwood bow, cello stand, Mongolian horsehair, rosin cake and additional strings.
4) Windsor Ml-3006 Windsor 4/4 Size Cello with Padded Bag
Windsor is an excellent cello that offers the student or beginner player a chance to enjoy a wide variety of different tones. It provides powerful means of expressions—from solemn to calm—within the lower strings, and to bright and singing right on the upper strings. The construction of this cello is excellent. It produces a deep and rich beautiful tone that is mostly associated with more expensive models.
The Windsor Ml-3006 Cello is a good choice for beginners to advanced student cellist. The body design can last for many years to come. It comes with strings that are perfectly tuned in fifths, with each of them having their own characteristics.
The ‘C’ string has dark, weighty and powerful features as the lowest string, and it gives a full, bodied bass tone. The ‘G’ string is designed with less power and is suitable for producing softer effects.
While the ‘D’ string stands as the most soulful and musical among the four strings, producing silky and warmer tone, the ‘A’ string stands as the highest of them, with a bright, singing tone capable of attaining the tenor range.
To keep your Windsor cello in good shape at all times, the package comes with a padded bag which has adjustable shoulder straps and carrying handles for easy transportation of the instrument. There is a front pocket on the case where you can store your bow and another pocket for your extra strings and rosin.
5) Crescent 4/4 Beginner Cello Starter Kit – Natural Wood Color
Every beginner cellist needs an affordable and functional cello to start-off with. The Crescent 4/4 Cello Starter Kit is one of the best brands that combines quality and affordability.
The beginner/student player will get to have a nice sound because the instrument features quality backside, neck, and sides made of the best maple construction. It has a spruce top design with fingerboard and pegs made of ebony construction for improving play.
The tailpiece has four fine-tuners that are made of alloy construction. This helps in stabilizing the tune and volume level of the style you are playing. It comes with a rosewood frog that enhances the direction of play, with the genuine horsehair and stick bow. The bag that comes with this cello is soft on the inside yet durable on the outside and is well padded to secure the instrument.
The bag that comes with this cello also have pockets where you can store small items such as pen, tuners, strings etc. However, you may need to change the strings and get ones with better quality.
Also, some reviewers have complained of the bridge coming uninstalled with the package. But the Crescent 4/4 Beginner Cello is a nice starter kit, especially with the extra strings, rosin, and bow that comes with it.
6) Cremona SC-165 Premier Student Cello Outfit – 1 /2 Size
This is a high-quality student cello that offers a whole lot of value for the young and budding cellist. Cremona cellos offer great quality for a reasonable price tag. Some parts of the instrument are made in China but the entire product and its features are assembled in the heart of California, the United States, which means top quality American quality construction is involved.
The Cremona SC-165 Premier Student Cello is built to meet the requirement of the National Standard for Music Education, as directed by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). This cello is crafted from the best hand-craft spruce and maple design. The bow of this cello is made of high-quality Breton AB-112C Brazilwood, which enables the instrument to generate good tone.
At the neck, the Cremona SC-165 is well oiled so the cellist has a better feel when playing. The bow has a good balance to further aid the playing condition while the ebony fingerboard and rosewood fittings provide more comfort of play.
The springs are well spaced, with precise height to guarantee excellent hand positioning and flawless intonation. Four smooth fine-tuners occupy the composite and lightweight tailpiece, along with the well-fitted Swiss style pegs.
7) Z ZDTM Acoustic Cello with Bag, Bow, Rosin for beginner Cello
Here is one cello that has a full-size feature suitable for both adults and kids alike. Being an acoustic cello, the material construction is of paramount interest, and so far, this hasn’t disappointed.
Weighing 129.1oz, this acoustic cello is an ideal choice for a beginner/student to acquire. The cello comes with everything you need to start playing from the onset. As with most other cellos, this acoustic cello comes with a bow construction that measures 28.5 inches in length, creating a solid tone. The back, side and face of the cello feature a basswood construction while the fingerboard is made of aluminum alloy construction.
At the top of the cello, the maple construction dictates quality while the chin rest is made of blackout wood construction to ensure its durability. The same blacked wood material was used for the tailpiece and tuning pegs while the bow construction involves Arbor material.
Overall, this acoustic cello is an excellent choice for those who love to play the cello as a member of the violin family. Every part of this cello is durable due to the reliable wood construction.
The top is cracked proof, meaning this cello will not easily get damaged even under difficult weather conditions. It has a carrying bag with padded interior and solid exterior design, including pockets for holding accessories.
8) D’ Luca MC100-4/4 Meister Student Cello
D’Luca is famous for producing good sets of beginners/students instruments across the different range. Most of their cellos end up being great value for the money. This particular cello looks good and the sound is great. It has everything a teen cellist requires to start playing. The quality is not just good but also reliable to commence a career as a cellist.
After a careful go-through, our research team saw that this cello is not only affordable as a school package but also features z remarkable design. The body of the cello features a rosewood construction with perfect fittings in all areas.
It comes with maple bridge design and adjustable endpin which combines effectively to render a gorgeous sound. You can mount the cello on a portable stand that comes with the package and play with the greatest ease.
The neck, back, and sides of this cello also feature maple design, and you get what you see from the picture. One amazing thing with this cello is that it comes with a set of new strings, unlike some models. A well padded and protective gig bag also comes with the D’Luca MC100, including quality horsehair, rosin cake, bow, and tuners.
9) Paititi PTTCE101 4/4/ Solid Wood Beginner cello Kit
This cello is one of the best for beginners. It comes with all relevant designs and supporting accessories that a player can use to begin playing right away. For a product that features a sleek and reliable design for the beginner cellist, the Paititi PTTCE101 4/4/ Solid Wood Beginner cello Kit stands as the ideal choice for a beginner student.
The Paititi PTTCE101 Cello outfit comes with one durable bow made of Brazilwood. It features a decent hand-carved design made of high-quality gloss finish. The spruce top is also hand-carved and looks solid. The maple back, neck and side scroll has the same beautiful handcrafted design that gives the instrument a compelling look.
This Paititi PTTCE101 Cello has beautiful pegs and inlaid purfling that enhances the tone balance and playability. While the tailpiece features alloy metal construction with 4 reliable built-in fine-tuners, the fingerboard is designed from ebony wood construction for flawless accessibility and playing. The Austrian wooden cake and double pearl eye Mongolian horsehair make this package a good one to get.
It comes with a hard, durable but lightweight case with wheels and handles for storage and carrying of the instrument. A one year warranty also covers anyone that buys the Paititi PTTCE101 4/4/ Solid Wood Beginner cello Kit against manufacturer defects.
10) Merano 3/4 Size Blue Student Cello with Case and Bow
Merano is another good brand when it comes to producing the best of beginners and student musical instruments. Their cellos have been good and have received lots of recommendations from teachers and music directors alike. This cello is perfect for the 5thgrade orchestra class in school. The color is more of a baby blue than the bright, teal it came in this picture.
Apart from the carrying case which isn’t much of a substantial product, you won’t be undertaking major upgrade after you have purchased this instrument. You may have to change the case once your kid mistakenly drops it. Nevertheless, the design is good quality. The spruce top is well made and the neck, back, and sides are made of maple wood construction.
The pegs and fingerboard of this cello are made of solid black hardwood. The tailpiece that contains the four fine-tuners features an alloy metal construction for god tone selection and balance of play.
The bow, which guarantees sound quality control, features a wood stick design as well, plus a hardwood frog and excellent horsehair for better comfort and playability.
11) Merano 3 /4 Size Green Student Cello with Bag & Bow
This is a replica version of the Merano 3 /4 Blue Student Cello, with the major difference being in the colors. While the formal is blue in color construction, this particular version is green in color designation.
The Merano 3 /4 Size Green Cello is equally a reliable cello famous for producing warmer and richer tone for beginner/student. The cello has a good reputation with lots of recommendations from teachers and music directors alike. This cello is perfect for the beginner/student to practice and master the orchestra class in school and lessons at home. The green color design is far more appealing to people compared to its blue counterpart.
It features an excellent spruce top that will last for many years while the maple neck construction guarantee that you will achieve a well balanced and long lasting neck, back, and sides. The strings that come with this version also appear cheap and you just might need to change them for better quality sound and tone.
Also, like the blue version of this Merano 3 /4 Student Cello, the carrying case which isn’t much of a reliable design, but aside that, you won’t be carrying out too many upgrades after you have purchased this instrument.
While the bow offers good sound quality by featuring a wooden stick design, the pegs and fingerboard are made to last and perform excellently as well.
Unlike the blue version of this model, the Merano 3 /4 Green Cello comes with a cello stand, a music stand, a round rubber mute to achieve stylish play and spare strings.
12) Etude Student Series Cello Outfit 1 /2 Size
Trending rapidly into intermediate territory, Etude and its student series cello outfits is a force to reckon with in the manufacturing of beginner/student cellos and such other instruments.
Boasting a full and rich sound, this cello is constructed to meet the playing needs of the serious student and budding beginners. It features the highest craftsmanship and best material you can get in this category.
The Etude Student Series Cello Outfit 1 /2 Size has made a name for itself by being one of the most affordable and highest quality cello brand at this level. The cello features a laminated top design that is just perfect for a starter to kickoff its career on a good ground.
The design is also engineered as such that it can motivate the effort of an advanced student to develop his/her skills. The bow is solid and renders good intonation. It has a brown finish quality design, with a maple neck that’s well oiled to add more to the excellent body finish.
You may not need to change the steel core strings that come with this design as they appear to be surprisingly good and reliable for such a cheap price product. The French bow is also reliable because of the Brazilwood construction.
And with a gig bag to store your cello, nothing can stop you from going places with the Etude Student Series Cellos.
Choosing the Best Beginner/Student Cello from the Best Beginner Cello Brands
Buying a cello is like a veritable minefield for the beginner/student. Cellos are great instruments that can form a great buy, but for the beginner, this can be tricky. However, with the right information (as put forward in this review) and with proper research, getting a good beginner/student cello should be easy.
2) Cecilio CCO-100 Student Cello
- Beautiful
- Crack-Proof
- Natural Appearance
- Full Size
- Best Seller
1) D Z Strad Cello Model 101 Student Cello
- Genuine Fittings
- Hand Oil-Varnished
- Elegant ‘fleur-de-lis’ Style
- Smaller Size
3) Cecilio CCO-500 Intermediate Cello
- Highly Rated
- Popular Choice
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Comfortable playing
Don’t ever fail to get advice from a professional—one who knows the factors that make a good cello. Try as much as possible never to fall for the overly cheap price, neither consider too much of expensive models.
As a cardinal rule in cello (and such other instruments,) price is not always the best determinant. An expensive cello can turn out to be garbage in terms of intonation and level of playability while some cheap models can turn out to be a workhorse with breathtaking performances.
The best cello is the one whose appearance should inspire the beginner/student player. It should be quite affordable and reliable in play and transportation. A good beginner/student cello will attract admiration from your music director or teacher. Friends or band members should be asking you where or how you come about it.
Lastly, the cello should be able to last for a while (never expect it to last forever) and enhance your playing skills, giving you a reason why you should keep playing. The sound must be encouraging and the construction should be good enough.
Then you know how to get yourself a nice and solid beginner/student cello.