Bumstead Cordoba

3 pickup SG with 6-way pickup selector and 5 position distortion knob
green burst "open book" Gibson style neck shape with rosewood fretboard and mother of pearl block inlays. Set neck with extended neck tenon.

passive humbuckers, active "bumstead overdrive kit" (distortion knob)
tuneomatic bridge and stopbar/tailpiece. 22 frets

All the pickup rings were the same height, and they should get thicker as it gets closer to the bridge. So I swapped black ones out for creme ones. The new rings had holes that didn't match up, so I had to redrill the holes and plug the old ones. Good thing this isn't vintage!

Because of the 3 humbuckers and the pickup selector, it sounds like a strat with 3 humbuckers in it... compared to a strat? it sounds better. I can get tele sounds, strat sounds, Les Paul sounds, etc. The reason to get one of these is because they are versatile in sound.

The distortion knob has a microadjuster inside the body cavity to adjust the gain/output of the knob.

The guitar sounds great, just a little getting used to a thicker neck. A good prof. setup, bone nut, and Elixir strings went a long way.

The neck was a little bit thicker than I was expecting after playing the protype goldtop SG. The flame in the maple top is mis-matched - which is kind of bad but oh well. The factory setup was blah - high action, etc. and one of the pickups had a short lead wire that had a soldered extension on it.

The finish was good.

I could use this at a gig without a backup. I replaced the nut to get a bone one, and a prof. setup. Everthing seems like it will last. I've been able to depend on it.

Sean Bumstead is a great salesman who knows guitars. He is really into customer feedback and satisfaction.

These guitars are made in Germany supposedly at a violin factory. Then the painted bodies with set necks get sent to Asia for hardware and wiring. If you get one sooner than later you'll get a German one... but I've heard rumors that the Koreans that make other brands of guitars are trying to compete to make the Bumstead line and might end up beating out the German factory.

Better than Epiphone quality, but not quite Gibson quality. The sound and the build make it a good value. Detroit-based company is kind of a cool story to go along with. Since they are modeled loosely after Gibson shapes that came out of Kalamazoo there is some connection there in tribute.

My Cordoba can sound better than a strat and compete with a LesPaul all in one guitar, making it a good value. The guitar turns heads and is road worthy... what else can you ask for from a no-name up and coming guitar company?

This guitar is incredible. I bought it in April and really love the sound I get out of the built in preamp through my Peavey VK100 Head. This thing ROCKS!! You may have to make some modifications to the factory setup, but it is the cats pajamas once you get it setup to your playing style and preferences. The neck is similar to the Gibson 335, it has a tonepros type bridge and tailpiece. It has 22 frets, 3 AlNico dual coil pickups. The tuners (kluson copies)are not the greatest, but a cheap fix for anyone who's worked on their own guitars. The finish is a 10 coat nitrocellulose clear on a flawless bookmatched flametop.

I primarily use this for metal and hard rock, but do play classics, and covers. I use this with a Peavey ValveKing VK100 and a ValveKing 4/12 cab. It produces unbelievable clarity when the preamp is set to 0 and when turned up to 4 it is unreal. I rarely have to switch out of my clean channel to get the sounds I want. I use several effects, and all work well with it.

The factory setup was not the best, but after about an hour of trial and erro and adjustment on the truss rod, and some fine tuning of the bridge, harmonics, the pickups this guitar is nothing short of incredible. I would say its almost as nice as a high dollar PRS...but more flexible on sound. The wood is nicely finished, and it has great character.

This guitar is a good product for the price, and it will withstand live venues. The only part of the guitar I do not like is the cheap (kluson copy) machine heads. They SUCK!! The Finish is excellent.

This guitar comes with a 2 year warranty, and it is great when I needed info, Sean (the Owner of Bumstead Guitars LLC) was happy to assist, and contact me personally. That impressed me.

I have been playing for 17 years, and would be happy to buy another and may perhaps order a custom build in the future. My favorite feature of this guitar is the preamp knob!! It really makes it nice to get the gain you want without hitting a stomp box. The gain is cleaner than that of my amplifier, and it allows the flexibility of having more types of sounds out of your setup!! This guitar blows most of the name brand units off the floor. After proper setup, and debugging, you can take this thing from the sound of a strat, to a PRS...so if you're looking for a great guitar, at a great price, look no further.