Cort Produce The Goods With Minimal Fuss But Maximum Effect
Cort manufacture a vast number of quality guitars at a budget, which gives a big dose of confidence in their own Cort branded models. It's safe to say that when it comes to well-built guitars at a budget they certainly know what they're doing!
This AC-OC4 is their own all solid - yes, all solid - mahogany construction with cutaway, Fishman Sonitone Pickup AND a fitted hard case. Sounds impossible for £500. Too good to be true? Not in this case - this guitar is the real deal.
As we've come to expect from Cort, the build quality is very good - clean, functional and quality. There are no fancy touches, which allows for better quality of materials. For this reason, the timbers used are a good grade, with a nice richness to the mahogany. The neck join, binding and general build are clean and simple throughout, and the rosewood fretboard with Abalone inlays looks great, as do the chrome and matt black machine heads; nice touches.
This guitar's biggest surprise lies in its fabulous tone. Mahogany is associated with vintage, rich tones and this instrument shows off the tonewood well. The low end is fabulously rich, with lots of depth, and while Mahogany keeps the highs sounding warm, they are clear with excellent clarity nonetheless. The AS-OC4 is ideally suited to a fingerpicking style but will take strumming in its stride due to the defined characteristics of its sound.
Another string to its bow is the Fishman pickup system. A popular choice for many guitar makers due to its affordability and good quality, the signal sound is balanced and dependable. Easily of a good enough quality for stage work, with accessible volume and tone controls in the soundhole.
So it sounds and looks great, and it's not a bad player either. The neck's matt finish isn't the smoothest in the world to touch but has a pleasing grip and earthy feel. The higher reaches are great to play and the action is good throughout - which isn't something you'd necessarily associate with a budget acoustic.
Verdict
Cort's all-solid tonewood acoustic is all-solid in terms of performance too, and with a pickup and hard case to boot, the package represents excellent value for money. It probably isn't enough to trouble the big boys of the US but that's not what it sets out to do - but also calling it a budget guitar really isn't fair either, as it is an all-solid performance guitar that will only get better with age.
Cort AS-OC4 RRP - £499.00
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Published 7th April 2017
