Single-string trials: if the cost of the trial is less than $49, a $7 shipping fee applies if you return the string without purchasing it. Return shipping is always free.

Thomastik's Rondo set (RO400) is built for warmth and color with a quick, accurate response — and you can hear it on your own cello first: SoundBox Strings offers the set as a 14-day home trial for $99, with the fee deducted if you keep it. Single strings are also available to trial (A $25, D $30, G $35, C $40).

Philo's take (from his review, written when a too-bright, "twangy" A string was the one thing fighting him on his cello): "The sound from the first stroke told me that I found 'the one.'" "The A string is warm but clear and the response is fairly quick... I found that the Rondo strings were just a better fit for my cello" — after directly comparing them with the Larsen Il Cannone Warm & Broad set. His pairing tip: on his instrument the Rondo D ran a little brighter than the rest of the set, and "using a Jargar D with Rondo A, G and C strings is a good balance."

Read the full review

The RONDO set RO400 is appreciated by professional musicians due to its intense tonal depth and accurate bow response at a vast range of dynamic levels. The particular essence of the set RO400 is its innovative synthesis of a barrel-chested, velvet-like sound with the greatest possible “density” and a crystal-clear focus. By merging these qualities to a deep singing sound with a mature vocal character, it creates the widest range of sonic variations, a powerful presence at all dynamic levels and a new playing experience. The set impresses with its maximum resistance to bow pressure and immediate bow response at various bowing speeds, bow pressures and contact points. These strings tonally enrich both old and modern instruments with their intense depth, brilliant contour and sweetness – sound qualities mostly associated with “old Italian” instruments.