Cordoba 45FP flamenco

Features
Fairly heavy finish
shallow well shaped laminated sycamore body
Very attractive peghead
Pegs instead of tuners (five of which are acceptable)
Nice neck with ebony fretboard
Solid (but oviously repaired) spruce top
(I guess I mentioned the) non-fitting case

Would rate this category at an 8 as it has a pretty good tone particularly considering its fairly modest price. Not excessively loud but it is a shallow body and laminated sycamore and is not broken in fully either. Bright enough with adequate bass and the sound is pleasing. My previous flamenco was an Amalio Burguet 3f and if I had it to do over this one would be too but I got it because I was intrigued with the pegs.

Here is where it gets murky. Action was high even for a classical. I settle for 5/32" bass and 1/4 inch treble side on a classical. It was much higher than that. When I took the saddle down and intonated for the G string I got it down to 1/4" bass and around 3/32" treble side. Now in the flamenco height range. Almost NO saddle left. The strings drop closer to the guitar top as they approach the bridge and this is an unacceptable neckset. On the bass side of the top in the lower bout there is an area that looks like a badly repaired top crack. A strip measuring about 1/8" looks to be spliced in and that section is higher than the rest of the body. The peghead is symetrically drilled and nice looking but the peg for the G string sticks out thru the headstock noticably farther than the rest. The guitar does NOT rest well in the Humicase which you must purchase to get the warrany. The headstock rests on the peg for the D string but not the G and so the neck is being pushed to one side. This cannot bode well for long term reliablility. I think a neck twist is on the way. Neck is very slightly backbowed now. The neck does not rest properly on the support. Body is too shallow for case but you cannot shim it with a towel because it climbs steeply up to the neck support. Also- on a Humicase there is a place for the humidifier behind the headstock. It will work nicely on a standard classical with tuning gears. If you try to fit it in behind the pegged model there is NO room. None of these complaints is a really minor issue. Oh-by the way-after I compensated the saddle for the G string the intonation is really very good. Better than my Burguet was. That pushes the rating up to a 3.

If the guitar did not have the issues listed above I would give good odds that it would live out an acceptable life as a dependable guitar. Finish is plenty heavy so it will last. Pegs operate well. I am afraid to give this particular guitar more than a five. I hope this is an oddball that slipped thru quality control.

Got the instrument early in June. The dealer called and allowed me to talk to a representative and he told me they were aware of the problem with the case. Informed me a replacement style was available in August. I waited till then and when the dealer called them again on my behalf the man I spoke to seemed to know nothing of what the first guy had said. They sent the substandard guitar back in the same ill fitting case it left in and told the dealer I had a lifetime warranty and it was registered as such. On the way back to me the case incurred some scuffing and a nasty gouge. I have no paperwork at all even looking like a warranty and received no card or anything with the instrument. I may HAVE a lifetime warranty but it sure looks like it will be impossible to see it enforced. None of the issues I have with it have been resolved and the only way I could honestly describe the company is not worth contacting even if you could find them. The sites on the web either are outdated listing old models of Cordobas or the Tornavoz one promising to be "COMING SOON"(somehow I doubt it) I would love to have been able to give them even a two but a one is exactly what they deserve.

I have played guitar for over forty years. I have had many good, bad, and ugly ones. This is not the worst guitar I have ever seen. The pegged flamenco is not a bad idea. It is nice looking and nice sounding, especially for the money. If I had gotten one with a fitting case and proper neckset and pegs that were all six installed the same I would even overlook the obviously repaired top. Would I purchase again? If I found one to try before buying sight unseen I actually probably would try to cherry pick one (with a better neckset). But I would buy used because the unusable warranty and mythical customer service is not worth paying for.