Valencia CG-180CEQ

Just bought this last week (March 2006) and am very impressed with this guitar so far. I'm an accoustic guitar guy and learned on a nylon string classical, but haven't owned one for a couple of decades. I wanted something to noodle on that was a bit softer sounding than my steel-stringed other instruments.
The side and back woods appear to be something like mahogany with the front being spruce. The tuners are fairly smooth and the built-in pickup works pretty well and has lots of sliding controls to make it change sounds electronically.

Seems pretty good sounding at all regular bass and treble notes and registers well right up the neck. No buzzes that I can determine. Sounds equally good either accoustic or electric.

Came prestrung with decent strings. The finish is a beautiful gloss and I can't find a single flaw in the lacquer, although there are a couple of tiny dark dots on the face. Action was perfect for a classical right out of the box.

It's hard to state how good the finish and playability will be in a few years time.

No idea yet. Bought it from Choppers Music - an eBay merchant.

I've played accoustic guitars for over thirty years and think I'm a pretty good judge of quality and value -- and this nice and pretty little classical would be perfect for an advanced student or a seasoned guitar player that wants to fool around on something different.

I see someone else mentioning that the Valencia guitar could have come from Korea. My understanding is that this is the same factory that makes the Phonic gear, which was formerly a Yamaha factory in Taiwan set up when the Economic Zone was top fashion with US. I have heard the factory had to be abandoned before China would permit Yamaha to move ahead in the mainland ; of course this is probably no surprise and has little to do with the instrument, except that I have just purchased one of these lovely little guitars for my music department. The pickup works really well, giving quite authentic tone, especially when considering the cheap price of the instrument. The cutaway is quite handy. I find the full width neck (it seems to be somewhat lute-like with the way it gets wider as your hand progresses up the neck. Build quality is good. The use of wood seems good. I have seen a description of the fingerboard as ebonol, and would be interested to know what it is (it does seem very dark). The shop I bought this from had strung it with Corum strings, which flatter any classical. My pupils appear very happy with it: I tried them thru our little PA today and I am quite happy with this instrument. I am hoping they might have a flasher model for me to buy, perhaps with upgraded electrics etc.

Good to fingerpick. It recorded well straight off the pickup. The pickup seems to have some limitations re power vs quality, but the quality of sound is good about half volume.

Well made instrument by all appearances. Great full gloss finish. The pickup is very neatly installed (and easy to get at). It looks like a more expensive instrument.

Hard to say. I will know soon enough, with it being at High School.

I have dealt with alistair's Guitars in Cuba St, Wellington NZ, for several years. No need to return anything yet.

I have played 25+ years. I would like to see further up their range for personal use (something to use instead of my old Yairi)