1960s William Lewis & Co "The Laurel" 4/4 Cello

I'm not sure when this was made by the age on the hardware makes me think it's a '60s or '70s instrument, made in Germany, and imported. It could be later, though -- '80s maybe? -- but I'm just not sure. It has a label inside that reads "William Lewis & Co" and spells it out as what it is -- a "laminated model" cello of student stock, basically.

It's all-ply in the body with maple veneer and, as you might expect, it sounds largely like a '50s or '60s ply Kay cello but with more focus and clarity to the tone -- the Kays are often a bit woofy and over-bassy. This one's clean and gives you less wiggle room to screw up your fingering. Can you tell in the video? Mwah-hah!

Anyhow, my guy Andy went through it and it's playing spot-on and ready to go. It's nicely-made and sure a whole lot better than most student-level cellos that come through the shop for setup as it's got good fittings.

Repairs included: minor seam repairs, a neck reset + pinned joint, bridge adjustments, restring, setup adjustments.

Weight: 7 lbs 4 oz

Scale length: 27 1/4"

Nut width: 1 1/4"

Body length: 29 5/8"

Body width: 17 1/4"

Body depth: 5" + arching

Top wood: ply maple

Back & sides wood: ply maple

Bridge: maple

Fingerboard: ebony

Neck wood: maple

String height: classical
Strings: import rope core

Neck shape: medium-bigger C

Neck relief: hair of relief at the octave+ position

Condition notes: while it's got wear and tear throughout the finish and finish checking throughout, it's overall in great shape for its age and sturdy, too. The neck has been reset and "pinned" so it should be good to go for many decades without fuss. It appears to be original throughout. The low C peg can be slightly fussy just when the weather changes, too, but all pegs have been holding just fine otherwise. There are fine tuners only for the D&A strings, unfortunately.

It comes with: no case or bow, sorry.

Consignment tag: P51