Cecilio Cello Strings: How Do They Sound?

The strings that came with my Cecilio CCO-100 cello served me well for a few months of lessons, but I've finally decided to upgrade my strings. Before I remove the original strings, I thought I'd play them open to provide a reference point against the new ones, once I put them on and break them in.

[@andrewwilliams2193]

The advice my cello teacher gave me, change the strings, especially if they were the ones that came with the cello ordered online. He was right, you can hear the difference. I went with Larsen strings.

[@brunocerous]

Good advice! It made a big difference, although the strings that were included weren't bad.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Helicore strings only take a few seconds to break in so that's a huge plus. The reason Cecilio uses steel Flatwound strings on their Cello is because steel strings are more durable than Gut strings (yes) & they're easier to bow.

[@brunocerous]

That makes sense! I really liked my Heliocore strings, which I only just changed out.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The A String in the Cecilio set is probably a Plain Steel String.

[@brunocerous]

I believe it was!

[@ChemistryProfessor00]

Hey dude, I’m gonna buy this cello soon. And is that the original bow?

[@brunocerous]

@@ChemistryProfessor00 It’s the original bow. Good luck!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

I have D'addario Helicore strings on my 5 string Cello which are a little thinner & they sound mellow.

[@brunocerous]

Very nice! Can you play the Bach cello suite written for the five-string cello? (I can't but enjoy hearing it!)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@brunocerous I can also play bach's violin sonatas & partitas

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Geared Tuners might help.

[@brunocerous]

My new cello came with Perfection-brand pegs, which seem nice enough. I'm a bit of a traditionalist and do miss the feel of wooden pegs, though.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@brunocerous They do feel like wooden pegs but turn more smoothly & act as fine tuners. They also save the headstock from wearing out.

[@brunocerous]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 They're OK but definitely don't feel like wooden pegs, probably because they're hollow ABS plastic with internal gearing.
fiddlershop.com/products/perfection-planetary-geared-pegs-cello

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@brunocerous They are a bit lighter weight than normal wooden pegs & they do save the peg box from wearing out, that's the most important thing. Wittner also makes a string winder for these types of pegs so that when you go to restring your Cello, all you need to do is turn the handle.

[@michelmailhiot4848]

And what about the Helicore strings? Is there a big difference?

[@brunocerous]

They sound less tinny, but as a beginner, I think my playing style doesn’t show a huge difference in the strings’ sound. The a string is definitely less shrill.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@brunocerous I guess what's going on is that in the new set, all 4 strings are Wound.

[@brunocerous]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 That's correct! D'Addario Heliocore strings are all wound in this set.