1/2 size cello

[KathG]

Hi
I wondered if anyone had recommendations of where to buy a reasonable (but can be taken to school!) one of these in the West Midlands?
Thanks

I bought my Ds1's violin online from Omega Music. It turns out total cost is 50 pounds cheaper than my local music shop.I am sure they have Cellos as well. Google the brand and size, compare the price.

My daughter's cello came from Omega, a Stentor 2.

I'm selling off ex rental cellos at the moment...I work in a music shop in Cheshire. I'll pm you tomorrow when the store is open and i'll let you know what we have in. They're Zellers, so next step up from Stentor 11, made in Romania.

Thanks all for the info-still undecided as to what level to buy her.

You need to hear one to choose one.
Go here

www.timtoftviolins.com/

Is this her first cello? Has she got a lot more growing to do?

If so, save your money for the one she'll keep for many years. You might be better at this stage to see if there is a loan scheme for string instruments locally. There's also the added expense of a hard case and maybe a bow if you are buying outright.

Ask the teacher for advice but the shop in Stone is probably the place to go first, at least for a look round to get your bearings.

What kind of standard is she?

I'd be asking your DD's teacher's advice - they may have older/larger pupils looking to upgrade and trying to sell their 1/2 size instruments. The teacher should also be best placed to advise what level of instrument your DD needs. If your DD is good enough that you're considering an instrument valuable enough that you'd be concerned about it going into school then my instincts say she's good enough that a cheap instrument will be of limited use to her and may restrict her progress. Unless you're spending a significant sum on an instrument I'd think long and hard before buying a hard case for it - cheap hard cases don't provide great protection and weigh a lot, and a good hard case may well cost more than the cello you're looking to put in it.

Its worth asking the school as well, as IIRC there's a scheme whereby you can buy instruments through the school (as long as they will be used at school) and pay no VAT.

IIRC you have to apply for the VAT free scheme through the LEA Music Advisory Service. It is well worth doing and I have always found the people at our local LEA very helpful indeed. Ours runs a loan service for string instruments until the student is either grade 5 or needing a full-sized one. If at all possible, this is the best way to go.

I mentioned a hard case meaning that one would be necessary for a valuable instrument. Good ones are expensive but do give peace of mind when the instrument is going to school - and check your household insurance policy covers the cello.

I have bought 2 instruments, including a 3/4 cello using the VAT free scheme and in both cases it was through the DCs schools. One school does not use LA Music Service. (ALso the reason we had to buy rather than hire cello) FWIW Omega's price this way was about £20 cheaper than its online price.

I bought Stentors hard case for about £150 for DDs cello. It won't protect the cello if she drops it down the stairs, but it does provide enough protection for the bus journey to school, and in the music cupboard, and is light enough for her to manage. I wouldn't like to have relied on the padded cover it comes in for this, although friend's DD has been fine with her identical hired cello in the padded cover. However she walks to school with cello on her back - I think it is the bus that makes the difference!

I would hire one, tbh. Entry-level cellos are expensive, and they are a bugger to sell on. The school may have ones she can use at school, thus avoiding the need to cart her own instrument to and fro, and vastly reducing the risk of it getting damaged.

I traded in dd's 1/4 size cello for a very very nice 1/2 one at a local specialist music shop. Recommended by dd's teacher! So ask the teacher!!

Not worth renting IMO. I bought the 1/4 cello outright and got exactly what I paid for it as part exchange for the next size up. Good cellos do not lose a jot in value.

Seriously, ask the teacher!!! They know the local market and possibilities better than anyone on here and ought to advise appropriately.

It's a while since I used the VAT free scheme so the system might have changed. Got a form from LEA, had it signed by school, sent it back to LEA with receipt. That was 6 years ago.

We did rent for 3 months with DD's first woodwind instrument. It was rubbish, constantly needed repairs and we declined the offer to buy it at the end of the rental period so, no, I wouldn't recommend renting an instrument. A loan of an instrument that they grow out of is different though and well worth enquiring about. It depends on the level of the player - a really talented young player might be held back by a cheap instrument and a good instrument is always saleable, as has been said.

The choice of case depends on the value of the instrument and the life it leads. DD's cello travels a lot on trains now she's a student and it spent time being heaved on and off tour buses when she did trips with the school orchestra so a solid case is essential, as is insurance.

Unitarian - in your LA it might very well be like that still, I think individual LAs have different ways of applying the scheme. In mine the LA doesn't have anything with the scheme at all, it depends on the school particiapating so if you get a school not willing to do it you can't. And of course it only applies to State schools.

Also, neither school nor LA music teachers were very forthcoming about scheme, I had to ask, so would recommend to anyone to ask questions.

It has to be done through an organisation which is registered for VAT in order to be able to reclaim it so I suppose some/many/ all schools are not VAT registered.
The dealer we went to for DD's flute was very clued up about it so maybe that's the best avenue for asking questions.
A musical education for ones DC is expensive enough so it's worth exploring all the wrinkles.