Members Treborklow Posted November 29, 2006 Members Posted November 29, 2006 Let me start by saying that I am an expensive guitar lover. Not for the prices, but for the build quality and the tone usually found only with expensive guitars. Most people that are like me know that when we see a $100 or $200 guitar in a store, we pretty much know it's probably going to sound like crap and we seldom even bother to pick one up. Instead we head for the Martins or Gibsons. The other day I brought one of my electrics in for service and while I was waiting, I sat down and needed to noodle so I picked up this smallish Cort acoustic on a stand nearest to me. I don't remember the number but I think it was something well under $200 or $150. Spruce top, laminated Mahogany b/s. Typical beginners budget model this store carries in quanity to sell to their students. This little guitar sounded great! I could not believe it. I tried a few others of the same model sitting in stands and they all sounded typical of cheap imports and not impressive at all. Long story short, after I left I kept thinking about it so a few days later I went back to try it again and perhaps buy it... and it was gone. They still had the three others of the same model and they all sounded like the typical laminates. That special one was sold. No wonder! I wonder how that happens, that special combination of wood, even with laminates, that can make a cheap guitar sound like a solid wood masterpiece. So the lesson learned is to expect the unexpected and try even the cheapies when looking for a good sounding guitar, you might get a special one and save a few bucks as well.
Members Whalebot Posted November 29, 2006 Members Posted November 29, 2006 It was the strings!!! Have em' change the strings on one of the other Corts and it'll sound great, I know they sounded nice when I looked at GC.
Members Treborklow Posted November 29, 2006 Author Members Posted November 29, 2006 Originally posted by Whalebot It was the strings!!! Have em' change the strings on one of the other Corts and it'll sound great, I know they sounded nice when I looked at GC. GC sells Corts now? Not in the GC's around here.
Members babablowfish Posted November 29, 2006 Members Posted November 29, 2006 GC sells Corts now? Not in the GC's around here. GC sells Parkwoods which are Corts with a different name. Also, Cort makes Ibanez and a bunch of other guitars that are marketed under different brands.
Members bertbassplayer Posted November 29, 2006 Members Posted November 29, 2006 Originally posted by babablowfish GC sells Parkwoods which are Corts with a different name. Also, Cort makes Ibanez and a bunch of other guitars that are marketed under different brands. Parkwood is a subbrand made by Cort. Some of the GCs here I've actually seen guitars under the Cort name as well. I've been really impressed with what's been coming out of the Cort factory in Korea. Cort is actually one of the largest manufacturers in the world, they make guitars in Korea for Schecter and Ibanez, and their factory in Indonesia makes the Squiers for Fender. They've just fairly recently started to make a bigger name for themselves, and have just recently (especially with the Parkwood series) have made strides in the more upper end of market.
Members Muddslide Posted November 29, 2006 Members Posted November 29, 2006 A lot has changed in the cheap guitar market over the last 10-15 years. While Yamaha and a few other brands have exported quality guitars since the 60s and 70s, back then MOST Asian manufacturers were nothing to write home about. Nowadays there seems to be people who actually care about and know instruments well enough to provide good specs to manufacturers, and the factories are using very precise equipment to make a highly consistent product at a great price point. An Asian knockoff from 20 or 30 years ago was a crapshoot, and largely not very good. Today, while there are certainly some brands, models, etc. that aren't functional above the beginner level (sometimes not even that in the case of poorly made ones with bad action, issues ike neck twisting, bellyng, extremely poor materials, etc.), overall I think you can get a whole lot more bang for your buck than you used to be able to.
Members Tony Burns Posted November 29, 2006 Members Posted November 29, 2006 I believe Cort also makes guitar for Carvin , have heard rave reviews for their Mahogany and Rosewood Jumbos.
Members Hudman Posted November 30, 2006 Members Posted November 30, 2006 I loved the Cort made Parkwood guitar I played at GC last month. Tony Burns is correct: Cort makes the Carvin Cobalt series guitars. Carvin must make a small fortune selling those. They get great reviews and they sell them for a lot more than Cort does. I didn't know Cort made Ibanez. Although, I think Samick and Cort make 80% + of the world's guitars.
Members bertbassplayer Posted November 30, 2006 Members Posted November 30, 2006 Originally posted by Hudman I didn't know Cort made Ibanez. Only the Ibanezes made in Korea, which is a pretty big chunk of their acoustics. The weird thing though is the $1100 Steve Vai Signature Acoustic is made in China.
Members Hudman Posted November 30, 2006 Members Posted November 30, 2006 Originally posted by bertbassplayer Only the Ibanezes made in Korea, which is a pretty big chunk of their acoustics. The weird thing though is the $1100 Steve Vai Signature Acoustic is made in China. Thanks for the info. I didn't realize they still make the Vai acoustic guitar. I thought they stopped a while back when they were selling them on closeout.
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted November 30, 2006 Members Posted November 30, 2006 Originally posted by Treborklow Let me start by saying that I am an expensive guitar lover. Not for the prices, but for the build quality and the tone usually found only with expensive guitars. Most people that are like me know that when we see a $100 or $200 guitar in a store, we pretty much know it's probably going to sound like crap and we seldom even bother to pick one up. Instead we head for the Martins or Gibsons. The other day I brought one of my electrics in for service and while I was waiting, I sat down and needed to noodle so I picked up this smallish Cort acoustic on a stand nearest to me. I don't remember the number but I think it was something well under $200 or $150. Spruce top, laminated Mahogany b/s. Typical beginners budget model this store carries in quanity to sell to their students. This little guitar sounded great! I could not believe it. I tried a few others of the same model sitting in stands and they all sounded typical of cheap imports and not impressive at all. Long story short, after I left I kept thinking about it so a few days later I went back to try it again and perhaps buy it... and it was gone. They still had the three others of the same model and they all sounded like the typical laminates. That special one was sold. No wonder! I wonder how that happens, that special combination of wood, even with laminates, that can make a cheap guitar sound like a solid wood masterpiece. So the lesson learned is to expect the unexpected and try even the cheapies when looking for a good sounding guitar, you might get a special one and save a few bucks as well. Sometimes they screw up and make a great "cheapie"!
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