Cremona SC-150 Premier Student Cello Outfit

First off, I am a beginner cellist, so if you’re looking for an expert review you can skip mine.
I would recommend this cello to other beginners, and to teachers who have gifted but very poor students. One mistake that can squash a musical adventure is to purchase a lame instrument as your first instrument. I admit I was nervous buying a cello online, but this was a good buy. I have no regrets over buying this instrument.
When I showed up for my first cello lesson, my teacher set the bridge and strings up and we got started. Within a few weeks she remarked on how good it sounded. Several other experienced cello players here have agreed it sounds very good for the price. One of them even played some Bach on my cello for me; she made it sing.

I very likely never would have tried a cello if I had not found this deal on Amazon. And I have had some amazing experiences with it. I’m so glad I got it.
I like how sturdy it feels. The tuning pegs hold well once you’ve tuned up and pressed them in tight. I love the case it comes in; lots of storage for music/rosin and other accessories. The sound post was already in place and was either wedged or glued to avoid shifting during transit. I can’t comment on the strings it comes with because I put on Helicore strings the first day. I’m currently using the Magnacore A and D strings. I like both brands. Gonna try Jargar’s next.
I did NOT like the bow. The hair shredded within a couple of days. And I was playing soft those first few days. I don’t know where they got that hair. Perhaps the horse it came from had split ends or used really bad shampoo. Haha.
I don’t understand the complex art of selecting the perfect bow yet, and price is still an issue, so I went ahead and purchased both of the popular brands of carbon fiber bows offered on Amazon. They were inexpensive and they are pretty darn tough. They seem to grab the strings just fine and have a comfortable grip and weight to them. Good enough for me anyway.

Eventually, if I feel I’ve earned it, I would like to purchase a higher end cello, (and try out some Evah Pirazzi strings), but I’ve already played a variety of different tunes on this Cremona and I’m still enjoying the sound and versatility of this instrument.
I’m grateful that Cremona and Amazon made it possible for such quality to be available for this price range.

I was not sure about this cello, but the great thing with Amazon is that you can return things, so, with a bit of hesitation, I placed the order, confident that if it was not what I wanted, it would only be a minor headache returning such a large purchase. I had seen this outfit on other sites for retail ($900.00) and they had described it as a step up from beginner, but they were trying to sell cellos too, so I was not sure what to make of it.

Well, the hesitation was not warranted as this turned out to be an amazing instrument. I am only a beginner player, but my instructor said there are aspects of this instrument that she likes better than her own and, next time we have a bit of extra time after the lesson, she wants to spend more time playing this instrument.

There are only two real downsides to this. The tail piece is plastic. While my teacher tells me that I would get a better sound with a wood tailpiece, the plastic does not make the instrument sound bad. It is not hard to upgrade the tail piece, and it is my understanding that changing a tailpiece is not uncommon even on more expensive instruments. The other down side is the A string sounded terrible. Very tinny. I spent an extra $18 and got a Heilcord A string and WOW what a difference. I may eventually replace the rest of the strings, but the ones that came with the cello are actually rather nice, so there is no hurry to replace them.

Setup wasn’t too bad, although it would have been easier had the FedEx delivery person knocked on the door to let me know it was there instead of leaving it outside in the cold New York winter. The cold delivery truck probably did not do this thing wonders either, but there was no damage to anything and we just needed to let the instrument warm up a bit before we were able to hear its true tone.

The case is very nice. I have seen the case retail for over $150 all by itself. I wanted a hard case for my cello. If I am investing that much money into something, I want to be sure it is protected by something more than just a padded bag. There is plenty of room for two bows, a pocket on the inside for rosin and other accessories, a hydrometer (not that it comes with a humidifier, but I suppose you can pick one of them up cheap if you needed to control humidity) and a large pocket outside for music. The only real downside to the case is the hydrometer bumps against the back of the neck if you don’t pull the inner pocket closed tight. Not a horrible thing, just something that one needs to be careful about. Even if it does bump against the back of the neck, it is unlikely that the instrument or the hydrometer will be damaged.

The bow is nothing special. For a beginner it is all I need, more than enough to get you started. I suppose if you are a professional you might want a higher end bow, but if you are a professional, you are probably going to spend several thousand dollars on an instrument, not several hundred, and you are not going to purchase a package that comes with a bow, you are going to buy one that you like.

I am very pleased with this instrument and my instructor believes that with constant practice and improvement, it should be ten to fifteen years before I am ready to step up into a higher quality instrument. The reviews I read on other sites are right, that this is a step up from the beginner instrument at a beginner price. I would definitely recommend this to anyone learning cello or anyone looking to step up from the base level instrument.