Cordoba C12 SP Nylon String Acoustic Guitar - Spruce Reviews

I acquired a C12SP earlier last spring. Used it to record 3 songs I arranged for my church. They have been playing those songs during the preclude of every Sunday service. They even played them whenever laying slides not dubbed with vocal or music. They all

I'm impressed with this guitar! I have played a Cordoba 45R for twelve years, and that got me through all of my undergrad performances and my graduate auditions. After playing a lot of different, non-custom built classicals, I settled on this one about a year ago. The tone is incredibly balanced and the fingerboard is highly accessible the whole way up. It also has a very wide dynamic range. Overall, I'm very impressed with this instrument!

This is my first classical guitar and I absolutely love it. I bought this guitar a few months ago and I love the tone and playability. I think the action comes a bit high out of the box, but it does had a truss rod that allows for some adjustment. If you're looking to try a classical guitar I recommend a Cordoba and if you can afford one, the C12.

Was fortunate to pick up a used C12 Spruce that was absolutely like new (originally bought at Sweetwater). I can't get over how great it sounds. I expected the trebles to be impressive, since it's a spruce, but I am blown away at how strong and lively the bass strings come though. I now need to focus on softening my attack on the bass strings! I am really pleased with this guitar. As my fifth classical guitar (yamaha, kremona, taylor, guild), i have some good reference points. Being an intermediate player, with no expectations of becoming a concert performer, this is everything I need, and more. Very rewarding to hear how the pieces I play immediately sound so much more melodic on this instrument.

This lovely guitar is very "playable" with smooth frets, perfect intonation, nice action and all the rest you'd expect at this price point. But the sound is outstanding: well balanced, both when played loudly and aggressively and when played softly. Sustain is outstanding. I have always struggled with playing legato, but the great sustain makes it easier. I was not expecting the raised fingerboard to make much difference in playing upper frets, but I was surprised by how much difference it makes. Finish is flawless, with a beautiful maple center wedge, which gives a nice contrast to the rosewood. The spruce top has some attractive figuring, and is very tight grained, which I am sure is part of the wonderful sound. Short of spending 2 to 5 times as much to get a luthier built concert instrument, I can't imagine finding a nicer classical guitar. A few caveats: Not the guitar you want for Flamenco, as the sound is sweet rather than percussive, even when played ponticello. If you want a really warm sound, the cedar topped version might be a better fit, as the spruce version is definitely brighter sounding. And to be really nit-picky, I would have preferred a more traditional, multi-colored wood rosette to the abalone inlaid one, albeit it is a pretty one. Overall, a lovely classical guitar with a beautiful voice. Nothing else (except the cedar topped C-12) is even close at this price point.

I'm not a classical guitarist but I enjoy switching between acoustic steel string guitar and classical guitar. Lately I've been playing more on the nylon strings and wanted to upgrade my guitar. After weeks of searching I found the Cordoba C12 SP, this is exactly what I was looking for. It's a beautiful guitar with a great sound. The volume surprised me, I believe it has more projection than my 1992 Taylor 812C (I play both fingerstyle). Because I play somewhat hard I bought the spruce top, a tough decision but I'm happy with the results. The C12 has an elevated fingerboard, a nice addition and it makes a difference.
I've never ordered a guitar online and I had some concerns. Sweetwater is an excellent company for an online purchase and has outstanding customer service. Devin, sales engineer, was a great help and was instrumental in helping me make my choice. Once the decision was made it was an easy process and the guitar arrived in perfect condition and ready to play. I highly recommend the Cordoba C12 and Sweetwater.
Gotta love that candy!

This guitar is simply the best! The fret board is so consistent all the way through. The dynamics that can be produced are so sensitive and responsive. The tone that can be produced is dream-like. The construction is very high quality and the polish is very nice. This is my fist guitar with a raised fretboard and it makes a big difference when playing higher on the register.
I can not say enough good things about this guitar. I own a C7 and that was my introduction to Córdoba. This C12 is my dream guitar!

This is my 3rd Cordoba, I started with a second hand C5-CE and I was so happy it that I later acquired a C7, also "previously enjoyed." Thees guitar are built very well and sound great. Being of hispanic background, I am a bit biased in-favor of the "traditional' classical acoustic guitar sound, as well as the "look & feel," and Cordoba delivers what is important for me. This is my 1st brand NEW Cordoba and, in my personal opinion, it is worth every penny. It has a very rich, warm and mellow sound and even without amplification, it fills the room with beautiful music.

I called Sweetwater because my son-in-law recommended them. David Wharam was my contact. He listened to what I was looking for and recommended a great guitar, the Cordoba C12 SP, It has a beautiful sound and is easy to play. I think it will inspire me for years. I love my new guitar and want to thank David for his great suggestion.

PS my son-in-law recommended the same guitar but I didn't tell David that!

Beautiful guitar with a true warm sound. This is most likely the best guitar in this price range. It's construction is very good and it has great tone and volume. The case is also very well made.

After playing a fairly cheap classical guitar off and on for 43 years, I wanted a good guitar. As the large music stores don't have upper end guitars in stock, I drove 5 hours to Sweetwater to try out some quality guitars. I tried several and found that the Cordoba C12 SP was what I wanted. What first struck me was the projection and sustain for a classical guitar. The tone is wonderful and the upper range as well as the bass notes ring out very distinctly. In addition, this is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen. The white spruce top contrasts well with the ebony fretboard, but my favorite part is the back. I love the maple center wedge in combination with the rosewood back and mahogany neck. I have never had the opportunity to compare this guitar to more expensive ones, but I feel pretty certain that most classical guitarists would be extremely happy with this guitar. Special thanks to Brent Leuthold at Sweetwater for being so helpful. This guitar will not disappoint you!

This is the perfect classical guitar. Action, tone, etc... everything is spot on. For such an affordable price. You CANNOT beat it. All the high end features that you see in really expensive guitars. I can't say enough about it... just buy it!!!

Perfect fit and finish. Slight buzzing at 1st and to a lesser extent 2nd fret with a somewhat more forceful pluck than usual. Remedied this to some extent by loosening the truss rod one hour on the time clock face from 12 to 11. The G string intonation remains a problem, but I think it's inherent to classical guitars with the thickest string being the G string. This somehow causes more problems at the 12th fret than the other strings. But by flattening the pitch of the G string at the nut by a cent or two, and being really careful to push the string down straight at the 12th fret the problem seems more or less resolved. I can live with it. Also the tones made by the individual strings are all similar in timbre. So it doesn't sound like you are playing separate guitars when you move from one string to another. String height, nut height, fret finish, fret leveling, etc. all measured out within Cordoba's specifications. It is a lively sounding guitar. It projects well with clear, well defined sounds: no muddiness. It plays well. And I've heard these Spruce guitars only get better with time. So I'll give it a couple of years or so to mature. Having said that, I like the way it sounds now.