Cordoba F7 Paco Flamenco Iberia

I've been playing Electric Guitar for 20 years and wanted to learn playing Classical and Flamenco guitar. I did my research and the specs on the f7 paco really resonated with what I wanted in my first classical guitar. It is built as a flamenco guitar which makes it really lightweight and very comfortable to play due to a lower depth on the body and bracing construction. On top of that it also has a lower action than a classical guitar which is something I really welcomed.

What makes this guitar also suitable to not just Flamenco but also Classical guitar, is the choice of woods, specifically the top. It features a solid Cedar top which is very uncommon for Flamenco guitar. The Cedar top gives the guitar a more mellow and warm sound which is less bright and snappy than a Spruce top. The quality is really good for the price. Nothing feels cheap and I really liked the fact that the nut and saddles where made of bone because I always encountered cheaper guitars to have plastic ones.

This guitar is really beautiful, and I think that is a very important aspect of a first guitar to learn on because it inspires you to play. The contrast of the wood tones makes it a really eye-pleasing guitar, with the beautiful dark rosewood back and sides joining the warm, but less dark cedar top, with the maple binding. The black and gold tones on the tuner also makes this guitar just really beautiful.

I'm very happy with this guitar. I only gave 4/5 to sound and quality, because I know there's much better sounding guitars out there that costs thousands of euros and are built by luthiers. As far as features go, I can't think of anything that I would have liked differently. The choice of a solid top and laminated backs is a good balance for a first and learning guitar, since it doesn't sacrifice resonance of a solid top but also is less sensitive to humidity and temperature with the laminated back and sides. It has a trussrod too which is really nice.

To begin, this is an incredible guitar! I tried many at this price range and all were trashy sounding amateur guitars so I wasn’t expecting too much. I just bought it as playing here and there type of guitar and never worry if I damage it but the sound is just incredible. I don’t want to sound like showing off or a snob but I say this because I have flamenco and classical guitars that are 10 times the price of this so I compare it with those and believe me it doesn’t fall behind!!!
Is it perfect? No of course, the playability is top notch. Very comfortable neck, no sharp frets, no fighting with the guitar while playing. The only imperfection in my case was that the d and g strings were buzzing only when played with maximum strength, it didn’t while playing normally in the second position. I tried to adjust the truss rod and play with the saddle height but it didn’t work so I brought it to my luthier and he fixed it. He told me that there was an uneven fret height issue at that point and that causes it. Anyways it was a quick fix and it was only because I am a bit obsessed with these type of things. If I played normally this was not even an issue.
Ok the sound. The note separation is just incredible, I can hear every string while strumming in a 9th chord or a fancy chord like sus4 or 7th. Now, you don’t get this if you play a guitar below 1000 euro! I instantly realised after my first playing why Paco ordered a flamenco built guitar but with cedar top and rosewood back and sides. It has a great sustain and a full sound like a classical guitar but also sharp enough and with a great note separation as a flamenco guitar. I guess this is the only difference between those two genres. So it is a very versatile piece. You can play anything on it.
The strings that comes with it are high tension savarez strings which is way above the standard but I replaced them with savarez carbon strings with normal tension and it sounds way way way better. I also changed the tuners with 1:16 ones for better tuning and put on k&k pure classic pickups which gives a very true sound unlike the cheesy piezo sound. Bought a hard case and also an armrest from aliexpress.
Ok at the end I spent an extra of 200 bucks but it turned to an incredible guitar. I’d recommend it to anyone, to a new starter to start with something that sounds like a guitar not a trash can with strings on it and to a pro to have a very versatile guitar.