Cort G290

Won't go into this as others have done it for me -but the spec on paper is good.

The singlecoils are ok, have heard better, but there are two real problems with the humbuckers on this guitar - there is a massive drop in volume when switching AND it does not pick up high notes as well as the it picks up the low notes. This for me was a massive problem and the whole reason you buy a guitar of this nature should be for its sound. Sadly, this is not good.

Don't know about anyone else but the action on the guitar was way out, and as someone else has said, the tremolo arm must have been designed by someone having a bad day!!!

Didn't have it long enough to comment, as I sold it after 4 months.

n/a

Been playing for 10 years. Had Gibbos, Fenders, Yams, and G&L. This guitar is well made, but there are flaws in the design, the performance of the buckers is annoying to put mildly. If you pat this amount of money, the thing should work straight out of the box - no question, quality control must be an issue.

Swamp ash carved body Quilted maple top
Bird's eye maple neck
Bolt-on neck joint
EMG 89/SA pickups
Sprezel Trim-lock tuners
CFA III tremolo
Straight from the Cort website!
Fantastic features - all quality manufacturers. Also, the neck is phonomanal, much better than any highend Fenders I have played.

I'm running this through a fair few effects into a Marshall MG100DFX. Not a great amp but it gets the job done. The EMG singlecoils shine through very well, probably the best singlecoils I've ever heard. There is a large drop in volume when using the coil tap on the humbucker though, I never use anyway so it doesn't affect me but it's an important flaw. Also the humbucker doesn't pick up my high e string quite as well as the other strings in clean which is odd, still great for solos though. The pickups sound awesome with distortion, just a great sound for alternative rock - the singlecoils seperate me from the standard guitarists.

Only problems were that the action and bridge weren't sorted out right and the pickup heights were crazy. But that was easily sorted at the shop I bought it from. Although a problem I actually got a metalworker to solve was the shape of the tremolo arm which was bizarrly shaped.

I have had this guitar for 8 months now and it has definately stood the test of time, it plays as well as it did when I got it (after it was set up obviously), and has withstood numerous gigs. I rarely snap strings on it too.

No idea, never had any major problems that couldn't be solved by a guitar shop.

I think Cort are a highly underated guitar brand that need more recognition as all their guitars are high quality, even their low end models. There are so many great features on this guitar for such a good price, After 3 years of playing, I prefer to any other guitar I've ever played (and that's a lot)!

05 model--loaded!!-w/emg sa/sa/89 pickups,sperzel tuners,CFA tremelo,swamp ash body,quilted maple top-22 frets,modified strat-style body,medium jumbo frets--allen wrenches for truss rod and tremelo--in antique violin burst--comes also in a cherry burst-

the g290 can cover any base, from traditional to contemporary music-the emg pickups bring a fidelity to the sonic palette that makes a passive pickup sound almost anemic--i play everything from jazz, to R and B, soul, blues, and contemporary pop--listen to larry carlton's CD 'LAST NIGHT'-the 290 is remarkably close to that sonic signature--

perfect--not one cosmetic issue--other manufacturers should take a look at cort's QC--and other musicians should play them--a seriously underrated manufacturer--

i can absolutely depend on this guitar

i have called them on a few occasions, and they were courteous and helpful--i also had the opportunity to talk to one of their reps at last year's NAMM show--very professional and nice--

i have been playing professionally since 1977--am running this thru a MESA BOOGIE MARK1 RE-ISSUE, a YAMAHA MAGIOCSTOMP(v.2.0),and a MORLEY VOLUME/WAH PEDAL--how would i put this?--to anyone who is considering a 'boutique' or 'super-strat'guitar, save your money and don't spend it on an obscenely overpriced ANDERSON,SUHR,TYLER,FENDER,ETC.,ETC.--i know, i've heard the arguments in favor of these expensive guitars--but here is the truth-they charge the money they charge because most of them are small operations and that is the only way they can stay in business--with the exception of FENDER, who can put out garbage day after day(just like mcdonalds), and people will buy it-i have played these'overpriced' guitars, and guess what?--none of them were set up correctly--every guitar that comes out of a factory needs a re-crown, intonation, neck adjustment,etc.--whether cheap or expensive-i had janflone's guitar studio do this work(no one on the east coast is doing the level of janflone's work)and the guitar is perfect,vibrant,alive--it will kill any of these other guitars--at about 35% of the cost--
in regard to FENDER-i played a 'masterbuilt' custom shop relic 58 reissue at a local store that was selling for $6400--the fretjob was so bad, i wouldn't pay $100 for the guitar--but yet, people buy this garbage all day--master-built to me means perfect--this is more like 'amateur-built'--

I have a 2004 model, I believe. Starting from the top, all great features: locking sperzel tuners, roller nut, maple neck. It is a bolt-on, but great for me cause I prefer bolts anyways. 22 frets, thats my only complaint, I wish it was 24, but oh well. Comes with EMG SA/SA/89 configuration. Anyone unfamiliar with the 89, basically it is two pickups in one: a humbucker and a single-coil. It isn't coil-tapped, it's actually two pickups in one, controlled by a push-pull knob on the tone control. There's also a volume knob, and the standard 5-way switch. Comes with a wilkinson tremelo, which I love so much more than any floyd-rose. However, it still floats, and since I change tunings alot I converted it into a dive-only setup. Swamp ash body, with a nice quilt-top. Kind of a brownish-red color, it's really pretty but I would've rather had the blue now. I'm probably gonna say this a lot but I LOVE this guitar. Better than any other guitar I've ever played, and so cheap....if it had 24 frets, dual vol/tone knobs, and maybe an ebony fretboard it would be a 10.

The hum/sing/sing with dual-mode 89 gives lots of tones. I can get anything I need out of this guitar. I play everything basically...I can get wonderful clean tones due to the single-coils, and the humbucker is there for whatever I want. Rock, metal, blues....no problem....great articulate output. Theres no noise until I sit in front of the computer....need to get one of those lcd monitors....

My setup is the G290 through basically every pedal digitech makes (non-multi fx) with a crybaby thrown in there. I play into a lot of amps, but mainly a crate vfx5212, always on the clean channel. If I play guitar direct into amp, the clean tone I get is EXACTLY like "Lenny" by SRV. I highly recommend both this guitar and amp. There is nothing at all I dislike about the sound I get.

I got this guitar used, and the previous owner had it setup perfect, so I can't really comment on cort here. But, the quilt is great, not book-matched at all but I don't like that anyways. Frets are good, electronics are good. The only complaint I have here is that the battery for the EMGs is right in the electronics cavity. I don't know if that matters, but I don't like it. I know that on the 2005 model they have added a separate battery compartment though.

This guitar will last just fine, short of the battery going dead. I have no worries, but I also don't gig. For $400 new/$300 used you could definitaly afford a backup.

Never dealt with cort. I have gone to their website, and it doesn't even have the current model of this guitar (usa website).

I've been playing for about ten years, I don't play for money of in a band, just for fun. I've never bought anything that cost over $1000, so I can't compare this to the really high-end stuff. But, I have some fenders, some deans, some schecters, and some esp guitars that all cost more than this and not one of them feels better, sounds better, or has more features. I absolutely LOVE this guitar, I plan on buying the top models of all corts other series too. I also have a cort bass that is by far the best bass I've ever seen/played. I definitaly suggest everyone look into a cort!

Seymour Duncan pickups (genuine, not Duncan-designed), Sperzel locking tuners, Wilkinson tremelo with roller nut.
Sing-Sing-Hum with coil tap, 5-way selector.
Made in Korea
Great features for the price, but the nut is a little troublesome. More below. . .

It's a good sounding guitar. The Seymour Duncan pickups are not the highest in their line, but they do the job. The humbucker is especially good for distortion. Of course, the single-coils have some buzz. I wouldn't say the sound is better than a Fender strat, or really anything in a higher price range. But for the price, you can't complain.
The only problem I had with sound was a static "pop" when I would move the guitar. Turns out, there was no static protection on the inside of the back covers. So when the back of the guitar rubbed against your shirt, you'd get a static "pop" though the amp. This was an easy fix. I got an anti-static bag used for computer parts, cut the bag into single sheets, and trimmed them to the size of the two covers on the back. Then I got hot glued them on. You could just set them in place and screw on the cover without the glue. That solved the problem and now I don't get any other noise.
However, I really think Cort should have put some sort of coating on the inside of the covers.

I recently contacted Cort, and they told me they don't setup the guitars from the factory. So from the shop, I had to set the intonation. The action was okay. And there were no flaws in the workmanship.

However, there was a major problem to my ears, and I'm surprised no other reviewers have mentioned it. Perhaps it is not a problem across the board, and I just got one that got past quality control.
But I had an intonation problem around the first three frets, especially on the high E, B and G string. I could play a G major chord and all was well. But if I played a D minor, the intonation was way off. In fact, I've had the guitar for a year now, and I've never performed with it because of the problem.

I took it to a local shop just last week, and the technician immediately saw the problem: the nut was too high. That roller nut was just set up way too high. And by the time the string was able to touch the fret on the first three or so frets, the pitch was sharp. So the technician lowered the nut, and that fixed the problem. I was surprised to see how much he had to lower it.

So now that that problem is solved, I have no major complaints. This guitar seems to have more fret buzz than some other guitars I've played. But you have to expect that on an electric in this price range.

I will perform with this guitar now that it's fixed.
And by the way, the nut is wider than most nuts. So if you want to replace it with a standard graphite nut, it will have to be a very wide one.
And also, to fix it, this technician only charged $20. So if you suffer the same problem, it's a really cheap solution, and only took him one day.

In short, if it gets a proper set-up, you shouldn't have any problems other than the nut. But that problem is really easy to solve. For an electric with the features this one has, in this price range, you can't expect much more. And if you try one in the store, listen to the intonation. It may be that all the nuts are not that high.

Seems very reliable. In fact, the technician I took it to dropped it when putting it back in the gig bag, and it lived. I can't see how anything would break on it. I don't think I would play it without a backup in a long gig, but just for fear of breaking a string. But for a shorter gig, yeah I'd play it without a backup.

I emailed the company a year after buying it, just last week, and got a reply the next day. I then replied, and got another response the next day. From what I've seen at the shop where I bought the guitar, and in my own experience, I trust these people.

I've had this guitar for a year now. I don't put alot of pressure on it, I just casually play. But I know it would take alot more use than I've put on it.
For me, this is the guitar to have. I don't play alot on the electric, I am a rhythym player and almost always perform with an acoustic. So I don't want an expensive guitar, but I wanted a strat-type guitar (I have a Les Paul, and wanted a single coil guitar to round out my collection). For $650, to get genuine Seymour Duncan pickups, a Wilkinson tremelo (which works very well), Sperzel locking tuners, and to get something this beautiful, that's a great deal. I'm not looking for the best guitar out there. I want a quality, dependable guitar for an average price. And the G290 fits this niche. If you gig alot, and want something that sounds awesome, obviously, you need to get something in a higher range. But unless you just really need that, this guitar should make you happy.

As far as having to get the nut lowered, I would much rather get a guitar for this price with all the features it has, and have a simple surgery done to it, then pay more for a guitar with the same features and a better-known brand name on it.

BTW, I know some of my scores are lower than others'. This is not because I don't like this guitar. I love it. It stays out all the time because I love looking at it and playing it. But I won't score it as high because it is an average guitar. It's not an american-made Strat. It's not a higher-priced Yamaha (which some have these exact same features). It is what it is, and I think that serves most guitarists out there who aren't playing professionally.

I can sum it up this way: In the last few months, I wanted to sell this guitar and buy another because it had intonation problems. I tried to decide on another sing-sing-hum guitar to buy, and could not find one with the features this Cort had in the same price range that satisfied me. A big part of the appeal to the 290 is it's beauty. No matter what I looked at, I just couldn't find anything in the price range that I would replace the Cort with. And now that I got the problem solved, I'm ecstatic I didn't sell it. I don't plan on getting rid of it. If it were stolen, given I could get the money, I would consider buying another, but can't say for sure.

you know the score from bellow so i wont drible on!!! but please dont be fooled by the carved quilted maple top! its not. It is in fact the ash that is carved and it has a bookmacked quilted veneer on it! whats the difference i here you shout? a cap (which you find on top line les pauls, prs and such is at least 0.25 - 0.5 in thick! a veneer is only as thick as a peace of card you would find on a cerial box. they apply these in a vacume chambre so it moulds to the contour of the carved ash. they are for looks only and give no tonal character to the sound!! i am going to mark it downa few points because this could be missleading to some.

i play all kinds of stuff but am mainly influenced by pink floyd! mine is one of the new emg loaded guitars which is why i got it has sa/sa/89. dave gilmours strats are loaded with sa emgs so its good for me! a word on the 89 pick up, it is not a coil split humbucker! it is infact two pick ups in one! the humbucker is something tonaly simalar to a emg 85 and in single mode it is an emg sa! so what you are getting is a guitar with four pick ups! this will cover most tonal bases, especialy mark knophler, dave gilmour, eric clapton, steve lukether and so on. take a look at emgs web site to see who uses them! good job it doesnt have a maple cap! it may be to light in sound with the ash which is a light wood in its self. you are going to get the same tone from this as if you put these pick ups in a good fender as the same woods are used! good sustain too due to the heavey bridge

the finish is good and fingerboard smooth! laquer on the back of the neck my take a knock easaly but is lovely to play on! frets are well dressed but maybe a little thin(for me). the action on mine was flying high and i had to take it right down as far as i could with out the saddles resting on the bridge! lucky for me this is now spot on for me to play on! but is by no means low! if you like it real low you may need a shim under neck joint to raise the neck up a bit! the neck had the right releaf and everything else was fine!! the birds eye maple wasnt top grade!!! but what do you expect for this money. something else that would of been good would be a proper battery compartment rather than sticking it in with the wiring(i will fit one my self) this guitar has a very light feel to it! i always use 9-42s but on this they feel very light! may move up to 10-46s.

It will last, no doubt about it! you will get about 12 mounths out of the battery playing 8 hours a day!!!! i would change it every six for peace of mind!! my only concern would be the thred where the screws go in for the controls(where your battery lives)try to avoid taking it of to much! this is why im fitting a proper battery caverty! no one gigs with one guitar do they!

here in the uk they are spot on! i rang my local rep and he located one and i had it in less than 24 hours!

i play it through a vox valvetronix 120 and it great!!!! if it where stolen i would get another one as you will strugle to find a guitar with this gear on for this money any where. i build guitars and would strugle to make it for someone for less than three times what i have paid!

Swamp Ash body with a beeeautiful quilted maple top, Birdseye maple neck, rosewood fretboard w/ 22 frets, active electronics(EMG P/Us), locking Sperzels, Wilkinson trem, roller nut...

I play anything from classic rock to heavy metal and this guitar is great for all of it. Some people hate EMGs but they are extremely versatile if you EQ them right. I love the highs on these-nice and thick-as opposed the nasty thin highs on my '80s plywood strat. The neck and neck/middle positions deliver some beautiful cleans. The bridge pos. sounds great in overdrive or clean, though the cleans seem a bit muddy(OK I'm used to a single coil on a strat so I dunno if this is how HB cleans are supposed to be.)

I haven't found any flaws in the finish except for a tiny bit of glue on the fretboard, which you can only see in the light, and it doesn't affect the playability at all; isn't a big enough flaw do knock off a point.

The quilted top is a high grade and I haven't found any flaws yet. When I first got it, I had completely forgotten that it had a two-piece top, and then after looking very closely, I found the seam. The top is PERFECTLY bookmatched.

The blueburst mirror finish on this thing is absolutely GORGEOUS. Depending on the light, it can be either almost teal or a beautiful aqua. It's also extremely photogenic. Photos really accentuate the quilt.

There are alot of birdseyes on the neck, more than any I've seen at GC.

This thing's pretty solid. The finish is nice and thick, it'll last a long time. I would gig with it without a backup, due to it having a non-locking trem.

I wanna give them at least an 11 here. One of the techs there is helping me through the beginner stage. I've been playing 3 hours a day for 4 months, but I don't have much experience with setting up my guitar. Also, when I ordered my 290, Joes Axes forgot(or somethin...) to send me the spare strap button, and Scott(from Cort) sent me 2 within the next couple of days. He's been extremely patient and helpful and I don't doubt that the rest of the people at Cort are like that.

This thing blows away EVERYTHING at Guitar Center, save the Gibsons and the PRSs(duh) in both features and looks. GC has ALOT of garbage.

I currently just run the 290 into a Drive CD-300R-8G. Don't EVER buy that amp. I ordered it because it was 30W and under $150 bucks(and didn't know anything about tone). Even though the amp has a terrible sound, the G290 doesn't sound too terribly bad through it, but I've tried it on a $1600 Mesa at GC and it sounded great, so it's definitely the stupid amp. I'll be getting either a B-52 or a line-6 here pretty soon.

If it were stolen I would weep vehemently and then search relentlessly for the theif and kill him without mercy. I would never lose this thing.

As everyone says it has everything that you could want on a guitar
and more for a guitar of this price

fantastic and versitile

I wrote the article below this one and slated the tech who set up my guitar I have got to eat my words he took the guitar back put a new nut on it (wilkaloid no longer in existence, this makes the unique a one off) the action ,sound is fantastic the lowest action i have ever seen on a guitar and still it has retained its sound , i take my hat of to the man who fixed it he is wihtout doubt a genius with guitars

The shop where fantastic especially Alex who put up with me being so fussy , thankyou Alex

The Guitar is great the customer support i recieved was also great
this is a great guitar that needed a bit of tweaking and the shop delivered

made in 2002-03
22 frets
quilted maple bookmatched
light swamp ash body 1 piece ,1piece birdseye maple
pickups ssh configuration my favourite routes for versitility
Seymour Duncans
sperzel tuners
no accesories

excellent played through the right amp I have tried it out on a Marshall and a Laney hc 50r hardcore and I found the Marshall compliments the guitar especially if you are looking for defined,clean tones, I sometimes use a zoom 507 reverb this does not detract from the tones this guitar can produce you can still get a comparible sound in all 5 positions
It is also fantastic as a standalone guitar
The single coils only hum if you get too near to the amp but this in no real problem as I am talking about being 1-2 feet away
The variety of sound is very good you can go from heavy metal to jazz with one flick of a switch ,versitile or what
Compared to other guitars i have tried quite a bit more expensive i found this one to be in a class of its own

I bought this guitar from a very reputable dealer who uses a guitar tech to set the guitar up for you ,I found the setup to be absolutley shit i have spent the best part of a week trying to get it right (i had to buy a book and tools and learn how to do it as the guitar shop is over a hundred miles from where i live) The action was to high ,the bridge was lying at the wrong angle , the neck hand no bow in it so i had terrible fret buzz ,I have managed to get things close to where they should be I still need to work a bit on bringing the action down (i will most probably take it to an expert for this ,not the tech contracted to the guitar shop
pickups needed to be set to stop warble on E string
the top is perfectly bookmarked
i do not much care for the roller nut as this sometimes makes clicking sounds especially when you bend (i will most probably replace)
Bridge is slightly out of position as the high E is slightly to close to the edge of the fretboard and the bass E has got a lot of space between it and the fretboard (you may ask why do I keep this guitar ,because it has a one piece body a perfectly bookmatched top and i can have all the other things adjusted and sorted out quite easily) I tried 2 of these guitars the other had a 3 piece body and some slight veneering on the toe and the sound was not half as good so that is why I have decided to put the effort into making this one as close to perfection as can be had for #500

I play live twice a week no probs
The finish seem to be of a high grade only time can tell I personally feel it has a thick enough laquer to last
I use seperate locks on my stap button so it dosn't matter what size they are.
I use without a backup all the time

very good but to far away to be affective also you have to leave it with the technician for a couple of days , to long by half

i have been playing for 30 years, I own a washburn bt4 excellent guitar also but i prefer the Cort due to its versitility ,i also own a Yamaha hand made classical guitar that i bought for #450 in 1977 ,god knows how much it is worth now , this is the most beutifully finished and sounding guitar i have ever had the good fortune of playing
yes I would replace it if it where stolen only this time from a local shop
I compared this guitar to many at roughly the same price range and because of the type of music i play this one won hands down due to the sweet jangly vibes i could get from it
if you get the chance go try one i am sure you will be pleasantly surprised

the cort G290 is made in korea 2001, has 22 frets..solid top. h/s/s, 5 way selector with coil tap, 1 vol, 1 tone. the 3 pickups are all from seymour duncan. the body is made of southern swamp ash, top quality. the neck is maple with slick top quality rosewood board. the ash body also has a beautiful quilt top.. the body style is a cross between a strat and a PRS, with it's beautiful quilt top. wilkinson "floating bridge" tremolo is used for this guitar.. again, a top quality piece of hardware. the tuners are sperzel locking tuners, which is much more convenient than ordinary tuners as you don't have to wind the tuners, just lock it. sperzel is a good brand name for making tuners too.. so i'll trust it's reliability. a whammy bar is included. the guitar also has roller nut and roller string trees.

this guitar is packed full of features, deserves full marks.

i play jazz, rock, blues, and a little bit of metal. this guitar, with it's 3 duncan pickups are awesome for all the music i play! i've never seen such versatility from such a guitar! i also own a gibson les paul custom from the 70s, and the cort G290's sound is more versatile. the sound quality is also comparable to the les paul custom as the pickups and wood used are top quality. i play my guitars through a fender blues jr, a crate blue voodoo and a marshall jcm800 halfstack.. i can go from classic rock to 80s hi gain metal with this guitar, no problems. good sound. no noise is produced from the pickups, afterall, they are seymour duncans! there is nothing i dislike about the sound.. i like it too much in fact! due to it's versatility over my les paul, i'm playing this guitar more often..

when it comes to classic rock, NOTHING can beat my les paul. it has a certain vintage vibe to it. however when it comes to versatility, the cort can cover all genres, and do it with a GOOD sound. my cort's 2 single coils give a better sound for blues than the gibson, that's for sure. i will give my gibson a rating of 10 and the cort a rating of 9.

the set-up was OK, the action was a bit high but i lowered it in just 5 minutes by adjusting the bridge lower to the body. now, it has FANTASTIC low nice playing action. a real pleasure to play. the pickups are adjusted fine. the maple top is perfectly bookmatched... the quilt is truly beautiful like a PRS! the bridge is routed fine. there is not a single flaw on this beautiful guitar!

this guitar will withstand live playing for sure, because the hardware and pickups are made by good brands. the finish is superb, it will not wear out easily. i've replaced the original strap buttons with dunlop straplok,and it's more reliable now. i recommend you do the same. i can depend on it, but i will bring a backup as i have 2 guitars. i will alternate between this and my gibson

i have no opinion for this because i have not yet had to find them for anything. the guitar is working fine!

i've been playing for 12 years..this guitar satisfies all my needs. if it's lost or stolen, i will immediately buy another of the same model.i love everything about it really.. and hate nothing. i chose this guitar because of it's features and good hardware. for this price it cannot be beat. i've compared it to gibson les paul standards in the shop and my own les paul custom.. for playability, sound and versatility, this is the best as les pauls are not very versatile or playable.

if you get this guitar, i suggest you invest in a hardcase and straplocks. this finish is too good, you should protect it well with a hardcase!