See the video review of the Córdoba Fusion 14 RS

Founded by Guitar Salon International's Tim Miklaucic in 1997, Córdoba Guitars is an international guitar company with a commitment to building accessibly priced and well-designed nylon-string guitars. From the company's headquarters in Southern California, Miklaucic directs manufacturing operations in Spain, Portugal, and China and works with a design staff including Germany's Edmund Blochinger and California's Kenny Hill.

For all the classical guitar design pedigree, however, Córdoba reaches out beyond Segovia's disciples. This approach is best represented by the company's Fusion series, a line that includes five different models, all designed to appeal to guitarists who desire the neck dimensions and playability of a steel-string with nylon-string tones. Recently, I had a chance to evaluate a Fusion 14 RS.

FUSION ALL AROUND

Design of the Fusion line was placed in the capable hands of Kenny Hill, and in the case of the 14 RS, the result is a tastefully executed hybrid of time-tested classical elements and nods to the modern player. The guitar's Torres-style rosette and purfling, slotted headstock, and unadorned string tie-block at the bridge seamlessly blend with modern touches—a 14-fret neck, cutaway, and onboard preamp—for a very natural feel.

Inside the body, the guitar adheres to standard classical guitar construction. Seven fan braces support the top, a Spanish foot joins the neck and body, and the neck is assembled from three pieces of cedar. The body is built around beautiful Indian rosewood back and sides and a spruce top that showed some nice silking, a few color variations, and grain tighter in the center than toward the edges of the body's outline. The finish is evenly applied and appears considerably thinner than on many nylon-string guitars I see in this price range. The only real flaw that I could detect was the minor, purely cosmetic misalignment of two position dots on the side of the fretboard.

THE FINNISH CONNECTION

The 14 RS is designed more for the club stage than the concert hall, and the guitar's Finnish-made B-Band electronics are a good fit for that mission. The package includes B-Band's top-of-the-line A6T preamp and two pickups—one installed under the guitar's saddle, the other attached directly to the top, inside the body. A backward-slanted saddle is another cool detail designed to enhance the undersaddle pickup's performance.

The A6T features an extensive control set, including sliders for volume and three-band EQ, a notch filter with controls for depth and frequency, a phase button, and a slider for blending the top-mounted pickup with the signal of the undersaddle pickup. A chromatic tuner (which works whether the guitar is plugged in or not) rounds out the preamp's features. The system is powered by a nine-volt battery which is accessible through a dedicated compartment next to the guitar's endpin jack.

HABLA ESPAÑOL

Two things became apparent immediately when I played the Fusion 14 RS. First, the neck did indeed feel like one you'd find on a typical steel-string flattop. But the guitar also had the fundamental tonal character of a traditional Spanish classical, including a healthy "growl" in the bass and snappy trebles that compelled me to dig up Spanish pieces like "Lagrima" and "Canarios" and some flamenco-inspired runs from an almost-forgotten repertoire.

The Fusion 14 RS was also well balanced, and notes rang with authority even when I reached past the 14th fret for some extended jazz voicings. The guitar never struck me as being any quieter than a standard classical until I actually compared it with one, but it would certainly hold its own in many acoustic settings.

The Córdoba was set up with medium action—not as high as most classicals, but higher than a flamenco guitar—lending the guitar excellent all-around playability. The string spacing is a bit narrower than most traditional classical guitars, which facilitated the use of a flatpick for single-note runs. However, as someone who regularly plays both steel-string and standard classical guitars, I felt that the string spacing at the nut was slightly tighter than it had to be. With about ³/₁₆ inches of fretboard space left next to each outside string at the nut, the strings tapered more than the fretboard itself, making it a bit cramped for my style.

ALIVE WHEN AMPLIFIED

I checked out the amplified character of the instrument by plugging in to an AER Compact 60 amp. I've always been impressed with how well B-Band pickups work on nylon-string guitars, and the Córdoba was no exception. Starting out with the undersaddle pickup alone and my amp set completely flat, I was able to achieve a natural-sounding tone. As I increased the volume on my amp, it became apparent that the undersaddle pickup alone is already sensitive to top vibration. This leads to some handling noise and resulted in slightly tubby unequalized tones and feedback. But I was pleased to find that the A6T's onboard EQ and notch filter were effective in dealing with the problem, and I was ultimately able to play with excellent results at club-level volume. At lower volume levels, adding the top-mounted pickup has the potential to make the guitar's sound even more "woody," and with a few tweaks on the preamp, I'd say that the Fusion 14 RS can sound as good as any amplified nylon-string that I've used or heard.

THE WRAP

The Córdoba Fusion 14 RS should be on top of the list for anyone who is looking for Spanish sound and steel-string playability. The guitar offers great tone, is a joy to play, and its plugged-in performance is top-notch. It may not be a guitar for nylon-string traditionalists, but for guitarists looking to explore the warm, inviting tones of a nylon-string, this guitar could well be the ticket.