Cordoba question

[rmgjsps]

Hi, looking for some collective wisdom and experience. I am upgrading my pitiful two instruments. I am also sticking in the $300-500. price range. I am a living room player only. The steel acoustic is an easy choice for me, getting a Seagull S6 "Original." I have a problem with picking a Classical. I will buynew and won't buy anything that I haven't played a bit.

My dilemma is that the Cordobas are appealing, but when I read reviews, ther is no middle ground. They either get 5-stars, or nothing. But my worry is that the bad reviews are all bad for the same reason -- bridge separation. And this seems to hold over all models in the price range I am looking at.

Appreciate any help with this. Or, I could just go for a La Patrie Etude.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by rmgjsps

Hi, looking for some collective wisdom and experience. I am upgrading my pitiful two instruments. I am also sticking in the $300-500. price range. I am a living room player only. The steel acoustic is an easy choice for me, getting a Seagull S6 "Original." I have a problem with picking a Classical. I will buynew and won't buy anything that I haven't played a bit.

My dilemma is that the Cordobas are appealing, but when I read reviews, ther is no middle ground. They either get 5-stars, or nothing. But my worry is that the bad reviews are all bad for the same reason -- bridge separation. And this seems to hold over all models in the price range I am looking at.

Appreciate any help with this. Or, I could just go for a La Patrie Etude.

I liked the acoustic electric that's around 399 with cut away, but I found I'm a little heavy handed for nylon strings so I took it back, I forgot the model, but it's 399 at most retailers, I did pickup a Baritone Ukulele so I'm getting better at lighter strumming [emoji1]

[Kip Carter]

I shared this on another thread which I bought late last year. Very comfortable moving from steel to nylon with this Washburn EACT42S @ $329 street price.

[aknow]

Save, and buy a better used guitar.

[Rudy4]

I'd recommend you check out a Cordoba Orchestra Fusion. It's just beyond the upper limit of your range, but I think you'll be startled with the playability of this "cross-over" vs the Cordoba classical guitars. I've never seen a bridge lift posted for the Orchestra Fusion models.

My old Crossover Guitar page:

http://web.archive.org/web/201603282...Crossover.html

[colder]

The best values in your price range are Cordoba, Yamaha, or La Patrie (made by Godin, which also made your Seagull).

I once had a Cordoba C5 which came with a soft case and that I liked. It sounded good for the price. Yamaha, you can't go wrong with. La Patrie I suspect is the same level of quality as Seagull.

[rmgjsps]

I appreciate the replies. We have a really good guitar shop here in San Francisco, The Haight Ashbury Music Center, I'll certainly look at the Yamahas and the La Patrie mentioned. Maybe I can negotiate a two-fer deal. I prefer to buy new instruments, but, hey, at 70, maybe used make sense ;-) I started playing in high-school, but am just getting back to it after a 20 year break. There is a wealth of knowledge in these fora, I'm glad I discovered AGF. People here are a great resource and willing to share.

[GHS]

I have a Cordoba Fusion 12 in maple. I looked around for a very long time before buying this one. I have learned this, all IMHO of course. In the crossover nylon string guitar collection, anything under 300 is not worth owning. Once you get into the 6-800 dollar range things get a whole lot better. Body construction, finish on the frets, etc get pretty good. I had to clean up a few rough fret edges on mine, nothing a fret file from Stew-Mac and a few minutes could not fix up. Ill chalk the rough frets up to improper hydration of the guitar or a lazy work day. Other than that I believe they have the best in that range. Though I dont use them very often, the on board electronics are very good. Un plugged tone is real nice with the Alliance stock strings which I think are worth sticking with. The only other guitar with better p/u was the Yamaha. If you play plugged in all the time I believe this would be a better choice. But unplugged the Cordoba has it beat. Great bass tone, nice om style body, I really like it. Easy transition from steel string to these because of the narrower neck design that a traditional "classical" guitar fretboard. Try one.

[acoustic rabbit]

I have 4 Cordoba instruments: La Playa 3/4 size nylon string, a ukulele model 20 tm-ce, Mini 0-CE guitar, and a full size acoustic electric nylon string with a cutaway, mode C5-CE...they are all nice instruments and I've had no problems with them...I really like the C5-CE, although sometimes I wish the neck wasn't so wide...Cordoba does make some models with a narrower neck...

[gmr]

I don't think you could do much better than the Córdoba classical guitars in that price range. Both the C5 and C7 models are very good value guitars and have a lot going for them from an acoustic tonal perspective. I am waiting on the new C5 Limited that is supposed to be shipping at the end of this month. I currently have a Yamaha NTX 700. It is a great sounding crossover nylon model when playing plugged in. I only play it acoustically, and it is not ideal as a straight acoustic classical guitar.... not that it is bad, it just isn't as dynamic and resonant as the purely acoustic models from Yamaha and Córdoba. The La Patrie guitars are nice too but they feel a bit overbuilt to me. All that said, you can't go wrong with any of the three brands mentioned. Kinda boils down to which one you happen to like best personally, I think.

[rmgjsps]

ghs, gmr, and others. I only play "unplugged." I don't have anything against electric and amplification (didn't even get upset about Dylan at Newport in '65) I just never got into it. As a home only player, I don't need to fill much space with what I hope will be music. I'm sort of stuck in the '60's folk scene, and, I suppose, at my age, I am just on a nostalgia trip. I am feeling way better about Cordobas now. Still gonna play a few others before making a final choice. I also love to cook and have managed to take a painful divot out of the ring finger of my fretting hand, so I'm out of business for the next few days. Thanks again for all of the knowledge sharing and insight.

[gmr]

I am right there with you. I only play my acoustics acoustically, thus my desire to get the little C5. It will fit my desires just fine for a classical guitar. My Yamaha, nice as it is, will probably have to find a new home, once I get the C5 Limited.

[CASD57]

Yea that's the one had the C5 great guitar

[dkstott]

I've been pretty consistent with my opinion in the classical forum that the Yamaha crossover guitars are awesome if you plug them in. But acoustically they are very lacking in tone. Acoustically is where the Cordoba guitars beat most of the competition.