This has been an amazing week all in all. Certainly the highlight of the week came on Tuesday, when we bought Barbara a cello.
And you thought this blog was all about me? Here is the story:
When Barbara was growing up, she played violin for a long time, and got rather good at it. At some point, other interests happened and the violin ran off someplace.
Many years passed, and with an injury to her hands, Barbara couldn't play the violin again if she wanted to. But its not like she gave up wanting to play music, far from it. A couple of years ago, she was talking to me about maybe taking up the cello. Now, this was pretty exciting to me, since I am so focused on music, I naturally would love to have my sweet one play too. We did some thinking about maybe renting an instrument, to see how it would work out. However, I did not push her, it had to be her decision. You know how things go, the idea was good but was dropped for some time.
Lately, however, it popped its head up again, not from me but from Barbara. I started looking for instruments on Craig's List and just on the internet in general.
I saw a few, but of course no little or nothing about cellos. Thru one of the responses on the list, I was led to a local music store. As it happened, the day we could go was also the day of a handmade musical instrument show, near where the store was.
The store at one point had a huge sale, since they were moving. Of course, we missed that but decided to go anyway. It was kind of strange, off one of those suburban strips full of malls and car lots, in a house at the end of a long driveway. The repair shop on the ground floor, the showroom up top.
This place was crammed to the gills with all the members of the violin family, plus guitars and some brass instruments. We looked at and played a number of cellos, up to $7000. I was enthusiastic, but my wallet was shrinking up in fear! What we found out was that these instruments were all made in China, and shipped with all the parts unassembled except for the bodies. That is why they were so cheap, so to speak.
Barbara had a great time playing several of them, while I poked around and played a stand up bass, something I have always lusted after. One thing that impressed us at the time: if you buy a cello from this place, at any point later if you return to them and want to get a better instrument, you can get 100% of you money in trade in. Try that at Guitar Center! It was only later that we found that all the violin shops do this. Amazing!
We continue on to the handmade instrument show. Its well worth the trip. About 50 different makers of guitars, basses, violins, violas, cellos plus dealers in fine woods and parts for instruments. Some of the most beautiful woodwork you have ever seen, and I played some damned fine and damn expensive (well, maybe not, being made by hand) guitars, and a stunning bass.
There was one cello maker there, so naturally we talked with him. We explained that Barbara was about to learn the cello, and told him the name of the shop we had been to. He warned us away in no uncertain terms from them, saying basically they were hacks and if we bought something from them, we would be really unhappy and would have to take it somewhere else to get it set up correctly. The man said that none of the other shops in town were bad, just these guys. We didn't know quite what to think.
Certainly, he did know his stuff. He played for us on a cello he had for sale. The wood on the bad was salvaged from someplace, and was 300 years old! This cello sounded amazing like I cannot describe, save to say that with the noise of a couple of hundred people twanging guitars and talking, the sound cut thru like a knife. Stunning. And only $40,000!! He also had a 200 year old bow in his shop for the same price. My head was spinning at this point.
Fast forward a week, another cello on Craig's List. We arrange to go over there and check it out on Sunday. Now, this cello was only $950, bought new three years before from - of course- the same shop we had been warned about at the show. The guy that owned it had paid $1500 and had recently purchased another cello for $2500 - from a different shop. That should have told me something, but the light didn't go off in my head at this point.
We played both the cellos, and he also played them for us. I mean, it looked nice, and this fellow was honest, but Barbara was disturbed by the bridge.
Now, on a guitar, a bridge is no big deal, you can make them work well without spending a fortune. However, we are finding out that these rules don't apply to cellos, everything is much more exacting.
Anyway, I thought it was pretty nice, and thought it would maybe be a good starter instrument. However, it was Barb’s choice not mine, since she would be playing it.
We told the guy we would think about it. Next day, Barbara called around to check out cello teachers. She spoke with what sounded to be a very informed teacher, and mentioned that we had looked at this cello the day before. She told him about her misgivings about the bridge, and where the cello had been purchased originally.
Hoo boy, this teacher said exactly the same thing the maker at the instrument show said: don't buy it! He told Barbara that the guys at the shop we visited were hacks and didn't know beans about the correct set up of instruments. He suggested we shop at one of the three legit shops in town.
Well, that settled that! One person bad mouthing a shop is suspect, two is a conviction.
On Tuesday Barbara went over to Geesman Fine Violins . She had him pick out three cellos in the $2000-ish range so she could try them out.
About 2:00 in the afternoon, there was a crisis at work, serious crap happening on one of our systems (I am a geek in the work world). About 2:30 it looked like everything was handled, which was not quite true, but thats another story.
My cell phone rings, and its Barbara at the violin shop. She thinks she might have found what she was looking for. I huff it on down to the shop.
It is a really nice shop - clean, full of beautifully displayed instruments and I can see where the workbench is. The bench is neat and orderly even though there are instruments in various stages of construction or deconstruction.
Out of the four cellos she tried, once stood out to her. I look and pretend to play them. Actually, two of them she rejected out of hand. I just looked at the $2000 and $2500 ones. The more expensive one did sound better, but it wasn't night and day. I actually like the looks of the less expensive one, not that you would buy a cello based on looks of course.
Barbara played it some more, once again I played around with a double bass (of course!) and even messed with a viola. No, I didn't buy it.
Finally, it seemed like the time was right and we bought it. We also got a nice bow, out of decent wood with the frog (where you hold it) out of buffalo horn with abalone inlay. Beautiful!
I had to go back to work and Barbara went home with her new baby. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear her play this. It's the best present I have ever bought anyone, and the only person happier about then me is her. She is so worth it.
Postscript: the next night, we were having a rather loud band practice at the house. I was feeling a little bad about this, since normally we try and keep the volume down but well, you know…. At any rate, we took a break for a couple of minutes, and what do I hear from upstairs? Yes, the sound of the cello. How freaking cool is that? I am so happy that the woman I love would rather have a musical instrument than a new car or a bunch of expensive jewelry. Once in a while I do make the right choice!