This Jay Haide cello “Vuillaume model” is made of top-notch European timbers. 

Made of European timbers

Animato Strings Set up includes the following:

• Highest-grade “Despiau” French bridge 

• Bavarian Spruce soundpost

• Best European Strings.

European Strings:

• A and D Strings: Il Canone (warm) by Larsen

• G and C Strings: Tungsten wound Spirocore strings

The Helmut Illner German Cello 2003 is a handcrafted instrument made in Heroldsbach, Germany, bearing its original SIR – German Handcraft label and Helmut Illner’s handwritten signature. A specialist cello maker associated with SIR (String Instrument Research), Illner gained international recognition following distinctions at the 1992 Manchester International Cello Festival, including “Best of Sound” and “Of Merit.” This 2003 cello represents his mature craftsmanship and specialised approach to modern German cello making.

Key Features:

• Maker: Helmut Illner

• Year: 2003

• Place: Heroldsbach, Germany

• Workshop: SIR

• Label: Original & signed

• Awards: Manchester, 1992

This Antique French violin was made by the famous luthier Jean Baptiste Colin at Mirecourt, Paris, in 1903, a superb example of a quality French instrument.

German Cello by Helmut Illner - Goffriller Model. According to the label, it was made in 2004, just before Helmut Illner's retirement. This cello is handmade and hand-varnished with a balm mixture of red-brown. It is one of the high-level instruments made by Illner. 

Giovanni Battista Zanoli, with his label 'Joannes Baptista' Zanoli. The cello was made in Verona, Northern Italy, in 1747.

The 7/8 Amati-Mangenot Cello, Bordeaux 1932, is an early 20th-century French instrument bearing the label of Paul Amati Mangenot (1901–1966). Born in Mirecourt, Mangenot trained with his father, Paul Alexandre Mangenot, and the Laurent family before taking over Émile Laurent’s Bordeaux workshop in 1925. This cello’s comfortable 7/8 dimensions and historical French character make it an appealing choice for players seeking a mature instrument in a slightly smaller format.

Key Features:

• Maker: Amati Mangenot

• Dates: 1901–1966

• Size: 7/8

• Year: 1932

• Place: Bordeaux

• Origin: France

• Teacher: Émile Laurent

• Early 20th century

The H. Émile Blondelet Cello, Paris 1923, is an early 20th-century French instrument bearing the label of Hugues Émile Blondelet (1875–1928) and numbered B 616. Born in Mirecourt, Blondelet joined the renowned JTL workshop at fifteen and became co-director in 1908. Known for finely crafted instruments inspired by Amati and Stradivari models, he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1923, the same year this cello is dated. Its Paris provenance and association with Blondelet's mature working period make it an appealing historic French cello.

Key Features:

• Maker: H. Émile Blondelet

• Dates: 1875–1928

• Instrument: Cello

• Year: 1923

• No.: B 616

• Place: Paris

• Origin: France

• School: Mirecourt

• Early 20th century

The Lillo Salerno Cello 2025 is a contemporary workshop instrument bearing the label “Strumento di bottega – Salerno Lillo – ex cremonensis fecit anno 2025” and numbered LS 2025-04. Italian-born Lillo Salerno trained at the violin-making schools of Cremona and Mittenwald before establishing his workshop in Pforzheim, Germany, in 2005. His instruments blend traditional Italian and German violin-making influences, making this 2025 cello an appealing modern instrument with strong European craftsmanship credentials.

Key Features:

• Maker: Lillo Salerno

• Year: 2025

• No.: LS 2025-04

• Type: Workshop cello

• Training: Cremona & Mittenwald

The Paul Blanchard Workshop Cello, Lyon 1906, is an early 20th-century French instrument bearing the label “Fait dans l’Atelier de P. Blanchard Lyon 1906.” Paul François Blanchard (1851–1912) was a distinguished Mirecourt-born luthier who established an important workshop in Lyon and served as luthier to the Lyon Conservatoire. Significantly, the label identifies this cello as made in Blanchard’s workshop, rather than specifically claiming manufacture by Blanchard himself. Dating from the mature period of his atelier, it represents the respected tradition of early 20th-century Lyon violin making.

Key Features:

• Workshop: Paul Blanchard

• Dates: 1851–1912

• Year: 1906

• Place: Lyon, France

• Type: Workshop cello

• Origin: French

Stoehr cello - to be set up. The price includes setting up that includes a Bavarian spruce sound post, the highest quality French bridge, ca $600 worth of strings, and a German Carbon Tailpiece.

• Use of matured, high-quality tonewoods

• Beautifully flamed Bosnian maple for the back, rib and neck

• Slow, evenly-grown mountain spruce is used for the top.

• Use Traditional Guild knowledge with modern technology to achieve a tonal optimum.

• Varnish is personally produced, following traditional recipes using only select resins.

• With loving care, each cello, such as this one, is given a special touch.

• Customers repeatedly praised him for the instrument’s light response and strong, full tone paired with the instrument’s inner melodiousness.

 Achieving ultimate in substance, purity and melodiousness of sound.

• Use of matured, high-quality tonewoods

• Beautifully flamed Bosnian maple for the back, rib and neck

• Slow, evenly-grown mountain spruce is used for the top.

• Use Traditional Guild knowledge with modern technology to achieve a tonal optimum.

• Varnish is personally produced, following traditional recipes using only select resins.

• With loving care, each cello, such as this one, is given a special touch.

• Customers repeatedly praised him for the instrument’s light response and strong, full tone paired with the instrument’s inner melodiousness.