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  #1  
Old 01-18-2015, 07:50 PM
camer138 camer138 is offline
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Default Cordoba GK Pro vs 55FCE

I am planning to get a new guitar soon for recording/composing with and and have narrowed my search down to these two. The local shop has the GK Pro in which I plan on trying out very soon and they said they are planning to eventually get the 55FCE in. When "eventually" is.. who knows.

I am going through mad GAS and want a new guitar sooner than later so I was hoping someone could point out the differences between these guitars both tonally and playability wise to see if I should wait around for this 55fce(they said they would be trying to get the limited model in with the ziricote back).

I currently play a La Patrie Collection, so any comparisons to that guitar will help out as well.
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  #2  
Old 01-19-2015, 11:41 AM
papajoo papajoo is offline
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I think the main difference will be in the width of the guitars. The thinbody, obviously, is thinner. This helps to be a little more comfortable on stage with the sacrifice of volume and tone when just played acoustically. People also seem to think the thinner body allows for less feedback and a better plugged in sound, I tend to think that both guitars perform well in that setting. I personally love the GK pro, a very quality guitar. IMHO, I would go for the GK pro and not look back.
Just make sure to give it a thorough inspection, there are a lot of "B" stock guitars with cracks in the finish and whatnot. They are usually marked as such and still usually are fine in terms of playability, but with some cosmetic blemishes.
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  #3  
Old 01-21-2015, 03:25 AM
Crowyote Crowyote is offline
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The 55FCE Negra is laminated ziricote and has a really unique tone . . . I really like it for nearly all purposes and have got nothing but compliments on the sound. The regular GK Pro is Cypress, so it doesn't have much warmth. The GK Pro Negra is solid Rosewood back and sides, I think.

Rumour has it that next year Cordoba might run another 55FCE limited edition w/ Cocobolo back and sides (lam.) . . . that should be a doozy.

In all cases try before you buy if you can . . . and don't leave out considering an FWCE either that is also a great model (better quality top supposedly, but w/ cypress back and sides). Also GK Pros are built in China, while the others are built in Spain . . . this might affect resale values.
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  #4  
Old 07-10-2016, 09:50 AM
photonic photonic is offline
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Just bought mine - the ebony back and sides model and played two identical instruments at my local store and there was a substantial difference between the two as to tone. The one I bought had much more dynamic range and more vibrant and complex bass notes. This was easily audible to both me and the sales person. Best to audition these in person. The one I bought is terrific!

I was also surprised how much volume and tone the instrument had unplugged since it is a thin bodied guitar. Quite satisfactory.
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  #5  
Old 07-26-2016, 06:04 AM
MikkoKarhula MikkoKarhula is offline
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Hi!

I had to buy my first nylon stringed guitar a year ago. Playing over 20 years different guitars and it was still a bit unfamiliar task to find nylon string guitar. I had opportunity to test thin bodied Alhambra in local shop. I liked it a lot, but thinner body didn't give me the deepness I was looking for. Also Fishman electronics were a bit dated in this model. I went through several guitars. Then I found la Patrie guitars in the net and Cordobas. Both guitar were not available to test in my town.

I have Seagull steel stringent guitar and it seems to be somehow relative to la Patrie (Canadien made). They look bit same and most important thing is that there is something same in sound. According to my listenings from net: La Patrie seems to have very accurate sound. But its thinner in e1, b2 strings. Most importantly sound seems to be colder and it does-t have the roundness.
Comparing to Cordobas which are made in Spanish tradition in mind. Cordobas has more warm and roundness. And also crispiness when player wants it.

These things in my mind I bought Cordoba C7-CE Cedar. It has perfect warm Spanish classical sound. Because I play a lot improvisational songs as a solo and I have small hands I had this guitar action lowered just little. That way it came more near to flamenco sound too but not too much. I also had golpeadors installed to it because my style is wearing the top.

Here is one example of my guitar:
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  #6  
Old 07-27-2016, 07:15 AM
Red_Label Red_Label is offline
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I have owned the GK Pro (blanca) and 55FCE (flamed maple)... and currently own the 55FCE Ltd Ziricote. I also own an FCWE Reissue (and several other Cordoba classicals and flamencos). I used to own a GK Studio as well. I would say that as an all-around performing flamenco guitar, it's hard to beat the GK Pro. For me, that's the one that got away... and I've been meaning to get another one. I thought that I was quitting playing my latin-styled music at the time and someone made me an offer that I couldn't refuse.

Anyways... the GK Pro had a more full sound (it has a thicker body of course). If you're just going to be playing amplified... then the 55FCE is every bit as good as the GK Pro, and more comfortable to play for hours. But if you plan to play acoustically, then the GK Pro is superior. The GK Pro is made in China, but all solid woods. Whereas the 55FCEs are made in Spain, but with laminate back and sides. Plugged-in, none of that matters in the least. But unplugged... it "could" matter down the road as the wood ages. Having now owned nine Cordoba instruments, I think they're all great and for the money... I don't think that you can come close to buying a better flamenco or classical instrument (I've also owned Yamaha, Yairi, Rodriguez, Breedlove and Takamine nylons and played many others).

Last edited by Red_Label; 07-27-2016 at 07:20 AM.
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  #7  
Old 07-27-2016, 03:03 PM
MikkoKarhula MikkoKarhula is offline
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Red Label you have quite respectable collection of Cordobas. I'm very pleased with my Cordoba also and I think it's quite amazing how good they can sound with as relatively little amount of money. It would be nice to test one of those expensive ones of Cordoba also.
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  #8  
Old 07-27-2016, 03:45 PM
Red_Label Red_Label is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikkoKarhula View Post
Red Label you have quite respectable collection of Cordobas. I'm very pleased with my Cordoba also and I think it's quite amazing how good they can sound with as relatively little amount of money. It would be nice to test one of those expensive ones of Cordoba also.
Thanks. Yes, I think that they are awesome nylon string instruments. My first one was the GK Studio. I was on a trip to Vegas with the wife and bought it from the Guitar Center on the south end of the Strip. It was a $600 Chinese instrument, with laminate back and sides. I flew home with it and took it to my gig the next day, as well as the $3-4K Breedlove Masterclass Bossa Nova that had been my main nylon for a while. I played the first set with the Breedlove, and the second with the Cordoba. I never put the Cordoba back down that night and sold the Breedlove right after that to fund more Cordobas (including the GK Pro). It's not that the Cordoba was "better" than the much more expensive and well-built Breedlove. But the Cordoba had a better flamenco thing going (which it was supposed to).

Anyways... I too have been curious about the Cordoba Master series, specifically the Torres, Hauser, and Esteso models. I was close to ordering the Torres on Sweetwater's 36-month no interest card plan, but I've taken too much liberty with that already (as well as Musician's Friend's similar plan). My current Cordoba C12, F10, 55FCE, FCWE, and Mini-R will have to suffice for now.
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  #9  
Old 07-28-2016, 08:42 AM
dkstott dkstott is offline
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I also started out with a Cordoba GK Studio Cypress and loved it....I wanted something a bit more softer sound and upgraded to the GK Pro Negra. The GK Pro Negra is all solid wood with rosewood sides and back.

My GK Pro is my go to guitar everyday of the week. It is just the right size for everything that I do... practicing, weekly jams, occasional open mic night, etc...

I was never able to sample a 55FCE in person, but the videos sound nice
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  #10  
Old 07-28-2016, 12:36 PM
Red_Label Red_Label is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkstott View Post
I also started out with a Cordoba GK Studio Cypress and loved it....I wanted something a bit more softer sound and upgraded to the GK Pro Negra. The GK Pro Negra is all solid wood with rosewood sides and back.

My GK Pro is my go to guitar everyday of the week. It is just the right size for everything that I do... practicing, weekly jams, occasional open mic night, etc...

I was never able to sample a 55FCE in person, but the videos sound nice
Yeah, the 55s are great. But for sure it's hard to beat the Pros for being a great all-around nylon. I'd probably trade my 55FCE Ziricote or FCWE Reissue for one in fact.
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  #11  
Old 09-18-2017, 07:39 AM
Kashi Kashi is offline
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Default But stil.. GK Pro vs 55 FCE?

So it seems like the Chinese version sounds better than the Espania? Is there really that noticeable of a difference between the 55 FCE and Pro when playing unplugged?
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  #12  
Old 09-18-2017, 08:11 AM
VLJ VLJ is offline
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I just swapped my FCWE Reissue (same as the 55 FCE but all solid woods instead of laminates, and, therefore, a bit pricier) for a GK Pro Negra. There are two main differences. First off, the Spanish-built FCWE has a much thicker, chunkier neck profile than the GK Pro, with broader shoulders. The other difference is the obvious one, namely, that the GK Pro has a deeper body. It's not quite as deep as a full classical or any of Cordoba's Fusion series guitars, but it's significantly deeper than the FCWE/55 FCE, and has a much bigger, fuller, deeper low-end tone. The solid rosewood back and sides of the GK Pro Negra likely only increases the difference in low-end fullness.

That was the only thing missing from my FCWE, the low-end tone. There, the GK Pro has it soundly beaten. Otherwise, the two guitars share the same Fishman Pro Blend electronics, and I actually prefer the FC's chunkier neck.

To echo what Red_Label said, if all you're ever going to do is play it plugged in, get the thinner, more comfortable, less feedback-prone FC. If you're mainly going to play unplugged, the GK Pro is the no-brainer choice.
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