Treading The Boards

Classed by Córdoba as its "first nylon-string electric", the Stage breaks all the rules but not your wallet. Does it sound as good as it looks?

-  Dave Burrluck

FIRST PLAY

CÓRDOBA STAGE £625

WHAT IS IT? Thinline electro nylon-string with new pickup system developed with Fishman

Amplifying any acoustic guitar, if you can't use microphones, can be fraught with difficulties, not least for those of us who have to cart our own PAs to gigs while acting as guitarist, roadie and sound engineer. And although acoustic pickup technology is now hugely refined, battling with onstage feedback from your acoustic box - especially if you're a part of a band - can certainly be difficult to manage.

Creating a thin-bodied electro is far from a new idea, but it does answer some questions, offering a stage-aimed instrument with a much smaller soundbox - and, therefore, much less acoustic volume - that can work in many environments. Like many large-scale makers, Córdoba already has that style covered, with guitars such as its affordable thinline C5-CET or the upper-tier 55FCE Negra. The new Stage takes the concept further. Not only is this model a thin line electro, it also has a narrower-than-classical neck width, with a 406mm (16-inch) 'board radius, and instead of a conventional soundhole we have three small ports on the upper bout- in the style of Córdoba's 'arches' logo, inspired by the Mezquita Cathedral in Córdoba, Spain. In complementary fashion, three rotary controls for the electro system are mounted on the face of the guitar. You can see why Córdoba feels this is its first 'electric' nylon-string.