Cordoba Orchestra CE
 

Has anyone here owned or played one of these? If so, what were your impressions? Has anyone played both the GK Pro AND the Orchestra CE, and if so, how did they compare? Both are solid wood guitars, so I wonder why the GK Pro costs twice as much? Does the Orchestra have the same thin neck that the GK Pro has?

For years I have considered buying a GK Pro IF I could get a blemished model at half price. It finally happened a few weeks ago. I am surprised and delighted by how much I like this guitar! It is a beautiful instrument! I love the tonal qualities! I love the thin neck!

I wish that Córdoba made a classical guitar like the GK Pro: Same flat neck, spruce top, slightly higher bridge. The Orchestra CE is a crossover guitar, radiused fretboard, narrower neck. I might try it anyway, just because I am so happy with the GK Pro.

I've played the Orchestra CE and own a GK Pro & a Solista CD. I've also owned a C10 Crossover

The Orchestra is part of the Cordoba Fusion line. So you should consider it a crossover guitar.

Major differences between the 2 guitars is that the Orchestra has a radiused fretboard and a 1 7/8" width nut.

I was not a fan of the 1 7/8" width using nylon strings on the Orchestra or the C10 crossover.. I sold the C10 to purchase the Solista.

Whereas the GK Pro has a flat fretboard and a 1.96" width nut.

The overall body width size is very close on each guitar. But the Orchestra has a slightly deeper body.

Take a look at the Cordoba Solista for a classical guitar. It has very similar specs as the GK Pro. It has a slightly wider nut at 2.04"

Thank you, dkstott, for the information, and for the suggestion to consider the Solista. I think that the Soloist would not be a good match for what I am looking for, due to no cutaway, no electronics, and 57 mm string separate at the bridge, vs 59 mm on the Cordoba. Thank you for the suggestion though. I will consider it.

Do either the Orchestra CE or the Solista have the same neck profile (thickness / shape) as the GK pro?

Cecil...

I have a GK studio Limited (spruce/ziricote).... and a Fusion 12 orchestra ce cedar/rosewood...

neck profiles feel identical... nut widths 1/16th of an inch different and the GK is slightly thinner...

Both of these have laminate B/S.. I am able to move from one guitar to the other without having any difficulties due to there slight differences...

Gene

Fwiw. There is a limited edition version of the Cordoba Soloists that has a cutaway and electronics. I've seen used models of them on Reverb & EBay fairly regularly.

Dave

I take back anything negative that I have said in the past regarding the Cordoba Orchestra CE.

NOTE: My left hand did not like the feel of the 1 7/8" in nut width on my C10 Crossover & sold it within a month of purchasing it. So 99% of the time, I ignore the fusion and crossovers while window shopping.

I was recently at a GC and they had a cedar topped model out on display. It was really pretty and upon a closer look, I could smell the Cedar aroma from it :)

The smell of the Cedar was really enticing, so I took it down to check it out.

After 20 minutes of playing it, I was still enjoying it with no left hand discomfort. I remembered that I had a spare De Oro Guitar support in the car and brought it into the store.

After getting approval from the manager, I slapped the guitar supports suction cups on the guitar and gave it a full try-out & examination. Very playable and it's got a very nice finish, no sharp frets, etc.

45 minutes later, I was pulling out the credit card and buying it.

Overnight, it's been getting properly humidified. Once it's humidified properly, I'll have a better idea about any tweaks that I might want to make; such as adjusting the truss rod or lowering the saddle slightly.

Another Cordoba guitar has entered into the "collection". :D

Update: The guitar has been properly humidified for 24 hours. I got rid of the high tension strings, oiled up the fretboard, cleaned a few slots in the nut. I took my fret level gage to it and didn't find anything to adjust. Installed normal tension strings on the guitar. Neck relief is great. The saddle might need to be lowered just a little. But I'm going to let the guitar adjust to normal tension strings before making any changes.

Dave, Thank you for sharing your experience with the Cordoba Orchestra CE.

Last fall I found a 2011 prototype maple body Solista CE with a Spruce top on eBay and bought it. The neck of the Soloista is thicker and wider than the neck of the GK Pro. The GK Pro is much more playable for me. To me, this Solista had a sound that leaned more towards classical guitar than Flamenco guitar, whereas my GK Pro leans more towards a Flamenco sound. I kept the guitar for a month or two and then sold it to a student of a friend of mine for exactly what I paid for it.

Why did I sell this guitar? (wailing, weeping, gnashing of teeth) It was not a great guitar but it was a good guitar with a very unique sound. I cannot tell you why, but every time I played this guitar I thought that it had the perfect sound for the soundtrack to a 1960s cowboy western movie that also featured some Mexican characters. I especially liked to play in the key of E minor on this guitar.

Sheesh........I'm just a guitaraholic wanting to stick to Warren Buffet's creed: Buy and hold. But there are only so many [too few] dollars to spend on guitars, and only so much [too little] space to store guitars and only so much time [way too little] to spend playing guitars...

My GK Pro Negra is my go to guitar!! But there's times when I want something closer to the true classical sound with less flamenco sound.

The Solista is perfect for that. BUT, it doesn't have a cutaway and I find myself bumping into the guitar body every time I reach for the 14th or 15th fret. I'm not sure why, but it's significantly heavier than the GK Pro.

My hope is that the Orchestra CE will get me close to the classical sound. I really like the light weight of it as compared to the Solista.

If it does, then I'll probably sell the Solista.

Dave