Cordoba 15TM-CE Edge Burst Tenor Cutaway Ukulele

Sorry if this is long, but I wanted to share the information I look for when I buy...Craftsmanship and finish are very nice. The binding on the body and the fretboard are done very well. The binding on the neck makes the edges nice and smooth, plus the fret work is fantastic. The frets are all finished beautifully and the ends are smooth and rounded. A microfiber cloth slides up and down both sides without a single snag. Tuners work great, and after re-tuning a few times to break in the strings, it is holding tune nicely while I play.The description on Amazon did not give a measurement for the nut, so I went to the Cordoba site to check. I noted that on the Cordoba site, they claim the nut is 38 mm or 1-1/2 inches, which is what I really wanted. The instrument received has a 35mm or 1-3/8 inch nut. It does say on the Cordoba site that specifications are subject to change without notice. Perhaps this is one of the changes. I really wanted the wider nut for my larger hands, but the longer scale provides more space between the frets, so I think this will be OK. I am still a little disappointed.I did not expect too much from the pick-up at this price point. I do not have an acoustic amp, so I plugged it into my Electric guitar amp. I cranked the volume on the preamp as high as it would go and set the amplifier to about the halfway point. It actually sounded great. Pulled the treble and the bass down to a little over half and the middle to about 80% and it sounded nice. Just used a clean signal, boosting or distorting would probably create too much feedback with the piezo pickup and an electric guitar amp.I do not know why they make a big deal about this having "Premium Italian Aquila Strings" since most people I know change the strings within a few days of getting an instrument shipped. That being said... I do not like like the strings that came on it. The are really stiff, gritty and sound more "plinky" than the D'Addario strings I have on my concert Uke. Maybe it is the tone wood, Rosewood body on the Concert, Mahogany on this one, but I will be changing the strings out in a few days, once I get the D'Addarrios I ordered. Then I will know for sure.Other than the nut width disappointment, I have no real complaints about the Uke itself. It would have been nice if it came with a gig bag, but at this price I can afford to buy a decent, padded gig bag or an inexpensive hard case.As for the shipping. It was delayed and I assume that was due to the horrible weather the whole country is experiencing currently. It had to come to the Rockies all the way from New Jersey, so I am not complaining about having to wait a few extra days to get it. I was very disappointed by the packing for shipment and the packaging of the Uke itself. The Ukulele box, measuring 28 by 11 by 4 inches, was tossed in a box that was about 19 x 12 by 39 with NO additional padding or packing material. By the time it got to me, the tape on the outer box was coming undone, and the top flap was coming open (not enough for packing materials like paper or those air filled packing pillows to come out), there was a 5 inch gash in the bottom by a corner and the box had been squashed a little. Inside, the Uke box had come open, not taped shut at all, the lid had completely separated from the lower portion of the box and the is was torn in 3 different places. It had bounced around inside the larger box for almost a week, as it traveled to me. The Ukulele was wrapped in a .5mm thick, white foam bag, and had either stayed in the lower part of the box, or had returned to that place by the time I got it (seems unlikely it would go back into the bottom, so I assume it stayed) . I inspected the Uke carefully before I even turned a Tuning Key to make sure there was no damage. As far as I can tell the instrument is unscathed. Dare I say this is a statement of a well built instrument despite the crappy packaging and shipping prep.In a nutshell, based upon my first hours with the 15TM-CE, I would be pleased buy another Cordoba Ukulele, but I might just get it from a shop rather than risk the shipping issues.** Update - After 6 months the uke is holding steady. Changing the strings made the instrument sound a lot better and I am sticking with the D'Addarios, at least for the time being. Once the strings are done stretching the tuning is rock solid. I did switch out to a Low G tuning, just to check it out, and love the sound of this Uke with the Low G. After playing this for about 6 months I can state with confidence that this is a nice instrument, I would buy it again.

This is a solid instrument, well built and no obvious flaws, aesthetically or functionally. The neck and frets are good, intonation is better than expected. Action is a bit high but that's expected on most new ukes and is fixable. The sound is not awesome but very good, decent projection, good sustain and a very nice warm tone with good mids and lows. A bit weak on the highs but better strings might help. These are low-end Aquilas, and not brite enough for such a mellow mahogany uke. Cheap tuners, but I knew that, a bit rough but hold tune very well (so far). I already ordered some decent $25 Grovers. My only real gripe is this edge burst finish doesn't look so impressive. The spotty, dirty looking mahogany grain just doesn't do the burst justice. They should have done it darker. The picture here looks better than the real deal, but I should have known that. Oh well. Over all, I'm not disappointed. I don't expect anything great at this price point. This is a good uke for $130.

I update as I get more of these.Quality on the newest one is a bit off. This one is structurally sound, but some frets need filing and there were rough spots around the binding again.I've seen many ukuleles and I actually sell them.Although they do need a little bit of attention before I sell them, this one is an excellent choice vs others at the $130 price point.This isn't necessarily a bad thing.Most sub $200 ukuleles need a bit of tweaking to bring out the best they have to offer.I can't say that I care for their choice of strings, but they are good enough to get started on and I wouldn't necessarily replace them right away.I would recommend some nice fluorocarbons or some Aquila Sugars.As with most budget ukuleles, quality tends to be up and down but the last one I received was very nice.The one before that, not so nice.Glue had squeezed out from under the binding during the manufacturing process, hardened and was left there in a few places. It was nothing I couldn't take care of, but really?The last one had no issues other than setting the intonation and a few rough frets. Not a big deal for me to touch up.These last two were only dated one day apart.Would I buy another?Yes.Should you buy one if you have no experience working on ukes?Maybe. It's a toss up. If you find an issue you can't deal with, you can always exchange it e bring it to someone like me.I like the fact that it has a hidden sound hole volume dial.Pickup is passive.I kind of wish they would have included an active setup (one with a pre-amp), but it is nice not having to worry about batteries.I can't use it with my kaoroke machine's input, but I have no problem with my actual amplifiers.They're is no gig bag or tuner.You have to source them separately which could be a hassle for most people because they don't really know what to get, especially when well padded gig bags can be hard to find at a reasonable price. Some are so cheezy!

This looks nice, the intonation is good, and it plays well. Electronics are good for this price point. But ugh, that top. There are $60 imports that have better sustain. I suspect the top braces are too clunky. Great if you’re playing plugged in most of the time.

Great instrument. Well-made. Very playable with a great sound. Its only flaw is no strap buttons.