Cecilio CCO-600 Ebony Hand Oil-Rubbed Cello

As I received both the CCO-500 and CCO-600 I will include information comparing the two, as I found comparisons hard to find when I was looking at reviews for these instruments.

We are retired and purchased the Cecilio CCO-600 for my wife, who is just beginning to learn to play the cello. It is a beautiful looking and beautiful sounding instrument. We originally purchased a CCO-500 which had some non-shipping related damage and, after speaking to KKMusic (who offered to replace the 500 with another), decided to purchase the 600. The 500 was beautiful also and great sounding to our ears but the 600 had a fuller sound with more projection – I could feel the C string’s vibration in my body from a short distance away. Customer service at KKMusic was responsive and friendly.

I had a cello teacher look at and play both the 500 and 600. While he was impressed with CCO-500 for the price and thought it beautifully made he said the CCO-600 was much better, calling the 500 a “student cello” in comparison. The wood used has obviously hand-picked, with the spruce top having close grains in the center and widening towards the sides. The maple sides and backs are gorgeous with their flaming (real flaming where you can observe the shift from dark to light to dark when you move the instrument in the light) and the oil finish does nothing to obscure the beauty of the instrument.

On both cellos, there were minor imperfections due to the hand carving and perhaps handling after the cello was made – the 600 has a sliver of one of the corners of the bout that has been glued back on, but you have to look close to discover it. The 500 did have a serious 3 1/2″ deep scratch along with the bridge being cut a bit too short, which is why we returned it.

As mentioned in the item listing both cellos had the bridge down and tied with a ribbon to the neck. I found them easy to install after watching a video by Linda West (https://www.lindawest.com/setting-up-a-bridge-on-a-cello-a/108.htm) – there is both a video and step-by-step pictures and descriptions on the page. Both cello’s sounding peg was upright and in place.

Both cellos, one shipped by USPS and one by UPS, arrived without undue damage to the boxes or contents. There seems to be some inconsistency to the packing process:

The CCO-500 barely had any packing material, just some wadded up heavy plastic and nothing else. There was no additional protection in the hard (cardboard?) case with the cello and the bow was in one of the bow holders in the case.

The CCO-600 had the box lined with 1/2″ thick pieces of styrofoam, then a combination of bubble wrap and air pillows. The fiberglass case itself was encased in a sleeve and inside the case was more bubble wrap protecting the cello. The cello bow was separately wrapped in bubble wrap
and placed in the box outside of the case.

We did spend $20 at a music store to have the footing of the bridge for the 600 sanded and fitted properly as it did not fit completely flat to the body of the cello. For $20 I figured it was worth having a professional do the job. The 500’s bridge footing was perfect once I set it up. I suspect the 600 might not have gone through a complete set-up process in Cecilio’s California site before being sent out. The nuts holding the fine tuners to the bridge were loose and the cello’s strings looked to be put in haphazardly; I need to unwind and rewind so they didn’t cross themselves in the pegbox. The 500’s strings were would perfectly and the fine tuner was tightly affixed to the tailpiece. These items weren’t a problem and easily remedied.

I would recommend purchasing the cello through Amazon, as you won’t be charged anything if returning the instrument (at least through Prime). KKMusic on their site states there is a $69 charge for cello returns, plus the customer handles return postage. The KKMusic site does offer a couple of other knick-knacks for the same price. You might want to check out both sites as I see the price of CCO-600 on Amazon is now $999.99 and on KKMusic is $899.99 – the price I paid on Amazon a few days ago.

The fiberglass (or ABS) case that came with my 600 included a built-in handle on the head of the case for hauling around if you’re dragging the case using the wheels. I noticed this handle in the Cecilio video but not on the pictures here at Amazon or at KKMusic.

When talking with Customer Service at KKMusic (which is the distribution arm of Cecilio – same physical address in California) the rep told me, after checking with someone else, the wood used in the Cecilio cellos was aged from 3 to 5 years. The 600 description states the wood is aged at least 7 years, so her information may have been for the models under the 600. There wasn’t anyone that could give me a definitive answer even though I ended speaking to a supervisor for 20 minutes – she offered to contact the people that would know, but that would still just be someone’s word. The 600 certainly uses a better grade of wood all around, but of course there is no way to tell actual aging of wood used in any instrument. We are very pleased with the fit and finish of the 600 we received – I went over the instrument inch-by-inch, using a magnifying glass at times.

I think a begining student would be happy with either cello. I went with the step-up so we wouldn’t be looking for something better in a few years.

It’s really nice! Sounds legit once put together. The red ribbon bow tie for the bridge made it look like a beautiful present for someone special. A great gift at affordable price! I wouldn’t recommend cello for music beginners. Entry into cello from other bow instruments Yes. (Chinese Erhu is good for beginner bow instrument)

This is not my first instrument, but first cello. I am more atuned to receiving instruments through the mail. The cardboard box I need to be of better quality and styrofoam need to be foam cushions. Other than that, the cello came in one piece.

This item came in a better protective plastic case (not textile like on the photo). Didn’t come with extra strings or rosin (which is OK actually).

Definitely replace the strings with smoother, higher quality. The basic strings will sand down your fingertips and make you say it’s callus. Naw! Upgrade to Prelude strings!

The bow is ok, plenty of hair and stiffness. Sound smooth enough. Tuning pegs will slip, need peg compounds and a special peg wrench tool to turn those high tension tuning (so you don’t hurt your hands). Bridge ok. Tailpiece and fine tuners are good. Bridge mute can dampen sounds but will not silence it.

The soundpost stayed in place but at a slant. Observing more closely, it looks like it was meant to be like that because the end pin come close by it that it may knock it off. Also, there are marks where the soundpost would be push into place right under the bridge foot. The sound post’s base looks like it was cut to sit at a slant. Right now it sound pleasant and functional. Eventually will have to do a replacement or spare in the future.

Overall, good purchase choice! Very satisfied!

Too heavy for the instrument probably use wood from the northern part of china