Cordoba mini (original) in standard Eadgbe tuning

[candyman]

I was just curious what the experience has been in standard tuning with the proper strings - I just picked one of these up for travel. I picked the original over the v2 because it’s considerably smaller.

I was curious if it’s usable / how intonation is / etc. or if it’s better left in A.

[Bikewer]

I had one that I set up with the suggested Aquila strings for standard tuning.

The strings were a little odd... This guitar has a pin bridge, and the three bass strings come with a standard ball-end. The three trebles do not, but they give you three ball ends and you can access a video showing you how to tie them on.

I followed the instructions, but the high E snapped at the ball end as I tuned it.
I found that the B string from the original set was about the same diameter so I used that and it worked fine.

I rather liked the little guy, but I did notice that there was not much bass response. Also... I had the Mini version with the installed pickup. This sounded OK with the original strings in “A” tuning, but not so with the heavier strings.

The bass was way too strong for the pickup and it sounded “quacky”.

I’ve since gone to the Mini II, which though a bit bigger is still very handy and sounds better all around.

[Alytw]

For me, the intonation was fine e to e, but the tension was too low and the result was that projection was lacking compared to higher tuning. Some people don’t mind the low tension or really want to tune e to e.

I use classical strings and just tie knots in the end for the pin bridge. You can get different tension strings and see where the tuning feels right. If the tension is too high, it chokes the sound, too low and it feels floppy and doesn’t project.

I’m currently using Aranjuez 300 MT tuned to f#, but don’t mind not tuning e to e and always have classical strings around.

Higher tension strings from brands known for being relatively high tension vs other brands (like savarez or hannabach) might get you closer to e to e if that is your goal.

One problem is that there is no standard tension for classical strings as each manufacturer measures tension their own way, so low, medium, high tension is brand specific. This means experimenting.

I know some people who have used baritone ukulele strings for the g,b,e and added Aquila e tuning basses. (Like living water baritone strings for trebles). I’ve not tried this because I usually have nylon strings around.

I like what Mimmo at Aquila is doing, but the e to e set just sounded dead to me. ( the a tuning set was okay for me).