Manuel Rodriguez Caballero 11 Cedar Top Classical Guitar

It's been a very long time since I last picked up a guitar, but I decided I wanted to take lessons and I needed a guitar. I did not have access to a music store where I could try out various classical guitars. I had to order online, so I researched and I made my decision based on the company's reputation and reviews for this guitar that I read online (all over the place - inc. YouTube). I considered a Cordoba model in the same price range (I assumed +/-$300 would be a good range for a decent starter guitar), but the reviews for this one were sightly better and more consistent. I was a bit nervous ... I was clueless about what I wanted/needed, and was buying something sight unseen, and more importantly for a musical instrument, unheard! I ordered from Musician's Friend, and my guitar and case arrived very quickly and very safely.. it was well packaged.. I was worried because boxes do not always make it through the APO/DPO mail system so easily, but this was securely packed. They even packed the guitar (ordered separately) into the gig bag I chose, which was put into the guitar's box, which in turn was packed into a larger box and padded well! As for the guitar itself - I don't have much experience at all with comparing instruments (brands, prices, quality, whatever), so take my review with that in mind, but, I can tell when something sounds nice, and, as the daughter of a good carpenter, can tell when things are assembled sloppily! The guitar is beautiful! A close visual inspection showed all edges, frets, metal work, etc. were very nicely joined, no glue or paint or weird bits out of line. The wood is very pretty. The finish is glossy and even, the metal work and inlay on the headstock are decorative and well made too. Even the inside of the guitar looks nicely assembled. The tone is mellow, rich and quite lovely. Just tapping the body of the instrument produces a nice tone. It plays nicely and it's truly a joy to listen to... especially when my teacher tuned it up and played a couple of songs on it! (my playing is not so lovely, but that's not the guitar's fault). I don't have the experience with judging various guitars, but when my instructor looked it over he was very impressed with my instrument, congratulated me enthusiastically, and was amazed at how little I'd paid for it. **update** I've had this guitar for over a year now and am still just as enthused with it as I was when it first arrived. It holds a tune very well... despite being kept out on a stand where my kids (everybody) can walk by and strum the strings just to hear the pretty tones! The finish is just as lovely and everything has held up very well. The only thing I have altered is to apply small stickers on the side of the neck to mark the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc. frets to help me with my lessons. I used nice fingernail decals as they are small, stick well, and are decorative. I love this guitar!

How can you tell if made in Spain or China? My C11 has no made in China stickers.

The only guitar I have ever played that beats this one was my grandmother's authentic Spanish guitar made in andalucía, Spain. This is a terrific guitar. The guitar's sound is magnificent. When I first got it, my teacher thought I had spent a thousand dollars in this guitar. This is truly my favorite guitar of three: a fender, a jasmine, and this one. Although the fender was more expensive, this one is truly my favorite.

Other requirements for guitar and other musical necessities repertoire. Correct way This is not the guitar that I need and there is not any more that to speak, there is another more comment; / * Way place strings T.Key By the way, next time do not put in the tuning key the string in absurd order. you put D -| |- E = totally wrong D-| |-G wright A -| |-B " " A-| |-B " 6th lowest E -| |-G " " / 6th lowest E-| |-E highest*

I bought this guitar at Guitar Center (GC). I am new to the guitar and relied on the salesperson to guide me. Big mistake. Even if you know nothing about chosing a guitar, you can at least examine the guitar for cosmetic flaws. When I got it home, I noticed a lot of finishing flaws, but it still sounded nice. So I kept it beyond GC's 30 day no question ask return policy. I found the guitar hard to play but kept at it because I did know any better. I finally had a luither look at it and it turns out that it had a bad neck angle. Apparently in this price range quality is very inconsistent and having a bad neck angle is not uncommon. So I would not order this on-line as you can not check out the product beforehand. GC gave me full merchandise credit for another guitar. As I was 75 days past the purchased date they would not agree to a cash refund. In exchange I chose a Cordoba C5, which I am very satisfied with. See my review on that product. My advice is if you are interested in this guitar, have a qualified guitar technician examine it before purchase; they have have them at GC. Minor issues that a set up can resolve are no problem, but with other problems, bad neck angle, warping of the neck -- stay away. This guitar was previously made in Spain but is now produced in China. I have read on-line that the Spanish made ones were really good, so you might try to find an older one that was made in Spain. Although, this is an inexpensive guitar, one should still get a correctly made guitar.

This model was previously made in Spain and had fine reviews, but has been downsourced to China without notice while keeping the old MSRP. Beware. The reviews at MF for this instrument still state it's the better Spanish instrument, not the current Chinese junker. The one I received today is poorly detailed, has innumerable finish chips all over the neck and head, poorly-seated and badly-detailed frets and in general is typical of low-end Chinese guitar-mill output. The only good thing about the instrument is that the top wood is of decent quality. Other than this, it's a total loss. I'm sending this thing back.

Best product! Love my guitar!!

I have had this guitar for probably 7 years. It’s the loudest, loosest, best playing guitar I’ve played. It’s forgiving, and just amazing. I did not buy it on Amazon but from GC and it’s sounding like mine might be a Spain model. However, if this guitar sounds as good as mine, you should buy it.

Mi impresión general fue que la guitarra había sido mal almacenada. Las cuerdas suministradas no eran de buena calidad. La sexta cuerda estaba completamente rota, así que compré un nuevo juego. Hubo algunos daños menores en el cuerpo de la guitarra. La cejilla estaba suelta y necesitaba ser pegada. No volví la guitarra porque la necesitaba para un viaje.