Cordoba C5

It is a 2009 Cordoba C5. Look it up on Harmony central or Musican's Friend if you want accuracy. If you want emotion come to Ronnie. This guitar is a beauty. Cedar top. Mahogany sides and back. Spanish pine neck and a really nice knarly dark fingerboard. (probably rosewood or ebony - who cares). Standard gold tuners with plastic pearl swirly knobs. Beautiful burgandy inlay. Craftsmanship (or computerized manufacturing) perfect except for one wonderful defect. A chip was not cleared off of one of he cross braces. A reminder that someone other than a robot had a hand in building this baby. No glue marks, no scratches, no excess globs of finish no nothing to tell me this isn't a high end guitar.

I have a God given unique talent for knowing when something isnt right. I haven't a clue when something is right. Suffice it say I can spot a string Buzz a mile a way in a hurricane. I first bought a yamaha CS111C which I thought would be my answer for an inexpensive travel guitar. Supposedly Yamaha is the best on low end usable student guitars. I was wrong "Twice". The yamaha student guitar had a string buzz and I could not get fixed even taking it to a local Luthier. He told me for some reason the fret would destroy strings in about a half hour and he gave up. (He fixed two other guitars of mine to have a low action with no Buzz.) The Yamaha GG111C had an additional "issue" in that it was uglier than Mud (or your spinster Aunt Drucilla on a bad day) Nato = total lack of character = return to Harmony central. Now baac to the Cordoba C5. I had the guitar set up at a luthier yet still had to finger the fourth and fifth string perfectly to get a nice robust sound. Instead I wimped out and put in a taller saddle that I had bought for another guitar that raised the action. WWOOOOOHHHHH. I hit the jackpot!

Now the Corcoba C5 is not at all hard to play, has crystal glass bell tones on the high strings, has a punch in the mids and is throaty on the lows. Before you think I have lost my mind, I played Willie Nelson's "Crazy" on my C5 and it lost hands down to my Yamaha CGX171CCA. The $700 Yamaha classical with amplifier plsys as easy as cutting butter and has a sound that is totally without flaw. But to give the Cordoba C5 its due, it is louder and the lows project very well without an amplifier. I play the C5 and she sings to me. She is definitely a lady with more than a touch of attitude.

Action was too low and buzzed on 4th and 5th strings. Took to Luthier. Better but still no cigar. I installed a taller saddle. Action is now really really good. So whatif I boogered up the Luthiers 2 hour set up. I love it now. As another reviewer said, the guitar is not a craftsman wrench. Now that the action suits me, the C5 is treatimg me like the lady she is.

I saw other reviews that have informed me the the saddles will break off. My guess is that the Chinese factories have fixed the problem that was generated in Portucal or Spain. If not I will probably superglue the hell out of the lady's broken saddle and press on as a hero.

I E-mailed Cordoba to find out how to start my warrantee period.
My guess is that the bridge will fall off one day after the warranttee expires and I will take matters into my own hands.

Nice thing is that I spent $255 for this sweet thing and if she rejects me, life will go on. I bought the cordoba as a travel guitar after almost losing my yamaha in a hotel in Mobile Alabama called the Battle House.

Sad thing is now I am attached to the C5 and probably will replace it when I lose it (I lose everything eventually)

Played a litte in the 70s with chords when I started a new job away from home and was miserable and needed an addiction. 18 months ago I bought a Zager EZ play to help ease the pain of relationship gone bad. I went so far to teach myself to read music and play notes. I can now play 15 songs so that you could recognize them. Not great progress but I am thoroughly impressed with myself. Of course you can verify that with my glib writing style. I bought this inexpensive C5 guitar so I wouldnt mind losing it and in that regard I have failed miserably

This is my second review after owning two C5s for over a year. The reason for this is that these are great instruments at an affordable price. Cordoba was started by several experienced luthiers from Spain & Portugal. The Iberia series C5 is from the Chinese division. Just because something is made in China doesn't mean it's not good or high quality. Iberia is the south western end of Europe but also named is an eastern area in the Cacuasus region. I find the C5 to be the best classical guitar on the market for the money, nothing even comes close.

The 5 fan brace the soundboard has is the original classical guitar design & produces it's own unique distinctive tone, most classicals use 7-12 braces. Cedar top is superior to spruce, the velocity of sound is higher in cedar than any spruce & produces more over & undertones. If Stardivari was around today he would use cedar for the soundboard on all his instruments.

Mahogany is the most underated guitar wood. I prefer it to rosewood as the back & side of a resonator (guitar body). Rosewood produces many over & undertones but leans towards the bass, high tones are not as even. Mahogany emphasises just as much bass but also mids & highs evenly & produces a louder sounding guitar. Rosewood combined with spruce was necessary because spruce focuses more on the fundamental note & less on over & undertones. Cedar is very rich sounding to start off with combine mahogany & this is magical. Now the laminate mahogany on the C5 makes the back & sides stronger & forces the soundboard to vibrate more, there are several high end guitars that use this principal. The purfling is simple rosewood & looks good, I find that extravagant purfling is sonicly useless & in some cases dampening. "Simplicity is elegance" Stradivari.

The fingerboard is rosewood which is superior to ebony that's used in expensive guitars. EBONY DAMPENS SOUND. Why would anybody build a sonic machine that requires resonance & vibration use the most dampening wood available? Ebony was used centuries ago because of it's density with nonfretted instruments that strings were pressed directly on the wood & because of it's black look. On a fretted instrument this is not necessary rosewood is very dense, beautiful & colors the sound NOT DAMPEN & SHOULD BE USED FOR ALL FRETTED INSTRUMENTS. Have two identical classical guitars built from a luthier (or a luthier should try this experiment on his own) but use ebony on one & rosewood on the other for fingerboard. I garauntee the rosewood one will sound better & louder.

Spanish cedar is my favorite for neck wood, it's like mahogony but lighter & with a high sound velocity, combined with rosewood fingerboard this is the best & actually helps the soundboard 'pump' & produces more volume & tone. The C5 is the only economical guitar with a spanish cedar neck.

Very powerful, bright & loud. Clear Bass, mids & high tones. It is the loudest guitar you'll find under $7,000 at 650 scale length. Once this guitar opens up after a few days & you learn to utilize it's full dynamic spectrum & capabilities you'll never want another guitar. I can make it sound like a cello, violin, piano, harpsichord, clavichord, distorted electric guitar by playing powerchords (5th & 4th chords). It is truly universal & what a classical guitar should be. I now use Savarez Alliance normal tension strings & it's a great combination with the C5.

Medium high action comes on it as all concert instruments do & professionals know this is necessary for a true acoustic instrument to function properly. The notes resonate very well even after the 12th fret on bass strings, intonation is perfect.

There are no flaws on this instrument, I found that the lower end ones made in Spain & Portugal (C5 CE) were a little sloppy compared to the C5, but these are put together very well, inside the glue is neat & clean & the finish is very nice.

I've owned it for over a year & it sounds & looks good. At this price even if there was a problem you can buy another one easy.

Didn't have to deal with em.

I'm a professional virtuoso guitarist with over 31 years experience. I've had custom build instruments & played some of the most hyped guitars on earth. The C5 can hold it's own in sound with any classical guitar $10,000 & over.

2007 China. Beautiful Cedar Top & neck, Mahogany back & sides, Firey Rosewood Fingerboard. Very Simple with no purfling.

Incredible! This is one of the best sounding classical guitars of any price range. The cedar neck with smaller frets is thinner than the average classical & does not absorb as much acoustic energy & allows the 5 fan braced (old school) soundboard & body to do it's job (exactly like a Keith Hill Spanish model which is one of the loudest veneered/laminate guitars in the world). Mahogany & Cedar is an excellent combination & in my opinion better & more balanced than the average combinations with rosewood body etc. Bright, loud, clear & balanced with low sub harmonics, high overtones & partials, very piano like with excellent reverb & dynamics & the notes resonate, intonate & sustain all the way up the neck on all 6 strings (I've seen $5000+ guitars have problems past the 12th fret) this alone is incredible for a low priced guitar or any classical guitar of any price range.

I like Rosewood fingerboard for classical guitars better, Ebony is good for all metal stringed instrument because it absorbs some of the brash highs metal strings naturally produce & emphasises mids, overall rosewood is more resonant as a fingerboard. I use Aquila Nylgut strings which produce subharmonics & overtones nylon strings cannot, the classical guitar was engineered with gut strings in mind & Nylgut really allow it to do its job & bring its true characteristics out.

I have 2 of these, I liked the first one so much I went out & bought the other one in town. The second one has an incredible looking darker top, the Mahogany back & sides is very flamed & the second one's rosewood fingerboard is one of the nicest most beautiful I've ever seen.

The inside gluing on both of mine is very clean & professional no slop or issues for the frets either. The finish is as perfect as can be.

The action is mid high the way it should be for a classical, these are sonic machines & if the action isn't higher the strings don't resonate properly. Anyone complaining about higher action on a classical instrument obviously isn't a serious guitarist or master level & doesn't know about acoustic science. Even electric guitars sound better with a mid to higher action, just use light gauge strings.

In a concert hall this instrument will perform because of it's overall powerful projection & resonance. In a studio I know the harmonics will easily be captured.

This is an excellent instrument for the price & competes & sounds better than all the other higher end classical guitars I played in the stores I bought both from. I've been privleged to own & played some of the most expensive guitars in the world & the C5 is an incredible value that sounds great. Don't be fooled by hype or stereotype or that this guitar is priced "entry level" in the hands of a master the C5 is Concert Level.

Trade-in for my old LaPatrie guitar.Solid Top Well put-together. Mo blemishes and best of all good sound from all six trings

I am a beginner player but i can read music and have experience with other musical instruments non-strings (piano).
I like the fill sound - on the darker =mellow sound suitable for the classical pieces I am trying to learn

Good action for my style and ability. It was on display along with others in the same and higher price range (250 & Up). No other guitar below the 600.price tag could match the C-5 sound.

No enough time yet but i changed strings once (now Iam using Galli Strings) and can notice a better (to my ears) sound projected.

No experience yet in this matter

I started six months ago (11/05) and this is my second guitar.Very pleased with it as my skills are still a level 1 or 2 student.(I am teaching myself via classical manuals and cd/dvd).I will probably keep
this guitar even when I "move-up" as my skills inprove.

2003 C5-CE, cutaway w/ electronics. That's all the features offered on classicals that I know of.

Not a lot of volume but it has good tone. Lacks the strong bass of a non-cutaway.

Plugged in it sounds fine. I don't use the electronics really (just wanted the cutaway) but they work fine.

Good for the price but let's face it, it doesn't compare to a $1000 classical.

Action was set up fine, I haven't changed it. No visible flaws anywhere. Easy to tune and stays in tune well.

After a couple years the bridge started peeling up and eventually ripped off. Horrific. Everything else has stayed together fine.

Wasn't able to find a company contact, did find a rep who suggested I talk to the place I bought it. Ended up re-gluing the bridge myself (not recommended but it so far has worked fine).

I don't think I would buy this again. It does the job and sounds ok but I think I would have gotten something different if I'd spent more than an hour picking it out.

I have the C5-CE model (cutaway, with electrics). That's about as much features as a classical can have.

The 1/4" plug is located at the bottom of the instrument (if you stood it on end, it would stand on the plug). This strikes me as a horrible place to put a plug as classical guitars are traditionally held between the legs.

Sounds beautiful. It's not very loud but come on, it's a classical guitar. Plugged in it sounds fine - nothing fancy.

Action is fine, it plays easy and there are no buzzes or dead spots. As far as I can tell it was flawlessly manufactured. I don't use the electrics much but they seem to work fine.

The finish is flawless and well done. I'm not a big fan of the color (a dark wood finish) but this guitar doesn't come in any other colors.

Since you don't really beat on this kind of guitar, I'm not worried about it falling apart. The finish hasn't worn so far (had it about a year and play it a lot). The neck is built like a tank.

Tuners must be ok because I rarely need to tune it.

Haven't used it.

This is my favorite guitar to play (also own an acoustic Ibanez and a mandolin).

Probably made in 2002 or 2003. A solid cedar top Classical, gloss finish. Tuners are very good, chrome plated. As far as features go, it has everything I was looking for, when I ordered it.

Considering my limited expierence, I can only say that this is a sweet sounding classical. I haven't much expierence, so I really can't compare the C-5 with other guitars; but, I know what I like.

No flaws, just beauty. Made in Portugal, this is truly a nice guitar from all aspects and would make anyone interested in learning the classical guitar a great place to start.

I've had it about 9 months and have one ding in it; but, it was a pretty good lick, so I would say that it is going to hold up well. No strap buttons on a classical and I don't see this as being a "live audience" guitar; but, I could be wrong. Again, my limited expierence.

No problems with Muscians Friend.com, except that they send way too many catalogs.

Since buying this guitar, I've really gotten hooked on buying guitars. My skill level hasn't improved much; but, I'm starting to get a nice collection of good quality, sounding guitars. I've got three Wasburn's, three Alvarez', and an Epiphone classical. Best thing I can do is stay off of the computer!! But, in comparison, I think the Cordoba has the more full and richer sound

I had a 2003 Cordoba C-5 Cadete, a 3/4 size Classical. Made in Portugal. Solid cedar top, Solid Mahognay neck. Laminated mahogany back and sides. Tunders were nickel. Nice lacquer finish and decal. No visable glue showing inside sound hole.

This was my first guitar and I learned a lot on it. Basically a low end inexpensive guitar. Fair sound.

Action on this guitar was set very high. 1/8" at the nut. Way to high for a beginner. The nut is glued in place and can not be adjusted. The saddle was removable, but adjusting action here didn't help at the top fret.

This is meant as a student guitar, but as I say the action is nonadjustable and really to high for a beginner to learn with. Nice finish and nice looking guitar. Not for the stage.

Comes with a warranty card for 1 year.
Used guitar for 4 months and replaced it with a Lucida Artista Concerto LG777.

I still consider myself a student. I am learning Classical. I love rock and roll and blues. I own the Concerto and a Larrivee Parlor.
I should have done my homework in regarding adjusting the action at the nut. I no longer own the Cadete. I gave it to the Salvation Army to sell. For someone who wouldn't mind the high action, I would recommend them getting a Cadete to use as a small travel guitar. Cordoba no longer makes this small model.

dont think i need to put much in here...its just a classical guitar, cedar top, double-layer fretboard.

has a nice finish, smooth. very nice to the first touch, and all the times u will use it after.

one thing....came with crappy strings. get d'addarios, preferably silver wound, medium weight, sounds at its best from my experiences. do not ever dare to put steel strings on it.

very nice sound for the price range it comes in. I looked at similarly priced guitars, their sound quality was far below, the only thing that was able to keep up was yamaha's classical guitar.

bussy? no, only from the player's flaws. it is a classical guitar, and action is set far higher on nylon strings then on ur electrics with steel or acoustics with steel. it is more difficult to play then dreadnoughts, but so is any classical. nothing needs to be altered at all for a beginning/intermediate player, but for performances you will definetly want a much costlier guitar. this is a beautiful instrument for learning or just playing with other people. nothing major.

perfectly set up, as i said before, bad strings. buy d'addarios, u r fine.
everything is matched together, very smooth, everything aligned, feels like good craftsmanship (seen non-aligned guitars for $1000)

aaaaaaa....well i have it for 5 month, it has not changed at all (just occasional retunings due to ever changing New Jersey weather)
stays in tune very well (for classical). You still might want to retune it every time before you play, but if u r using an electrical tuner, then u can keep that down to once 3 days, the tuner will not see any difference.

have no dealth with em, but have not heard anything good about em either.

this will be a perfect guitar for a student to start with, good as a practice guitar, do not use for performanes though, that is for higher end guitars. If it is stole or lost...well...i am going to get a better classical acoustic, preferably with a cut, prolly electricly amplified....thats because this is my first guitar, and i am looking forward to buying a costly instrument.

nothing that i really miss on it, but a cut, hard to reach from 13th fret... add another 100 to the price and u can get that from musicians friend.

This an update to an earlier review I submitted after first receiving my Cordoba C5 student guitar.

The following revised comments apply to the Cordoba C5 classical guitar which I reviewed at an earlier date. I have definitely noted a marked improvement in the sound quality of this instrument over time since changing to LaBella classical guitar strings.

I think this factor combined with possible changes in the wood characteristics (?) over time acount for this improvement in projection/sound quality. I am aware that classical guitar sound relies heavily on the tone woods and construction methods/designs used.

I don't know if a modification of my earlier C5 review is permitted, but will submit this with the hope that it is.

This guitar is definitely suitable for a beginning classical guitar student (including myself) as the overall workmanship coupled with the solid cedar top, change in the tone wood characteristics and the proper strings (LaBella in my case) have really improved the guitar's sound projection and the playing quality of the instrument. Each classical guitar is certainly a unique instrument tonewise and I would definitely recommend playing the instrument you are going to purchase first before you buy. I did not and do regret it somewhat.

Build quality was good. I have filed the fret ends down to a personal "comfort" level and now the quitar plays quite well. I also lowered the nut and saddle a bit to bring down the action (which is normally generally higher on a classical guitar).

This guitar will be fine for a beginning player both for practicing and outside playing. Tone woods/construction methods are so important for classical instruments and I believe the finer instruments well deserve their higher prices. I would advise anyone purchasing a classical guitar to max their budget and buy the finest quality instrument possible with their available funds.

I have not requested any customer support from GSI so can't comment on this.

This is an amendment to an earlier review that I posted on Harmony Central soon after receiving this Cordoba C5 instrument. I am aware that many people read the reviews before making an instrument/equipment purchase decision. I do not want to be unfair to either Cordoba (manufacturer) or Guitar Salon International (distributor)so have revised my initial review to conform to my most recent experience with this particular instrument. Thank you Harmony Central for a great website and the opportunity to express my original and somewhat revised points of view!