Cordoba GK Studio Negra

I am in two minds on this one.

I like this guitar, and I really wanted to buy it for quite a while now. But it has some fundamental issues in my opinion. I cannot confirm if those issues are applicable to the particular guitar I received, or the entire GK Studio Negra series. I expect the time will tell if the purchase I made was worth it.

PROS

1) It is a beautiful looking guitar. 2) It is Fishman amplified which is essential for gigs and recordings (but do read on). 3) The finish on the guitar is fine, and 4) the front, neck and the fretboard are well delivered despite this guitar is made in China. 5) The fact it has a truss-rod is a wonderful extra, and one of the reasons I bought it.

It is unfortunate I needed to correct the neck immediately after unpacking, it needed about half a turn, which is a significant correction on a brand new neck (but hey, that's why the truss-rod is there so we're all good).

However, there are other issues I cannot fix.

CONS

This is supposed to be a Flamenco "Negra" model, with warmer and bassier sound comparing to traditional "Blanca". Back and sides being "veneered", or perhaps the way it was put together, is a downside as it practically cancels out the sustain and warmer and deeper sound expected from rosewood. I do not know what is the wood beneath the rosewood veneer, in respect of the sound I doubt it is rosewood (although it should be). The specs just say "Back and sides: Rosewood, veneered".

Ultimately what you get is the Negra looks, with the sound of standard flamenco blanca guitar, loud and snappy, sharp, but no warmth or depth that comes with rosewood body.

I compared it with my inexpensive ¤400+ EUR Spanish flamenco negra guitar which has infinitely more warmth and depth in the tone. So I am pretty disappointed with Cordoba GK Studio Negra in that respect. If you truly need a "Negra" sound qualities this guitar is not for you, despite its name.

Summary

GK Studio Negra is a bit overpriced as well as misleading by name in my opinion. Is it worth ¤649? I would say the build quality is more in the range of ¤450 to ¤500 max, remembering it comes with Fishman and let's not forget the gig bag.

It is ok for practice, perhaps dabbling in Flamenco (if that's what you want to do), and playing around with friends and at parties. Sadly I do not think I can use it for gigging or recordings - which sadly defeats the whole purpose of having Fishman amp onboard.

I have played this model over three years, therefore I believe that can comment this product with confidence.

In a manner of speaking, the Cordoba GK Studio Negra is very versatile and can be used in many situations: the ''negra'' model itself offers sustain of sound while providing swift volume changes required in flamenco music, the inner microphones are satisfying and can be used when playing live and the materials chosen are quite typical in negra guitars and could be stated as safe and reliable decision.

The product has proven to be pleasant to play and practice with. For myself this is the reason why I haven't proceeded and changed this model to more expensive guitars with better quality.

The problems, ''the cons'', of this model comes from the aspect of sound.
The buzzing sound is desirable in flamenco guitars but not in this extent. Using required amount of force to create the small buzz from notes is hard with this guitar. It can be experienced especially when you can play different models on same occasion.
The tone doesn't have much depth, but then again one can't require too much from a guitar with this price tag.
What I and some other people have noticed is that this guitar can produce relatively great volume, which can be seen as good or bad.

To mention something about the price - it is surprisingly low for what you will receive: ''multifuntional'' negra guitar with built in mics. So it is a definite advantage.

As I said in the introduction, the materials chosen for this guitar are typical. The same could be stated from the design as well. So there isn't any peculiarity in this model to be commented.

It could be just my luck, but the final trim in my guitar contained some failures. The
nut and slug holding the built in microphone were loose, there was some glue left near the bridge and I am bit worried of how the cords of the microphone will stay on their position and will they resonate in the future, I don't know yet.

I believe I won't record any compositions with my product, the model isn't adequate for that purpose. On the other hand I won't resell it to anyone and the product was relatively cheap. I could say, in the end I felt that i didn't waste any money and I was able to enjoy the pros of this product.

To summarize it all up, well... for this price I could say that you can't really loose and Cordoba GK Studio Negra is a convenient purchase if you aren't sure what kind of situations you will face with your guitar. You can play classical or flamenco music and you don't have to worry about the mics in jam or live sessions etc.
Only inhibiting factor would be the sound which wasn't, at least for me, the most alluring quality of this guitar model.

Pros and cons: It looks pretty nice (though i don't like the black soundhole transfer much).
It's easy to play (though the string spacing is the same as a standard 52mm neck so 1st string is too close to the edge of the neck for me and it's easy to slip of the neck. Also the action needs to be set up by filing down the saddle a mm or so, and the fingerboard wasn't perfectly flat on mine, according to my luthier friend).
The sound quality is pretty good for a laminate-backed guitar (i.e. a little 'brash'). I'm hoping it will improve further as the spruce 'opens up' with playing. It's certainly loud (played acoustically), especially for a thinner than standard body.
The signal from the pick up seems a bit low - i might well end up playing it through the foot pedal 'booster' preamp i used to use with a passive transducer on my old guitar. I guess i'll try a new battery first. Not sure how good the mike blend will be till my first gig!
My guitar arrived with slightly protruding fret ends, sharp enough to scratch, but i think that was possibly dehydration - the fingerboard seems to have reabsorbed them as it's settled into a moister atmosphere.
Another issue i had was buzzes - it may have been resonance of other guitar parts (it's loud, remember); but i suspect it is the wire harness rattling around against the inside of the body.
Why didn't i send it back you may ask? Well i was going to, but as a package i think it'll do the job i want it to do (gigging latin and flamenco acoustic trio), and they seem to hold their resale value if it doesn't! I'll have to improve my technique so i don't slip off the 1st string, get my luthier friend to lower the action and take the 'wobble' out of the fretboard; and played through an amp you probably won't hear the occasional (acoustic) buzz so much. It was relatively cheap for a 'professional' guitar so i don't have to worry about it getting the odd knock, and what else is out there in the price bracket? (especially with an onboard mike and tuner, rosewood body, and a 'classical' string spacing). Sometimes it's best to stick with the 'bird in the hand' (as oppose to the two in the bush). Anyway, after 4 weeks of prevaricating i think i've about run out of time!