Friday, November 22, 2024

47 thoughts on “800 $ vs 8000 $ Classical Guitar Comparison

  • Interesting comparison but sorry George. The most unfair thing about this comparison is, the player. To be fair you are a student working your way along with your playing but what many people don't realize that when they listen to a piece being played it is partly the instrument and partly the player and also there is an influence of one on the other. Often a student player will sound worse on the better guitar because the better guitar is much more revealing, and it reveals both good and bad. For instance a slightly brittle nail sound on a moderate guitar will sound much worse on the better guitar. A good guitar will push a player to play better because they can hear their playing better. If you were to get Ana Vidovic, or Marcin Dylla, or Pavel Steidle to play those two guitars and there would be a bigger difference. I've played both those guitars and you are right the difference does not come across listening to the recorded versions the way it does in real life.

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  • Kenny Hill by far a better sounding guitar and better looking guitar. The difference is night and day, but I don’t think it is worth spending $7000 more for the Kenny Hill. C9 would be a great guitar for anyone who is not at a professional level. Btw I have c7 and looking to upgrade to c9.

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  • Kenny Hill is more balanced sound for sure. Although the bass of C9 is warmer – so you get quickly focused to it.

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  • The problem with this kind of things is that one expects the luthier made guitar to sound 10 times better, 20 times better, because it costs 10, 20 times the factory made one. Obviously, that's impossibile. Often, as in this comparison, the differences are very subtle: a bit more volume/projection, a more refined sound, etc. The only true, and immensely important distinction, is that often mass produced guitars are unbalanced as far as volume, sustain, clarity, etc. between the lows and trebles.

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  • I hear only great things about Kenny Hill guitars, but based on this video I would definitely pick the Cordoba. It appears to have a much more pleasing and sophisticated open sound.

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  • There are several problems with this video:
    1: Cedar compared with Spruce. Try again with spruce vs spruce. Issues with the higher frequencies are because of your choice of comparison.
    2: A C9 is a $300 guitar, not $800.
    3: Even the best Cordoba guitars (or should I say expensive, not best) sound muddy. They are all mass produced junk trading on a name they made for themselves in the 60s. Hell, the $180 Yamaha C80 sounds great compared to anything by Cordoba.
    4: Both are entirely destroyed in terms of sound quality, intonation, and projection by a £500 Yamaha CG192S. Yamaha CG series are made in Indonesia, but not mass produced. Japanese luthiers work closely with local luthiers whom they train to be great craftsmen. Every guitar is quality checked by a Japanese luthier before being allowed through. Once the guitar reaches a Yamaha store, it is setup by someone specifically employed to setup classical guitars. Often, this person doubles as a Gibson tech.

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  • The KH sound board sounds more spruce, I wish the comparison was with a spruce top Cordoba.

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  • Comparing a double top to a cedar top is apples to oranges. More like comparing a Ford Mustang to an F1 race car perhaps…

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  • Just bought a Cordoba C10 Parlor from Calido Guitars, best Sprucetop for the money, comparable to my Kenny Hill player 628 S in every way????????????

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  • The Kenny Hill sounds better more clarity but not $7.200 better if people have that kind of money to pay for that good luck to them

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  • How many buyers have $8,000 versus $800 to spend on a classical guitar ? Be realistic.

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  • I preffered cordoba until last piece that you played. It is not as clear when you play that. But cordoba seemed to have more beefy not nasaly sound before that last piece of music.

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  • Double top guitar has performance.
    Intermediate armature guitarist wants to get expensive ones.
    I think good sound makes good skill.
    Just buy good ones.
    There's no need hesitating spend money.
    Because life isn't so long.

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  • Saving up for a classical because it's the cheapest kind here. I could get a handcrafted one for around $120 (expensive when converted into peso tho????)

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  • I have an all solid wood Kenny Hill Player 630 scale (Same as Cordoba c10 parlor spruce top). I created an upper bout 1-1/4” sound port, replaced saddle with an intonated “Tusq” saddle and substantially lowered action, installed higher quality 18 gear tuners, did a fretboard makeover to round over edges of frets and smooth nut grooves, and installed high tension carbon strings(Augustine Paragon). It has a seven fan braced thin top that rings like a bell, even though it has a nitrocellulose finish.

    I have had very favorable tonal and “playability” comments by other classical players compared against their $10k guitars. I think comparison of quality and aesthetic is valid, but unbiased sound checks can be very revealing.

    As an electrical engineer, I believe that there is only so much one can do to optimize the sound characteristics of the basic guitar design without electronics or significant material and/or structural changes.
    Thanks for your comparison ????

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  • I have a spruce C9 that sounds louder than the C9 you chose. I don't know if it is correct to compare spruce with cedar.

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  • Preferred your Cordoba C9 at close range, but i might understand that the Kenny Hill has properties that make it more heard at a distance in an auditorium or something for classical purist tone purposes. The cordoba had a dirtier earthy smokey tone and the kenny hill had a clean brilliance.

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  • I wouldn't even compare those two bc those are different woods. I have seen guitars in the 1k to 2k range rival 4k to 8k guitars, ie yamaha ll16. I see the same in some pianos, that's how amazing manufacturing has become. Thank you technology and economies of scale.

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  • It was clear the Kenny Hill was better. There is a difference between the cedar top and the spruce double top. Spruce top sounded like it needed to be broken in a bit more but still sound way more "alive".

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  • I have yet to play a Cordoba that doesn't sound made out of cardboard/plastic. The Taylor nylon series are the tone I like. Especially the bright maple to offset the muted nylon string sound. I like Cedar and Spruce for steel string guitars, but Maple is where it's at for nylon/classical.

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  • I appreciate the review. I definitely hear a difference but not a $7200 dollar difference.

    The only people that this would make sense to are professional players making a ton of money in the Classical world. And if they are touring, they might want to buy a few because touring is hard on guitars.

    With that said, I know of several professional players who are making a lot of money and not using $8000 dollar Classical Guitars, or even ones half that price.

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  • Your room is eating the sound reflection to both instruments. Actually the C9 sounded louder and better basses.

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  • The differences are subtle to unnoticeable, atleast through microphone, may be we experience bit more change when we hear direct from guitar to ears. So in guitars if one is 10 times expensive than the other, doesn't really mean it sounds 10 times better, but that small percentage of improvement in sound quality makes all that diffference.

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  • that is crazy how the C9 is the sound i was looking for in a classical guitar. it was a warmer sound. but it is just an opinion, and opinions usually vary, so buy whatever makes you happy. and forget about what other people think, it is your money..

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  • I appreciate the comparison you’ve provided and think your added comments are very true. Also if you buy the C9 you won’t have the Kenny Hill sitting next to it to remind you of what another $5k might buy. Cordobas give great bang for buck.

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  • I’d really like to know what people think is the true sweet spot on price for a classical guitar. I know it depends on usage but let’s assume someone wants good quality and tone, at what point are there big diminishing returns?

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  • The c9 is competitive on tone but I prefer cedar tone by a mile to spruce. No amount of expense is going to make a spruce sound like a cedar. A double top cedar/spruce doesn’t sound as good as a pure cedar tone. It’s my personal preference. I can hear the higher quality in the Kenny Hill but I can’t justify 10x for a tone I don’t even prefer even if there are things like sustain and “craftsmanship” in its favor.

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  • That Kenny n hill makes me weak in the chest. My old professor used to say if your car is worth more than your guitar your in the wrong major.

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  • I guess if you check out a local luthier who builds guitars for more than a decade , you may get Sth better for round 5000 dollars ..

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