cordoba ukes any good?

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shores&hammocks

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im in las vegas!! woo! so while there, i went to their guitar center and there nice uke made by a manufacturer called cordoba, and I've ne'er hear of them before. so i went to the hotel and quickly researched the cordoba ukes an it's customer reviews. and no one liked them! when i played the uke at g.c. it sounded like heaven! does anybody know if thy're any good? cause im confused. thanks.
 
From what I've heard of them (I have yet to play one), they are hit or miss. If you inspect the instrument, and it looks solid with little to no flaws.... and sounds great, then go for it. If you enjoy the Cordoba you are playing, then it shouldn't matter what others say.
 
Cordoba is a Spanish company better known for their guitars but their 'ukulele line is made in Portugal. I too have also heard their consistency of build, and sound quality is lacking. They claim their 'ukulele is made from Koa but from I gather it's acacia, all Koa is acacia but not all acacia is Koa. I've read of some cracking issues in drier parts of the country. They are pretty and the one you handled may be a good one, there are some happy Cordoba owners in the forum I believe Pippin being one of them.
 
They're usually the only decent uke Guitar Center carries, but even then they're pretty inconsistent. The fact that they advertise their ukes as "Portuguese koa" bugs me; it's deceptive. There's no such thing as Portuguese koa. :p

If you really liked it, though, then forget the reviews and go for it. It's all about personal taste. Maybe you found a good one! Reviews are nice, but playing the actual instrument is always better.
 
Ahnko Honu said:
Cordoba is a Spanish company better known for their guitars but their 'ukulele line is made in Portugal. I too have also heard their consistency of build, and sound quality is lacking. They claim their 'ukulele is made from Koa but from I gather it's acacia, all Koa is acacia but not all acacia is Koa. I've read of some cracking issues in drier parts of the country. They are pretty and the one you handled may be a good one, there are some happy Cordoba owners in the forum I believe Pippin being one of them.
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't own one at all. I have played the new solid mahogany tenor with the cut-away that sells for $199 and it is a very nice uke. It is probably the best uke in their lineup. I agree with you on the Acacia. Yes, it is a sibling species of tree, but, the main difference is that it is not found in Hawaii. It sounds similar, but the wood is not identical. I prefer genuine Koa.

Cordoba is a Spanish guitar maker, true. They do have the uke operation in Portugal.

Here is a link to the factory website:

http://www.cordobaguitars.com/57.php

That is the page with their ukes.

They are somewhat like Oscar Schmidt... a little over-built. I have not heard of any cracking issues, but I don't doubt that there have been some as Ahnko says.
 
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I have heard of cracking issues in all 3 Acacia 'ukuleles I know the Lehua, Cordoba, and Koa Pili Koko though my KPK soprano has been stable thanks to Hawai'i's consistent humidity. Nothing on the KALA Acacia yet though they are new on the market. Makes me wonder if whatever subspecies of Acacia being used is more prone to cracking, or the lumber used has not been dried long enough before milling down.
 
Ahnko Honu said:
I have heard of cracking issues in all 3 Acacia 'ukuleles I know the Lehua, Cordoba, and Koa Pili Koko though my KPK soprano has been stable thanks to Hawai'i's consistent humidity. Nothing on the KALA Acacia yet though they are new on the market. Makes me wonder if whatever subspecies of Acacia being used is more prone to cracking, or the lumber used has not been dried long enough before milling down.
Click to expand...

I think you are onto something there. It might be that it is not aged well enough. Still, when a tree is grown in a particular climate, then you take the wood and ship it halfway around the world, there have to be some issues. I am more inclined to believe your observation about the wood being aged too little after harvesting. Once the ukulele is manufactured it's too late.
 
Koa has been a popular wood especially with luthiers for over a century that you can buy 10 to 20 year aged Koa whereas other species of Acacia are just recently catching on as an alternative to Koa with these lumber stocks not even being around long enough to properly age and dry out in many cases. Some species of wood are also just more stable and resistant to cracking and checking. I'm a woodworker and like to experiment with local hardwoods and I noticed personally the the introduced Formosan Acacia, Black Wattle, and Australian Blackwood would dry out and check and crack much more quickly than the native Acacia Koa. Old growth wood is also supposed to be more stable than new growth forest woods these 3 introduced Acacias being all new growth trees from state reforestation efforts starting in the 1950s.
I'm curious as to what species this "Portuguese Koa" Cordoba uses actually is.
 
I just acquired a Cordoba LaPlaya tenor uke (posted some pics here).

It's mahogany and lists for less than their standard line of ukes. It's my first uke, so I really have nothing to compare it to since I've never played a uke before, but it seems to be quite well made. :)

http://cordobaguitars.com/104.php

BTW, Cordoba is owned by Tim Miklaucic, who also owns Tornavoz Music, Loriente Guitars, and Guitar Salon International (one of the world's leading dealers in "high-end" classical and flamenco guitars). Different brand names for different niches, I guess.
 
I think I played that same Uke last night. My wife and I were there about 9:00 last night. You weren't with a group of 2-3 other guys at the time, were you? One was admiring the Cordoba and I picked it up right after he left.

I wouldn't call it "great" but it was nice. Neck was kinda thick compared to my Kala. They called it a Tenor, but it looked more like a Concert to me. I'm surprised they had no logo on the headstock. Looked pretty generic to me, although the wood and binding was pretty. The fret ends weren't that clean with some rough edges. That one's been there for a while. It's the one that motivated me to go Uke shopping and I ended up ordering my Kala from MGM instead for $100 less than what GC wanted for that one.
 
shores&hammocks said:
im in las vegas!! woo! so while there, i went to their guitar center and there nice uke made by a manufacturer called cordoba, and I've ne'er hear of them before. so i went to the hotel and quickly researched the cordoba ukes an it's customer reviews. and no one liked them! when i played the uke at g.c. it sounded like heaven! does anybody know if thy're any good? cause im confused. thanks.
Click to expand...

That is the only thing that matters. If you like it...then it's the best there is.
 
Had a bad experience with a Cordoba soprano. Great looking but . . .Much prefer my Kiwaya KS-1 at the same price point. Stays in tune, responsive, sounds great!
 
Cordoba Ukes

I have a Tenor Cordoba that I purchased at Guitar Center up here in Reno... I would not buy another one. I too went looking and it seemed to be the best I could find in town - not a lot to choose from... There are a number of buzzing frets... GC center sells them but I'm not sure anyone there really knows much about them, let alone how to set them up, etc...

From what I've read, it seems that the Mainland folks are very happy with their ukes.
 
bought a tenor cordoba and it buzzed too
 
Are the Portagee made Lehua 'ukuleles any better or worse than the Cordobas? The Lehua are very reasonable in price, and I like the Portugal connections with 'ukulele origins.
 
Ahnko Honu said:
Are the Portagee made Lehua 'ukuleles any better or worse than the Cordobas? The Lehua are very reasonable in price, and I like the Portugal connections with 'ukulele origins.
Click to expand...

That's a good question. I have not had a chance to play one. I'd love to get an opportunity to review more of these ukes.
 
I was told Cordoba, APC, and Excelsius are more or less the same ukuleles. MAde at the same factory, just maybe equipped with different tuners and stuff like that.

I own an Excelsius Concert, made from this fake-Koa.

This ukulele is by far the best ukulele I have.
I play it on most of my newer videos, here's one where you can see the instrument pretty well.

I once played a Cordoba Soprano in a GuitarCenter in Pittsburgh and wasn't impressed. It had a crack, too. I got my Excelsius later after I were back in Germany, so I can't really tell if it was the same brand since I just played the Cordoba for a few minutes.

I would not trade my Excelsius for another uke, it is really great!
Add to that that I got it brandnew from Ebay Portugal and all in all it did cost €120, way cheaper than you get those instruments in internet stores here right now.
 
WS64 said:
I was told Cordoba, APC, and Excelsius are more or less the same ukuleles. MAde at the same factory, just maybe equipped with different tuners and stuff like that.

I own an Excelsius Concert, made from this fake-Koa.

This ukulele is by far the best ukulele I have.
I play it on most of my newer videos, here's one where you can see the instrument pretty well.

I once played a Cordoba Soprano in a GuitarCenter in Pittsburgh and wasn't impressed. It had a crack, too. I got my Excelsius later after I were back in Germany, so I can't really tell if it was the same brand since I just played the Cordoba for a few minutes.

I would not trade my Excelsius for another uke, it is really great!
Add to that that I got it brandnew from Ebay Portugal and all in all it did cost €120, way cheaper than you get those instruments in internet stores here right now.
Click to expand...

With your skills as a musician and the quality of your videos, that is a great endorsement! I will have to check out that brand and see how widely available they are.

As usual, wonderful playing. I also like the graphic treatment on this video (the frame edging is a nice touch).
 
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