Eastar Acoustic Cello 4/4 for Beginners Adult, Imprinted Finger Guide for Beginners,Cellos Kit with Cello Stand, Case, Bow, Bridge, Rosin, Extra Set of Strings (Full Size,Matt Natural Varnish)

A product like this did not exist a few short years ago. While there have been numerous affordable, quality guitars available ($300 Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified Squiers have recently replaced my $1800 American Fender Deluxe guitars, for example), I have never been able to find a cello that was even PLAYABLE for less than $1000. You guys, cellos are EXPENSIVE. Like, $10,000-for-a-half-decent-one expensive. But at less than $300, this one is playable, quality, and even enjoyable. I'm shocked.First impressions:It came very well packaged in a ginormous reinforced box, a nice soft case, a solid stand (feels very similar to the top selling Amazon basics one), 3(!) decent, supple feeling rosin cakes, extra strings, and a good bow. Everything was in good working order. I like the slightly stressed satin finish style. No fancy finish wood flaring or anything, but who cares. The neck fingerboard looks like real ebony. The pegs were cut slightly short, but fit and hold perfectly. The tailpiece is quality, with individual fine tuners working well. The endpin is gorgeous with a wooden top, and it feels and works wonderfully. All together, the cello looks, feels, and plays like it should cost multiple times what it does.Two small nitpicks: There were a couple small manufacturing pencil marks and bits of sawdust here and there, but they were easily removed. Also, while the top of the tailpiece was bubble wrapped, the bottom rubbed a small dot of the finish off in transit.I was surprised that the neck dots were real, permanent inlays, but I've actually enjoyed them. They are useful and intonated perfectly, but I'm puzzled why there isn't one more dot for the important 7th semitone to find octaves.Setup:While I was impressed that this was even a real instrument at this price, I was blown away that this comes with a bridge that is perfectly cut and set up. I usually expect any cello under $1500 to still need a $100 bridge setup. This one was at 5.5mm at the A and 8.5mm at the C, which is exactly where I like it and is pretty much the standard. The bridge feet were also flush to the cello body.If this is your first cello, first loosen the strings slightly, then position the bridge between the inside f-hole crosses with the thickest string tallest. The end facing the tailpiece should be at a 90 degree angle to the cello body. Then, download a tuner app to your phone and tune A-D-G-C highest to lowest. The pegs like to be pushed in while you tune so that they will hold. Finally, tighten your bow and rosin it for minutes on end. The more rosin you have, the easier it will be to get sound out of the cello.Sound:It sounds nice, actually. The wood is light and resonate. Overall, it's on the bright and trebly end, which is fun to have because I usually go for darker sounding cellos. It's like buying a Taylor or Fender after playing Martins or Gibsons for years. The cheap strings sound a bit metallic and aggressive (and cause finger fatigue), but considering that quality cello strings cost half as much as this entire package (I like Helicores at $140 (cellos are EXPENSIVE)), they do the job. Honestly, at this price, I'm just amazed that it doesn't sound like a giant shoebox and that it works, so I'm super happy that it can make sounds that are enjoyable and even different from my norm. I think it would sound just fine in a student band mix.The bow also sounds, looks, and performs perfectly well. I was impressed. When it's time for a rehair, usually bows at this price level are too difficult to work with (permanently glued together, etc) and not economically worth it. A rehair is usually around $40, so I usually recommend just buying a whole new carbon fiber Vingobow from eBay for a very similar price.I hope this review has given you an accurate idea of what to expect and some useful information. The value here is off the charts. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. Enjoy!

Purchased this as a beginner adult, but also for my kids to have another instrument to experiment on and learn from. We've had mostly "band" instruments up until this point, so now we have something more in the standard "orchestra" family.Some key highlights from my initial usage:*Fingerboard points/dots are a great help to those starting out - I've never played a fretless instrument before, so having a visual reference when starting out was very helpful. You'll notice most teachers will add tape to a students cello to help them find the right fingers*Comes with everything you need to get started - case, bow, rosin, extra strings, stand. There was no need to run to the music store to get anything else, I pulled it out of the box, setup the bridge, tuned and was able to play.*Looks and sounds fantastic for the price. This is a real cello and sounds like what I would expect. The cello looks great and has a nice satin, almost antique'd, finish.When you first get the cello you'll have to unpack it and add the bridge, then tune. There are lots of great Youtube videos on how to perform that setup quickly. I believe they send it without the strings tightened and the bridge off so it doesn't damage in transit because of the tension - my guitars are normally shipped that way too. For the tuning, you can find free phone apps for tuning - turn the string low to high to C2, G2, D3 and A3. You only use the large tuning pegs to get in the ballpark, and turn them SLOWLY while pushing in, then use the micro-adjustments to get to the exact pitch. Again, Youtube is your friend for tuning tips. Now that I've had it sitting out at home for awhile and it's been able to acclimate to my room's humidity the tuning has held pretty consistent over the last couple of weeks.Last piece of advice. With the rosin, remember to follow their steps in the Amazon description to scratch it first, then run your bow through it many time to get a good covering of rosin. If you've never played a bow instrument before you'll find out very quickly that the bow won't make the strings vibrate correctly if there's either no rosin, or not an even enough amount of rosin applied.Overall very happy with the purchase, especially given the price. Easy entry point if you want to dip your tows in the water on cello, but also have something that is a real cello. The complete package that Eastar provides is ideal to get started.

This cello is a great starter -not expensive so if there is an accident you can afford to replace. There are some imperfections but they are easily fixed. I took it to a shop because the pegs were not shaped correctly and the flimsy bridge did not last (the bridge has to be custom to the cello so a professional has to shape it). The strings are really bad and cheap. So a new bridge, labor to shape the bridge, new strings, and adjusting the pegs $174. Still cheaper than most new cellos. I am still happy with it for my son. I like that it was affordable enough that I am not making monthly payments on one I have enough bills. So yes recommend if you are lucky enough to have a music shop with repair onsite (won’t be the last bridge that breaks).