Cort NTL50 Jumbo Acoustic

Concerning ratings: the previous reviewer convinced me that not leaving ratings is a good idea, as ratings aren't as meaningful as our statistic-hungry society would like.

It's been about nine months since I bought my 1999 NTL-50 and I think I can now begin to make a useful assessment of it. I should first say why I bought this guitar. I started learning guitar only a year ago on a loaned Fender Squirer, and when I decided to buy an acoustic guitar I asked all my guitar-playing friends what they would recommend, found this and other online forums, and tried just about every acoustic I could get my hands on. I really liked the Taylor dreadnaughts; they sounded wonderful, resonated in my hands and through my body like nothing else I tried, had excellent low action and the hearty recommendation of my friends. But alas, I could only stretch my budget to about $400, and who really needs a Taylor as a first instrument? I had to lower my expectations, and so I looked at the Takamine, Fender, and Martin offerings in that price range. They all seemed OK but not special--variously dull, uninteresting, or muddy-sounding, with wide necks or high action. Then I found the Seagull S6+ and the Big Baby Taylor--A real Taylor in my price range! The story continues in the 'sound quality' section...

From the Cort website, this Korean-made guitar has "a solid Sitka spruce top, thin finish, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with a select rosewood fretboard and Grover Super Rotomatic machine heads." It's an absolutely beautiful instrument, with natural finish spruce and lustrous rosewood, abalone inlay soundhole rosette, and a nice large mahogany bridge (more aestheically pleasing than the Taylor's bridge, IMO). Jumbo-sized body, no cutaway, no electronics. It has a nice thin neck (in both dimensions: thumb to fretboard and low-E to high-E) which makes it easy to fret. The 20 frets are medium-sized, I guess; they're bigger than some, (those on my friend's Ovation are smaller), and so it's not as easy to slide along the fretboard as that Ovation...

no accessories were included

To continue... One of the Big Babies sounded great, another brand-new one sounded weak on the bottom end, but I wanted something with a full low-end. The Seagull S6+ wasn't so hot in the low-end, either, but it sung in the midrange and highs. Almost by accident I found a little store which carried the Cort Earth 100 and 200, and they had a full, balanced, and clean sound compared to the Big Baby, which seemed bright and jangley in comparison. Then I found the NTL-50, and even though I wasn't looking at jumbos, it had all the full, clean sound I was looking for... so I bought it!

One quality I was looking for when auditioning these guitars was how long they sounded after they were strummed. Both an expensive Taylor and the Big Baby sounded a good long time; the NTL-50 did not sound as long, but longer than a $550 Tacoma, a $400 Fender, which in turn sounded longer than the Seagul S6+.

The guitar sounds reeeealy good with Elixir strings; week-old Martin SP strings tend to make the guitar sound dull and boomy. Old strings bring out a few resonances, for example the low G#, but it's only noticeable in the attack (not the lingering sound) and I think it makes for a more complex, folksy sound. Sometimes I still find it a little too boomy on some notes, but maybe I should expect as much from a jumbo... (I have never compared the sound of my NTL-50 to another jumbo.)

As far as what I mean by a "clean" sound: when I stum a chord on the NTL-50, the sound of each string is distinct even several seconds afterward (few sympathetic resonances).

When I play with other people I notice that my guitar is not as loud as most guitars out there, and its sound is not bright enough to cut through a lot of the voices out there (my voice doesn't cut through very well either, so it's a good match for me...). The Cort website says as much: "The NTL Series was designed for a softer mellow sound." I think the solution is to add a pickup when I start performing around others so I can control the voice/instrument balance, but until I do, I am enjoying a much better sound than those who bought a $300 guitar with a pickup.

I picked up my friend's new Taylor 410 the other day, and I don't know where the love has gone... I couldn't give it a proper playing but I think I prefer the more full sound of my instrument, and he payed at least $1500 for his!

Action is almost as good as my friend's Taylor 410 but not as good as the Big Baby Taylor (!). I would say it's good but not exceptional. The top is well matched IMO, but obviously two pieces regardless of how the light falls on it. Fit and finish is impeccable, to my eye as good as you would see on a Taylor, but I'm sure the extra $1000 buys more quality in this department.

This instrument looks much better built than the Big Baby Taylor (which is so simple and light in construction that the neck appears merely screwed onto the body) and the Seagul S6+ (which has a very thin finish and is not-so cleanly milled if you look inside) but these are perhaps unfair comparisons--neither of these seem built to the same heavy standard as the NTL-50. My friend's Taylor 410 is heavier and more solid, and some of the Guilds I've tried are heavier still, but this guitar seems built well enough to last the long haul. It is cleanly built, which gives me confidence that it will stay "in spec" after a few bumps and knocks. A dealer pointed me to the milling on the inside, which was cleaner than other guitars in this price range, and he said that was because economics allowed this Korean-made instrument to be built more carefully than the American or Canadian competition.

The finish is an attractive thin gloss that has taken some energetic strumming without a pickguard--and you have to look really carefully to see the scratches. It seems very durable.

I have no experience tuning acoustic guitars other than my NTL-50, but I am a little uncomfortable with the tuners; they are easier to turn than I'd like them to be and they don't seem to have a solid feel to them, compared to a Taylor 410. However, it doesn't seem to go out of tune faster than other guitars based on what I observe of how often other people retune their guitars.

Perhaps the salesman was so anxious to have me buy the guitar because it had a small crack between the neck and the headstock that I didn't notice when I inspected it. I'm guessing it was dropped on its headstock from the height of a few feet--stuff like this probably happens all the time in stores without a lot of supervision, security cameras, etc. I was out of state by the time I finally noticed it so I couldn't take the guitar back. I keep watching it to see if the crack grows, but so far there has been no change. This guitar is more delicate than most in this area because of its thin (and comfortable!) neck.

no experience with customer support

A quality instrument. The more I try others' guitars, the more I like mine, and considering how inexpensive it is compared to theirs, I am all the more satisfied with my purchase. If I upgrade to a better guitar, it would likely be a high-end Taylor or Martin, as I would consider my instrument to be "mid-range" despite it's "low-end" price. An excellent value.

First of all I need to explain why I'm not giving point values on my review. I read someone else's opinions on this earlier and totally agree. Point ratings are very subjective based on the reviewer's experience and personal taste. There are way too many owners praising their guitar (Dude! It really kicks butt!), listing problems, and then rating it a solid 10. What's up with that? If some of these guitars are "10"s then others should be "50"s or "100"s. 'Nuff said about that.
This guitar is a jumbo acoustic manufactured by Cort in the faraway land of Korea, don't know when, but it smells and looks brand new. I bought it about one month ago. Solid grade A Sitka spruce top, laminated rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, bridge, and bridge pins. Bone nut and saddle (at this price?), Grover Super Rotomatic tuners in gold. They look like Grover Imperials with the art deco styled knobs that you see on some jazz boxes. They look a little out of place on this type of guitar, but are not objectionable. I'd take nickle covered "butterbean" style knobs any day. Twenty medium sized frets, small round fret markers in MOP, abalone soundhole rosette and headstock ornament. White binding on the body, neck and headstock that actually looks nice. The finish is thin gloss on the body and velvety satin on the neck. Small clear pickguard. No cutaway or electronics which is just what I wanted. Check out Cort's website for a photo. Way more features than I'd have expected at this price point.

This purchase was the result of my search for a second guitar, my first being a lower end Washburn acoustic that I've been playing for a year. The Washburn is an O.K. sounding guitar with active electronics, cutaway, and rather heavy gloss finish. I wanted my second guitar to unencumbered by any of this.
I originally set my budget for the $600 to (gulp!) $1000 range. That's enough to give my wife hysterics. Started out with Martin's mahogany models (D15, D16, DM, D1), moved on to rosewood (DR, D1-R, D3). I also tried Guilds (sounded nice but necks were too thick) and Taylor rosewood models, some of which were waaay over my budget. I had settled on the Martin DR for it's rich sound, familiar playability, and price point. Then disaster struck. My wife informed me that she wants to quit her job and go back to school. O.K. Goodbye Martin....goooodbye. So, very discouraged, I started checking the sub-$500 range for any possibilities. Higher end Washburns? Nope. Sigmas? No sound! Seagulls? Actually, the S6+ sounded bright and clear, but again with the wide/thick necks. I then walked by the row of Cort guitars that I'd conspicuously snubbed every time. Cort? Didn't they make crappy Steinberger rip-offs in the 80's? I picked up a nice looking jumbo with rosewood because most of the dreadnaughts were either mahogany or had colored finishes, sat down in the isolation room, and hit some chords.
Wow. What a surprise. The tone was actually there. I'd put down the Cort, pick up the Martin, pick up the Cort again, then compared it to a Taylor (seven series?). The Cort was neither as loud or quite as robust as the Martin or Taylor but the tone was very close, leaning more to the Taylor. Articulated, rich bass notes that had a piano-like resonance and sustain (never understood that description until I started playing quality rosewood guitars). Treble is pronounced and smooth. Mids are very balanced and unobtrusive. Individual notes of a chord blend but still maintain a crispness. Can be strummed quite hard before getting out of sorts, although good intimate volume when gently fingerpicked. I bought it right there.

Here's where I can post some minor complaints. Interior construction appears top notch. All joints are neat and clean with no excess glue or finish. The spuce top has a nice luminosity and figure but the bookmatching could be better. Noticible color difference in the two halves. I've seen this on other brands, and it's minor, but could be better. I also wanted a total satin finish. I settled with gloss since it does not feel overly thick; makes my Washburn feel like a tank (which it is). Rosewood on the fretboard and bridge appear to have been dyed to make darker. I normally treat with lemon oil, but am afraid of possible streaking. Quality of the rosewood slab for the fretboard could be better (some grain swirling in spot). Small dime-sized finish flaw on top where something brushed against it before completly dry. Only noticeable under certain conditions by the player. I doubt anyone else would ever see it. A small amount of binding at the nut which will work out. Very good tuners. Frets need to be polished and need more attention on the ends. They are not sharp but need to be smoothed from the initial bevel. The rosewood body is beautifully grained. The neck feels great and was a big selling point. Action is lower and lighter than a typical Martin, more like the Taylors. In fact, this seems to be a Taylor wannabe which actually succeeds on a certain level, but not completely.

I don't play out yet, but this seems as sturdy as any other expensive guitar. Long term reliability? Who knows? Cort says they have been in business for 38 years (really?) and give a limited lifetime warranty to the original owner. I play sitting down and haven't used a strap yet. Bottom button is wood and feels solid, top button is non-existent. Backup? I doubt you'd need it on an acoustic unless you can't change strings, someone drops or kicks it over, or some lowlife steals it. O.K. maybe a backup's not such a bad idea.

No opinion. Sent my warranty card in and have yet to hear anything. For what I paid (half of list) nothing extra came with the guitar. No case, gig bag, tools, literature, nothing except the warranty card. Quite common for this price.

I said this was my second guitar, actually it's my fourth. The other two are niche instruments. An Aria 12-string that I traded an electric for and an Airline jumbo archtop that I just "had to have". Gee, maybe that's what is driving my spouse nuts? Regrettably, I didn't get to try a Larrivee (sp?) as I was unable to find someone who stocked them and wasn't going to chance mail order. Seriously though, don't be a brand snob when buying a guitar. Sure, the big names have a reputation that is deserved, but just start taking various brands and types into an isolation room or quiet area of the store and compare. Don't test where other guitarists are banging away or where there is alot of ambient noise. It's nearly impossible for a person to make tonal comparisons under those conditions. Your fingers and ears will tell you what's good. Don't be afraid to try high end guitars for a sonic standard of reference (just treat them gently and with respect so you don't give the salesperson a heart attack!). I never thought I could get this tone at this price. Looks great and sounds so sweet. Outstanding value.