What is it?
Combining modern build quality and design practices with classic colors, the Cort G200SE is a budget beginner electric guitar aiming to provide new guitarists with a versatile tonal palette. Made in the Cor-Tek factory in Indonesia which has also crafted guitars for PRS, Ibanez, Fender, Jackson, and many more, it’s a potentially exciting entrant into a very busy beginner guitar market.
The headline spec is that it features a roasted maple neck and fretboard combo, a feature that was once the reserve of boutique guitars, but is rapidly becoming more accessible to the rest of us at lower and lower prices.
Roasting necks has some advantages in that it purges the wood of moisture, resulting in more stability, as well as preventing any excess oils or moisture from entering once the torrefaction (the technical term for roasting) has taken place. They resist changes in humidity better than traditional maple necks, so to see this start appearing on budget guitars is great news for newbies.
The G200SE is packing an HSS pickup configuration with a covered humbucker for extra style points, plus the two typical Strat-style single coils.
These are Cort’s own ‘Powersound’ pickups to help keep the cost down, combined with a single tone knob and five-way pickup selector to give you plenty of spanky Stratocaster-style tones alongside the heft of the humbucker. A six-point tremolo with die-cast tuning machines rounds out the hardware offering.
Specs
- Launch price: $249/£170/€285
- Made: Indonesia
- Type: Six-string electric guitar
- Body: Poplar
- Neck: Roasted maple
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 25.5″ (648mm)
- Nut width: 42mm
- Frets: 22
- Hardware: Die-cast tuning machines, six-point tremolo bridge
- String spacing at bridge: 51.7mm
- Electrics: Cort Powersound humbucker and 2 single coils, master volume, master tone, 5-way pickup selector
- Weight: 7.4lbs/3.35kg
- Options: N/A
- Left-handed options: No
- Finishes: Scarlet Red, Aged Cream, Seafoam Green (as reviewed)
- Cases: No
- Contact: Cort
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
Since Cor-Tek is well-versed in building guitars for different brands, it’s not a surprise to find that the G200SE is immaculately put together. The neck on my review model is really dark with a beautiful figuring, and it looks like it cost a lot more money than the price belies. The fretwork is fantastic, better than I’ve seen on some guitars costing three times the price. One of the tuners is ever so slightly skewiff, but apart from that the neck is flawless.
It’s a similar story with the body, which features the classic S-style shape with a more modern, slight offset that shifts the upper horn further forward than you’d typically see. It gives me hot-rodded S-type vibes, but the Seafoam Green invokes a more classic aesthetic. It’s got a sculpted neck heel for better upper-fret access, and a belly cut for additional comfort when playing.
Playability
Playability rating: ★★★★☆
Out of the box the GS200SE is really nicely set up
Getting to grips with the roasted maple neck and fretboard, there’s no neck profile stated on the website, but to my hand it feels very similar to the Modern ‘C’ profiles I’m familiar with on my own Fender guitars. The frets feel a little smaller than the medium-jumbo ones on my Telecaster, albeit only slightly. Upper-fret access is good thanks to the sculpted neck heel and generous cutaway.
Out of the box the GS200SE is really nicely set up with D’Addario 9s, coming in at 3mm at the 12th fret with my finger on the first fret. My usual check of bending all the notes up from the 12th fret onwards on the treble strings finds no choking at all, and the intonation is pretty much bang on, ever so slightly sharp but nothing that couldn't be fettled.
Although the strings are a little lighter than what I use normally, it takes me no time at all to get up to speed on the 9.45” radius ‘board, with my usual arsenal of three note per string legato licks flowing immediately. The fretboard is really satisfying to bend against, and it’s only when I get into some Gary Moore-inspired two-step bends that I start to find the tuning going awry. It’s small steps too, nothing that you can’t account for with a little adjustment.
Where it’s not so good however, is the six-point tremolo. Pretty much any time I engage it, it sends the guitar out of tune, and I find it takes a lot of effort to move it initially, with the resistance dramatically dropping off as I dive further down in pitch.
It’s to be expected on a guitar so cheap that not everything is perfect, and while it’s fine for subtle tone bends, as soon as I start pressing on it more heavily, it’s difficult to get control over it due to that heavy feel. Again, these things are designed to be adjusted, and at this price, it could be improved as part as a regular setup.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★☆
Starting with the humbucker on the drive channel of my Orange Rocker 32 tube amp, the G200SE delivers a surprisingly fat and full tone, much more satisfying than I anticipated given its price. There’s plenty of midrange heft when playing partial barre chords near the headstock, and when I switch to lead licks with some tape delay and spring reverb via my HX Stomp it sounds incredibly inspiring.
Moving to the single coil sounds, these aren’t quite as nice as the humbucker to my ear. The neck position is a little thin, without that thick warmth you typically expect to hear from that position. The in-betweens have some that Strat-type quack or honk, but it’s only really noticeable when playing clean, with the qualities of the pickup disappearing when I add my Tube Screamer clone into the equation.
Changing to the clean channel brings out more of those Strat-style sounds, which are especially honky in position 4.
Changing to the clean channel brings out more of those Strat-style sounds, which are especially honky in position 4. Position 2 is a little lackluster though, with the bridge humbucker and middle pickup sounding duller rather than twangier.
Of course, I’m looking at this through the lens of a lot of guitar experience, so I will counter that for the beginner guitar player, these tones should be more than good enough to go from first chords to first gig.
Verdict
There are a lot of beginner guitars out there at the moment, which can make it harder for brands without the weight of a big name to shine. It’s a shame, because this is a really great guitar that would make an excellent buy for any burgeoning guitar player. I wish I could have had something this good as my first instrument.
These are things that are typical of beginner-level guitars though
Of course it’s not perfect, with a tremolo that sends the guitar well out of tune, and a pair of uninspiring single coils to boot. These are things that are typical of beginner-level guitars though, so it’s not a huge complaint. There’s plenty here that will excite new and old players alike, and you could easily swap those pickups out for something sweeter and have yourself a really nice guitar for not a lot of cash.
Guitar World verdict: With its incredible build quality, excellent playability, and in particular that humbucker, the Cort G200SE is a lot of guitar for the money. The roasted maple neck is a delight to play on, and although some of the single-coil sounds are lacking, the bridge humbucker pretty much makes up for it. It’s a testament to just how good beginners have it these days that I can’t find all that much to fault in a guitar that costs so little.
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality |
Outstanding build for the money, with just a slightly wonky tuner to note |
★★★★½ |
Playability |
Roasted maple neck delivers phenomenal playability, but tremolo isn’t great |
★★★★☆ |
Sounds |
Bridge humbucker sounds inspiring, but single coils are a little plain |
★★★★☆ |
Overall |
A lot of guitar for the cash, and brilliant for any beginner player |
★★★★☆ |
