Cecilio Cello CCO-500 Review – 2023 Update

  • Quality of Materials
  • Ready-to-Play
  • Durability
  • Price
4.8

Summary

Great cello for beginner and intermediate students alike.

If you’re looking for a great intermediate or beginner cello, the Cecilio CCO-500 is a great choice. Cecilio cellos are known for being great cellos and they are our #1 recommended cello brand. Not only are the instruments made of high quality materials, the Cecilio Cello CCO-500 outfits on Amazon contain everything you need to get started including a bow, extra strings, rosin, and a soft cello case.

We hope this Cecilio cello CCO-500 review gives you a great overview of the features of the cello and will help you determine if the Cecilio CCO-500 is the right cello for you or your student. This cello is marketed to both the beginning and intermediate student because of its versatility. It is an instrument that a beginner can grow with but that can still challenge the intermediate player.

Overview

We highly recommend this cello for any beginner or intermediate cello student. Most people who have bought it love it for its price and quality. We love this cello because it sounds great and comes with a ton of great features that are typically only available on cellos twice as expensive.

The cello outfit includes everything you need to get started including the cello, a Brazilwood bow, a soft and hard case, rosin, a cello stand, and extra strings. All of that for less than $500. It is by far the best cello in its price range.

This cello is a great example of fine craftsmanship that comes at an affordable price. A lot of people believe that you can’t get a quality cello without paying a lot for it, but that is not true and this cello is proof of that.

The Good

Price

The Cecilio CCO-500 is very affordable for most people. For an intermediate cello, you can’t beat the $450 price tag, especially when you consider the quality of the instrument and all of the additional accessories that come with it. The instrument retails for about $1000 MSRP on the Cecilio website, but you can get it for less than $500 on Amazon. Most intermediate cellos are priced in the $700+ range with many running over $1000. There is something to be said about Cecilio cellos as they know how to balance quality with price very well.

 

Materials

The Cecilio CCO-500 is made with some of the highest quality materials available for cellos. One of the first things you will notice is the quality of the wood that is used to construct this instrument.

The entire body of the Cecilio CCO-500 is covered in maple wood. The instrument has a flamed maple back, neck, and sides. The top of the cello is covered in dense spruce to create a durable surface for playing. The entire body is covered in a fine golden brown luster which gives a lovely sheen and really enhances the grain of the woods.

The fingerboard, pegs, and tailpiece are made of durable grade 1 ebony which is rare at this price point. Normally you would get grade 2 or 3 ebony which requires repairs much more frequently. Grade 1 ebony is much more crack resistant and will wear a lot slower than the lower quality ebony.

It also has hand-carved inlaid purfling which gives it a luxury look. This instrument certainly looks a lot more expensive that it really is.

 

Cases

The Cecilio CCO-500 cello outfit on Amazon comes with two different cases, a soft case and a hard case. The soft case is made of a sturdy fabric that protects the cello for short trips while the hard case is sturdy enough to pack in a car for a road trip or take on a flight.

The Ok

For the price of this great cello, it was hard to find any negatives, but I will provide the few that we discovered so that you can make an informed choice.

The Bow

The bow that comes with this cello outfit is a simple Brazilwood bow that is standard with most beginner viola packages. If you are an intermediate player, we recommend upgrading to a CodaBow or D Z Strad bow. This will provide a much higher quality sound. You should typically be looking for a bow that is about the same price as the cello or a little higher to really take advantage of the cello’s sound.

 

The Strings

The Cecilio CCO-500 comes with generic Cecilio strings. If you want to take full advantage of this instrument’s sound, we recommend Thomastik-Infeld – Spirocore or Pirastro – Evah Pirazzi Gold. For more suggestions, read our viola strings review.

You should wait for at least two weeks of playing before you make any decisions about whether you want to upgrade your strings because the neck starts to bend after 2 weeks which will greatly impact the sound quality of the cello. After the 2 week break-in period you may realize that you don’t need to replace the strings after all.

In many cases if enough time is allotted, the strings improve. There is a break-in period so some users may have jumped the gun by upgrading the strings as soon as the cello arrives.

 

While none of these are major issues with the Cecilio CCO-500, it is worth looking into these potential upgrades to make sure you are getting the most out of this cello.

Angel Ramirez in an Amazon review recommends taking the cello to the luthier when you receive to have the following items upgraded as well:

  1. Shave the knot
  2. Adjust the sound post
  3. Move the tail piece 1″ down and remove 3 fine tuners (C, G, and D)
  4. Replace the strings

The Verdict

The Cecilo CCO-500 cello is a great bargain for such a high quality instrument. We highly recommend buying this cello for your intermediate or beginner student. Very few cellos offer as much bang for your buck as this one and this cellos is bound to last your student for years.

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