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Here’s my new one made by Luis Fernández de Córdoba.
I’m happy to report that the guitar is very cool just like his name...
The overall sound is sweet, musical (lyrical), with fantastic trebles. The E in particular really pops like no other guitar I’ve heard before.
Some nice features include a wonderful French polish, handmade rosette, all hide glue construction, 12 hole bridge, + a nice case.
This guitar is very light btw, lighter than my Castillo. Very old school in looks and sound. Just needs to be played, open up… but already quite nice.
My Castillo blanca has pegs, 660 scale and mahogany neck, so this one with 650 scale, cedar neck and mechanical tuners is a nice complement.
This is one of the guitars he had at the recent GAL 2011 show. I’ve heard from several sources (including surprisingly other luthiers) that Luis’ guitars stood out there.
Posts: 271
Joined: Sep. 19 2011
From: Louisville KY
RE: Luis Fernández de Córdoba (in reply to cosimojack)
Great looking guitar. So can you comment on how it compares to your Castillo? I have a Castillo blanca (number 238), and love it. I have been thinking of ordering another blanca from him, something with pegs. Mine has gears, and a cedar top. Now that I started spending time on the foro though, I don't know what I want. While I love the Castillo, I'm also wondering about Francisco Navarro, a blanca from Anders, and now Luis Fernández de Córdoba! I was speculating from your description that the Luis Fernández de Córdoba was probably a little "sweeter" maybe than your Castillo? Perhaps not as "brash". Castillo does have his own kind of sound, which like I said, I love, but maybe I should shoot for some variety at this point... If only I had $1000000 for guitars! Na, never mind, I would probably need $2000000 to get it going...
RE: Luis Fernández de Córdoba (in reply to cosimojack)
Hi Shawn -
Thanks for the reply.
My Castillo is #230, so pretty close to yours actually. It’s 660 scale, pegs, with top of the line woods – Euro Spruce, Spanish Cypress. It’s really settled down over the last few years. Everyone who has played this guitar has had great things to say, Including, “don’t ever sell that one, you won’t be able to replace it for anywhere near the money”, “the intonation is perfect on this guitar”, “wow, what a deep and authentic flamenco tone”… I love it too!
It’s interesting to compare the guitars. I could live with either and yet they are different enough that I plan to keep both.
Here’s how I’d compare them -
Sound: The Castillo sounds more mature, which is to be expected as it’s 5 years older. The sound is richer and a bit deeper, bassier perhaps.
The Cordoba is sweeter sounding as you say. Note separation is better, cleaner, crisper. It’s also more musical overall (romantic, slightly more versatile if you play music other than flamenco). There have been a few moments when I play this guitar that the sound has really surprised me and made me smile. It’s just so, so nice. It just needs to be played so it opens up more I think.
I guess overall it’s best to say that where the Castillo sounds sort of like a Conde, the Cordoba sounds sort of like a Santos. Both very good, just different.
Woods: The Castillo has the edge here as the woods appear to be of higher quality with tighter grain. Luis makes his guitars in the spirit of the old masters (Torres, Santos) and prefers to use woods that they would have used… With that, if you want him to upgrade the woods, I’m sure he would.
Construction: The Castillo is made well. The Cordoba is made extremely well. It’s obvious that more time was spent making this guitar and the attention to detail is just at a higher level. Everything is cleaner, done better. Castillo bangs them out, Luis appears to really take his time. The rosette (hand cut), 12 hole tie bridge, and all hide glue construction are all great features on the Cordoba. The French Polish is a “true”/”deep” French Polish on the Cordoba. It really shines. When you hold the Cordoba, you feel like you are holding something high end $$$...
Value: The Castillo is a great value. It’s well made and sounds better than the price would indicate. Castillo’s guitars also continue to rise in value. It’s a steady incline, a few hundred dollars/year. I don’t think you can go wrong with another Castillo.
The Cordoba with it’s workmanship and extra design features, nicer case is priced higher, but is also a great value. I don’t expect these guitars to slowly increase in value like Castillo’s… I expect them to rise much faster!!
The luthier who told me about Luis, said the prices were insanely low right now, but that it won’t stay that way for long as “Luis has the gift”… He also told me I was lucky to own one of his guitars and that they are pretty special.
Good luck! Let me know what direction you head in, you can’t go wrong as there are so many great guitar builders out there right now...
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Luis Fernández de Córdoba (in reply to cosimojack)
So I just got my guitar repaired by him, as he just moved in my area. Lucky me. He did a beautiful job and also made a new saddle and cleaned it for me. You can't even see or feel the crack on the top, it's like new. He only had one odd classical guitar there (made of larch and oak) in the shop, but it had a great sound and feel. He will eventually make a flamenco and let me try it out, so I'll keep everyone posted on here.