Franz Hoffmann Danube Cello Outfit 4/4 Size

Wonderful sound, beautiful finish, just a little disappointed mine had a small chip in the side of the wood. Otherwise great instrument

As a complete beginner, I am not sure how informative my review will be. However, as a beginner, there are certain things that I needed and certain things that I needed to avoid in purchasing a cello online. From internet recommendations, comments, and horror stories about buying cellos online, I had concerns about the cello setup. Specifically, when purchasing a cello online, there were warnings about needing bridges to be installed, unplayable bridges (not cut properly whether not rounded enough or too high), pegs that constantly slipped which prevents the instrument from staying in tune, the sound post being dislodged in transit, poor quality strings that are tinny or piercing, poor bows, worthless rosin, and a cello that just doesn't sound deep or resonant. None of these issues arose with Shar's Danube Cello Outfit. The cello came packaged well, with the bridge installed and the sound post in place. More importantly, Shar set up the instrument (by preparing the bridge to be playable and by treating the pegs so that they are tight). That enabled me to play it immediately. They even put in a wolf tone eliminator and treated the high E and D parts of the bridge so that the strings do not cut into the bridge. Probably, they did other things to set it up that I am not aware of. Shar setting up the cello so that it was playable straight out of the box, was a primary reason why I purchased the product from them. They are not trying to make a buck by taking advantage of beginners who do not know what we are looking for. Rather, they prepare a quality instrument so that all the beginner needs to worry about is learning how to play. When starting, I feared the screeching and scratching sounds of a beginner playing a beginner instrument. But that was not the case. Even playing open strings had a deep, resonant and pleasing sound. I could just sit and do that for hours. For a great sounding instrument that is set up, ready to play straight out of the box, the price is hard to beat. And, the customer service and sales have been great as well. I am quite pleased about everything related to purchasing this cello from Shar.