Cordoba C7 vs. F7 Paco
I’ve owned and played Cordoba guitars for many years: C5, C7, C9, C10, C12, and also some of the Master series. I currently have a C7 and an F7 Paco in my possession, and I recently sat down to compare them.
My C7 features a solid Spruce Top and laminated Rosewood back and sides. It has a big, booming, sweet sound and it is quite responsive. The F7 Paco features a solid Cedar Top - which is quite unusual for a Flamenco guitar - and also laminated Rosewood back and sides - which is even more unusual for a Flamenco guitar. Most flamenco guitars would feature a Spruce top and Cypress back and sides, for a bright & brittle sound. Because of the unusual wood combination on the F7 Paco, the sound of this guitar is much sweeter than your typical Flamenco guitar, and yet the setup and action on the instrument is very low and very comfortable to hold and play.
Sound-wise, the C7 is louder, mostly because the action is that of a traditional classical guitar, with higher strings which allows the player to dig in more with the right hand. The F7 will buzz quite easily, so classical players will have to play with a lighter touch. I myself have to really hold back when playing and especially recording on the F7 Paco, in order. to avoid buzzing. You can hear me play Bach’s BWV 999 Prelude on the F7 Paco in one of the videos below … even though I recorded through a KNA pickup instead of an external microphone, I still had to really hold back and not dig in, in order to avoid playing with buzzes.
So … which one do I like more? Which one do I pick? Well, that’s a silly way to look at it, in my opinion. Because the instruments are so much alike and also so different from each other, I would rather keep them both. The C7 gives me room to dig in and get a huge sound if I need it, and the F7 Paco offers great comfort while holding and playing the instrument. I had the chance to sell the F7 Paco recently at a very convenient price, locally, but I decided to hold on to it. I am glad I did.
You can check out the C7 and the F7 Paco on Amazon, by clicking on the links below. I am an Amazon Influencer and I will earn a small commission from purchases made through my links. You don’t have to feel obligated to make any purchases through my links, but if you must purchase something anyways, I would appreciate it if you used my links. That will help support my website a bit, and I appreciate it very much.
Cordoba C7 Classical Guitar on Amazon
