Cordoba Mini II EB-CE Travel Electro-Acoustic Nylon

This second hand travel guitar is in great condition

The Cordoba Mini II EB-CE is a great example of how much guitar can be packed into a compact travel instrument. Designed for players who want the convenience of a small guitar without giving up the familiar feel and tuning of a nylon-string, it has a 580mm (22 7/8") scale length that allows it to tune to standard E rather than the higher tuning found on many miniature guitars.

The first thing that stands out is the construction. The Mini II EB-CE combines a solid spruce top with attractive striped ebony back and sides, giving it a distinctive appearance and helping produce a surprisingly clear and articulate sound. Its slightly deeper body also gives it more resonance than its compact dimensions might suggest. 

Sound

Acoustically, the Mini II has a bright, focused voice with good note definition. It works particularly well for fingerpicking, practice and melodic playing, where the clarity of individual notes is an advantage. 

Plugged  the Mini II becomes even more versatile. The onboard Cordoba electronics include an undersaddle piezo pickup, volume control, two-band EQ and tuner, making it easy to connect directly to an amplifier or PA.

Playability

For a travel guitar, the playability is one of its strongest features. The 580mm scale is considerably more compact than a traditional classical guitar while retaining a proper six-string layout and standard tuning. The 48mm nut width also gives it the familiar spacing expected from a nylon-string guitar.

The cutaway is another welcome feature, providing much easier access to the upper frets. This makes the Mini II more useful for lead lines and higher-register playing than a conventional small classical guitar.

Build and looks

The striped ebony gives the EB-CE considerably more visual character than many budget travel guitars. Combined with the spruce top and compact classical styling, it looks like a serious musical instrument rather than a toy-sized guitar.

The deeper body is also a clever design choice: Cordoba has managed to retain portability while giving the instrument enough acoustic volume and resonance to be genuinely useful. It measures around 873mm (34 3/8") overall, making it substantially easier to transport than a full-size classical guitar. 

• Compact and genuinely travel-friendly
• Standard E tuning
• Solid spruce top
• Attractive striped ebony back and sides
• Surprisingly clear and articulate tone
• Comfortable 580mm scale
• Cutaway gives excellent upper-fret access
• Built-in pickup, EQ and tuner
• Particularly good for fingerpicking and practice

The Cordoba Mini II EB-CE is an excellent choice if portability is the priority but you don't want to compromise on standard tuning, nylon strings or useful plugged-in performance. It isn't intended to replace a good full-size classical guitar, but that's not really its job.

Instead, it is a very capable travel, practice and songwriting guitar that can be taken on holidays, kept beside the sofa or used for quiet practice without feeling like you're playing a novelty instrument. The solid spruce top, attractive ebony construction, cutaway and onboard electronics make it considerably more versatile than its small size suggests.

If you want a compact nylon-string guitar that you can actually take everywhere, the Mini II EB-CE is one of the more convincing options in its class.