“Exceeds in playability, looks, and affordability”: Cort promises the pinnacle of affordable acoustic guitars with its $449 Essence series

Cort has turned its knack for quality yet affordable guitar builds to the acoustic guitar world once more, and believes its new Essence series delivers “quintessential classic acoustic guitars”.

Two body shapes – Grand Auditorium and OM Cutaway – feature, with the South Korean luthier championing the tone and price points of the new instruments.

Not wanting to shout the news humbly, Cort is calling the Essence-GA-4 “the perfect Grand Auditorium acoustic” thanks to its deep body, extra-narrow waist, and 45mm width at the nut.

Meanwhile, the Essence-OC-4 offers a shallower body to create “a closer connection” between the instrument and the player, with a 43mm nut primed for the singer/songwriter market.

Torrified solid Sitka spruce tops and top bracing feature on both models, with Cort’s Aged to Vintage construction methods helping achieve “the big and open tone of older, highly sought-after acoustics,” despite its shiny newness.

Essence series necks, backs, and sides are cut from mahogany for rich, tonal warmth via “robust midrange and bright highs,” with 20-fret rosewood fingerboards bolstering sustain.

Elsewhere, there are sharply dressed herringbone rosette and purfling accents, bone nut, and saddles, and vintage open-gear tuners with wood patterns accentuating semi-gloss, and classic Black Top Semi-Gloss finishes available.

The acoustics are electrified for on-stage performances and busking alike – just don’t run into the police like Ed Sheeran recently did – via Fishman Presys VT EQ systems and Fishman S-core pickups.

The systems are installed inside the body of the guitar rather than needing to be cut into the body for a sleeker design that doesn’t blemish the natural flair and resonance of the instruments.

A simplified control interface of singular Volume and Tone controls underscore the “crisp” sound of the guitars, which come with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze Light .012-.053 acoustic guitar strings. These, Elixir boasts, offer sparkling sounds and extended string life.

“The Essence Series exceeds in playability, looks, and affordability,” adds Cort.

The Cort Essence series of acoustic guitars are available to order now and are priced at $449 apiece.

Head to Cort for more.

The drop follows Cort bringing the unsung solid cedar tonewood to affordable acoustic guitars late last year, while its new Abstract Delta and Modern Black models deliver on its masterpiece promise.