15th Cordoba in the house (Mini II EB-CE)...
 

Picked-up my new Cordoba Mini II EB-CE cutaway with electronics today. It's very nice. Solid spruce top with laminated striped ebony back and sides. The body of mine is a more uniform dark chocolate that resembles a really dark piece of rosewood, than the stock pictures that you see on the Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, etc. I like it! It looks like a miniature version of my GK Pro negra. In fact, I have a gig on Tuesday and I'm going to take those two guitars to perform with. That's assuming that I like the plugged in tone when I plug in tomorrow.

I'm currently in a hotel room 140 miles away from home, where the wife and I traveled to see a college playoff game (yay Montana State University Bobcats!!!). The music store that I purchased both of my Mini IIs from is here in Bozeman. I've been playing the EB-CE here in my room, but have nothing to plug into. If it sounds as good as it looks and plays, then it may be used for more than just travel and couch noodling. I'll try to get pics up and and more complete review in the next few days.

Thank you for letting us know you have received your Mini II. You said you bought it from a store in Bozeman, did they have others of the same model in stock. I have a standing order for the same model as you but none have arrived yet.

How do you like the sound with it tuned E-E or do you have it tuned to a higher tuning. How's it the pitch or clarity on the third string, any tubbiness? Bass response from the 6th and 5th string, is the scale length long enough to drive the top? I will look forward to when you are back home and can give your impressions once you have spent more time with it. Safe travels.

Hi there Dave. My apologies for not replying sooner. I just now had time to upload my pics and type down my impressions.

Acoustically, the Minis don't sound as full and big as the full size Cordobas (of course). But they sound fuller than you might think. They sound somewhere between a full size and a ukulele in my opinion. I actually love their sound. It's very endearing. The string balance is perfect on both of my Mini IIs and when comparing the all-mahogany model to the cutaway model, the cutaway model is snappier and tighter in tone, while the mahogany model has more mid-range overtones.

Last night I spent time playing my GK Pro negra and the cutaway Mini II plugged-in to my Fishman Loudbox Artist. They sound amazingly similar plugged-in! Before now, I've never playing an electrified nylon that had comparable sounding electronic pickup/preamp systems to the Fishman PreFix ProBlend systems in my various GK Pros, FCEs, and FCWE guitars. The K&K Pure Classic system that I put in my F10 is close though. Anyways... the system in the EB-CE Mini II impressed me. It sounds great! I'm going to take my GK Pro negra and the new EB-CE to my gig tomorrow night at a local art museum and play both. So I'll have a better opinion then. But so far, I'm loving it.

Btw... I dunno if Music Villa in Bozeman, Montana got more than one EB-CE or not. I was in a hurry to get to the football game, so I minimized the chit chat and didn't hang around as long as I usually would have. You might call them and ask.

Here are a few pics of the new EB-CE, and then some of the Mini Is, Mini IIs, GK Pros, and F10. My apologies for the HUGENESS of the photos. I didn't realize they would show up this big.

https://i.imgur.com/h6k3ge2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nikAkj5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rHvO6u2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZGd8Q4D.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GNgEJMV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dK9KIo8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rhnNLdi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IMhVjwI.jpg

Thanks so much for all the great pictures and the first impressions. That is very interesting that the amplified sound is so favorable, that's a huge bonus. If I ever figure out how to post pictures I will do a NUD on a Romero Creation Baritone Guilele you might be interested in. Similar in size to the Mini but all solid spruce/mahogany, 50mm nut width, radiused fretboard. Even with the 20" scale length it sounds good tuned E-E with hard tension florocarbon Daddario Pro Arte strings

I gotta get me one of those Cordoba Mini II EB-CE. Good luck with the upcoming gig.

Whoa!!! 15 cordoba's?!?!?? Do you get frequent user discounts??

nice photos!!

Ha ha... I should!!! 😁

I currenty "only" have seven of them. GK Pro negra, GK Pro blanca, F10, Mini I rosewood/spruce, Mini I spalted maple cutaway-electric, Mini II all mahogany, and the new Mini II EC-CE.

I gigged the Mini II EB-CE last night. I took both it and my GK Pro negra. I started with the GK Pro for several songs, but ended up spending the last hour and a half with the EB-CE. It's just so small and comfortable, but amplified sounds very similar to the full-sized GK Pro. I just didn't wanna go back to playing the full sized instrument.

In the interest of working towards minimizing clutter as my wife and I prepare for retirement... I'm contemplating selling off my GK Pro blanca, as well as my non-cutaway, non-electrified Mini I and Mini II. I could easily get by playing and gigging just my GK Pro negra, EB-CE, and F10 (for recording). It's something I'm mulling over.

For those wondering about the new EB-CE... yes, it's a blast to play, looks wonderful, and sounds great plugged-in! I felt a little silly at times last night, playing my miniature guitar, as the high-brow medical doctor croud at the art museum shuffled by. But it sounded so good that I just rolled with it and loved it.

For steel string acoustics I've got a pair of short scale Composite Acoustics Cargos, and a Yamaha CSF1M. I'm sold on those miniature instruments as well.

I've been retired for 3 years now & the de-cluttering process is almost done.

I'm down to 4 guitars; 2 steel string & 2 nylon string guitar & 1 ukulele.

I have guitars which always stay home and others that can go to gatherings, picnic, etc...

It's feeling great & my wife loves the new open spaces.

:D:D

Very nice! I'm just beginning my decluttering journey. My man cave is currently stuffed with 14 acoustic instruments, who knows how many electric guitars, 4 tube amps, two large speaker cabs, several solid state acoustic amps, several pedal boards full of pedals, two large PA systems (one of which has never been used), DAW recording system, a couple of handheld recorders, etc, etc. And don't even get me started on the amount of firearms filling three safes, as well as a garage full of climbing /camping gear, several mountain bikes, a motorcycle, scooters, and a sports car.

So yeah... I've got a LONG ways to go to strip down to retirement mode in the few years before I give notice. I'll probably perish in a huge gear avalanche. :D

That is a lovely looking Mini 2 @Red_Label.

I'm very interested in getting my hands on this exact model, and was wondering if you can answer a few related questions please?

Is there a hard case out there in the wild, that would fit this Mini 2?

Is the fret height the same as on the original Mini's?

Does the Mini 2 stay in tune for noticeably longer than the orginal Mini tends to? (I'd imagine it does due to the longer scale and different string)

Do you think that a requinto set of strings could also work on this guitar?

Thanks :)

Hi, I've been reading your posts and am thinking about buying a Mini ii. Budget's not much of a problem, so I'm quite hesitating between the standard MH and the EB-CE
I don't think I'd plug it that often, but I do have occasional gigs, so...

But really, my main interrogation is about the acoustic sound. Is the MH model bassier than the EB-CE ? How would compare both, only acousticly speaking?
I often do workshops with kids, and music therapy sessions, I wouldn't want it to lack too much bass (though of course, I'm not expecting much in the first place :D)
Do you feel the solid top really makes a difference?

I've looked around me and can't seem to find one of those to try, so I guess i'll have to order one or the other online. Any help is more than welcome!

Cheers!

EDIT: heard from Cordoba themselves, the difference between MH and FMJ is purely aesthetic. And they say the EB-CE will be clearer and louder than the others.

Also I'm wondering about the difference in sound between the MH and FMH models. Seems to me the difference is mostly in the looks, not much in sound, but maybe I'm wrong

I am a new owner of a Mini II Mahogany, and if the love continues, I imagine I will someday spring for the electric cutaway. Love this guitar.