Cordoba Guilele CE Reviews

4.8/5.0 based on 4 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Brian
from San Diego, CA
November 23, 2012

Unique with great tone.

This is a great little instrument. I mostly play it finger-style with alternate tunings (most people say tune down.) It has very good tone (surprising low end) for an instrument its size. It's undoubtedly a great travel sized instrument, I even saw a guy at LAX with one. I've plugged it in and its amazing with my Fishman Loudbox Mini. I also have to mention that the aesthetics are a plus, it'll turn heads. Recommended most for those who want a unique sound, travel, play ukulele, or guitar. I'm very pleased with this piece.

Kwong Lee
from TX
May 17, 2012Music Background:
Retired luthier and now part time Jazz player

Tune up

The quality is ok (although it's made in China) except the nut and the bridge need a little more works on them. I don't think this kind of design should be tuned to A D G C E A. The force is too much to the bridge and the soundboard. I tuned mine to G C F Bb D G.

Barrett Nelson
from San Mateo CA USA
April 11, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Great Bang for the Buck!!!

The Cordoba Guilele CE is a Superb Guitar/Ukelele.As any professional knows,that there are 4 to 5 custom makers of like type instruments available and they're definitely worth the money that one would pay for that service.As for the Cordoba Guilele CE ,The intonation far exceeded what I assumed might be problematic in the upper register,it is surprisingly resonant for its size and sounds ecven across the fretboard.The Aquila Guilele strings are fantastic and make this little instrument sing.The pickup that comes with the Guilele to my amazement is way better than I thought it would be.All in all,Great Bang for the Buck!!! A special thanks to Greg Savino for his personal care,great customer service ,attention to detail and kudos to his assistant Tina also!!! Sincerely,Barrett Nelson.

Bill
from Berkeley, CA, USA
March 27, 2013Music Background:
Amateur classical guitarist and ukulele player

Cordoba Guilele CE

My purchase of a Córdoba Guilele CE was the latest stage in my lifelong quest for the ideal travel instrument. Although I have some minor problems with the instrument, I am generally very satisfied with it and would recommend it as a pretty good bargain. The construction seems very sound (albeit basic and without many frills) and the instrument doesn't feel cheap, despite the low price. One thing that impressed me was the sound quality and level of volume, as well as the evenness of dynamics: there are no “wolf” tones with noticeably louder tone than others (a common problem with ukuleles and classical guitars in this price range). The instrument is surprisingly heavy, probably because of the electronics and battery. The guilele is intended to be tuned A-D-G-C-E-A, or fourth higher than standard guitar tuning. I now have it at G-C-F-Bb-D-G. Both seem to work fine.

There are a couple of negatives. My guilele came with a checklist certification from the vendor indicating that it had been set up properly and inspected, including specific mention of action height. However, the action at the nut was set considerably higher (by at least 0.5 mm) than I think most players would find comfortable. The too-high nut also made notes fingered at the first and second frets ever so slightly sharp. A local luthier was able to set it up properly in a few minutes (for a fee, of course). My other negative was more a matter of personal preference: As a classical guitarist, I found the neck width (at the nut) of 1.81 inches a bit tight, and would have liked something closer to 2 inches, but I realize that many acoustic steel-string guitar players will find 1.81 inches too wide. So I suppose Córdoba's decision here was a reasonable compromise.

I haven't yet tried using the instrument with an amplifier, so I can't comment on the pickup.

The Guilele CE comes with a custom gigbag with lots of padding and a large external accessories pocket. My bag had a defective strap, but the vendor replaced it promptly when I brought this to their attention.