Cordoba Stage Traditional review

[TBman]

I received my Stage today. I haven't spent a lot of time with it, but enough to start to become accustomed to it. So far so good, is the bottom line. Another perfect guitar purchase and delivery by Sweetwater. I've purchased all 4 of my Cordobas from them.

A few notes -

1. The cable jack is not in the end pin.

2. The 2 control knobs other than the volume don't have a dramatic effect, but I like them set midway.

3. The soft case is decent.

4. There is no manual of any type in the case - maybe online somewhere?

5. It came setup very well for my fingers.

6. The guitar is about a pound heavier than my Cordoba C12.

7. I like it. It will take a few more hours for me to become fully comfortable with the thinner body.

Here are three sound clips, the first without any "eq", the second with some eq'ing and the 3rd eq'd but no reverb added. I recorded direct from the guitar to my Scarlett 2i4 into Reaper. I have tried direct recording a few times in the past with some acoustic electrics - Epiphone, Gibson, a sound hole pickup in various guitars and my Cordoba Fusion 12, but this guitar has them all beat by a mile. It won't replace recording with mics, but for those nights when I don't want to go in the basement to record something this might be a good alternative.

Raw sound file:


Edited sound file:


Edited, no reverb:

And Sweetwater provided me with good photos.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Sounds and looks good Barry. Congrats on the new acquisition.
I'm a big fan of guitars like this. When I started recording years ago I was doing something very similar to that, i.e. plugging in an electric/nylon (Gibson) directly into a recorder (an analog cassette recorder).
These are very versatile guitars, with great playability attributes. They've come a long way. I think you will enjoy yours very much!

[martingitdave]

Barry, that's a terrific sound direct from that guitar! If I were playing nylon I would pick one of those up for gigs. Really impressive!

[Rudy4]

It sounds very good, Barry.

Don't know if this is the case for you, but both of my Cordobas had rough fret tops. The first thing I did was cover the board with painter's tape between the frets and polish them up with 600 followed by 0000 steel wool. That made both of them feel much better and removed any string noise resulting from moving the strings along the fret surfaces.

[airborne1]

Barry,
I like the looks and tone you’re getting from that guitar!

Sounds like Sweetwater is sending you some great Cordobas!

Enjoy your new guitar!

[TBman]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to enjoy tinkering with it. A while ago I had bought a set of those wireless transmitters for electric guitars. They make it very easy to plug in and play. I leave one in the Scarlett 2i4 all the time so I just have to turn them on and plug the one into the Stage. The only thing that is missing with this guitar is a headphone jack.

[Rudy4]

I play with a pick so I'd probably fit one with a .005" clear mylar pick guard as I do on all my instruments.

[fitness1]

Curious about the unplugged sound - I know that's not what it's designed for, but wondering if there's enough there to mic and get some more "air" in the sound.
I wouldn't mind having something like this if I could pull that off!

[Aspiring]

Originally Posted by TBman

Thanks everyone! I'm going to enjoy tinkering with it. A while ago I had bought a set of those wireless transmitters for electric guitars. They make it very easy to plug in and play. I leave one in the Scarlett 2i4 all the time so I just have to turn them on and plug the one into the Stage. The only thing that is missing with this guitar is a headphone jack.

The Fender Mustang Micro, in the "pre amp" voice would pair for a great experience through headphones.

I use it with my EO folding nylon guitar.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

The Fender Mustang Micro, in the "pre amp" voice would pair for a great experience through headphones.

I use it with my EO folding nylon guitar.

I added that to my Sweetwater "Wishlist." That would make a great father's day gift for me,

[Rudy4]

It might be very nice paired with this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...inch-combo-amp

[TBman]

Originally Posted by fitness1

Curious about the unplugged sound - I know that's not what it's designed for, but wondering if there's enough there to mic and get some more "air" in the sound.
I wouldn't mind having something like this if I could pull that off!

It's a plunky plunk tone. Not meant for public consumption

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by TBman

It's a plunky plunk tone. Not meant for public consumption

I had a feeling. Thanks for the honest answer!

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by fitness1

I had a feeling. Thanks for the honest answer!

There's some Youtube reviews that demonstrate them unplugged. They actually sound pretty good to me!

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

There's some Youtube reviews that demonstrate them unplugged. They actually sound pretty good to me!

I looked for a half hour and couldn't find one - can you post a link?