Cordoba Fusion 5

REVIEW
CÓRDOBA FUSION 5 & AUDEN YORK
98
GUITARIST JULY 2021
name signifies, wears its cutaway almost
as a badge of intent, much like many other
models in the range. Certainly as a gigging
crossover player, this writer wouldn’t use
anything else.
There’s a similar discussion to be had in
regard to 12 or 14 frets to the body. Using
Yamaha’s NX Series models as an example
once more, the more classical-style NCX
has 12, the more steel-string style NTX
goes for 14. A true classical guitar will have
no position markers on the face or side of
the fingerboard, either. Crossovers usually
provide at least a couple of side dots and
here both our models have side dots in the
usual places from the 3rd to the 17th fret.
At last, something in common!
Our Auden is all solid wood: a cedar top
and African mahogany back, sides and neck
finished in a light satin that would show
off tooling or sanding marks if there were
any. The quality is superb, inside and out.
Its bound rosewood fingerboard is far from
classical style, though, as is the bridge with
its inset saddle – a classical guitar’s saddle
simply slides in and out of its groove, as
you can see on the Córdoba’s more in-style
design. It’s hard to see the specific neck join
on the Auden because it’s obscured by the
preamp circuit board and battery.
The Córdoba appears to be built in more
classical Spanish style with a visible foot-
shaped ‘slipper’ heel, although we believe
both necks are dovetailed into their neck
blocks. The top is solid spruce, but the
back and sides are laminated mahogany
with a reasonably fancy outer facing of
figured maple. To be fair, the Fusion 5 is
competently made for its price. The only
niggles are an overtight truss rod adjustor
(both guitars break with traditional style
and have dual-action truss rods) and the
fact that the frets need a final polish.
The three-piece necks on both – with
spliced-on headstock and heel stack –
reflect the history of the instrument, not a
cost-cutting exercise. Width aside, they’re
2. It might be a crossover,
but there’s no strap
button on the heel of
our Fusion. You’ll also be
pleased to see those side
dot markers – a classical
guitar doesn’t have any
3. Very much in the
Spanish style, the
Fusion’s tie-bridge also
allows the saddle to
be slipped out for easy
string height adjustment
1. Córdoba’s headstock
logo is inspired by the
famous red and white
double arches of the
Mezquita, a historically
significant cathedral in
Córdoba, Spain
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VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/g uitaristextra
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