NGD.....Cordoba C9 Crossover

DownUpDave

UU VIP
UU VIP
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
Messages
6,654
Reaction score
1,224
Location
Pickering, ON, Canada
Well the guitar bug has firmly bitten and taken a strong hold. I do love steel string but I had to try nylon string classical guitar. I visited many music stores over a few months and played a number of them. The problem was the wide nut width, usually 2.04" and the flat fret board. I prefer a radius fretboard on all my ukes and of course steel string guitars have a radius. Enter the crossover models of nylon string guitars, these were conceived for steel string players wanting to try nylon. Most makes have a 1-7/8" nut width and they all have a radius fretboard. Some have a cut away with pick ups for plug in performance. Manufactures like Cordoba, Godin and Taylor to name a few are making these

I purchased a Cordoba C9 Crossover, solid cedar top and solid mahogany back and sides. It is based on their full sized C9 classical model but has the 1-7/8" nut width radiused crossover neck. This is a very well made and appointed guitar with a rich full sound and I really like it. I am playing folk, pop, country and rock on it just like the steel string and my ukes. It gives a nice warm but articulate sound and feels good under my fingers. The only place I could find this in Canada was Amazon.ca so I ordered from them. It got here in three days but there were issues with it. No doubt it sat in a warehouse and really dried out. The fret ends were ridiculously sharp and the back had sunk inwards instead of bowing outward, not good.

I contacted Amazon and have 30 days to return it, all no cost to me so it was a free experiment. They have no more in stock so I will receive a refund but I will be buying another one somewhere. I am also considering the C10 which is spruce and rosewood. Cordoba also has a lesser expensive line called Fusion with solid tops, laminated back and sides, cutaway and pick up at about half the price of the C9. If you want to try nylon string but do not like the wide flat fretboard the crossovers are the way to go.

20180530_193727.jpg20180530_193727.jpgIMG-20180530-WA0002.jpgIMG-20180530-WA0000.jpg20180529_134026.jpg20180529_134212.jpg
 
Last edited:
Congrats on the C9 Crossover, Dave!! Sorry to hear about yours with its overly dry issue. I have had a couple Cordoba classicals and both have been great. I started with the ever popular C5 and played the heck out of it for quite some time. Now, I have the C7 and it has been good to me. However, my C7 also came to me overly dried out. The fret ends were protruding badly and the top was sunk in. I was very concerned about this when I first received it (purchased used through Reverb - original owner purchased it to learn on but never followed through so it was basically new, other than him not knowing how to care for a guitar and let it dry out). In just a short time and proper humidification, the guitar was showing significant signs of improvement so I kept it with hopes. After about a few weeks all but just a bit of sharp fret ends was back to normal. I had plans to get the fret ends dressed, but they are now so barely noticeable that I just left it as is. The guitar has been serving me well.

I hope yours can end with a good story :)
 
Congrats on the C9 Crossover, Dave!! Sorry to hear about yours with its overly dry issue. I have had a couple Cordoba classicals and both have been great. I started with the ever popular C5 and played the heck out of it for quite some time. Now, I have the C7 and it has been good to me. However, my C7 also came to me overly dried out. The fret ends were protruding badly and the top was sunk in. I was very concerned about this when I first received it (purchased used through Reverb - original owner purchased it to learn on but never followed through so it was basically new, other than him not knowing how to care for a guitar and let it dry out). In just a short time and proper humidification, the guitar was showing significant signs of improvement so I kept it with hopes. After about a few weeks all but just a bit of sharp fret ends was back to normal. I had plans to get the fret ends dressed, but they are now so barely noticeable that I just left it as is. The guitar has been serving me well.

I hope yours can end with a good story :)

Thanks for the kind words. I actually started to rehumidify the guitar with promising results. I put it in the bathroom with the hot shower going full blast for 30 minutes, then stuck it in a garbage bag for 12 hours. I have done this three times and our house is hoovering around 50%-60% humidity so I have left it out on a stand. In one week the back has straightened out quite a bit. It doesn't have to be shipped off until June 30th so there is hope I can keep it. I really like the sound of this, I am playing it right now.
 
Last edited:
Nice. I can't really deal with the wider necks anymore. I thought I would like the 2" on the Cordoba Mini but after trying slimmer ones, I like them better. 1-7/8" is the max I want to go even on guilele length, so if I ever got another guitar (not likely), it would be something like this.
 
Nice. I can't really deal with the wider necks anymore. I thought I would like the 2" on the Cordoba Mini but after trying slimmer ones, I like them better. 1-7/8" is the max I want to go even on guilele length, so if I ever got another guitar (not likely), it would be something like this.

Yep. Once upon a time I could play those wide necks with flat fretboards, but not anymore. My last "classical" guitar had a 1-7/8" fretboard with 12-inch radius. So no Cordoba Mini SM for me. :(
 
Thanks for the kind words. I actually started to rehumidify the guitar with promising results. I put it in the bathroom with the hot shower going full blast for 30 minutes, then stuck it in a garbage bag for 12 hours. I have done this three times and our house is hoovering around 50%-60% humidity so I have left it out on a stand. In one week the back has straightened out quite a bit. It doesn't have to be shipped off until June 30th so there is hope I can keep it. I really like the sound of this, I am playing it right now.

Good luck with the instrument! I hope it reconstitutes well and that you can keep it. :)
 
Great review as always
I played this guitar at Dave’s house. I was surprised how easy it is and never thought I could play a full size guitar. I still remember the guitar chords but the fret marker on the 9th really mess me up! :D.
Fell in love with it so what did I do? Ordered a C10 from a shop in the US
It’s somewhere in Toronto now but tracking stopped all day today
We will compare the two models once it gets here.
 
Good luck with the instrument! I hope it reconstitutes well and that you can keep it. :)

Thanks very much. It is crazy how quickly I have fallen it love with the sound of this instrument. Just a big uke with two extra strings. Not really but I know you get it:p
 
Great review as always
I played this guitar at Dave’s house. I was surprised how easy it is and never thought I could play a full size guitar. I still remember the guitar chords but the fret marker on the 9th really mess me up! :D.
Fell in love with it so what did I do? Ordered a C10 from a shop in the US
It’s somewhere in Toronto now but tracking stopped all day today
We will compare the two models once it gets here.

Congrats on the C10!! I have been wanting to get their C10 Parlor classical (or C9, either or). They seem like they might be slightly more comfortable of an instrument. Maybe one day...
 
Congrats on the C10!! I have been wanting to get their C10 Parlor classical (or C9, either or). They seem like they might be slightly more comfortable of an instrument. Maybe one day...

I like the idea of their Parlor size as well. But it does not have the 1-7/8" nut width and radius fretboard. For me that is critical for ease of playing. But that slightly smaller size would be wonderful.

Brenda's C10, for those unfamiliar, has a spruce top and rosewood back and sides. My C9 is cedar and mahogany, both are all solid woods and identical. It will be a lot of fun and very revealing to play both side by side and hear the difference the wood combinations make.
 
Looking forward to the comparison review, Dave. My hunch is that the spruce/rosewood is going to be punchy and projective while the cedar/mahogany is going to be lyrical and sustaining. :)
 
Looks like a real beauty, congratulations.
 
Looking forward to the comparison review, Dave. My hunch is that the spruce/rosewood is going to be punchy and projective while the cedar/mahogany is going to be lyrical and sustaining. :)

I have had Brendas C10 in my possession since yesterday afternoon. I have played them back to back on almost every song I know and some I don't. Bsfloyd.....you are correct about the tonal difference, very stereotypical cedar-mahogany vs spruce-rosewood. The C9 cedar is lyrical, sweet , musical with a rich complex sound. The C10 spruce is powerful projects well with nice clarity. Suprisingly the cedar is louder, until strummed hard then it falls apart while the spruce stays clear with lots of head room. To my ears the cedar has a more pleasing tone, but it depends on what you play and how you play it. The spruce rosewood has the nice rosewood overtones and chime and I can play strumming type folk and rock songs on it with abandon.

If asked to choice between the two I am totally undecided, both have great strengths and no glaring weaknesses.
 
Thanks for the review, Dave! Yes, tonewoods for the most part are predictable, of course with some caveats by luthier builds - but most factory instruments will be. The beauty of it is that you do t have to choose, you just get both :) The best of both worlds!!
 
Congratulations, Dave, and thanks für sharing your impressions with us. Sounds like you found a great crossover instrument that combines best of both worlds. Would be a tough decision about the wood combos for me as well.
 
Dave or Brenda - Do either of you have any experience with Cordoba's Fusion series? I found a pretty good deal on a slightly used but full factory warranty on a Fusion 12. 1 7/8" nut width, radius fretboard....
 
Top Bottom