NBD Cordoba Mini II Bass MH-E

[Hal Beck]

For my ears, all of the above. Less zingy. Softer, less tension. The Aquilas are not a typical flats design. It's a copper winding around a synthetic core. I didn't notice any intonation hit after putting the strings on.

Thanks. I happened to have an appointment right by a Guitar Center that allegedly had it in stock, alas they didn't really have it. I'd prefer to buy at Sweetwater, I've always found their service to be very good, but if I could have played the thing before buying it then Guitar Center would have earned the purchase.

 

[Hal Beck]

I unexpectedly jumped into these waters. Liking the mahogany one very much.
Very, very nice build for the price. Nice even tone plugged in.
Lots of fun. Small enough you can sleep with it.

If you ever listened to the Cordoba demo and weren't impressed, ignore it. The Cordoba demo is terribly recorded. There are other demos by owners online that do a much better job of showing what the bass sounds like.

I've been frustrated that almost every demo of this instrument is done by someone who clearly isn't a bass player. A lot of the demos seem to be done by people who are at a beginner-ish level.

A really nice demo is this one by Ricardo Dikk:

He is really a bass player for sure! My only question is whether the sound we hear in the video is what you can get just plugging in to a decent quality amp.

 

[Hal Beck]

My guess now is that the reviewer at Sweetwater who had an intonation problem tried putting flatwounds made for an electric on his Cordoba. That would explain it.

 

[SBassman]

I've been frustrated that almost every demo of this instrument is done by someone who clearly isn't a bass player. A lot of the demos seem to be done by people who are at a beginner-ish level.

A really nice demo is this one by Ricardo Dikk:

He is really a bass player for sure! My only question is whether the sound we hear in the video is what you can get just plugging in to a decent quality amp.

Yeah - I originally stayed away from this bass because some of the demos are very poorly recorded.
Including from Cordoba themselves.

I have played several models of GSABs folks. This one is a solid build, nice sounding and feeling instrument, and a very good value.

 

[Hal Beck]

For my ears, all of the above. Less zingy. Softer, less tension. The Aquilas are not a typical flats design. It's a copper winding around a synthetic core. I didn't notice any intonation hit after putting the strings on.

Thanks...

 

[SBassman]

If you love flats ...

Consider giving the Aquila Flat Spirals a try. I returned to my bass strung with the copper flat spirals last week. As they age, they just keep getting better and better.
If you have one of these, you never bonded with the phosphor bronze, you like the warmth and thump of flats, and you'd love a flats solution that is far less tension, do yourself a favor and give the Aquila Flat Spirals a try. For me - Perfect strings.

 

[SBassman]

I created a thread specifically for Aquila Flat Spirals:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/acoustic-bass-string-innovation-aquila-flat-spirals.1633741/

 

[xanatizer]

I've really enjoyed the aquilla flats on this. Hated the phosphor bronze. They did take about a week to stretch, but now they hold tuning great.
Has anyone had issues with the battery light on the preamp? Mine is on with the volume down and dims as I turn the volume up. This is unplugged. I think it's killing the battery.

 

[Kerry Brown]

I know this is an old thread but I have to post. I played bass in bands. Two years ago I had to quit. I'm old and have arthritis. Lugging gear around just wasn't working for me. My wife plays ukulele so I took that up. It's a gas. We go to a weekly ukulele jam. When they found out I played bass they encouraged me to get a U-Bass. I did. I tried a few and ended up with a Kala Wanderer. I like it. I preferred the wound strings over the rubber strings. We were in a store to buy uke strings when I saw a Cordoba Mini ii EB-E hanging there. I picked it up and couldn't put it down. The extra scale length made it much easier to play. Acoustically it sounded great. When I asked them if I could plug it in I was sold. It came home with us. The U-Bass is up for sale. I liked it but for me the slightly longer scale and the fuller tone on the Cordoba do it for me. I'll eventually put flats on it as I had flats on all my previous basses but for now I'm rocking the uke jam.

 

[fuadramsey]

I'm a Ubass switched over to Cordoba Mini bass user lover. The rubbery strings on the ubass rolled over too easy. The intonation was also bad. I then tried a fretless ubass and it's nice, but still tricky. They do sound great though, but I was never able to use it live. So I found the Cordoba reviews and they seemed good. I got one and love it. It's easy to play, sounds great and the intonation is decent. I can totally play this bass in my band plugged in. I do have to roll the treble all the way down to cut down the ultra highs. I also restrung it with the Aquila Flat Spirals. These strings are nice to the feel and sound great. I did have an issue where I cut the string and it started to unravel. I just rewound it and shoved it all the way down into the peg hole. And yes you have to be super careful with those strings when stringing it up. You have to pre-bend them wherever there is contact and tune them up off of the nut hole.

I did run into one issue though. The instrument cable was finicky when plugged in. I thought it could be the cable but they all popped out easily. So I replaced the end pin jack with Allparts Stereo End Pin Jack EP-4605-010 and it works great. All cables work great and snap into place.

 

[SBassman]

Rediscovering this thread.

I continue to really love this bass. I think the scale and the build are perfect. Inflation has moved the price point up. Used to be 250 everywhere, and occasionally, inexplicably, Amazon would offer it for 150. Now it's 300 to 329. Still a great value, but it's moving into the zone where if I needed to buy a second, I wouldn't be able to afford it. [retiree]

I wish there were some similar 23" scale acoustic basses on Amazon by other sellers. Looks like the mini bass thing slowed down, as far as offerings by manufacturers.

 

[fuadramsey]

Rediscovering this thread.

I continue to really love this bass.

Same! I've been playing this bass for about 6 months and it's great. A string did slide out of the bridge pin thingy, but I just put it back and pushed the pin in a little harder and it's been fine since. It sounds way better now that the strings have smoothed out. I love this bass. I keep it in my car and practice sets, or new songs during my lunch break.

Also this case from Amazon fits this bass great. It was $25 at the time of purchase.

3/4 Size 36 Inch Acoustic Guitar Case Soft, Acoustic Guitar Bag 0.35 Inch Thicken Sponge Padded, Waterproof Gig Bag with Back Hanger Loop-For 36" Acoustic Classic Guitar​