Harley Benton HBCE 990BK Electric Cello

This is the first electric cello I have ever purchased. I bought it as a practice instrument, as I currently don't have access to my acoustic cello. I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy playing on this electric cello. Happily, I have found it to be very good. It makes a quite decent sound -- a bit rough at times, and some strings sound better than others, but it serves my purpose. I have used the strings provided. I imagine that the sound would be improved if I purchased more expensive strings. Initially, I found it a little difficult to figure out how to transmit the sound to my headphones or to an amp. I found that I need to fiddle with the connection point to get it to work, but that has not been a problem. I use my own bow, but the bow provided with this instrument is quite good too. Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase and have no hesitation in recommending it to other customers.

Alright so to start I just want to say that the cello is fantastic, and once I changed the strings to a set of preludes it has a beautiful sound. The included bag is decent, it doesn’t offer much protection but it does offer a convenient way to transport the cello. However, the included bow is useless, it’s completely unusable in order for it to have any tightness to the hairs I had to tighten the bow to the maximum and they still aren’t as they should be. I know it was included so I couldn’t expect too much and it wouldn’t be top quality but at least send one that’s useable or not at all. I’d much rather the listing stated “**bow not included” than receive one that’s not functional.

My sole experience with stringed instruments has been with the guitar. Although I've harbored a desire to learn the cello, the typically high costs deterred me from pursuing it. However, upon encountering a reasonably priced option, I decided to take the plunge. After perusing reviews and conducting some research, I determined that upgrading the strings and acquiring an additional bow would be prudent. Additionally, I opted for a "Don't Fret Don't Fret Cello 4/4" to assist in hitting the correct notes while acquainting myself with the fretless nature of the instrument.

Upon initially playing the cello with its original strings, the sound resembled a cat's distressing wail. This was partly due to my unfamiliarity with using a bow. However, after switching to D'Addario J1010-4/4M Prelude Cello 4/4 strings, the sound improved significantly. Subsequently, I purchased Peg soap (Conrad Götz ZW 96 Peg Soap) to enhance tuning stability and filed down the bridge to lower the strings slightly.

Now, the cello sounds splendid and is thoroughly playable.