Cort G300 Glam and G300 Uncooked assessment

It’s turning into a little bit of a cliché to say that the standard of electric guitars made in Asia simply retains getting higher and higher. However the proof is within the devices themselves. 

Once we checked out Cort’s G300 Pro, we concluded that it was “a troublesome guitar to fault, the form of instrument that spans just about each rock style there’s and fairly a bit extra… an actual everyman instrument that would sit in a contemporary steel band simply as simply as a perform pop/soul ensemble.” 

Not unhealthy because it’s presently priced at $699/£749 – and is available in a quite fetching Metallic Gold for this yr. And now it’s joined by a further pair of G300s: the Glam and Uncooked. Barely odd names, maybe, however each quite precisely describe what’s on provide.

Though the brand new fashions replicate the unique within the majority of options, it’s the wooden selection that differs. Each our G300s characteristic a physique that makes use of chambered African mahogany. The Glam’s 6mm prime is maple, though the one wooden you may see is on the very clear, PRS-inspired pure edge ‘binding’ as the remainder is colour-coated in a quite polarising however very nicely accomplished Polar Ice Metallic Burst. 

The gloss of the entrance is sustained over the remainder of the physique, which is left pure (with a stain to boost the wealthy brown of the mahogany) and you may clearly see it’s a three-piece unfold. By tapping your nails over the physique you may as well ‘hear’ the chambering, which appears to be totally on the bass facet beneath the dropped maple prime over a beneficiant forearm contour.

The Uncooked follows the identical development, however other than the all-over skinny satin end the highest here’s a moody and fairly vividly figured stable walnut that’s centre-joined and nearly appears bookmatched. Just like the Glam, the general physique depth is the bolt-on normal of 45mm.

The opposite main change to each these guitars is the necks, the place the fashionable roasted maple of the usual G300 Professional is changed with the extra uncommon (for a bolt on) mahogany. Each are one-piece and seem like quarter-sawn. 

As utilized by Charvel, for instance, you’ll discover a pair of reinforcing graphite rods both facet of the two-way truss rod, which has the handy spoke-wheel adjustment simply in entrance of the twenty fourth fret.

Although the Uncooked’s mahogany is definitely darker with a vivid striped grain, right here it’s left a extra pure, lighter brown in color in contrast with the stained physique backs and is solely held through 4 screws in recessed cup washers on the flippantly chamfered and contoured heel.

One other delicate distinction is the fingerboard, which is a jet-black ebony on our Glam and a darkish rosewood on the Uncooked. Each have a compound radius and have 24 well-fitted and fettled stainless steel-frets.

Now, mix this craft with the basic Seymour Duncan pickup array and a few intelligent wiring from the five-way lever swap, in addition to a really well-engineered vibrato (with a again rout), rear-locking tuners and a Graph Tech nut, and we’re already double-checking the costs we’ve been given. If there’s a catch we haven’t discovered it but – although we should always point out that neither comes with a gigbag.

Really feel & Sounds

Regardless of the primarily mahogany construct, each guitars are mild and really comfy. Whereas the define form is perhaps a bit too generic ‘fashionable super-S’ for some, it’s very ergonomically aimed and hangs very well on a strap – but it surely might simply as simply be a cushty sofa-noodler. There is perhaps a robust whiff of ‘up to date fashionable’ within the model however not within the precise neck form. 

These are Fender width (42mm or simply beneath on the nut and 52mm by the twelfth) with a fairly full-shouldered C profile that measures 21mm on the 1st fret and 23mm by the twelfth on the Glam, whereas the Uncooked is about 0.5mm deeper. 

There’s definitely fairly a recent compound radius to the fingerboard, which begins at 305mm (12 inches) on the nut and flattens out to 400mm (15.75 inches) by the twenty fourth. 

Slightly extra edge rounding to the fingerboard and the fret ends wouldn’t go amiss, but it surely’s laborious to fault the fretting, with its medium jumbo-sized stainless-steel wire that measures roughly 2.7mm broad and round 1.45mm excessive. All in, each are excellent gamers, notably with that just about naked wooden really feel to the silky satin neck end – it reminds us of older necks which were refretted.

One very spectacular characteristic is the vibrato. The all-steel unit is predicated on Gotoh’s 510 design. With its tension-adjustable push-fit arm and together with the slippery nut and locking tuners, it’s very steady with down-bend to slack and up-bend of a minor third on the G string, due to that again rout. One other massive tick on the already spectacular characteristic listing.

Sonically, these guitars are fairly the proposition. Anybody who works on the gainier finish of basic rock and past can be at house with the JB on the bridge, which kicks laborious with an enormous dollop of honky thick midrange. But pull the acquire again to make use of it cleaner and it’s surprisingly easy. 

The Jazz is an efficient foil, a PAF-style recognized for its added readability, however on these G300s it merely sounds very properly balanced and has us comping jazz clear or, with some welly, superbly rounded and sustaining Santana. Each controls work nicely, particularly the tone.

To our ears, it’s nearly like a voicing or character management that provides loads of delicate colouration, particularly with the wick turned up, whereas the amount solely subtly loses the sting when pulled again, a pleasant option to tame the sizzle on a brighter gained guitar amp voice.

The mixed slug single coils (place 4 on the five-way swap) sound a bit Strat-lite however are a greater than helpful distinction; the screw-coil mixture (place 2) sounds a smidge extra Tele-like. Whereas neither would problem a half-decent instance of these originals in an A/B take a look at, they work very nicely on this platform, notably with slightly added modulation or a contact of compression to hone your funk chops.

There’s a delicate distinction between the 2. The Uncooked suggests a barely extra open midrange and maybe a subtly extra rootsy voice, and the Glam appears to have slightly extra upper-mid push. However we will’t assist pondering we’re listening to what they appear like.

Verdict

Not for the primary time once we’ve tried to criticise Cort’s wonderful guitars by way of constructional element, we’ve utterly failed. Okay, the back-routed vibrato gained’t go well with everybody, or be wanted, but that would merely be blocked. And you’ll’t assist pondering a extra basic fingerboard radius may pull in a wider viewers. 

Though the Glam’s showy Polar Ice Metallic Burst might have been designed to pop on TikTok, the timeless workingman vibe of the Uncooked could possibly be the go-to for a lot of a gigging musician, younger or previous. Certainly, a extra basic vintage-y intention wouldn’t be unsuitable right here, both: the G300 Professional Traditional?

Specs

Cort G300 Glam

• PRICE: £829 ($TBC)
• ORIGIN: Indonesia
• TYPE: Offset double-cutaway solidbody electrical guitar
• BODY: Chambered African mahogany w/ 6mm maple prime
• NECK: African mahogany w/ graphite bar reinforcement, bolt-on 
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech Black Tusq XL/41.6mm 
• FINGERBOARD: Ebony, small dot abalone inlays w/ Luminlay facet dots, 305-400mm (12-15.75”) radius
• FRETS: 24, jumbo stainless-steel 
• HARDWARE: Chrome-plated Cort CFA-III 2-post 6-saddle vibrato with push-in arm, Cort staggered-post rear-locking tuners
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52.5mm
• ELECTRICS: Seymour Duncan JB (TB4, bridge) and Jazz (SH2N, neck) direct mount humbuckers, 5-way lever pickup selector swap, grasp quantity, grasp tone, 
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.37/7.4
• OPTIONS: None
• RANGE OPTIONS: See G300 Uncooked. The unique G300 Professional with maple-topped basswood physique and roasted maple neck prices £749 
• LEFT HANDERS: No
• FINISHES: Polar Ice Metallic Burst (as reviewed) – gloss physique and headstock face, satin neck

G300 Uncooked

• PRICE: £799 ($TBC)
• ORIGIN: Indonesia
• TYPE: Offset double-cutaway solidbody electrical guitar
• BODY: Chambered African mahogany w/ 6mm walnut prime
• NECK: African mahogany w/ graphite bar reinforcement, bolt-on 
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech Black Tusq XL/42mm 
• FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, small dot abalone inlays w/Luminlay facet dots, 305-400mm (12-15.75”) radius
• FRETS: 24, jumbo stainless-steel 
• HARDWARE: Chrome-plated Cort CFA-III 2-post 6-saddle vibrato with push-in arm, Cort staggered-post rear-locking tuners
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52.5mm
• ELECTRICS: Seymour Duncan JB (TB4, bridge) and Jazz (SH2N, neck) direct mount humbuckers, 5-way lever pickup selector swap, grasp quantity, grasp tone, 
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.25/7.15
• OPTIONS: None
• RANGE OPTIONS: See G300 Glam
• LEFT HANDERS: No
• FINISHES: Pure satin (as reviewed)
• CONTACT: Cort Guitars