[SOLVED!] Cordoba C5 vs C7: The Classical Guitars Perfectly Made Just for You

Wanting to rekindle the goodness of yesteryear through music? Well, you might need a classical guitar. And, if you’re in the market looking for nylon-string guitars, there’s just one brand that you might be interested in — Cordoba guitars, particularly Cordoba C5 vs C7.

Since 1997, Cordoba has been hand-crafting classical guitars for you and for someone like you who are looking for the best classical guitar to play with. With more than two decades of experience, they continue to make great guitars and among them are the Cordoba C5 and C7.

This article will not convince you to choose one over the other, rather, the Cordoba C5 vs C7 comparison will aid you on your quest. Everything about these guitars will be discussed, from the design and specs to playability, sound, and price.

Cordoba C5 Overview

A flagship guitar that belongs to the Iberia series, this hand-made classical guitar is crafted just for you. It’s approximately a 39-inch guitar made of solid Canadian cedar top and mahogany back and sides. So, you won’t be wondering where is the power and richness of its sound coming from.

Featuring a Spanish-style fan bracing, the topwood of the guitar is designed to vibrate freely. Aside from the captivating sound quality of the C5, you’ll also be amazed by the Mother-of-Pearl fretboard inlays and its golden tuning machines. Nothing compliments the classical sound better than the stunning inlays and the golden tuners.

Cordoba C7 Overview

Still belongs to the Iberia series, the Cordoba C7 is specifically designed for beginners and intermediate players. It still has the solid Canadian cedar top. But, instead of mahogany, it has rosewood back and sides. Now, you’ll get a brighter and warmer tone, compared to the C5.

Like the C5, it still has the Spanish fan bracing, as this is the bracing pattern for most classical guitars because it makes the guitar more responsive. C7 is not only made to sound good, but, it’s also designed to look good with the Mother-of-Pearl fretboard inlays, Indian wooden mosaic rosette, and the polyurethane finish.

Cordoba C5 vs C7: Specs Comparison

Since both C5 and C7 belong to the same line of guitars, you should expect similarities. However, they are designed for a different purpose and made for different audiences, they also have differences in specifications. A side-by-side comparison of their major specifications can be found in this table.

Specifications	Cordoba C5	Cordoba C7
Top	Solid Western Red Cedar	Solid Western Red Cedar
Top Bracing Pattern	Fan	Fan
Back and Sides Wood	Mahogany	Rosewood
Neck	Mahogany	Mahogany
Scale Length	25 ½ – inch	25 ½ – inch
Neck Shape	C Shape	C Shape
Nut Width	2-inch	2.04-inch
Fretboard	Pau Ferro or Rosewood (depends on the production date)	Rosewood
Number of Frets	19	19
Strings	Savarez Cristal Corum High Tension 500CJ	Savarez Cristal Corum High Tension 500CJ
Overall Length	38 ¾ – inch	38 ¾ – inch

Cordoba C5 vs C7: Playability and Performance

Cedar tops are easier for beginners and they can get great tones out of both the C5 and C7. They are fairly easy to play, especially that they both have rosewood fretboard (or Pau Ferro for some C5 models). Aside from the fretboard, the stock strings are very reliable. Although the Cristal strings are challenging to play at lower tension, they are great and good string choice.

You might notice that most classical guitars have a wider neck, which is also true for both. However, if you look a bit closer, C5 has a slightly thinner neck compared to C7, it could be better for small players. But, the difference isn’t very significant.

Good thing, both guitars have an adjustable truss rod. This comes in handy when you want to adjust the guitar’s neck and to keep the neck more stable. Since they both have a polyurethane finish, they are equally easy to maintain. So, for the playability, C5 and C7 are both outstanding. See how they actually perform through this YouTube video:

Cordoba C5 vs C7: Tonal Quality

These two Cordoba guitars differ in the back and sides material, so this will also affect the tonal output significantly. C5 offers warmth with pronounced low-end, beautiful midrange, and rich treble. It’s a good choice for fingerpickers, rather than strummers — but, may not always be the case.

C7 has more volume because of its shape and more balanced response across all frequencies. Thanks to the rosewood back and sides, you’ll get a rounder tonal output with enough warmth and aggression.

Cordoba C5 vs C7: Value for the Money

C5 is slightly cheaper than the C7. Of course, this can be greatly attributed to the difference in the tonewood for the back and sides. Mahogany is more cost-effective than rosewood. Even so, these two are a great buy under $500 (or slightly over $500 for C7 in some dealers).

Given the good craftsmanship, design, playability and sound quality, these two Cordoba guitars are indeed good choices for classical guitars. Yet, if you want to on a budget, go for the cheaper C5. You can just upgrade later if you want a more expensive and ‘kind of’ sophisticated guitar.

Conclusion

When it comes to classical guitars, Cordoba is a trusted brand by many classical artists. And, when choosing among Cordoba classical guitars, you can’t escape the Cordoba C5 vs C7 comparison. Since you’ve already read the article, it’s now up to you to decide.

Pricewise, the C5 is slightly cheaper, but, still has great capability. Both C5 and C7 share almost the same features except that the former has mahogany back and sides, while the latter has rosewood. Consequently, they have slightly different tonal output, too.

Overall, both C5 and C7 and great and playable guitars. So, whether you like the C5 over C7 because it’s cheap or you want to C7 over C5 because of its better sound output, it’s up to you. In the end, the greatness of the Cordoba guitars lies not on the maker anymore, but on the player.