I am looking for a cello for a 9 yr. old. Any suggestions old or new welcomed. Thank you diana

Decent small size cellos, the maker called Jay Haide, can be rented from Ifshin's in Berkeley for $50 per month. They have cheaper, lesser quality cellos for rent as well. To buy, a good quality small sized cello will cost from $2,000 to $3,000 (or more). Joan Balter, a private studio in Berkeley, 524-4333 has a good collection. Kamimoto String Instruments in San Jose is a good source, 408 298-8168, and Roland Feller in San Francisco, 415 567-3708.

Sometimes, as in our case, a Master teacher will have fine cellos to lend to students. It is very difficult to find good small cellos, easy to find mediocre ones. There is not much of a re-sale market for cellos smaller than 3/4. Lucy

For rentals (if Ifshin doesn't have the right size at the moment), you could also try Aeril Whitback, who runs "The Cello Orphanage" in Danville, at (925) 837-3814. She repairs damaged cellos and generally rents them out, although sometimes sells them as well.

There is also a catalogue company, Shar Music, that has reasonable priced cellos (relatively, the least expensive begin a bit below $1000 and go up from there). They have a web site, http://www.sharmusic.net/home.htm. Cynthia