# Is there a difference? Cellos worth $5k, $180k and $1m...



## MusiquedeReve (Mar 22, 2021)




----------



## robgb (Mar 22, 2021)

I'm just gonna say this. There should not ever be such a thing as a million dollar cello. As for the difference between them, it was clearly evident. I much preferred the sound of the $5,000 cello.


----------



## Living Fossil (Mar 22, 2021)

The cheapest cello does indeed sound cheap. Not very refined resonances; bland, boxy and uncontrolled (uncontrollable), most likely due to the quality of the corpus' wood . So to my ears, that doesn't sound good.
In the hi end league, on the other hand, you pay for more than the sound quality: you pay for getting a piece of history, therefore in these cases you're not exactly should search a too direct relation between sound and quality.
(still, in this video, i'd vote for the 3rd instrument, but i'm not sure if i would if it were a blind test.

However, having played the cello myself in younger years, i think the prices for the instruments usually represent the quality behind. The differences are much clearer if you play the instrument and get a feeling how the sound interacts with the playing (which is hardly possible by just listening to examples...)

Of course, sometimes there are very affordable instruments that sound great, but that's not the case here.


----------



## youngpokie (Mar 22, 2021)

When presented with multiple choices, people usually tend to pick the middle option.

Marketers have always known this. Companies purposefully created and advertised outrageously expensive products that nobody buys in order to stretch the price range of a product line and charge more for the "middle option" - knowing it's usually the best seller.

Having said that, I do honestly feel the last cello sounds better - to my ears it sounds fuller and, well - "richer" lol.

But the other question is the psychology and the mindset of the player. I'm sure Joshua Bell and Maxim Vengerov would give a better performance knowing they are playing a rare Stradivari than a cheap mass produced violin - even if most of us will never hear the difference.


----------



## dgburns (Mar 22, 2021)

5k one sounds like she’s sawing through wood, horrible. But she’s not getting along with it either, you can hear alot of bowing noise especially on string crosses. The cello sounds raw, but in truth, with time and some quality break in, it might in fact open up. The wood may open up and age if it’s played, but it may not, it depends on the build. They open up like a flower after being played. But if the wood doesn’t have the tone, it might not ever reach the sound of the mid cello, no way to tell. This one has a quick response, you can hear that it’s a fast response with an upfront harsh ‘played at the bridge’ kind of tone.

The 180k cello, you can tell she likes playing this one. She is managing her string crosses better. The cello offers more tone colors, it’s focused in the low, but it’s warm on the top two strings. And there is more possibilities in voicing, you can hear the voice way better- like it almost emulates a deep human voice. It has a smoother tone - this may or may not appeal, but it is def more refined.

The Million cello. She is playing this one the best - unfair. It doesn’t outshine the 180k one, but it has the least amount of string crossing noise. It sounds the most musical as a result. It has even more of a voice, like, an older gentler voice, and she exploits the tone range better. She is playing with way more conviction, like it HAS to be the best one. To me, it is the best one, but it’s not because it’s flashy, cause it’s not. But it’s making her a better player somehow, better bow tone, better player, and this may be because she feels it’s beng more responsive. They give off alot of vibration against your chest when you play, she is clearly feeling something more here. I’m not sure we hear it as much, but it’s altering her playing. It sounds like, it has been played and has an even disposition. The best of the three, price aside. You can find this in mortal priced instruments, imho. It’s not a function of price nor age.


----------



## Instrugramm (Mar 22, 2021)

To be fair when I got mine I traveled to Münster, played on nearly 20 different instruments in multiple manufacturer's shops and by chance actually preferred the 4000 euro romanian one (that I got for 3800 in the end) in combination with a slightly heavy but more expensive bow to an 8000 euro one that would have been my second choice. I believe in "Harry Potter wand logic" when it comes to classical instruments, somehow the instrument chooses its player as much as the player chooses the instrument.

Ps. I see the same behaviour in regards to classical instruments as I see in the audiophile community, people interpret an instrument's sound according to the associated price (psychoacoustics). If you want to buy the right instrument for you, it should be played before knowing its pricetag. Oh and yes her "5000 dollar cello" sounds like absolute garbage (maybe it's got very cheap strings or is badly built in general)...


----------



## wst3 (Mar 23, 2021)

Of course there is a difference, many in fact. An instrument that is perceived as better can raise your game. An instrument with a storied history can do the same.

Now can I hear the difference in sound files played back through a streaming service? Maybe if the difference is huge, but I kind of doubt it. 

Is there a cello worth $1M? To the right person I suspect there is. Are they overpaying? Not if they don't think so. And I'd expect someone paying $1M to probably be a pretty good judge!


----------



## gsilbers (Mar 23, 2021)

Cool these videos exist. Not only to hear the difference but also i see them in these social media snipepts that are easy to consume and therefore might get more poeple interested in the music. Be more aware of it. 

as for opinions, a dime a dozen, and i coouldnt care less one way or the other abou the sound. the music was good. 
but im happy w my $300 cello i got at amazon. Sounds as cranky as its cheap. very raw which is great for horror and sfx type of sounds without guilt of ruining it. 
IF you have a horror movie to score... get yourselve a $300 full size cello and go to town with bangs and odd bows.


----------



## Shad0wLandsUK (Mar 23, 2021)

ChromeCrescendo said:


>



At first I thought this was Tina Guo's sister


----------



## José Herring (Mar 23, 2021)

Tina Guo posted on these videos and she liked the sound of the $5000 cello. Me, I preferred the middle priced one. The million dollar cello came in dead last for me.


----------



## AndyP (Mar 23, 2021)

I also prefer the medium cello from the sound, then the expensive one.
The fact is, they all sound better than any VI cello I have.


----------



## Jimmy Hellfire (Mar 23, 2021)

I thought the million dollar one sounded worst. I liked the "cheap" one best. Nice throaty midrange.
The 180k one had more sheen, but less meat than the first one. And I like meat.
The million dollar one sounded thin.

Musical instruments should not be expensive. I vehemently oppose that. There should be no materialism and snobism in music. Unfortunately, they're rampant. But people are known to be passionately stupid.


----------



## Satorious (Mar 23, 2021)

To answer the thread's original title question - yeah - the price!


----------



## Paul Grymaud (Mar 23, 2021)

What about the bow? Some bows cost more than a good cello! And, let's not forget the quality of the strings. Not to mention the instrumentalist! Clearly, there is no point in putting a $180,000 cello in the hands of a beginner. At the same time, a professional will not be satisfied with a 5.000 dollars instrument... Everything else is subjective. Having said that, I could put up to 50.000 dollars to be sure I already have a concert instrument. But, certainly not $1,000,000. Can you imagine what the annual insurance costs?


----------



## ryans (Mar 23, 2021)

All 3 celli sound pretty unique to me and have their individual strengths, based on what I can hear with this recording.

From a recording perspective, the ugly room reflections are making all 3 sound kinda bad.


----------



## fakemaxwell (Mar 23, 2021)

ryans said:


> All 3 celli sound pretty unique to me and have their individual strengths, based on what I can hear with this recording.
> 
> From a recording perspective, the ugly room reflections are making all 3 sound kinda bad.


Recording a 1 million dollar cello with a Zoom h4n in that room is....well it's something.


----------



## jiten (Mar 23, 2021)

They all sound synthy to me.


----------



## John Longley (Mar 23, 2021)

I like the second one the most, the lower midrange felt just right. The third one sounded nicely round in the upper mids, but had less "bloom".


----------

