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Looking for a decent upgrade this holiday season... Suggestions?


eagle1

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Hello.

 

I recently found an older Cordoba Fusion 14 (rose) via eBay at a good price so I 'bit' and bought it. Haven't played a nylon guitar in quite a while but I actually liked the Cordoba!

I have to say that it is an AWESOME guitar, very good looking, good sound unplugged, etc. The problem is... my dad was looking at it with too much passion (I think he might want it for himself LOL!!!)

 

So, I started looking at other nylon guitars. I recently went to a Guitar Center while I was in the US but most of what I heard (nylon)

sounded inferior to the Fusion 14 to my ears. So I also started looking at higher priced steel strings based on sound and looks. So far I have my eyes on:

 

Nylon:

 

Cordoba GK Pro - Spruce & Cypress

Cordoba 55FCE

Yamaha NTX1200R

Taylor 214e-N

 

Steel:

 

Taylor 214ce

Gibson J35

Takamine EF508KC NEX (just because that laminated KOA looks pretty... I think it might sound thin though did not test it)

Martin DRSGT

 

I will probably go Nylon since I have 2 steel strings (old, cracked, Dean Exotica FM and a Blueridge BR-60CE which actually sounds quite nice) and an older Nylon from 1985 which sounds nice but it's a bit beat up. I was just wondering if I should still go with Cordoba (since I liked the fusion) or try the Yammies or Taylor... or if I should go "low-mid" level with another steel string to replace the Blueridge...

 

What do you think about the guitars listed and how they compare to mine?

 

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

P.S. I'm not a great player, just want to update my gear, maybe it will actually inspire me to get better! ;)

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I have the Yamaha NTX1200R in my lap as I type this. I chose it for personal reasons over the others you list in the nylon category. I don't own the J35 but consider it the only guitar in the Gibson acoustic line-up I'd buy for myself if I was hurting to buy a Gibson. I'd also choose it over the others you list.

 

Regarding your statement suggesting a better guitar will inspire you to spend more time playing, I think there's merit to that. I can only further it by suggesting your "better" guitar is only better because it suits you and not some other person's opinion.

 

Have fun with that.

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Cordoba has a good reputation as a whole, another though is the Lucida Concerto - made by prudencio Saez ( a well know large spanish guitar maker -)

when i did research on them, that model doesnt pop up - but its fairly common ( i have one that i bought about 5-6 years ago )

EIR with Ceder top ) the lower end lucidas are not as good --

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Not a player? Then get a J-35. When you see all the country dudes on TV playing round shouldered Gibsons you'll wanna take yours out. Also' date=' short scale neck makes for easier chording and is slightly gentler on the fingers. [/quote']

 

 

Sage advice. I have a Taylor nylon 314ce. Wonderful guitar, but a nylon string guitar is a different animal from a steel string. I also have a J-15. Shorter-scale guitars like the J-15 (and most other Gibson acoustics, as well as Martin 000-18s and 28s, and most Seagulls, among others, etc.) have less tension and thus get a bit (but only a bit) closer to the nylon experience in that regard. By nylon guitars have challenges of their own. Sure, there's less tension, but you've got a wider nut width and higher action, so there's a trade off. I view my Taylor as - well, not quite a novelty - a different flavor, but if I was only going to have one acoustic it would be a steel string.

 

J-35 is a killer axe, impeccable construction, fantastic sound and playability, built in pick-up, and all for $1,599 or so (I got my for $1,499 because it was on the wall at GC, and had some minor scratches on the back that I buffed out as soon as I got it home).

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Watching all the country dudes on TV playing round shouldered dreads will not make me want to take mine out. :bor:

 

Just for the record.

 

 

Hahaha yeah, I know...

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Seems everyone loves the J35 huh? :p

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