Your first guitar is so crucial to your success as a beginner guitarist. I can’t stress it enough that you take the time to think about all the reasons you have decided to learn to play. For a beginner who plans to play classical or jazz music, I cannot recommend any guitar more than The Cordoba C5 Guitar. I own one and play it every day. It is the best classical guitar for beginners and I will tell you why.
This is a joy to play!!
Key Elements of Design
What do you need to look for;
- A thin neck
- A cutaway shape to allow access to the upper neck frets
- 3/4 size for a comfortable body fit
- Small size for women and children
- Easy to transport
- Semi-Acoustic with Pre-Amp
- Nylon Strings
- Attractive durable Guitar
Classical guitar benefits
- This lovely little guitar will allow you the versatility to play in three different ways.
- You can strum chords with a pick, thumb, or finger for a gentle mellow sweet tone.
- Or start to learn to fingerpick. This can be classical melody lines, Chet Atkins picking, or a natural blend of your talents.
- You will be able to play it without amplification as an acoustic guitar or plug it into an amp and add volume.
- Consider reading about my lesson course review for classical guitar with Steve Krenz.
The specifications
The Cordoba C5 – CE IBERIA Series Electric Acoustic Guitar
- Solid Canadian Cedar Top
- Mahogany back and sides
- Fishman Isys+ Pickup
- Rosewood Bridge and Fingerboard
- 50mm neck width (slim)
- Savarez Chrystal Corum Nylon Strings
Cordoba guitars are a must-play for serious classical guitarists. Watch and listen to The Grigoryan Brothers playing their amazing music on their Cordoba Guitars. Famous all over the world.
The Cordoba Story
Cordoba guitars are designed in the Spanish Tradition. They are made to be stylish, have lovely resonance, and be lightweight. Perfect for a beginner. Some of their guitars are made in Spain but a lot is made in China today.
The Cordoba company was founded in 1997, they have spent many years expanding on the unique design and sound of the Spanish guitar. Showcasing a huge range of guitars, to perform a wide musical range from Classical to Flamenco. Inspiring such artists as; Leonard Cohen, Jose Gonzalez, and Bon Iver.
These guitars are designed to enhance the playing of a novice to a seasoned performer. Nylon and Steel-string Cordobas are available. Also, many left-hand guitars.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Small Body Guitar
- Thin Neck
- Warm vibrant sound
- Cutaway shape
- Semi-Acoustic
- This guitar is a joy to play every day and such a sweet sound.
Cons
- You can’t play rock and roll on this guitar
If you are looking for an excellent instrument, which will encourage you to play and is the best beginner guitar you have ever found, this is it. Available from Sam Ash with free delivery.
This link will take you to where you can see the best price. Your sale will be appreciated in supporting my family.
I hope that you have enjoyed this post. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
Lily
Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I am glad to have come across your post. I was looking for a perfect guitar for my little sister because she is studying music and wants a good guitar though she’s a beginner. I don’t know so much about this instrument so I’ll very much go with your recommendation here. How long does the guitar last, since you’ve been using it, how long have you been using it and how well do you use it?
Hi, thanks for getting in touch. I seem to be aiming my posts at girls and woman, as so many articles and websites are for guys, who want to rock out. Not that is a bad thing, but it just leaves most of us girls without a website to chat. I will be adding a lot more posts for girls and woman guitarists. You and your sister may enjoy some more of my posts, as they have hints for beginner guitarists.
This would be a lovely guitar for your sister, especially as she is a beginner. She will enjoy the tone and it is a great price. It will last well with her travel to school, but she will need to care for it, just tell her not to sit on it. lol Guitarists are always bumping their guitars into chairs and tables and the Cordobas are quite hardy. I’ve had mine for about 3 years now and I must bang it on the table edge every two days and there are still no marks on it. They are all different this way, it depends on the wood they use to make them.
I would play for about an hour a day and with my band during rehearsals, so I play a lot. It seems to stay in tune well, which makes it a pleasure to use. It has a soft gig bag and travels well.
Hope all this helps. Get back and let me know how you go or if you want to ask more questions.
Lily
I love the Corboda. When I started playing guitar this was also my first and I loved it. It’s just so easy to use, lightweight and versatile. I learned to play with my fingers and then moved up to a pick once I knew some songs. I love this recommendation and agree that it’s the best for beginners, thanks.
You are welcome Brandon. Like you I love my Cardoba. I have 3 other guitars but it is the easiest one to pick up and just do a few minutes of practise. It always sounds so sweet.
Lily
When I was younger and I mean quite a lot younger I was always dead keen to learn to play the guitar but it wasn’t until I was in my early teens that I did learn to play, okay, not brilliant but I did join an amateur group, just playing together for fun really, however, I haven’t even picked up a guitar for years now, but seeing your post here has rekindled my old enthusiasm and I must admit the Cordoba does look like a great little guitar, so who knows, I may be making a comeback, thank you for sharing.
You are very welcome, Russ. I hope it does inspire you to begin playing again. If you were playing with friends, you must have reached a reasonable standard. Sometimes a new guitar or finding a song you want to learn, can get you started again.
Lily
Oh, thank you, I am a beginner at this because I have been looking for the perfect way to start my music learning and I have just started taking classes in piano so I would love to go on the guitar too because it is an instrument that has really facinated me a whole lot. The Cordoba doesn’t look like a bad one and I think the Spanish did a great job. The guitar has more pros than cons. Does the guitar come with a warrantee?
Thanks for commenting. The guitar is a lovely instrument and so portable too. You will find the music reading part of the piano easy to transfer to learning the guitar. It depends on the company you buy from. This is a reputable company and Amazon and Paypal all have warranty product protection, for damage to goods being delivered. If you want a warranty on play ability of the Cordoba, I don’t think you will have a problem with their guitars. They have very high standards.
Let me know if this answers your question, we can chat.
Lily
Hi Lily, it is a great website. Simple, bright, and clean. It always was my passion to learn Guitar all the time, but I don’t have too much time on that, unfortunately. But, I think I can learn some basic of knowledge about Guitar on your website. I would like to know are there any good software or app that can help us to learn Guitar if I don’t have Guitar or I don’t want to buy one for now?
Thanks for your kind comments. Now that’s an interesting question. What do you hope to learn on the app? I will assess some of them for you but I need a little more information about what you hope to learn. Is it the types of guitars or music theory?
We will find a solution together.
Lily
I was just researching this very guitar, Cordoba C5 cutaway with electronics. My friend has it and it plays really nice and the sound is warm too. But you brought out a couple of points that I had not noticed, the 3/4 size and the thin neck. These make playability so much easier for me personally because my main guitar is a Strat. I will need to noodle around a little bit more with my friend’s C5.
Thanks for a well thought out and practical post!
Hey Rob, So pleased that my comments helped. It’s still the first of my 4 guitars that I play, I even take it to jams with my friends as it fits in well. I love its sweet sound.
You will not notice any problems with it having a thinner neck than most nylon string guitars.
Happy playing. Maybe Santa might buy you one for Christmas.
Lily ??