For hundreds of years, acoustic designs have been the basic standard when it comes to string instruments. Whether for solo players, orchestra musicians or such other players, acoustic instruments have always taken the center stage. They offer users at all levels a unique way to learn and master the basics of melody and rhythm, together with the ability to realize the physical nature of things.
It also offers people a resounding and skillful way of interacting with their surroundings and the outside world in an operational fashion. They always feature meticulous craftsmanship while bearing the player in mind. The cello is one of the best acoustic instruments in the primordial era.
The unique feature of the modern cello
The advent of technology has impacted positively on the development of the modern-day cello, which can now be played electronically. It is now possible to connect cellos to external electrical/electronic devices like an amplifier, phones, deck or cassette players which allows for live usage and excellent live practice volume.
What are the Best Electric Cellos to Buy?
2) Yamaha Silent Electric Cello
- Professional
- Reputable Brand
- Piezo Electric Pickup Aux
1) Cecilio Metallic Electric Cello
- Highly Rated
- Affordable
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Impressive Quality
3) NS Design CR6 Cello
- Highly Rated
- Unique Design
- Solid Construction
- Comfortable playing
Choosing an electric cello
It is a great decision to make when it comes to buying an electric cello. These strings instruments are not only, cool, stylish but extremely fun and delightful to play. We know that electric cellos are not that easy to find at local stores and so the majority of them are bought online. This has informed our decision to review some of the best electric cellos in the market, and we hope your selection will be greatly simplified.
Buying a regular cello and shopping for an electric cello are two different experiences. For instance, what really matters is choosing a regular acoustic cello is the ‘sound quality’ it possesses. But in the case of the electric cello, the sound quality is not a major factor of consideration. This is because majority of the sound travels through electric wires and nodes, and which are amplified, to say the least. So choosing an electric cello can’t be based solely on sound quality and as result, we have chosen some important criteria in evaluating the best electric cello.
Evaluating the best electric cello
We took into considerations lots of different brands in the market and after preliminary reviews, we trimmed down our list to the best 13 electrical cellos under a relatively strict and elaborate criterion during and after our reviews.
Below are the factors we took into consideration:
Brand reputation
You have to consider the brand’s popularity and how real-time users rate it across a selected range of online selling and reviews platforms like Amazon, eBay, Walnut, etc. But bear in mind that some products might just be hitting the market anew, so basing your choice strictly on this particular criterion, may deny you the chance of buying a solid and reliable cello.
Features & options
What options does the cello offer you? Do you have the necessary accessories such as tuners, strings, headphones, cables, etc., included? Will the cello allow you to perform confidentially? Do you have the ability to control how, when, where and what style or volume to play? Think of that.
Usability and feedback
We check out the total output and end performance of each cello before we enlisted it as one of the best electric cellos in the market.We also consider how fast and reliable its customer care service has or will help in resolving issues arising from the cello’s use. These and more are issues you should critically consider when shopping for the best electrical cello.
13 Best Electric Cello Reviews and the Best Electric Cello Brands
1) Cecilio 4/4 CECO 1BK Black Metallic Electric Cello
When you talk about quality and reliability, you talk about Cecilio. The brand is remarkable for producing good and affordable quality strings instruments across all playing levels. This Cecilio metallic Electric Cello packs a lot of features for those who are performing on the stage, recording in the studio or simply practicing. This cello offers excellent functionality and stylish design for all players without disturbing the peace of their surroundings.
Measuring 4/4 in size, this electric cello features a maple wood and black metallic full-size body construction. It has four detachable fine tuners that lie around the mother of pearl inlay, all complimenting the ebony fingerboard, pegs, and tailpiece construction. Some users have purchased this cello with the bridge installed. The elegant look and stylish design make this cello suitable as a Christmas gift.
In terms of performance, we found out that this cello possesses an insanely impressive quality. The sound is great and the instrument feels stout. It has the capacity to add a whole new dimension to your cello playing. The body is sturdy and the neck and pegs are very firm. The sound is simply unbelievable. For such a price, this cello is worth the taking.
2) Yamaha SVC -110SK Silent Electric Cello Brown
If you are looking for something that will give you great acoustic sound, you can count on Yamaha SVC-110 Electric Cello. Yamaha is a brand renowned for its quality designs in different types of musical instruments, which have sold thousands of products worldwide. The SVC-110 features the smooth texture and highly compelling design that beat most of the competition in this class.
Featuring a traditional beige bridge, the Yamaha SVC-110SK is ideal for a cellist who wants to play in a quiet background. The sound that this cello renders far exceeds that of the other models. The instrument is designed in a classical functional shape, permitting high acoustic sound rendition.
The acoustic geometry is intact. Making it highly easy for the player to achieve a back and forth transition. The instrument is made from high quality and exceptional material, with full-bodied frame for the traditional feel.
It has four Wittner tuning with perfect adjusters plus a tailpiece that has fine tuning control. It also comes with piezo electric pickup aux embedded in volume control and comes powered with AA battery.
3) NS Design CR6 Cello
This cello is an extremely beautiful instrument, with an incredible and stylish design. Ned Steinberger manufactures the cello and this model comes in 4, 5 and 6 strings. The NS Design CR6 Cello features active and innovative electronics and is capable of producing precise and delicate tones similar to its acoustic counterparts.
The construction of this cello allows it to create excellent and exciting new sound by virtue of its innovative polar piezo pickup system and geometry that shapes the tone.
The NS Design CR6 Cello features high-end tripod stand which can be adjusted to suit preferred positions, and is very compact and standard with the cello itself. You can easily take this instrument to anywhere you like because of the inventive and free-mobility shoulder strap carriage system. In order to achieve a traditional point of cello contact and position, this instrument comes with an end-pin stand that yields unbeatable result in that regard.
Overall, the NS Design CR6 Cellobody construction is solidly built, especially with the rock-hard maple body, neck, and peghead. The fingerboard consists of excellent ebony design, including note reference dots while the traditional amber strain bearing polymer topcoat defines the overall finish. You have superb toggle through volume controls, treble EQ, Bass EQ and a headphone more performance.
4) Yamaha SVC50SK Silent Compact Cello Outfit
If you are living in an apartment and you want to start practicing on your cello without disturbing your neighbor, the Yamaha SVC50SK Silent Compact Cello Outfit is the ideal choice for you.
This cello is a silent electric type that features compact size body construction with detachable legs. The cello is very easy to hold and to play, especially with the chest support which gives the player a clear natural feel and comfortable resonance.
The Yamaha SVC50SK Silent Compact Cello Outfit features a slim, compact dimension that easily breakdown, coupled with the superb reverb section. This cello also comes with Line Out, Auxiliary In and headphone jacks into which you can connect your phones, external devices as well as the amp for better music support and play-along beats. You can also connect your deck, disk or cassette player for more external music playing practices.
The Yamaha SVC50SK is ideal for those who want to play quite and put aside the acoustic cello for a while. It is perfect for practice classes late at night and early in the morning. The instrument looks great, perfect construction and the sound is simply incredible.
5) Yamaha SVC-110 Silent Cello Pearl White
Yamaha returns with follow up on the SVC series, this time, featuring a complete pearl white design fit for silent cello practice lessons any time of the day. This silent cello has a unique hollow and high resonating chamber that offers amazing depth, warmth, and complexity and complexity of timbre to the instrument’s overall tone output. This Yamaha SVC series is one of the best and most reliable naturally acoustic sound cellos in the market.
When you play this instrument, it will never collapse into a smaller unit for easy storage or for travel, unlike its sister version, the SVC50, and SVC 210 cellos. The Yamaha SVC-110 Silent Cello Pearl White has superb studio-quality effect and onboard preamp, including a reliable built-in reverb that adds to the sound generation process. The quality of the instrument is never in doubt as it features a maple and spruce body construction.
Getting a desired tone and volume is easy by virtue of the standard and reliable tuning pegs that come with the SVC 110. This cello has all the capabilities for a quiet and comfortable practice lesson anywhere in concert settings. It is the ideal choice for electric cellists and with the inclusion of a nicely padded gig bag, the SVC 110 stand as a comfortable piece of instrument.
6) AW 4/4 Full Size Electric Silent Cello
This is a full-size electric cello with all the required features of a student practical cello. The design of this AW Cello incorporates a silent feature that allows the player to practice discreetly without disturbing the peace of others. This cello comes with a headphone that you can simply connect to the LINE OUT jackhole and practice on a silent mode.
Weighing below 23 pounds, this electric cello is a lightweight option that fits the need of the practicing student. the cello features a hand-carved maple wood body construction, with an elegant metallic finish to compliment.
The neck, pegs, and fingerboard are also made of maple wood, which adds to the instrument level of resonance. The Jujube wood construction of the tailpiece offers comfort and ease of play for the player.
Additionally, the AW 4/4 Full-Size Electric Silent Cello features adjustable endpin that you can maneuver to get a suitable position that will enhance your playing comfort. This model is a complete package that is powered by the 9V alkaline battery and comes with a wheeled hard case, tuner, rosin, and bow, a set of backup strings, a tuner, headphone, bridge and operating manual.
7) Bellafina Electric Chincello Outfit
Are you looking for a cello that won’t cost you much? Bellafina Chincello is an electric cello that is not just affordable but also comes with the right tone stylish design that will suit your needs. The cello tones and timbre comes in a compact size design that enhances comfort and playability. All that you need to do is plug this cello into an amplifier or any other instrument and enjoy the best of sound and practice play.
This instrument is great for peace performances, especially where you don’t have much of a space. It is also ideal for use when you are on the stage using a cable or you can simply attach a wireless unit for unrestricted mobility and comfort of play. With lots of functionality to play with, the Bellafina Chincello is a decent piece for the cellist looking for an affordable and yet reliable cello to play around with.
This cello package comes with a Chincello bow and a headway viola sized pickup that renders high sound projection, and which can be attached within seconds to the instruments without any need to undertake any modifications. This cello was the cynosure of all eyes at a concluded string teachers conference in America.
8) Stagg ECL 4/4 BK Electric Cello Black
Stagg is a famous brand reputable for manufacturing top quality string musical instruments for all playing levels. Coming from the heels of its 1995 debut, Stagg has continued to roll out high-end designs and the ECL- 4/4 BK Electric Cello represent one of their greatest brands. The Stag ECL features a solid and durable maple wood construction that renders great sound output.
The Stagg ECL comes in a beautiful color and shape that will draw the attention of people. The tailpiece, head, and fingerboard incorporate a black color design that makes this cello a unique piece of art. The beige bridge that comes with this cello is a standard one, which along with the fingerboard and tailpiece, makes it easy for people to recognize the instrument as a cello.
The Stagg ECL has a box on the side accessories like headphones can be connected. The instrument also has room for you to connect and stream music into an amp, using a quarter-inch cable connected to the output porthole.
You can now play your favorite music and tunes silently without disturbing the peace of your next door neighbor. The Stagg ECL comes with an active pickup and a battery cartridge that can be manipulated to charge the pickup.
And with the volume and bass controls, you can go places with this cello.
9) Aliyes 4/4 Full Size Solid Wood Electric Cello Violoncello
The Aliyes cello is a full-size option for cellists who love the electric cellos. Aliyes is brand famous for manufacturing traditional styled electric cellos, with more beautiful personalized designs.
This cello provides cellists of all levels with comfortable ability to practice and play their instruments discreetly without offending or disturbing the peace of their neighbors. It doesn’t matter whether you are practicing at home; performing on the stage or recording in the studio, Aliyes cellos brings you the best in functionality and stylish playing.
This cello features a solid and lightweight body construction, which involves 2.4 inches deep and durable quality plywood. The neck of the instrument features a maple wood construction and the fingerboard and fittings consist of ebony design. The tailpiece is made of aluminum while the German brand pickup system ensures you have the best of sound projection.
Playing this cello is easy because the player can get a better contact and position due to the stainless steel and ebony endpin that comes with it. The Aliyes Electric cello can be powered by a 9V alkaline battery, which you will have to buy separately.
It, however, feature a host of other necessary items such as a headphone you can plug to the instrument to play in silent mode, a cable for amp or external device connection, a rosin, a bow, cleaning cloth, tuners, strings, and a gig bag for safekeeping of the cello.
10) SONG Electric Cello
This electric cello is a hand-made model that has good features. The built in quality and the instrument offers good sound and outstanding playability. The SONG Electric Cello features an AACAJOU solid wood body construction with a track record of durability and longevity. This cello comes in brown color design and the instrument is remarkable for the strong and powerful sound it produces.
Apart from the good workmanship that characterizes the SONG Electric Cello design, it also features a walnut framework and a maple neck construction. These allow the player to play from a comfort standpoint. The cello features an ebony part and fingerboard that enhances better playing process. The pickup that powers the sound of this electric cello is excellent as such that it projects powerful and reliable sound.
Overall, the SONG Electric Cello is a piece of instrument that will get the job done for those looking for the best and affordable cello. This model comes with a free case bow plus a bag that so soft for the safe-keeping of the instrument. It also includes cable and rosin for proper maintenance. The beautiful orange color design further adds glamour to this wonderful electric cello.
11) New IRIN 4/4 M-02 Marple Wood Electric Cello
This electric cello has some of the best qualities and features among the most expensive and high standard cellos in the market. The New IRIN 4/4 M-02 Maple Wood Electric Cello is compelling in terms of appearance, with elegant designs that stand out in the crowd.
Featuring a 4/4 stylish design, the Ne IRIN Electric Cello has a black-colored metallic varnished surface.The fingerboard features an ebony wood material construction, which further adds to the glory of this cello. The tailpiece also incorporates ebony material construction while the bow is made of solid brass wood, including high-quality steel strings that blend with the overall wooden construction to produce a great and deeper sound.
On the side of the cello, there is a MIC and Phone interface and a LINE OUT, where you can connect your cello to the speakers and amplifiers and play your favorite songs or beat from your phone. Durable knobs allow you to adjust the volume to give you the precise listening sound or resonance you want. The New IRIN 4/4 M-02 Maple Wood Electric Cello comes with parts such as a gig bag, tuner, strings, anti-skid pad, cleaning cloth, rosin, bow, cable, and headphone.
Overall, the quality is good and the all-around wooden construction is top class.
12) Full Size 4/4 Silent Electric Cello
Here is another remarkable electric cello with outstanding design and features that fits the needs of players who want something nice without breaking the bank. This electric cello has a letter ‘H’ shape body construction, which is very appealing. The remarkable body shape is further made to appear elegant by virtue of the sparkle gloss finish which gives this electric cello a top-quality appearance and style.
The bride of this electric cello incorporates a maple wood construction, meaning more warmer and smooth level of intonation. The tuning pegs are made of ebony wood construction, perfectly set along a metal tailpiece that offers precision and balance. This cello comes with 4 fine tuners that you can use to achieve a precise and balance level of intonation, including one volume control mechanism.
This Harmonia cello is very pleasing to the eye. It has excellent sound with high-quality strings for such a cheap product. You can easily control the tuning pegs without damaging the strings while the entire layout is extremely comfortable and much easy to play. However, if you’re planning to play along with your favorite music, you might have to change or get a better headphone.
13) Ammoon 11948B 4/4 Solid Wood Electric Cello Violin
This is a complete size—4/4/ electric cello. Its remarkable features like most of its high quality based competitors. For the price, we can say this is a decent cello. But when compared to the likes of Yamaha SVC50SK, the Ammoon is just a baby in the bath. Notwithstanding, the cello’s body construction and the sound quality it offers put it up among the big brands.
The Ammoon 11948B 4/4 Solid Wood Electric Cello Violin features a maple wood body construction that has an excellent black metallic varnish surface finish. The bow is made of Brazil wood and the springs are made of high-quality springs. The ebony tailpiece further adds to the high-quality design that has appealing looks.
At the sides of the cello is a MIC and phone interface which allows the player to connect and play favorite music and tunes while playing along. It features superb knobs for volume and tone adjustment and the entire package consist of the bow, rosin, strings, headphones, tuners, pads, cleaning cloths and a gig bag for adequate storage and transportation.
Choosing the Best Electric Cello from the Best Electric Cello Brands
Although electric cellos are relatively new in the market, the confidentiality, ease of play and comfort they offered, make them highly sought-after instruments. While there are hundreds of brands in the musical instrument market, we only bring to you the best 13 electrical cellos in the market. The above listed electrical cellos come in various shapes, colors, and sizes—with lots of features and functionality that would suit any style of play and whatever type of music.
2) Yamaha Silent Electric Cello
- Professional
- Reputable Brand
- Piezo Electric Pickup Aux
1) Cecilio Metallic Electric Cello
- Highly Rated
- Affordable
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Impressive Quality
3) NS Design CR6 Cello
- Highly Rated
- Unique Design
- Solid Construction
- Comfortable playing
Factors determining the best electric cello brand
There are things you should look out for when shopping for the best electric cello brand. These are:
Portability
Since you don’t want a cello that you can’t play around, portability becomes a major point of consideration in selecting the brand with the best cello. In this criterion, the Yamaha electric cello with its exceptional compact body and excellent padded gig bag fits what you are looking for.
The version is the SVC-50, which has removable knee bouts that enhances easy carriage and storage. The NS Design CR is another portable cello, with a narrow body construction and collapsible tripod that fits snugly in the padded gig bag.
Electronics & pickups
Another way to ensure you can choose the best brand and the best cello is by considering what its pickup systems offer and the quality of the instrument’s electronic features and general control.
The Pickup system of any cello is what powers that cello, and this regard, Yamaha leads again. The entire Yamaha SVC cello series features a piezo pickup system that renders more resonating body vibrations while creating excellent overtones.
NS Designs also comes good in this area, but not so close to Yamaha. The NS CR series allows cellist to select the response direction, control the attack as well as the various characteristics that made up the bow response.