In 1960, in Korea, they began making guitars and other musical instruments under the name Cort. By 1973 they had reached a production, among other things, of more than 160,000 very high-quality electric guitars, which were already in great demand all over the world, and were also being manufactured in other parts of the globe.
Advanced manufacturing. Their quality has grown to such a level that for a long time now they have been making many instruments for famous American guitar brands, in a business where it might seem that only "made in USA" guitars were the world leaders.
Their first big hit was the model called EARTH 200, to which they applied a special "dovetail" joint connecting the neck and body of the guitar; being so solid, it produced a distinctive, clear sound with a particularly prized "sustain."
Korea couldn't keep up with demand, so they opened a factory in Dalian (China), where they also made more affordable finishes for the professional music market, though under CORT supervision, to offer the same quality as the instruments made in Korea itself.
But they have also agreed to manufacture, on commission, models designed by very famous musicians, mainly American, with very particular but especially attractive features, bringing interesting innovations and excellent, very well-finished firsts.
They have always used very select woods to build their guitars, and they take painstaking care with every detail during manufacture, not just to improve the look of the finish. That's why they are so desirable and attractive.
Their worldwide expansion grew enormously from 1973 on, the year their branches and their manufacturing or assembly operations proliferated across practically the entire planet. And, of course, with a major European market, for example in England, Italy, Germany, etc., as well as a strong presence in North America, where they made a grand entrance and are quality musical products, perhaps much better known there than in Spain.
Incidentally, in Spain they are distributed by Intermusica and through the specialty stores you'll find listed on that site.
The CORT company claims to control 25% of the world guitar market (I have no way of verifying that figure), currently producing more than 25 models of electric guitars and more than 30 models of acoustic guitars.
CORT recently opened a major factory in Surabaya (Indonesia), where it now makes many of its electric guitar models.
The ARTISAN A4 model
I'm lucky enough to have this model in my hands now to tell you about its seductive appeal. Just looking at it makes you want to pull it toward your body and caress it. Its body, painted in a striking bright cherry color with faded black shading, gives it a commanding presence. And its neck really looks like a continuation of the body, with no bolts joining them; instead the two pieces are as one and perfectly aligned.
With a 34" (864 mm) scale, as Leo Fender conceived them, and a similar look, and although I don't like comparing it with other brands, as a reference I'll tell you that its body is somewhat smaller and lighter than, for example, Leo's JAZZ BASS model, but the side curves of the body are also more pronounced. And when I put it against my own body I understand why CORT does it this way, since this shape makes it feel like it sits better against my body, as well as on my knee. Sliding the palm of your hand along the back of the neck is subtle and extraordinarily pleasant.
What also stands out is the apparent solidity and effectiveness of the bridge, made of a material that looks like good anodized aluminum, the same material used for the nut (instead of the typical bone), and this support is undoubtedly part of the secret behind its spectacular "sustain" (the extended, lingering time a note keeps ringing after you pluck it without damping it). And this can be heard equally on all the strings of this bass guitar, along with excellent note definition rich in harmonics. Of course, the string set installed also contributes to these good impressions. In this case, it seems the factory strings are D'Addario EXL165 (105-045) "Roundwound" (one of the types of strings I explained in my article titled "The Secret of Strings," in the October 2007 issue of this same magazine, ISP, Number 93).
The tuning keys are small but designed to be effective, very pleasant and more than sufficient for very efficient and smooth use when needed. Tuning the strings is extremely comfortable, both in terms of torque and the smoothness of the pull, with just a small turn.
It comes equipped with two fully enclosed pickups (set permanently at the factory).
They are Bartolini MK1-4/F and MK-1-4/R models, very low-noise and absolutely powerful. You'll never need to readjust them.
On the back there is a large screwed-on compartment, under which all the circuitry connections are accessible. Although I wasn't curious enough to poke around in there, it will surely make it easier to deal with some unlikely problem in the distant future, for example if you need to replace a pot or a damaged switch, though you may never have to.
Other construction details
The body is made of mahogany, wenge and maple, with rosewood on the neck's fingerboard.
Its active circuit, powered by a nine-volt battery (preferably alkaline), slides in easily into a small compartment on the back of the main body. That battery actually lasts a very long time. This active circuit not only provides a more dynamic and powerful signal, but also allows better control over its three-band "bass-mid-treble" EQ, adjustable to taste with three of the five pots on the front of the guitar's body, next to which there is also a small switch to engage, or not, the active circuit as we wish.
Of the other two pots, one controls the overall volume of the signal sent from the bass to the amplifier, and the other sets which of the two pickups we want the signal to come from, with more or less intensity, so that at its center detent (easily felt when turning the pot) the signal is drawn proportionally from each of the two pickups. I imagine you already know that a guitar picks up brighter, more defined signals from the pickup closest to the bridge, and deeper or "filler" signals from the pickup closest to the neck. Ultimately, we'll test by ear which settings we find most pleasing or necessary for each musical style we want to play, since this instrument is very versatile for any occasion when we want to "get the most out of it"... whether for brilliant or very punchy playing with some percussiveness, or to give a song a very deep, round feel.
The five pots feel very smooth to the touch, without any jumps, except at the center detents found on four of the five (the detent is absent on the master volume pot, since it isn't needed there).
There is no screen printing, text or numbers around these pots, or on the main body of the instrument, because when we use them, we're certainly not going to turn the guitar around to check its settings; in practice, that's done by feel. Many manufacturers have long since dispensed with such useless screen printing, which really clutters the look and isn't elegant at all.
On the frequency analyzer
Many of you who already follow my test benches for this same magazine, ISP, know that I usually run this kind of test on the bass guitars that pass through my hands, in order to check how consistent their final output signal to the amplifier is.
To do so, I set all the pots at their center detent (volume at maximum) and plucked each open string one by one, then recorded all the data obtained on its spectral frequency behavior, finally using them to create the graph you see, which combines the results for all four strings.
What's pleasantly striking about this model is that the dynamics (not the volume) of its signal, almost identical for each string, are wide, clean and consistent, with a significant peak around 350 Hz, a region that we know corresponds, on a staff in bass clef, to the most common or typical notes of a "double bass," and in which this instrument must clearly dominate the sound of the other instruments surrounding it.
No doubt if I had pushed the EQ, which I didn't do in this test, the resulting dynamics, and therefore the attached graph, would have shown far wider curves.
The most surprising things about this model
In summary:
One of its best features is its "sustain". This is surely due to its excellent bridge, the type of nut, the strings installed and, above all, the solid joint between the body and the neck.
Its finish is spectacular, understated yet eye-catching. Its controls are very effective, as are the design and torque of the tuning keys. Its curved shapes, which seem somewhat exaggerated, are actually very practical when resting this guitar against the musician's body.
The signal from its active circuit is more than ample and very clean, free of hum or strange noises, which simply aren't present here.
It tunes easily, it's not very heavy despite its solid body, and sliding your fingers along the neck feels pleasant and comfortable.
Yes, it's made in Korea... but would you dare to be a snob about such a high-quality product?
