Cortley CF-65S

I own a Cortley CF-65 need info

I own a Cortley Cf-65 made in the late 60's early 70's need info

Gibson songbird copy,solid spruce top,red to amber fade,songbird pick guard,not sure about back and side material..looks like straight grain mahogany,but doubtful,rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

The sound of this guitar is surprisingly good,it is however a little more mellow than my style of music requires,which by the way is bluegrass,I have done some recording with this guitar on some of the more mellow,fingerstyle songs we do.All in all it does sound good,probably pretty close to the real bird.

I recieved this guitar as a Christmas present from my Dad in 1974,he had it set up for me and it has played very well ever since with only slight adjustments to the truss rod.The action is set medium high for the hard strums and licks associated with blue grass music,but can easily be lowered with the adjustable bridge.The binding work is a little sloppy on the neck,but everything is still tight and it is still a fantastic instrument.

This guitar is as tough as they come,it has withstood all types of climatic changes and temps,the finish is still near mint.The strap button came out but was easily replaced.I would put this guitar up against any for durability and dependability..any day.

Never had any reason to contact customer support,and still don't 32 years later.

I have been playing since 1972,this was my second guitar and is still my favorite,for sentimental and quality reasons.I also own a martin d28,martin d35,and martin d41,also another favorite of mine is one that I built myself,a copy of a martin d28 herringbone.If this guitar were stolen,I dont know if it could be replaced or not,but it would totally devestate me.As far as comparing it to my other guitars,of course it doesnt stand up to my 1948 martin d 28(my stage guitar)but I get great satisfaction from playing it.I was once in a flat picking championship in Tennessee and had to use this guitar for my second round because of a broken tuner on my 28 and it performed wonderfully,however I did only manage to get fourth out of 87 entries,even got a few compliments on the old girl.If you ever find one buy it,you wont be sorry.

I don't know what year it was made, probably around the late 70's or early 80's. I purchased it around 82-83. I don't know where it was made either. It has 21 frets, an internal pickup, with all maple wood. It has a transparent red sunburst finish on the front, and transparent red on the kneck, back, and sides, a very good finish. The tuners are some stock sets used to match the Gibson songbird, but I have never had any problems with the guitar going out of tune, they have held up very well. It has a Rosewood fingerboard with slanted double trapezoid inlays to match the songbird style. It looks very nice. It came with a hardshell case with red fabric to match the guitar.

The internal pickup does not work very well, lots of crackles and feedback. I use a Dimarzio humbucking acoustic pickup in the soundhole that works very well. It has a great low end sound. Overall this guitar has a terriffic sound, I have used it many times for recording purposes.

I have reset the action on it and it plays very well. There were a couple of small dings on the back and bottom of the guitar, nothing major to worry about. All the tuners and both of the strap pegs have held up very well, with no rust. I have had many compliments from others who have played it about how comfortable it feels and plays.

This guitar has been through many a show, been beatin' up live, spilled beer on it, and it still keeps sounding great. The only wear on the finish is the pickguard; parts of the white dove and roses have worn off from many years of strumming it with a pick. I have used this guitar many times without a backup, it has always performed great.

I can't find any information about the Cortley company anywhere. If anyone has some info, please send it to me.

I have played this guitar for nearly 20 years and it is just as good as the day I purchased it. I don't think I could ever find a replacement if it were stolen since I have never seen another Cortley guitar anywhere. I have several other guitars, and this one is my favorite to write new material with or just play and sing to my kids. It has given me years of pleasure, and all for just $120.00!