Cordoba 55FCE

This is a great flamenco guitar for the price. Nice Fishman Pro Blend system. Thin body makes it easy to play and smaller 50mm neck is great for people with small hands. The flame maple back and sides add beauty to this guitar. Has a bright flamenco sound and the maple back and sides are in liking to some of the old makers of flamenco guitars in Spain. The solid top is a plus and the non laminated sides are a plus.

This guitar is great for flamenco jazz, fusion, rumba styles. Can also be used to play traditional flamenco. It has a bright cypress sound, but with a little more sustain becuase of the maple backs and sides. Louder than I thought it would be for a thin body classical. I have other thin bodies and they are not as loud.

Finish is a lacquer finish done pretty well. Top is bookmatched well on the one I bought. Action is between a typical classical and traditional flamenco. Could be a little lower like the other flamenco guitars I own. But overall, works well for various styles (rumba flamenco, jazz, rock, etc.).

Is a well built guitar. Handmade is what the Cordoba website states. Could have come with a neck button. I live in the southwest where it is dry. No warping of neck on any of my 9 guitars, this one included. I do store all of my guitars in their cases to help with the dryness. Does well for live performances. A very durable guitar.

Have not had to deal with customer service yet. This guitar is distributed through Guitar Salon International out of Santa Monica, CA. They are glad to help you with any questions or concerns of any of the guitars they sell.

I have been playing for longer than I can remember. I own several guitars from PRS Hollowbody II, fender Strats, Taylor Custom Shop acoustics, Manuel Rodriguez, Benito Huipe Flamencos and the Cordoba fits right in. I mostly play everything from country to flamenco with a special interest in rumba flamenco (Chico and the Gypsies, Gipsy Kings, Gipsyland, etc..

Acoustic Nylon Thin body guitar made in Spain in 2006. Active Fishman Electronics. Came with great looking, expensive "italian leather" case of questionable quality, but still, case is good enough, since the guitar is very light to begin with.

Flamenco model thin body, similar to the FCWE, but I do not know what the differences are, except for the price. In my opinion, it sounds great unamplified, and I know the FCWE has gotten at least one bad review in that regard, but I don't agree. It sounds remarkably full for a thin body guitar, with a nice tight bass, and good articulation. It has a Fishman Prefix Pro Blend pickup system, which sounds better than anything that I have tried before, but, then again, I have never been fully satisfied with any amplified acoustic, unless of course it was mic-ed externally. Nice and comfortable to play.

I decided that I wanted to buy this guitar when I was at one store, but the action was too high, so I went to another store where I knew they had one with lower action. You can always file down the saddle, but I am too busy playing to want to mess with that. It looks pretty nice. The back and sides look like quilted maple. Very nice. Nice looking tuners too. No flaws that are very noticeable to my eye.

Sides and back are very durable, and probably responsible for the nice sound that I mentioned previously. It came with a case that was expensive however, and while the case looks very nice (italian made leather), the case is sort of flimsy as far as hard shell cases go. What's more is the latches themselves are flimsy. I see the italian case as sort of gimmicky, but it looks nice, and will be ok if I am careful with it. The salesman said "I can smell the leather". (This leather, if that is what it is, has no absolutely no smell at all.)

I have been playing 28 years. I am not a classical guitarist, but I study classical exercises because it helps me with my folk and jazz chops. I wanted a full 2" wide nut width, because I did not have one in my guitar collection (I have lost count of all of them). This guitar is very fun to play for me, and very comfortable. I would buy this guitar again, but maybe check out the "classical" version first, although, I really doubt there is too much difference between the two thin bodies. I don't know if this guitar was a great value or not. All I know is that I am happy with it, and didn't drop 2 or 3 or 4 grand on it, so I am not really scrutinizing it too closely. It has a clear full sound as far as I am concerned.