Cordoba Fusion Orchestra CE Nylon-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar - Honey Burst

I wanted an upgrade from my very inexpensive, utilitarian classical guitar and landed on this one, and I couldn't be happier. I came to play nylon-string guitar by providing musical accompaniment at my church's Taize services, and just fell in love with learning fingerstyle instrumental arrangements of songs and hymns. Such a different approach than my pentatonic blues Strat hackery. So when it became apparent to me that I would benefit from a better guitar than the low-end utilitarian classical I was using, I spent months playing crossovers and classicals. I landed on this as my favorite at its price point. So as a steel-stringer turned nylon stringer, the Fusion neck fit me perfectly. The burst on mine resembles a Gibson J-45 more than anything (very different and far prettierl than the stock website pics), and I find it beautiful. Setup was great out of the box. No buzzes, rattles, dead spots, or annoying wolf tones. Despite the laminate back and sides (which, admittedly, matters less on nylon than with steel string guitars) I get long sustain and ringing overtones. The cedar top is mellow, balanced, smooth, and sweet. The neck is very comfortable to play, even well into the cutaway. Tuners are very good. I don't even object to the stock Savarez strings - I'm not replacing them until they truly need it. The Fishman PreSys Blend system, while not as fancy or high-end as something like a Baggs Anthem, sounds great though my Loudbox Mini at about a 50% mic/pickup blend. My five star rating does not indicate perfection. A truly five-star classical would likely cost at least $5000 and be handcrafted by a luthier or a tiny team. But this one hits a point of diminishing returns IMO - you don't get much more guitar without spending a lot more money. Playing the Fusion Orchestra alongside a Fusion 12, C7, and the more expensive, all-solid C9, the differences were minimal and down to personal preferences but not quality.

Love the combination that this amazing guitar has. Great sound unplugged, not loud but definitely loud enough to enjoy playing at home. Thinner nut width than standard classical, but wide enough to play traditional nylon styles. And the electronics are excellent, the blend option of mic with piezo creates a wonderful amplified sound. Tried about five guitars around similar price point for a couple of months and this one was the one I decided to keep, has it all.

I haven't played a nylon string guitar for close to 30 years. Love the tone of this model, and the slightly slimmer neck makes for a better transition from steel string and electrics. The tone is rich, warm and amazingly balanced between single note lines and chorded parts. The onboard electronics make this instrument shine when plugged in as the blend to incorporate the internal mic means you get great, natural sounding amplification.

Guitar works well with chords or fingerstyle.

If you're an acoustic player or a picker, then you can't beat the vibrantly clear sound or the natural way your fingers progress along the fretboard. The sound is warm. The sustain is good. The only drawback that I've found with this guitar is that a straight up, fast strumming can sound fairly muddy. It doesn't seem to be a noticeable problem with strums and picking, just with aggressive strumming. This guitar is in it's 4th year. I don't think that it's going anywhere.

I would buy this guitar again. Thought I was going to end up with a Taylor 214 CEN but this guitar's sound blew the Taylor away. Be careful though, the top and it's finish are easily disfigured.