Cordoba C5 CD Classical Acoustic Nylon String Guitar, Iberia Series

This guitar was a replacement of an older Cordoba acoustic electric classical guitar. In my search, I looked at different brands since the availability of moderately priced left handed cutaway classical electric guitars was more plentiful than it was 20 years ago. In the end, I decided to stick with Cordoba since it’s consistently one of the best in the classical guitar space. This guitar was actually less expensive than the guitar I had before. Action level was good - especially for someone who has to fight bouts of arthritis in my right hand) and the sound was a very nice surprise even without amplification. (I found some acoustic electrics guitar to have a thinner sound without using amplification.) The guitar body is beautiful and thicker than my prior guitar, which might contribute to the fuller sound. However, the guitar is amazingly light and maneuverable. I also love that this guitar has fret markers which my prior guitar didn’t. Yes, I know at some point, you shouldn’t need them… but I guess I’m not at that point. But the fret markers are on the side of the neck so, they’re only visible to the person playing the guitar (or someone flying a drone above you). One last note. I am grateful to Amazon for making it easy to acquire this guitar. Although Cordoba has many certified dealers, I quickly realized that acquiring a left hand version of this guitar through these dealers was going to more difficult and time consuming than I thought it should be. Acquiring this guitar through Amazon was easy and fast.

Believe the hype. This is a fantastic guitar. It sounds lovely. And the wood is absolutely gorgeous. I’m not a huge fan of the high gloss finish, but this time I don’t mind because it really shows off the grain. The guitar came set up well enough to play, but a few minutes adjusting it made it absolutely perfect. If you don’t know how to sand down the saddle, adjust the truss rod, and file the nut slots, then you might have to pay a luthier to do it. But that’s true of any guitar you buy online (no matter how much you pay for it). The tuning machines are a bit on the budget side, but that is true of all inexpensive guitars. For a hundred bucks you can swap them out for nicer tuners if that’s your concern. I’m going to leave mine as is. They work fine. It comes with Cordoba high tension strings which are similar in tension to the ever-popular D’Addario J45 medium tensions. They sound great too: full and balanced. So you won’t have to immediately swap strings when it arrives. This guitar is a keeper.

Don't be misled about it's price point in thinking it's just a "beginner's guitar" - this is such an incredible sounding guitar for the money, and plays great for all experience levels. I've been playing for 20 years, and for the money, this beats 90% of the classical guitars, and many of just acoustic guitars in general. Build quality is fantastic - neck / frets smooth (not cutting up the fingers), finish is perfectly consistent and smooth, playable right out of the box with a little tune up. Quality tuners. Well-matched woods too - you just hear a certain level of sound when you strum a guitar in tune. Listen for it. The guitar resonates, the sound begins to open up, and conducts a tone that's more than just being in pitch, but "plays" with each other. It's quite exciting to hear, and THIS guitar does that. Amazon is great because the first one I got DID have quality issues, but quick exchanged for another, and all is well. It's expected when made in China, but NOT because the factory or craftsmanship is bad (it's really good), but heck man, an instrument made of wood is shipping over seas to get to you! :] Can't say enough about this guitar, and would highly recommend to anyone at all levels - even experienced players (don't be fooled by their non-5 star reviews, you just acquire certain tastes after playing for so long). Did a side-by-side comparison with 4 others: - a 70's cedar top La Paterie (Cordoba sounded better for money and availability) - 90's comparable Taiwan-made Yamaha G225 (which had better balance, but didn't project as much as the C5) - Cordoba C5 SP (spruce top version) - spruce top version projects more with crisper highs as expected. Here I personally chose the spruce top because I'm an acoustic guitar player, not a classical player. Cedar is a great tone wood for a more mellow balanced sound typical of classical music. Spruce is great for more separation in that sound and for more projection. - Lucero LC200 - this was actually surprising because though the one I got out of the box was junk (cracked during manufacture shipping), it seemed like build quality was quite good. They pushed using higher end materials (bone-like type nut, better strings), but cutting through that, for the price (even cheaper) it's an even better value, BUT crack not-withstanding, the sound was too green and didn't open up like the Cordoba. I feel like even in perfect condition it wouldn't have sounded as good as the C5.

I received this guitar in perfect condition. The finish is flawless and the maple is beautiful. This thin body is a real comfort to play. Sound is very good, clear with lots of sustain. Setup was not great or I would have given it 5 stars. The action was too high. I tightened the truss rod a bit to make sure the neck was flat. I then loosened the strings and removed the bridge. I sanded it down about 4 mm to get the action at the 12th fret to 4 mm. Unfortunately, the high E string snapped when I retuned it. You can imagine my frustration having to run out to buy another string. That said, I don't think much of the Saverez strings. This guitar is sounding even better as it is being broken in. It's also very nice to have a tuner built in. The electronics are good quality and sound great. This is a very nice guitar. Update: 8/8/24. I replaced the bridge saddle which is plastic with a bone saddle purchased on Amazon. The sound is even better now. Plugged in, the high E and B string have better volume and sustain. The balance of sound is greatly improved.

Très belle guitare, je l'ai reçu très rapidement, et j'en suis très satisfait.

What a guitar the sound and tone is fantastic would recommend this guitar for anyone a beginner or a experienced player

You have to get use to everyone calling it an entry level guitar. I am not a beginner or a pro and I think it is a much better guitar than that

Fairly good

Awesome Tone. Trying to learn classical guitar at the age of 38 after 14 years of what was my first attempt. After researching well in internet was looking to buy this guitar. Very nice and balanced tone, my one is with spruce top. Excellent playability. The guitar was delivered in great condition. At 29000 it is nothing but a steal compared to other available guitars in that price range.