Cordoba

Well i posted this in the marketplace last night on accident ( it was late i was half asleep and full of mexican food) but what is the general feeling towards cordoba ukes? They have the nice simple look that i like and are very reasonably priced. Also any personal experience with the difference between the cuatro style baritone and the standard hog? I know the quatro is spruce topped and the other mahogany,but is there a large difference in playability and sound? Thanks for the help!

BigD said:

Well i posted this in the marketplace last night on accident ( it was late i was half asleep and full of mexican food) but what is the general feeling towards cordoba ukes? They have the nice simple look that i like and are very reasonably priced. Also any personal experience with the difference between the cuatro style baritone and the standard hog? I know the quatro is spruce topped and the other mahogany,but is there a large difference in playability and sound? Thanks for the help!

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theres really now difference in sound its just more of an aesthetics thing
and i have to admit i was tempted to buy it because of that but i read some less than stellar review on it. In my experience playing low to 'higher' end cordobas their nothing to write home about. I find their finishes on some of their ukes awful it almost looks like wood paneling on a trailer (and this is actually a 300 dollar tenor i'm talking about). I honestly think kala is much better than cordoba in terms of affordable ukes, and recently discovering the new brand amahi and their snail ukes line which totally beat out all those brands...cordoba just isn't worth it to me.


edit:
after i wrote this i saw this
http://www.theukulelesite.com/cordoba-cuatro-solid-spruce-top-baritone.html
changed my mind i want it again sounds/looks beautiful! should have just bought it when i had the money. I should stop listening to reviews!

BigD said:

Well i posted this in the marketplace last night on accident ( it was late i was half asleep and full of mexican food) but what is the general feeling towards cordoba ukes? They have the nice simple look that i like and are very reasonably priced. Also any personal experience with the difference between the cuatro style baritone and the standard hog? I know the quatro is spruce topped and the other mahogany,but is there a large difference in playability and sound? Thanks for the help!

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I should be receiving a Cordoba 22T (solid spruce top, laminate rosewood back and sides) tenor from HMS within a week. (I would not buy one from Amazon, etc.) I was hesitant because it's a brand that usually is either ignored or dismissed in these parts, but I wanted a spruce top and I like the wide nut/neck. I played one once and eventually realized that it's probably/maybe what I've been looking for. That's a $200 uke, and their 32/35 series is about $550, and the 30T is $500. (I also played a 32T, which sounded noticeably better than the 22T.) I don't know what level baritone you are interested in, but I think the cuatro that you mention is the same price as the tenor I am getting.

And HMS says that they work on the finishes that another poster mentioned as being a problem.

So if you're still interested in an answer in a week or so, I could give you my impressions then, though you might have to remind me (a PM would be OK).

I have played a fair number of Cordoba's and had a 35TS. There are a number of their ukes which are exceptional values for their respective price points (15, 20 and 30 series) and were to my ears better than anything from Kala on a similar price point. Cordoba also has a roomy fretboard, which may or may not be of interest to you. Do carefully inspect before you buy or make sure you buy from somebody who does (e.g., HMS as one prime example). I had a 30-series that had fret neck issues which the dealer from whom I bought acknowledged and allowed me to return and upgrade to the 35TS.

I had the 20TM-CE and I thought it was an extraordinary value. It was light and sounded well balanced. (I got it used..hell of a deal with the gig bag) I gave it to my grand daughter, but had planned on installing a bone nut and saddle and upgrading the tuners. I think low g strings transformed it....sounded great plugged or unplugged. Came with Aquilas..........way too brash.....couldn't get'em off fast enough.

I had the 20TM-CE and it was nice. I forgot where it ended up.

My only exposure to them has been through newbies that have brought them to uke club. The ones I played had terrible intonation, I felt bad for the folks trying to play them. Went to GC yesterday and saw a few hanging there, just could not bring myself to try one, even though they looked much nicer than the ones I played. I probably ran into folks that had some older, entry level models. But non the less they were so bad the folks gave up on trying to learn to play.

I have a 20TM - NOT the one with cutaway and pickup.

I bought it new; my local shop ordered it for me, matched Guitar Center/Musician's Friend price of $169 around January 2011. I probably would have bought the one from stock at GC, but they tried to sell me a gig bag - one was included with the instrument - only they couldn't find the original bag. I asked them to call me back when the bag (or a new uke with bag) came in, and three weeks later, I just went to the local shop.

It came out of the box well set up, good intonation all the way up the neck. Plays well. Tuners are inexpensive open geared tuners, with a little wiggle room. Saddle and nut were advertised as bone, but I think they are a composite similar to Corian. While the ads said solid mahogany, around that time one of the (former) UU members cut a hole in the side of one, and declared it laminated. (To be fair, he was also looking for anything he could find on the instrument to complain about) I don't really care - it has a great sound and feel.

Mine is labeled made in Portugal - the manufacturing changed to China soon after that. My Cordoba has Aquila strings, and I haven't changed them since I bought the instrument - when it sounds like they need to be changed, I will change them. I've got a set of Worth Brown strings waiting to be tried.

I think the 20TM is a wonderful instrument - it just rings! The sound is good, I've never had a lick of trouble with it, and I'm quite pleased.

If the Cordoba bari is as good as my tenor, then it is a very good instrument.

-Kurt

A member in our club has a concert Cordoba. She did order it from Amazon, or somewhere similar. It is a really nice little uke and even without a setup played well. Nice sound and she got it for a pretty good price.

I think those that are giving their feedback on Cordoba based upon the older series, should recheck the new 30 series line of tenors. I really like the sound, and for the price, I think they are a great value. Sound is of course quite subjective, so depends what you like, but these Cordoba's sure sound nice to my ear, and somewhat comparable to a custom uke I was also eyeing, but at more than 1/3 the price of the custom. Would seriously consider the 30's series of Cordobas. Just have to figure out which one 30T, 32T, 35T, 35TS, which one to get, as they all sound very nice.

I cant comment on anything else, since I have only heard them, but people should at least check it out. And buying it from a place that can set it up and make sure everything is clean is also a good idea for any uke you buy.

I have looked at one nice Cordoba, a tenor-scale solid mahogany instrument with a cut-away and electronics at a Guitar Center. It was $199 and the sales person did not know where the carton and gig bag were. I did not buy it. He said that he liked playing around with it when business was slow. Maybe he didn't want to sell it. The other Cordoba ukes I have seen felt like they were over-built and sounded dead to my ears. The mahogany instrument would be the Cordoba of choice for me-- if I bought one.

Do you know the model of that one? I dont think their new 30 series tenor line would be selling for $199, even somewhat used, so maybe that is a much older model.

Wondering if anyone has bought one of the 30 series and what they think of it?

The Cordoba 30 series, a step up from the 20 series, as these are all solid wood, 30T - Mahagony, 32T - Spruce / Rosewood, 35T - Acacia, 35TS - Spruce / Acacia, and they also have all the same in a cutaway, have videos on the HMS website. Corey plays them and they sure sound nice to my ear, not dead at all. However, cant say anything about build quality or close up look and feel, as I am only going by the sound on the HMS videos.

And I have seen other ukes, where I loved them on video and the sound in the video, and others had purchased them and many love them, but then when I got my hands on one in person, was disappointed in the build quality as well as the sound, (and that was a $800-$1000 uke) so I know it is always best to get one in your hands, if possible. maybe the one I tried just happened to be a poor one, I dont know.

I have a 22T-CE. Solid spruce top, laminated Rosewood back and sides. I compared several tenors off the wall, this was the only Córdoba. I also looked at a walnut Kala. The Cordoba had the best intonation by far. I am very pleased with this ukulele. My first Uke was a laminate Kala which I also like
Cliff

UkeInTW said:

Do you know the model of that one? I dont think their new 30 series tenor line would be selling for $199, even somewhat used, so maybe that is a much older model.

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My 22T (solid spruce top, laminated rosewood back/sides) was $199.99 from HMS. I have had it for 2+ months. (It's the same model as Osprey's, but without built-in electronics or a cutaway; I had a MiSi added to mine.) The uke is light and very alive – bright and loud. I think it is a great value. However, I would not buy one except from HMS (or any other seller that does a set-up and improves on the finish, if needed), as I have noticed some negative reviews from the big online music sellers.

If you care about width at the nut, you should note that many of their tenor models are 1.375", but some others (including the 22T) are 1.5". I'm pretty sure that the 35s are 1.375", and the 32s are 1.5" (even though HMS has the 32T – the all-solid version of the 22T – listed as 1.375", which I think is an error).

Also, the 30 series Cordobas just dropped in price, according to HMS – and the CE models (cutaway with electronics) now come with a Baggs 5.0, which is a great active pickup. See http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/cordoba.html

When our new website launches next month there will be a revised online inventory. It won't be based on what sells best but will be eliminating models that have a higher percentage of problems extending our setup time and often getting rejected and returned, which is all time consuming. All the companies are great about it and have wonderful customer service but it really slows down our process and we want to be more efficient in our turn around without expansion which could compromise quality of our service. We stand behind everything we sell and have sold in the past but our online offering will evolve.

The Cordoba models we will carry online are the 20TM, 20CM, and the entire 30 series, which is an excellent value after a professional setup. It would be hard for me to believe that the 30 series is made in the same factory as the rest of the line. The quality of the current 30 series is drastically better, as is reflected in the price. The newest 30 series are excellent quality, I promise.

I would defer to Andrew's advice...................he is most familiar with the current models and will ensure a great setup. I have an older Cordoba CK25, that was actually made in Portugal (I believe they are asian made now). Anyway, mine is well made (portugese solid koa/acacia), with nice action and a really pleasant bell -ring tone. I use it as my beater, for most of my outdoor playing (but use my Fluke if I'm at the beach and had a couple of drinks!).

ubulele said:

What do others, who've actually played the 30s and their rivals, think? For the money, which would you order for someone else who hadn't the option of playing it first?

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Andrew's thoughts on them should weigh heavily with you given his vast experience. But as you've asked for others' thoughts, I had a 35TS and it was an excellent ukulele for the price point. Amazing projection and very clear. However, I first had the 30T and it had some neck problems. When I went to exchange it, the store and I checked the other two 30T's they had in stock which had the same problems. However, both 35TS's checked out quite excellently. I've also played several of the 20-series and I thought for their lower price point they were also very nice values.

I've also had several Pono Pro Classic's and played quite a few other Ponos (full disclosure, I help out a Pono dealer as noted in my signature). The Pono Pro Classics are a nice step up but this is reflected in their higher prices (roughly 1.5-2.0x the price). But comparing the same price points, I think the Cordoba's hold their own very well and generally shine (to my ears) compared to similarly priced models in most of the brands I've personally tried.

Whatever you decide, I would certainly buy from somebody who will make sure what you buy is properly set up and who has a reasonable evaluation period policy (e.g., 48 hours to sample the instrument).