I received the Cordoba F10 recently. I wanted to try a flamenco guitar and decided on the Cordoba F10 largely because I have other Cordobas and am familiar with these guitars (and Geoff had it on sale!)
I'm just an amateur player (and I broke my "i" nail recently; haven't recovered from that yet!) so be forewarned....
I wanted to see how a flamenco guitar compares to classical guitars. The following is from the perspective of the player; the audience might hear things differently.
I have Cordoba C12, Cordoba GK Studio, and Yamaha CG-130SA classical guitars, and now a Cordoba F10 flamenco. All guitars have the same strings, but the F10's are new.
C12: all solid wood, lattice bracing
F10: all solid wood, fan bracing
GK Studio: solid top, laminate sides and back, fan bracing
CG-130SA: solid top, laminate sides and back, fan bracing
-The F10 has a very bright sound when strumming chords in first position, flamenco style. The action is a little lower than the C12, so I guess that's part of what gives it that aggressive flamenco sound. In 9th to 12th position the sound isn't quite as bright as the C12, but still sounds good. It has good resonance in the upper register, but not as good as the C12. (My understanding is that notes on flamenco guitars are supposed to decay faster, having more punch anyway.)
-The C12 is a little louder in the low end and doesn't quite get the same aggressive punch that the F10 gets when strumming. In the upper register(9 to 12 position) the C12's notes are loud, bright, and resonate beautifully. The action is a little higher than the F10, which is noticeable when switching from one to the other.
-The GK studio isn't as bright sounding when strumming but has the same lower action as the F10. The GK doesn't sound as good in the 9 to 12 position as the F10 or the C12, but you really can't expect it to keep up with the solid body guitars. It sounds a little thin when playing up the neck; it lacks the complexity of sound of the F10 or C12.
-The Yamaha is really an introductory guitar; I like its mellow bass sound when in first position, but in the upper register it can't compare to the Cordobas. The complexity of sound just isn't there (though I still love it, my first classical).
=The C12 has a raised fingerboard which is supposed to help access the upper frets (beyond 12), but for me it doesn't seem to help much. If it helps at all then it is only for the first string, and maybe a little for the second.
=The F10 does not have a raised fingerboard so access to the upper frets isn't improved.
=The GK studio is the only guitar that has a cutaway, and I find this significantly enhances access to the upper frets, on nearly all strings. But I think the cutaway affects the sound detrimentally. It has a built in condenser mic, a piezo pickup, and on board EQ, but I dislike the sound of piezos and the internal condenser mic misses the fingernail sound on the strings, in my opinion. I never use these and just prefer an external mic. Perhaps if I played live in a band setting then the mic and piezo might be convenient and any loss of tone could be masked with the electronics.
-The neck profiles of the guitars seem pretty similar to me.
The GKStudio has a 50mm nut while the others have a 52mm nut, I think. I do notice the difference when switching between them. I think each nut width has its advantages probably.
=The C12 is the loudest guitar, and I think that must be due largely to its lattice bracing, the others having fan bracing. (lattice bracing allows for a thinner top??)
-The F10 has solid cypress back and sides, but it is beyond me how that affects the tone!😁
--The F10 seems to be about the same size as the others at the upper and lower bouts, but the body depth is thinner than the C12 and Yamaha, about the same as the GKStudio. Somehow it does seem a little harder to hold onto, like it wants to slide away. I'll have to get used to this (though curiously I don't feel that way with the GKStudio).
--The F10 came with a soft shell case, that is nicer than I expected. The case has removable shoulder straps that seem ok, but I don't think they cinch up as tight as I might like. I probably won't use them anyway; I just carry it by the handle.
--There's also a little pickup that came with it, included in the case. It is built into a clip that you clip onto the sound hole I think. It has a thin wire connecting to a 1/4 guitar plug (I don't know how long). I haven't tried it because I don't expect I'll like the sound, but I guess it could be useful if you need a little more projection from an amp.
---Overall I'd say the F10 is a nice guitar, a better guitar than I am a guitar player for sure. I like its sound and think it is second only to my C12. I think its low action will make it easier to play faster than the others (once my nail grows back). I think all these guitars were designed differently for different purposes, each with their own place.
