Cordoba C5 FTW

[thefsb]

Today I bought my first classical guitar. At Johnson String Instruments I played

- C5 cedar on laminated mahogany
- C7 spruce on laminated rosewood
- C9 cedar on solid mahogany
- Luthier Select Esteso cedar on solid pau ferro (50% discounted)

The C5 was the best, so I bought it. By far the loudest of the four with big bass. Also the most dynamic and responsive. A great range of tones.

I liked the C9 least. It felt loose or floppy. Somehow its top, middle and back were not working well together. It was light without being loud or responsive.

The C7 was very good but I liked the tone and extra power of the C5 more.

The Esteso was much better finished than the rest and had a really lovely sweet tone and was, despite being small and heavier than the others, fairly responsive. But a lot less power than the C5, and I like that power.

My new C5 will need some work to polish the frets, reduce action and improve intonation but those are details I can attend to later. At least I know it has a lucky sound box. (I mean presumably a C9 can play and sound better than a C5 but it's hit and miss.)

How wonderful that the lowest cost one was the best?

[TBman]

Congrats!

Here I was thinking about moving up to a C12. Maybe not a good idea

[thefsb]

Originally Posted by TBman

Congrats!

Here I was thinking about moving up to a C12. Maybe not a good idea

Only one way to find out for sure.

[CoastStrings]

Congratulations!

And so it goes with all factory-made guitars. The higher-end models can have better specs and better grades of wood, but all of that is never a guarantee of better performance.

I like Cordoba guitars. But my experiences with them are that they have a notably broad variability in their performance and quality control.

It's always the advice on this forum that a potential buyer of any guitar (a) should play it before buying or (b) should be covered by a good return policy.

[TBman]

I'm going to practice more and try to relax more when playing instead of upgrading for now. Less fretting hand noise and better legato will most likely do wonders for my tone, more so than all solid woods.

[ceciltguitar]

I believe that the C 9 had traditional fan bracing, whereas the C 12 has the more contemporary lattice bracing, which results in a different sound. Which sound is preferable is up to the individual. And of course, every individual guitar of anyone give a model will sound and field different than other guitars of the same model.

[Vognell]

I had the C5 a while back... and it definitely packed a punch, good volume, solid low end. I thought the high end was a bit bright on mine, but not oppressively so.

I picked up the C9 in spruce later...and it has been a consistently good guitar. I held on to the C9, sold the C5. I'm surprised you had a bad experience with it. My C9 didn't have the volume of the C5, but it had a rich bass end and some very sweet trebles.

It's possible it was the strings that turned you off of the C9... can't state for a fact that was you problem, but a set of old strings on a classical can make a good guitar sound like mud... or if you put low tension strings on a guitar that is built for normal or high tension strings. The C9 was designed with the higher tension strings in mind.

Old strings sound bad on any guitar, but I think they tank the tone on a classical to a greater degree.

In any case, you did fine with the purchase of the C5. More than good enought to get you going. They're not hard to resell if you find something you like better later on.

[thefsb]

Originally Posted by Vognell

I had the C5 a while back... and it definitely packed a punch, good volume, solid low end. I thought the high end was a bit bright on mine, but not oppressively so.

I picked up the C9 in spruce later...and it has been a consistently good guitar. I held on to the C9, sold the C5. I'm surprised you had a bad experience with it. My C9 didn't have the volume of the C5, but it had a rich bass end and some very sweet trebles.

It's possible it was the strings that turned you off of the C9... can't state for a fact that was you problem, but a set of old strings on a classical can make a good guitar sound like mud... or if you put low tension strings on a guitar that is built for normal or high tension strings. The C9 was designed with the higher tension strings in mind.

Old strings sound bad on any guitar, but I think they tank the tone on a classical to a greater degree.

In any case, you did fine with the purchase of the C5. More than good enought to get you going. They're not hard to resell if you find something you like better later on.

The C9 was in good condition. It had Savarez Corum Crystal high tension strings in good condition. It was set up fine. I am pretty sure it was an unlucky build. What do I mean?

Solid guitar top and back plates are subject to a lot of variation in key acoustic parameters. With low-cost guitars the makers can't afford to reject many or make corrections by adjusting bracing or mass or whatever. So the lowest price tier of all-solid construction guitars is likely to produce the most variation. The cost of eliminating the below-par examples from factory output likely would not work for a guitar that costs $900 at retail.

I'm sure am example of a C9 that's at or above par is a fine guitar.

[Accent]

I've got two C5s. I bought both new and needing repair and got them for a song. Both have done well since repairing. They are great guitars and practicing mostly on one now these days, and switching to a 7/8 Cordoba Dolce if I feel like playing a smaller scale and body, and noodling on a 3/4 Cadete and a beater Protege at coffee.

I also have a C7 for a few years- it's a more mellow sound with Rosewood back and sides, and fancier tuners. I play it once and awhile but more saving it for I don't know when. I never play the original Savarez strings very long- they seem soft and lack volume to me. I put D'Adario Pro Arte on as soon as any wear shows or a bass unwinds. I think it sounds better. I have weak hands from breaking finger racing bicycles long ago so I've migrated back toward normal tension as I get older.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1jmqH6mcto

[Aristophon]

Originally Posted by Vognell

I had the C5 a while back... and it definitely packed a punch, good volume, solid low end...

I picked up the C9 in spruce later...and it has been a consistently good guitar. I held on to the C9, sold the C5. I'm surprised you had a bad experience with it. My C9 didn't have the volume of the C5, but it had a rich bass end and some very sweet trebles...

It's possible it was the strings that turned you off of the C9...The C9 was designed with the higher tension strings in mind...

In any case, you did fine with the purchase of the C5. More than good enought to get you going. They're not hard to resell if you find something you like better later on.

Your experience was similar to mine with regard to the C9, though mine was the cedar top and mahogany back. Had started out with a C5 when I took up classical guitar and liked the sound well enough.

After a year of making good progress with the C5, decided to treat myself on my birthday to an solid wood,non-laminate C9 Big, big mistake!

Couldn't bear to play the C5 anymore after the first notes played on the C9 with high tension (Crystal Corum) strings.

Just could not bear to let the C9 out of my hands, but felt bad because there was nothing wrong with the C5.

Had I tried some other set of strings, perhaps the difference in sound and warmth wouldn't have been so different to my ears. The C5 sat like an abandoned waif in the closet for half a year before doing the right thing and selling it on to someone who would play it.