Quote:
Originally Posted by elinmo
*The cordoba Gk studio is thinline and fishman eq, it has a lot of praise because is the "cheap" model that the world famous flamenco group "gipsy kings" use, is around 600 usd here.
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Just to correct the above, the GK studio is not thinline, sure the flamenco inspired build is slightly narrower than a classical but for an example of a thinline see the Cordoba 55FCE, that's quite a difference.
It is also not used by the Gypsy Kings. The GK is an entry level Chinese made guitar, good for the money certainly (I have owned two) but the band play more expensive guitars than that (in fact Tonino's signature (stage) guitar always used to be the model I mentioned above).
A few pointers for you in terms of your choice;
-do you need a pick up? Are you intending to gig with this? If not then why buy a guitar with a system in it? Apart from the ugly plastic square on the top side, you are paying for stuff you don't need *and* classicals/flamencos with in built systems are virtually always designed to be plugged in and designed to be a work horse (like the GK) - in other words their acoustic sound is often lacking in comparison to guitars at the same price point without electronics.
-do you need a cutaway? At the lower end of the market I think tone suffers a little, but the trade off depends on what style you want to play, whether this is a factor.
I have played some Alhambras that are real dogs, they are not too consistent and could be made just about anywhere by any Spanish factory under a sub contract deal. I turned down their 10F for a guitar by Prudencio that was hundreds cheaper and was far superior.
If it were me and I was looking for acoustic tone quality/volume it would be a toss up between the Rodriguez and the Loriente, especially if you are playing classical guitar music. On the other hand if you want more of a 'crossover type' guitar and/or are looking to perform, the Raimundo would be my choice.