List Price: $899.99
Sale Price: $346.77
Today's Bonus: 61% Off
- Size 4/4 electric cello with hand-carved maple wood & pearl white varnish in style 1 (full size)
- Ebony fingerboard, pegs and tailpiece with mother of pearl inlay and 4 detachable fine tuners
- Powered by a 9V Alkaline battery (included)
- Includes: well padded lightweight soft-case, bow, rosin, aux cable, & headphones
- 1 Year Warranty Against Manufacturer's Defects
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I bought this cello because I couldn't afford the big gnarly cellos (yet). I couldn't find any reviews on THIS particular model, so I hope this helps someone in the future. The cello came in a box with good packaging. The bridge was not installed. I've only played an acoustic cello before, so a little guidance would have been helpful here. Had to look at the pictures on the Cecilio website to figure out that the bridge goes right on top of the pickup. Got the bridge up, strings tightened some then put the battery in. OK, that worked. Plugged in the cheap headphones that come with it. Nothing. Tried the other jacks. Nothing. Tried the 1/8" to 1/4" cord into a mixer. Nothing. I called the manufacturer and they were less than helpful. They figured the guy in India (from Amazon)would have MUCH better information than the manufacturer. While I was fuming and contacting the guy in India my husband messed around with it some more. We found out that it has to go from the PHONES jack to the mixer and had to be in there JUST right in order to work. So as soon as I nudge it a bit, have to mess with it again. The good news is that it DOES work and it DOES sound like a cello. You can hear it just fine without it being turned on or plugged in, its just not as loud as an acoustic cello would be. I'm going to see about getting the electronics changed in it so that it DOES work correctly because I like the frame on it. Oh and the bridge is too high...probably about as tall as the pickup is. So i have to either get a new bridge or sand this one down a bit. For $300 what are you gonna do. Cellos aren't cheap and the cheap cellos are...well...cheap. At least its a good place to start from to re-learn the cello.Buy Cecilio 4/4 CECO-1WH Pearl White Electric Cello with Ebony Fittings in Style 1 (Full Size) Now
I was able to assemble this cello and have it playing within an hour of UPS delivery. It had everything needed to start, including a battery, which is very easy to install and replace. The bow is a basic student model, and the case is just a thin fabric, but for the price it's a supreme bargain!The fit and finish is excellent, it looks great, and plays easily. The fingerboard has some areas that are not quite smooth, which can show up on any cello, but other than that I've used it indoors and out, with a bass amp and also through a direct box to a mixer at a ball game. Never dared take my 19th century cello out into that environment. So I definitely recommend this item.I ordered this Cello on Monday September 5, 2011 and received the Cello on Friday September 9, 2011 delivered by FedEx. It came in a box and like the other review said I had to install the bridge (which was in the case). Everything seemed to be well just a little dusty. The support that comes up to your chest I accidentally broke because the screws it had were really short, I found some that were a little longer and replaced them and everything is fine. I play it at my church and every one can hear it and they were pleased at how it sounded and so was I. It has a couple of rough spots. My A string twangs when i play the 4th finger D in 1st position, the fourth position on this cello is a little higher up the neck than you would think if you are used to acoustic cellos. Cheap strings an alright bow but everything was great It came with cheap headphones and a battery. A carpenter at my church was excited about the cello and he wanted to see it, he examined it and said that the cello was maple which is strong wood so I was really well pleased with this cello.First, a little background. I played cello in high school over 40 years ago and decided I wanted to get back into cello.
It seems there are 2 areas as far as prices are concerned the "inexpensive" cellos, and then the ones that break the bankthere seems to be very little in between. I bought a few of the imported "inexpensive" acoustics, but they lacked good tone. All the cellos needed bridge and nut work, and better strings. I finally found an older acoustic that has good tone, but still am not happy with the overall instrument.
So I decided to venture into electric cellos, where most of the sound is controlled by the pick-up and amp combination. It is not so much relying on the "speaker" of the big cello wooden box. Again, there is the $300+ range, and then into nearly $2000 range, so I bought this cello, in the Mahogany color.
All I can say is Wow! Packing was great, the fit and finish is excellent. It had the usual issues mainly lesser quality strings, and high string height.
I have added better strings, fitted a new bridge, and lowered string height at the nut. Now it plays great, and does not have the attendant problems that an acoustic cello may have. I found, with proper amp setting, I can achieve a fairly natural cello sound and then there are also effects that can be done!
The only other issue I had, was trying to hold and play it in the same position as an acoustic was awkward. There is no "depth" to the bouts where I usually rest on my leg, and the back rest seemed to hurt my chest. I solved all this with the addition of a small clamped on bracket that I made which simulates the bout, and some foam padding on the wood back rest.
It plays well, has all ebony fittings, looks good, and now I can hold and play it just like the acoustic. I would recommend this cello for all but the most professional players, as you get a lot for the money. Keep in mind, that some bridge work may be needed to suit your style.
FIRST NOTE: The first cello I received was cracked THROUGH THE NECK where the scroll meets the fretboard. Cecilio and Amazon gave me no trouble in returning that one for a brand new cello, and for that their customer service gets a hand.
That being noted, it is what I would expect for $300. Body is pressed wood, sealed with a nice varnish. The neck is a smooth, well-planed rosewood(?) painted black, which plays well with no dead spots noted. Bridge seems to be quality and didn't require additional adjustments/shaving for the action to be correct. The nut is spaced properly and the height seems appropriate.
The pickup works well and is even sensitive to body vibrations (tapping, movement) much like that on my A/E guitar seems to be an okay piezo. HOWEVER it DOES get overloaded at times when bowing heavily on 2 strings simultaneously. I haven't yet found a way around this and the distortion created can be annoying when plugged in. Amplified sound through my Bogner is pretty cool especially when running it through my guitar effects pedals.
Electronics on the back are simple enough. No, it isn't an expensive Fishman or LR Baggs preamp, but it gets the job done. In the future I may retrofit it with a high-quality acoustic/electric preamp and a 1/4" TS out. It is nice of Cecilio to supply the 1/8" TS to 1/4" TS cable.
Strings on this aren't great, so a new set will be on it's way soon, but they're playable. Tuning pegs stuck well in tune in
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