Cort SJ3FC4 Jumbo Electro-acoustic

I have just bought a Cort Boston JS30 which I cannot actually find any reference to, but it has a sold spruce top, flamed maple sides back and neck which are stunning, grover tuners . It is Jumbo guitar with an outstanding tone. I have been playing ofr almost 40 years and was intending to spend alot more than the ??200 I spent on this beauty - well ??190 to be precise.
I has frankly never heard of these guitars, but chose it over several I tried going up to ??700.

Rich Full basses ringing treble.

Mid action - shop ( Guitar Store Glasgow) adjusted it precisely for my style and preference .

Too soon

No need

It's just great.If it was stolen I would buy a Freshman jumbo , my second choice just so I had owned both

Made in Korea in 2001. Non-cutaway jumbo design, vaguely reminiscent of Gibson's jumbo acoustics. Solid spruce top, flamed maple back and sides, mahogany neck (I think), rosewood fingerboard and saddle. The fingerboard has small MOP dot inlays offset to one side. The finish on this guitar is high gloss, but not thick an 'glassy' like many guitars I've seen. Tuners are chrome Grovers, which are very smooth and solid in operation. Although the overall design of this guitar is quite understated, it's a beautiful looking instrument. It is fitted with a Fishman under-saddle pickup and Fishman's Classic 4 EQ system. My only gripe with the design of the guitar is that there is only one strap button - why do guitar manufacturers do this?!?

Unplugged, this guitar sounds very different to my others. It has a big, loud, jangly kind of sound - almost like a 12-string, but not quite. Nicely balanced, good bass (although, if I'm being extra picky, there's a slight deadspot on the low E at the 5th fret), thick mids and nice bright highs. I play a lot of blues, some country and country-rock, and finger-style folk music, and this guitar handles all of that very well. Plugged in to an amp, it sounds even better. The Fishman Classic 4 EQ provides a huge variety of sounds, and with a little fiddling around you can make the guitar sound however you want it to.

The action on this guitar is what I would class as medium-low. I haven't touched it since it came from the factory - it is spot on. There isn't a single fret-buzz all the way up the neck, even when I play it hard. I can comfortably play barre chords up to the 12th fret without getting cramps, so the shape of the neck and the action are about right. The frets are nicely polished, but a couple of the fret ends could perhaps have done with just a little more finishing - very minor, though, and a little light rubbing with wire wool has done the job nicely. The solid spruce top is properly bookmatched, though there is a tiny variation in colour between the two halves (only noticeable in certain lighting conditions). In actual fact, it looks very attractive. The binding has been perfectly applied, as have the MOP inlays on the fingerboard and headstock. The rosette and back-stripe appear to be a combination of light wood inlays with dark stained borders - they have been very nicely done and look good. The flame maple on the back, sides and headstock is gorgeous and the light golden stain really accents the grain of the wood. The finish of the guitar is high gloss, but it's not thick and 'glassy' like a lot of guitars I've seen. Inside, the build quality is very neat and tidy, with no glue visible, and nicely finished bracing. If I'm being hyper-critical, the hole for the truss rod adjustment isn't perfectly finished, with some tiny signs of splintering around the hole. Frankly, though, I've seen much worse on far more expensive guitars.

I haven't owned the guitar long enough to know how durable it is. However, it is very well built and uses quality hardware. The combined strap button / jack socket is very solid, as are the tuners. The gloss finish should protect the guitar well from the occasional knock here and there. Based on my current experience, I would happily depend on this guitar and use it without a backup if necessary.

Haven't needed to make use of their customer support yet. I understand the guitar has a limited lifetime warranty, and the shop I bought it from backed this up with their own two year guarantee, allowing visits to their guitar tech for occasional adjustment.

I have been playing for around 20 years, on and off. I own an Art & Lutherie Spruce dreadnought acoustic, and an Aria AMB-35 fibre-bowl electro-acoustic. If my Cort acoustic was lost or stolen, I would definitely try to replace it with the same model, or the closest one available. When I bought it I had tried some of the higher-end Yamahas (LL and LS400) and a couple of Gretsch's, plus countless other mid-priced instruments. None of them came close to the sound of this Cort. I can't think of anything I dislike about the guitar except the fact that it doesn't have a second strap button - but then, most acoustic guitars are the same. All in all, this guitar is a beauty.