This is a review of the CCO-600 I received but as I received both the CCO-500 (returned) 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 500 had a shiny heavy finish which looks pretty and the wood used for the top, sides, and the bottom is lovely. The "flaming" is painted with tea stain, unlike the real flaming on the 600, but well done. The tone of the cello was resonant and deep.The wood used in the 600 was 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 in 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 fitted perfectly 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 wound 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. The case is fairly heavy, somewhat a chore for my 5' 3" wife to haul in and out of the car.The hard case for the 500 feels like heavy cardboard covered in simulated leather vinyl with a plush red interior. The interior material seems to be the same with both the 600 and 500 hard cases.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.

EDIT: I received not one, but TWO damaged cellos in a row. The first cello had a crack near one of the F holes that I was willing to forgive since it was smaller. I returned it and ordered a replacement. The second cello came with a HUGE crack that I noticed immediately, clearly these instruments aren't being looked at before shipping. Both cracks ran all the way through the wood, they weren't just varnish scraped, and both times the cello case and shipping box were undamaged. I don't recommend purchasing from this company, they're obviously selling used instruments. If you do decide to purchase, please make sure you go over your instrument with a fine tooth comb before deciding to keep it.Original review left before receiving the second cello:I'm very happy with this cello overall! My son just started a beginner orchestra program at his school. I don't know anything about cellos, but his teacher has asked a few other students to purchase better instruments because the ones they brought in originally weren't high enough quality. When my son brought his to school, she said that it was a fine cello for a beginner, so that's good enough for me!The hard case was a major selling point for me since he's going to be lugging it back and forth a lot. When I looked for hard cases elsewhere on Amazon, they started at almost 200 bucks and that's without an instrument, so paying 300 for the whole package seemed like a steal! The case feels very sturdy, I think it would have to take a pretty major beating before any harm would come to the instrument. I also want to note that I saw a few reviewers say that the bridge wasn't set up when they got their cello, but mine came with the bridge already installed and padded with Styrofoam during shipping. I could not be happier with this package overall!So why only four stars? Unfortunately, I had to return it. It came with a crack near the right F hole (see picture) and since the instrument was shipped in its hard case and there was no damage to the shipping container, the damage had to occur before it was shipped. It wasn't an extremely obvious crack, I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been scrutinizing it after it arrived. Mistakes happen so I'm not too upset about the crack having been missed. I was expecting some hassle over returning something this expensive, but UPS came to my door to pick up the box and that was the end of it. Hassle free, just like any other return on Amazon.

Beautiful for a beginner cellist!

Very good value. Expect to visit a luthier to make some minor adjustments. On mine, the fingerboard wasn’t planed exactly right, which caused the two lowest strings to rattle. It was easily remedied by replacing the bridge. I’ve played on a $1400 cello and a $700 cello before, and this Cecilio sounds much closer to the $1400 one after that fix and some better strings. The hard case is a must! I highly recommend it as a beginner’s cello, but be aware there’s a bit of a gamble.

Great condition. Very beautiful unit with the flamed back (it looks like they sanded some high spots and messed up the flames though, could have taken more care here. literally you see sand spots). The sides are not as highly flamed. The varnish is equally applied and not sloppy at all, especially around the edges. Overall I am very happy and impressed with the quality of this unit.Real Ebony fingerboard was dyed. You can see splotches where they painted it. After playing with it for months, it still leaves black dye on the fingers. This is not the strings fault as I have washed the string thoroughly.Pegs don't fit well into peg box and have space around the holes. Need to bring to a luther to have the holes filled or new pegs cut to fix this. I am hoping that over time, the humidity will adjust and I don't have to ream the holes again. Update after 3 months, this is going to be permanent. It stays in tune pretty good for the most part. But what a sloppy job and it will cost a lot to get this fixed by the luther.Had to setup the bridge myself which is very easy. It sits really flush without need for adjustment or carving. Sound post was in the correct spot (no tool to measure though).Came with a nice hard case with wheels, soft case, stand, rosin (light color, I used my own dark rosin), extra prelude strings. I'm not sure if this is D'adaario Prelude strings. Amazon doesn't list it, but other Amazon vendors do (KKmusicstore), not on Cecilios website though. I tried contacting Cecilio about this and they never responded. Bad customer service on their part. I doubt they would even respond for their one year warranty.The bow is straight and very heavy weight (should purchase a different one). When I picked up a carbon fiber one, it weighs only 1/3 the weight.UPS delivered the unit two days earlier than expected. The box came damaged. The bow fell out of the hard case and wasn't properly secured. I am not impressed with packaging and treatment by delivery companies. But it should have been packaged properly by the manufacture to prevent that.Update (3 months later after purchase): The cello still sounds the same as day one. The metal strings on it are very bad. I would highly recommend changing them. There is a buzz on the C string if you don't hold the string in a proper manner. The finger board was not properly cut. In hindsight, I would not recommend this unit. Save your money and buy something else. I was fooled into only reading the comments on Amazon.com that were good and did not consider the negative comments. In hindsight, my experience was very similar to what they had to say.Update: April 2, 2016I still play the cello regularly and decided not to upgrade it. I don't perform or use it for RCM lessons/exams. It still holds up really. For the price and durability, I have increased my rating from 3 to 4 stars.

Good instrument for the price. Arrived in good condition with sound post intact. Probably, not for a beginner as some set up is required - bridge, and rosin needs sanding to deliver residue to the bow for it to catch the strings properly. As a violist who always fancied a cello this was a great purchase. Lots of accessories and the sound is very good.

Everything I hoped it would be. The only thing I didn't receive was rosin so I had to purchase it separately here. But that's OK! I LOVE THIS CELLO!!!!